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Despite Gov. Ben Cayetano's plans to veto a prison construction bill, Republican leader Rep. Barbara Marumoto says the state should build the prison. Marumoto pushes
Cayetano on
prison constructionIt is time for Cayetano to move, Marumoto said.
"Mr. Governor, don't be cowed by the threats of Gary Rodrigues (United Public Workers executive director) or the timidity of the Legislature. You have the authority. Use it," she said.
Marumoto said Cayetano should use his executive powers to develop an in-state prison with a drug rehabilitation program. Through existing legislation, Marumoto said, Cayetano already has the power to develop a proposal for a privately built and operated prison.
The bill recently passed by the Legislature that Cayetano says he will veto "is a flawed measure driven by the interests of the prison guard's union and not the public interest," Marumoto said.
"The people of Hawaii have waited too long for a facility that would keep inmates and jobs at home and give them an opportunity for true rehabilitation," she said.
ANOTHER VIEW: LIHUE -- Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the most expensive mayor of all?
Easy question, right? Honolulu's Mayor Jeremy Harris makes the most at $102,000 (soon to go to $113,220) followed by the mayor of Maui at $87,098, the mayor of The Big Island at $78,564 at the mayor of Kauai at $73,118.
But Mel Rapozo looks at it another way, and he told the Kauai County Salary Commission that -- without the 14 percent pay increase that Mayor Maryanne Kusaka has been requesting, which Rapozo opposes -- Kauai already has by far the most expensive mayor.
Rapozo looked at the per capita figures, how much each resident of each island pays each year for the care and feeding of the local mayor. The Kauai mayor came in the highest at $1.29 for every man, woman and child on The Garden Isle, followed by Maui at 72 cents, The Big Island at 55 cents and Honolulu at only 12 cents a person.
"If Harris was getting the same per capita pay as Kusaka, the people of Honolulu would be paying him millions of dollars a year," Rapozo told the commission.
GOP MEETING: Republican Party Chairwoman Linda Lingle is teaming up with Republican Rep. David Pendleton for a town meeting from 7 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Keolu Elementary School cafeteria.
The meeting will be to discuss the recent legislative session and to discuss plans for the next session.
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