The letters, the phone calls, the heartfelt pleas from residents, affected government workers and leaders alike — along with the persistent efforts of a historical preservation foundation — may have led to a “warm” closure of the Preston Youth Correctional Facility, slated to take effect today.

Past president of the Preston Castle Foundation Marie Nutting told the Ledger Dispatch that, although her group had not received any official notification, ongoing talks with state officials have led the group to believe administrators will leave the utilities operating at the site — at least for the time being...

A hearing for a judge to consider Amador County's complaint against the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation regarding that agency's decision to close the Preston Youth Facility in Ione has been postponed.

Amador Deputy County Counsel Greg Gillott said the hearing, scheduled for Tuesday, was postponed after a motion requesting the change was filed by a Sacramento law firm handling the case for the CDCR. Amador County contends the CDCR is acting illegally in initiating the closure by not reviewing the impacts it will have on the environment. The county is asking the court to order CDCR officials to stop the closure process until a complete impact report is completed under laws contained in the California Environmental Quality Act. Gillott unsuccessfully argued during last month's hearing for a restraining order to immediately halt the closure process...

Plans to shut down the Preston Youth Correctional Facility — something that could save the state tens of millions of dollars — is running into opposition. The fight over closing one of California’s few remaining juvenile justice facilities is showing the difficulty that state leaders face as they attempt to close a $25.4 billion budget gap.

California Assemblywoman Alyson Huber (D-Lodi) has responded with AB 8, which would call for the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to keep all of five of the state’s remaining youth correctional facilities open for at least six months and prohibit any staff reductions during that time. The bill needs a two-thirds majority in the Legislature to pass...

A plan to shut down one of the state's few remaining juvenile justice facilities to save tens of millions of dollars a year is running into opposition in Sacramento, where a state lawmaker is worried about the loss of jobs in her district.

The fight over shuttering Preston Youth Correctional Facility in rural Ione (Amador County) illustrates the difficulty state leaders face as they try to plug a $25.4 billion budget gap while keeping the support of the people who put them in the Capitol. It also underscores a gloomy reality highlighted during Gov.-elect Jerry Brown's budget forum Wednesday: Reducing the deficit, whether by cutting spending or increasing revenue, could worsen the economy.

Preston, located an hour northeast of Stockton, houses just 224 youths and, as one of the state's oldest correctional facilities, is in terrible condition. Most of the youths serving time there are hours away from their families...

A capacity crowd filled the Amador County Board of Supervisors chambers Wednesday night as Assemblywoman Alyson Huber unveiled a new assembly bill and convened the third in a series of public hearings in her attempt to save the Preston Youth Correctional Facility from imminent closure.

Huber's newest legislative effort seeks to stop the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation from closing any juvenile facility in the state for the next six months.

"Here's the point with Assembly Bill 8," Huber said, "As a state, we should not be making decisions that ... rush to judgment, that are too quick, that we haven't looked at the data, that we haven't thought about the long-term implications of those decisions. And, after meeting with CDCR and looking at the documents that they claim justified the decision to close Preston, I'm still not convinced," she said...

Another hearing to discuss the slated closure of the Preston Youth Correctional Facility in Ione has been scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 8 at the Amador County Board of Supervisors Chambers.

Assemblywoman Alyson Huber released a statement Nov. 22 in which she alleges state officials have been moving forward with "a secret plan" to close the facility.

"I am outraged that the California Department of Corrections has apparently been moving forward with a secret plan to close Preston Youth Facility while denying that was the case and without any involvement from the community," she wrote...

Two chartered buses filled with nearly 200 Amador County residents traveled to the State Capitol in Sacramento Nov. 4 to hear 3rd District Assemblymember Alyson Huber ask state prison officials to explain their decision to shutter the Preston Youth Facility by June 2011.

The Joint Legislative Audit Committee hearing began with an overview of the Division of Juvenile Facilities prepared by the legislative analyst's office. Senior Fiscal and Policy Analyst Drew Soderborg told Huber and a sprinkling of colleagues that the DJF, commonly referred to as the Division of Juvenile Justice, is responsible for the housing, supervision and rehabilitation of the most serious, violent, or sex-offending juveniles in the state's criminal justice system...