Let’s give credit where credit is due.

It was not just the pressure from local politicians that led Federal Receiver Clark Kelso to shelve, at least temporarily, his plan to build a 1,000-bed state prison hospital near Camarillo.

A community group, known as the Prison Hospital Action Committee, was instrumental in gathering support from citizens and small business owners. The PHAC’s grassroots organizing is a big part of the reason why roughly 900 letters arrived on Kelso’s desk, decrying the situation.

Kelso’s decision to remove Camarillo from his list of preferred sites gave the group a reason for a brief celebration that was scheduled to take place just before press time. We think Kelso should release all of the letters to the public.

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