Gov. Bill Ritter on Thursday announced that the state’s newest prison, which is still under construction and awaiting funding for staff, will open earlier than expected, while another prison program in Southern Colorado will be shuttered, The Pueblo Chieftain reports. Colorado State Penitentiary II in Canon City will employ 229 workers to guard 336 high-security inmates (one-third of the prison’s capacity) on July 1. Inmates will be transferred there from Limon, Buena Vista and the Arkansas Valley Correctional Facility beginning Sept. 1.