Responding to outcry from Antioch residents, Contra Costa supervisors on Tuesday quickly slammed the door on a proposal to build a 500-bed prison anywhere in the county.

The unanimous vote was an about-face for the board, which two weeks ago voted 5-0 to study the construction of a state rehabilitation facility at five county-owned sites. The furor began one day later, when Antioch residents were shocked to learn that one proposed site in Deer Valley was less than a mile away from two Antioch schools attended by nearly 5,000 students…

Where should they build it
Why some in Contra Costa Co. want to bring parolees to the community

A new state law requires that Contra Costa County build a new facility to help get ex-prisoners back into society. It would provide services such as job training, and counseling. The biggest question: where to build it. "One of the real problems that we've seen in recent years is that approximately 70-percent of inmates that leave state prison end up coming back within three years," said Seth Unger from the California Department of Corrections.

State Corrections Officials say the current system isn't working, they want to build more re-entry facilities. Counties that agree to accept the re-entry facility would get funding priority for jail construction. Contra Costa County needs more maximum security jail space, so it's nibbling at the carrot.

The possibility of a small state prison being built in Antioch is drawing strenuous objections from city leaders, who used such words as "crazy" and "devastating" in voicing their opposition Wednesday. Mayor Donald Freitas said he would propose a formal resolution opposing any attempt to build a detention facility in his city.

"This is a no-brainer," he said. "With the increase in crime we've seen, the last thing we need is a jail. … It would be located near high schools, residences, proposed businesses. The whole thing just seems very convoluted."

County supervisors are looking into a plan that would allow the state to build a small prison in Contra Costa County while at the same time expanding capacity in the county's jails, largely on the state's dime. While they are two separate projects, the proposals are part of an incentive program that aims to relieve overcrowding in the state's 33 prisons. If the county agrees to let the state build what it calls a "re-entry facility" within its borders, the county then becomes eligible for a state grant that would cover up to 75 percent of the construction costs for county jail expansion…