Just a quick update on a story/diary/article I wrote a week and a half ago about the Arizona city of Goodyear and a prospective prison:
Goodyear officials have agreed to go to court, if necessary, to prevent the construction of a proposed private prison that would house up to 5,000 men.
Citing broken promises in the past over prison size and an expectation of plummeting property values and a tarnished image, the City Council unanimously passed a resolution late Monday to use every means necessary, including legal action, to stop a new prison from being built next to the Arizona State Prison Complex-Perryville.
A raucous crowd of more than 150 people who packed the chambers for a chance to speak cheered the council's decision.
Read more
This is great news for the residents of Goodyear, whose security concerns about the bidder, Geo Group, led to more push back than this industry had seen in this state during this entire process.
Mayor Georgia Lord, who is relatively new on the job after taking over from near-legendary Mayor Jim Cavanaugh who resigned, supplied the headline quote above.
Even though the council has passed this resolution, it is unclear whether the state Department of Corrections, who has ultimate authority over the prison decision, will factor the resolution into its decision process.
But like most Arizonans who have been here a while, you have to leave it to Goodyear Councilman Joe Pizzillo:
"There are communities that want this prison," Councilman Joe Pizzillo said. "I'm hoping the state has sense enough to go where people want them to be versus not want them to be. I'm counting on that, but you know the state."
Read more
Go check out the Arizona Republic article, and the links in the previous diary/article/story for more info.