Landing a job at one of the prisons in the northeastern California town of Susanville has been a sure way to get a middle-class life for decades. Now, one of the prisons, California Correctional Center, is scheduled to close. And this charming town of just over 13,500 residents, roughly 40 percent of whom are incarcerated, must confront a truism of small-town American life: when you rely on one industry for your economy, you’re eventually going to get left with the bill. Today, we get the story of Susanville from L.A. Times reporter Hailey Branson-Potts. We also hear from residents and an advocate for prison closure who says there is a future after a lockup gets closed up.

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California’s prison boom saved this town. Now, plans to close a lockup are sparking anger and fear 

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Town’s Last Mill to Be Shut Down