A ceremonial groundbreaking was held Monday to mark the start of construction of improvements to the Women’s Community Correctional Center in Kailua, the first major jail construction project since the Halawa Medium Security Facility was completed in 1998.
The Kalanianaole Highway jail is the only facility in Hawaii specifically serving the needs of pretrial and sentenced female offenders.
In 2018 the state Legislature appropriated $40 million for new consolidated housing and other improvements to WCCC to allow for the transfer of female pretrial detainees from the Oahu Community Correctional Center.
Relocating female inmates from OCCC to WCCC will improve living conditions, expand treatment and rehabilitation services for women and increase opportunities for family visitation, officials said.
Among the improvements are a new 176-bed housing unit, a new administration building to replace the current old structure, a new visitation and intake building, improved employee and visitor parking and improved access to and from the highway.
“This long-awaited project will provide women with better access to services and improved living conditions. The new addition will also help ease some of the overcrowding at OCCC. As the state’s largest jail, OCCC’s primary population is male pre-trial detainees, and it’s a daily challenge to house females within the jail and provide program space,” Gov. David Ige said in a news release.
Public Safety Department Director Max Otani said improving WCCC to accommodate females from OCCC has been a goal of the department for years.
“Today we’re taking a giant step toward realizing that goal,” Otani said. “An upgraded and expanded WCCC will help us house the current population while providing the critical space and resources that female offenders need to successfully return to their communities.”
Construction is expected to take approximately two years.
Bishop Museum to showcase dinosaurs
Starting in October, the Bishop Museum will bring to Honolulu the exhibit “Expedition Dinosaurs, Rise of the Mammals,” transporting visitors to the Cretaceous Period 66 million years ago when some of the most iconic dinosaurs ruled the earth.
The exhibit will be on display in the Castle Memorial Building Oct. 2 through Jan. 23.
The event will focus on the day before and the years after the massive extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs, with 10 lifelike animatronic dinosaurs, including Tyrannosaurus rex, Triceratops, Edmontosaurus, Ankylosaurus, Pachycephalosaurus and the oviraptorosaur Anzu.
Interactive features of the exhibit will include a fossil scanner, asteroid experience and jeep explorer activity. Visitors also will learn about the asteroid impact that changed the world and discover the rise of the mammal in the aftermath and recovery of Earth’s ecosystem.
Tickets for the exhibit will be available online beginning Sept. 2.
