While all of California's 33 prisons face severe overcrowding, community correctional facilities, such as the one in Delano, have closed dormitories for lack of low-risk inmates.

"We're not receiving the level of intake that we did from the Department of Corrections," said George Galaza, chief of corrections at Delano Community Correctional Facility.

The CCF is owned and operated by the city of Delano and has an annual budget of more than $8 million.

The facility was built in 1990 as a joint venture between the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the city to relieve prison overcrowding, provide services to inmates to reduce recidivism and to create jobs for areas hit hard by unemployment…

The head of California's prison system said Wednesday that he will soon ask state legislators to approve expanding three prisons to hold an additional 2,800 inmates, adding to what already is the nation's largest state prison system.

The construction projects would be the first to draw money from a nearly $8 billion bond measure approved by lawmakers two years ago. The money has been stalled ever since by drafting problems that were corrected in the budget legislation that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law in February.

Corrections Secretary Matthew Cate said he plans to seek approval within weeks to build cellblocks for about 900 inmates each at high-security Kern Valley and medium-security North Kern state prisons, both near Delano…

The state prison system says it is facing a bed shortage for inmates, and so it wants to expand four of the prisons here in Kern County. But in Delano, residents aren't exactly crazy about having up to 2,000 more inmates in their community.

McFarland resident Miguel Garnica likes to take his children to Cecil Park. But the former correctional officer doesn't like the idea of having the state bring in up to 1,000 more inmates at Kern Valley State Prison and 1,000 more at North Kern State Prison, both located in Delano. Garnica says bring in more inmates, and their families follow, "I noticed different people coming around this area, mostly LA people, mostly people from the north. And I've noticed a lot of more gang banging…"

North Kern State Prison appears to be a good neighbor, but the road that leads to it could use some improvements. That's what state environmental planners heard from several people at a meeting Thursday regarding plans that would add more buildings and beds so inmates don't have to sleep in areas such as gyms and dayrooms. The growth is part of Assembly Bill 900, which gave the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation authority to design, construct or renovate prison housing and other structures to add up to 16,000 beds in several phases at state facilities, including North Kern…

The state prison system is facing a bed shortage, and several Kern facilities may expand to help relieve overcrowded conditions. Statewide, too many inmates are sleeping in gymnasiums and day rooms rather than dormitory-style or cell accommodations. North Kern State Prison and Kern Valley State Prison in Delano, Wasco State Prison and California Correctional Institution in Tehachapi will participate in the state infill housing program. Infill beds are designed to alleviate crowded conditions at existing prison sites, said Brian Parriott, a spokesman for California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. New facilities would need to be built to accommodate infill beds…