On Sept. 17, my son went into Halawa prison. On Oct. 1, he was still wearing the same clothes he went in with. I talked with a counselor, who said they have a laundry problem. My son was begging for money to buy underwear so he could have something clean. What's going on? Overcrowding affects
‘all aspects of prison life’Overcrowding.
Because there are "many more inmates than we had budgeted for, we ran out of existing stock -- uniforms, towels, sheets," said state Department of Public Safety spokesman Ted Sakai. More are on order, but Sakai couldn't say when they would be in.
The problem is not only that the prison budget is stretched thin, but that too many inmates keep coming in, he said. Just since June, 150 more inmates than budgeted for arrived at Halawa, he said. Halawa was built to hold 1,066 inmates, but had 1,417 as of Oct. 3.
Ordinarily, inmates are given three sets of prison garb, Sakai said. But for the past several months, only one set per inmate has been issued. Officials are now allowing families to supply underwear, he said.
There is a "tremendous strain on the laundry" facilities, Sakai acknowledged, especially since the Waiawa facility has been sending its laundry to Halawa. "That's why we're looking at other alternatives for laundry." But that is not the cause of the problem, he said, adding that your son should have been able to have his clothes at least laundered.
The overcrowding is affecting "all aspects of prison life," Sakai said, including food, water and electricity. The situation isn't expected to get better any time soon.
Why is a vendor allowed to plug into the electricity at the Post Office building at King and Richards streets to sell ice cream and other refreshments right on the lawn? Do they have a permit? The vendor was shut down after two weeks.
The vendor had set up on the Merchant/Mililani side of the property, out of the view of station administrators, said Postal Service spokeswoman Felice Broglio.
He was given approval to set up and get power from the building by one of the partners of USPO Redevelopment Corp., she said. USPO wants to build a $45 million shopping complex on the site, but no deal has yet been made.
The developer had sent a written request to the station manager for the vending, but the manager was on vacation. "He rejected the request" after he returned, Broglio said, but the vendor had already set up.
The developer "was a bit premature" in giving permission, Broglio said. No fees or penalties were paid, she said.
To the sponsors of the Sept. 23 JEMS Job Fair at Pearl Harbor. After seeing an ad in the newspaper, we went to the fair, but were turned away because we were not active or retired military personnel. The company said it was "proud to be an equal opportunity employer," but we were not given an equal opportunity to attend. Auwe
("Our company was not aware that only active or retired military employees were allowed at the job fair," said William Bryant, Group Manager-Employment for McDonnell Douglas Services, which placed the ad. He said this was the first job fair his company participated in that was closed to the public.
("We apologize to any readers that were misled by our advertisement," Bryant said, adding that resumes may be sent to McDonnell Douglas Services, Dept. W460, M/C S1064419, P.O. Box 516, St. Louis, MO 63166; fax 314-234-7186.
(JEMS Job Fairs are part of the Department of Defense's Transition and Assistance Program for people getting out of government service, said Lt. Cmdr. Thomas van Leunan of Pearl Harbor Naval Base. The vast majority who attend are sailors getting out of the Navy, he said.)
