Let’s take a pause to fully digest what’s being contemplated in the name of improved security for the Hawaii State Hospital.
Officials are considering a 12-foot-high perimeter fence for the sprawling Kaneohe campus, estimated at a whopping $17 million to $24 million — even though it’s unclear what, if anything, will be done to first improve serious staffing problems and porous operations within the hospital.
Back in November, hospital patient and convicted killer Randall Saito strolled away from the facility; by the time an escape alert went out many hours later, Saito was already in California. About four tense days later, the “extremely dangerous” Saito was recaptured.
The public is eagerly awaiting results of the attorney general’s investigation into Saito’s escape. But galling details have already emerged from court documents: hospital surveillance video showed Saito retrieving a bag filled with clothes from a combination-locked cabinet, then walking off campus through a combination-locked gate. He had more than $6,000 in cash, two fake ID cards and two cellphones; he had flown from Oahu to Maui on a chartered small plane before departing to California. More than a handful of hospital staffers are under investigation.
The unfortunate timing of Saito’s escape no doubt led to last month’s knee-jerk reaction by the City Council, which conditioned a fence as part of the hospital’s Plan Review Use permit. But all involved need to reconsider the wisdom of that condition. At this point, forcing the state to buy a $17-$24 million fence is only buying a false sense of security. More efficient, cost-effective measures should come into play first. And unless and until internal hospital operations improve, even the best-built barricade will be rendered useless, and wasteful, if patients can get to combinations or keys to the locks.
Zoo looks for new sponsors
The Honolulu Zoo has seen more than its share of troubles over the years, including a revolving door of directors and inadequate, erratic funding — one of the reasons the zoo lost its accreditation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) in 2016.
The loss of AZA accreditation was particularly troublesome, because it increases the difficulty in obtaining federal funding and making animal trade or loan deals with accredited zoos.
Fortunately, progress has been made. A new zoo director, Linda Santos, a veteran staffer at the zoo, was appointed in September. Honolulu voters in 2016 approved mandatory funding for the zoo — 0.5 percent of annual property tax revenue — that will fatten the zoo’s coffers by as much as $8 million annually.
And on Jan. 19, the city announced a sponsorship program that will allow private partners to support the zoo’s exhibits and other programs. It’s a path other zoos have taken, and can provide another pillar of support for the struggling operation. Concerns about over-commercialization should be eased by the fairly strict rules about signage and other promotional restrictions (see www.honolulu.gov/pur/sponsorship.html Opens in a new tab).
It’s hoped that all these steps will put the zoo on firmer footing when it next seeks accreditation from AZA.
Pressure on to eliminate cesspools
In what is surely a harbinger of things to come, the federal Environmental Protection Agency has enforced Safe Drinking Water Act requirements that resulted in closure of 19 large-capacity cesspools in Hawaii last year, as well as fines ranging from $6,000 to $134,000. The EPA had required shutdown of all large-capacity cesspools by April 2005.
Individual cesspools for single-family homes were not part of that directive — but clearly, pressure and policy are mounting to eliminate all cesspools, which collectively harm our environment by putting more than 55 million gallons of untreated sewage into the ground every day, which risks tainting drinking water and degrading coral reefs.
Hawaii has more cesspools than any other state — about 90,000 — and now has a ban on any new ones. State law also requires cesspool elimination by 2050, but with that total cost tagged at $1.75 billion, cesspool homeowners need to start engaging with legislators on measures to mitigate the problem. Among ideas: a point-of-sale provision similar to one in Rhode Island, requiring elimination of a cesspool system after sale of a property; and limited-time-offer incentives for removal followed by tough enforcement of deadlines, including fines.
