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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Tuesday, November 26, 2002

Cayetano gives up jail plan

 •  Cayetano, Lingle meeting aims at smooth succession

By Gordon Y.K. Pang
Advertiser Capitol Bureau

Gov. Ben Cayetano has abandoned negotiations with a private developer for a new jail in Halawa, leaving it in the hands of Gov.-elect Linda Lingle to decide where a new facility will be built.

"I told Gov. Lingle that I'm handing it off to her," Cayetano said after meeting with his successor in the governor's offices yesterday. Lingle, standing beside him, had no comment.

Earlier this month, she had asked that Cayetano hold off negotiating with the developer, suggesting instead that she is considering building an alternative facility on the Big Island that would focus on drug abuse treatment. Cayetano's response had been that he had already rejected that plan because it was cost prohibitive.

"I think I gave her our perspective on this, and in the end it will be up to the new administration as to what should be done," Cayetano said yesterday.

Cayetano had continued negotiations with the developer through late last week but told reporters yesterday that talks ran into a snag.

A key issue that has arisen is the need for an upgraded sewer system at the location, which is already home to the 1,240-bed Halawa Correctional Facility.

"That throws $7 million or $8 million into the pot so that makes things much more difficult," Cayetano said.

The developer was told "what we want you to do is to come up with a proposal that doesn't include any new, additional dollars," he said. "If you can do that, and meet the criteria that we have, then we've got a deal. And that's been a struggle because we experienced some unexpected problems."

The plan for the new Halawa facility was to replace the aging and crowded O'ahu Community Correctional Center, which houses detainees awaiting trial or sentencing in felony cases, those convicted of misdemeanors serving short sentences, and parole violators who are on their way back to prison.

The OCCC facility in Kalihi was designed to house 628 when opened in 1918, but now has an operational capacity of 954 and an inmate count of 961.

Cayetano said he decided to negotiate a private developer because he did not believe the Legislature would authorize money for such a facility.

The Legislature authorized the negotiations more than four years ago and Cayetano officials had said they were close to closing the deal. Officials had not said if the agreement would have required a private company rather than state employees to operate the facility.

Lingle had said one of the ideas she is considering would be to have the facility built on land controlled by the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and have it incorporate a holistic approach to rehabilitation, including a low-fat vegetarian diet for prisoners based on that promoted by Dr. Terry Shintani.

Lingle later said, however, that she had not yet spoken privately to Shintani about the idea.

The state's inmate population has nearly doubled under Cayetano's administration to 5,072 as of last week from 2,893 inmates in December 1994.

Reach Gordon Y.K. Pang at gpang@honoluluadvertiser.com or at 525-8070.