She Wants The Chance To Weigh The Merits Of The Construction Deal

Ex-Finance Chief Will Lead Transition Team

Governor-elect Linda Lingle is asking Gov. Ben Cayetano not to sign a multimillion-dollar contract to build a new prison before he leaves office.

"If the contract you are considering is a good one, it will also be a good one three weeks from now when our administration will have an opportunity to review it," Lingle said in a letter faxed yesterday to Cayetano and state Attorney General Earl Anzai.

[continues 330 words]

A Law Meant To Open Prison Space By Offering Rehabilitation To Certain Inmates Has Applied To Just 45 People So Far

Only 45 inmates are eligible under a new law passed earlier this year that calls for probation and drug treatment for non-violent first-time drug offenders.

Of the 45, 12 inmates -- including two women -- were released since June and three more await release as soon as slots at drug treatment programs become available.

The Department of Public Safety drew up the 45 names earlier this year in response to the law, Act 161, and submitted them to the Hawaii Paroling Authority -- the agency that screens inmates and decides if and when they can be released.

[continues 985 words]

I just wanted to let all of the camping enthusiasts on Maui know that if you plan to use the Kipahulu campground at Oheo, your every move will be watched by federal agents.

Apparently all violent crimes in the rest of the country must have stopped, why else would federal agents dressed in black assault fatigues be dispatched to lurk in the woods of a popular Maui campsite.

Many campers at Kipahulu the weekend of Oct. 27 were subjected to random, warrantless searches, and the threat of being flown to federal prison in Oahu merely because they looked like "potheads."

[continues 92 words]

HONOLULU (AP) -- The state agency that oversees public housing was forced to forfeit nearly $500,000 that could have been used to hire anti-drug personnel because it did not spend the money in time, according to an agency spokesman.

The Housing and Community Development Corp. of Hawaii failed to use the funds over the past two years because the agency was in the midst of ''hiring restrictions,'' said Bob Hall, a spokesman for the agency's executive director, Sharyn Miyashiro.

[continues 345 words]

WAILUKU -- A judge ruled a new law requiring treatment instead of incarceration for first-time drug offenders didn't apply to a man with a previous robbery conviction, sentencing the defendant Thursday to a five-year prison term.

But 2nd Circuit Judge Joseph Cardoza told Philip Acang he could still try to get help for his drug addiction while he is in prison through the Maui Drug Court.

Once he is within 14 months of the end of his minimum term, Acang could apply to enter a Drug Court program for inmates. They begin their treatment in jail and continue when they are paroled.

[continues 322 words]

Jon Kinimaka's Oct. 17 letter "More funding needed for state drug courts" highlights the success of Drug Court programs and the fact that court-supervised drug treatment, instead of incarceration, really does work. I myself am living proof that a serious drug offender who is given the proper tools can become a productive member within the community.

I have been called "The Miracle Man" because, after 37 years of abusing drugs, I once died (overdosed) and came back to life. Now I am proud to say that I am a successful graduate of the Maui Drug Court's first graduating class. I am employed full-time, paying taxes, and have been clean and sober for over two years now. If not for the Maui Drug Court, Hawaii taxpayers would still be paying for my room and board while warehousing me in some Mainland prison for years, getting worse, sicker, with no treatment.

[continues 72 words]

Editor:

Thank you for printing the AP story, "Hawaii has worst crystal meth problem" in the U.S. and for mentioning that the Big Island has the worst of it in Hawaii. The Associated Press, U.S. Attorney Ed Kubo and you tell it like it is - almost.

The worst human tragedy in Hawaii history did not "just happen." It was thought-up, debated, approved and caused by an artificial social policy known as the "marijuana eradication program." A program which continues this very day. It is a monumental failure and now I want to know exactly, specifically - who is responsible, who is accountable, and who is liable for the damage done by this taxpayer-funded program? We were forced to pay for this debacle and suffer the loss of civil liberties, for what? For turning pot smokers into ice smokers. What a screw-up.

[continues 357 words]

They Offer Advice As Fourth Class Finishes Program

WAILUKU -- The day after he graduated from the Maui Drug Court, Leslie Maeda did some of the same things he had done while going through the intensive treatment program for a year.

He went to meetings of a support group. He called his sponsor. And he kept in touch with others working on staying drug-free and sober.

"You continue doing what got you this far," said Maeda, who had felony drug charges against him dismissed when he became one of the program's first graduates Oct. 11, 2001. "It's an ongoing process."

[continues 1358 words]

U.S. Attorney Ed Kubo's report to a presidential commission cited alarming statistics on methamphetamine use in Hawai'i. The judiciary has taken effective measures toward reducing recidivism to crime with the implementation of the Hawai'i drug courts, which divert felony drug offenders from incarceration into intense, court-supervised drug treatment requiring daily drug testing and counseling, monitored by a judge for up to 18 months.

Judges use intermediate jail sanctions for program noncompliance and provide incentives for clients upon their success throughout the program. Offenders' criminal charges are dismissed upon successful completion. With only a 14 percent recidivism rate on a national average, drug courts are proven to be the most successful way to treat drug offenders.

[continues 83 words]

Editor:

If anyone cares to read the history of the drug war, it should be abundantly clear how such "statistics" as the "ice" statistic arise. They are made up by someone in political office to suit their own agenda. This is nothing new. It has been official U.S. government policy for the last 60 years, at least.

Clifford Schaffer

Agua Dulce

[end]

Inouye's Staff Cannot Confirm Source Of Teen Addict Comment

It's a staggering comment that's being repeated: Fifty percent of the teen-agers in a Big Island town are addicted to "ice."

Numerous county and social service officials, however, could not pinpoint the total population for the "town," let alone how many teen-agers reside there.

Most recently the statistic was uttered by U.S. Attorney Ed Kubo, quoted in Honolulu by The Associated Press.

He said he heard it from U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, and added, "I'm quoting him. I would not question our senior senator."

[continues 478 words]

Editor:

Stupid is as stupid does. We have an "ice epidemic" that causes people to steal, commit violent crimes and virtually destroy whole communities. The fight against ice is totally underfunded while millions of dollars are spent eradicating marijuana which is far less harmful than tobacco and only causes people to raid the fridge.

Do the smart thing, vote for politicians who want to change the status quo.

Henrik Bothe

Pahoa

[end]

Editor:

Why to politicians spend taxpayers' money doing stupid things? Instead of banning smoking in restaurants, attack the hard core problems. "Ice" is eating away at the core of our economic life. Butt out of the private lives and work on the monster drug problems.

Find money to pay for better education, build roads to match the growing development in West Hawaii; work on power source alternatives and provide work for the unemployed.

These are the real tough issues tax money should be spent upon. Do something that makes common sense.

I don't smoke and am not a smoking advocated. Just butt out and work on real tough issues.

Chris Hashimoto

Captain Cook

[end]

U.S. Attorney Ed Kubo's report to a presidential commission cited alarming statistics on methamphetamine use in Hawaii (The Maui News, Oct. 13). The judiciary has taken effective measures toward reducing recidivism to crime with the implementation of drug courts that divert felony drug offenders from incarceration into intense court-supervised drug treatment requiring daily drug testing and counseling monitored by the judge for up to 18 months.

Judges use intermediate jail sanctions for program noncompliance and provide incentives for clients upon their success throughout the program. Offenders' criminal charges are dismissed upon successful completion. With a 14 percent recidivism rate on a national average, drug courts have proven to be the most successful way to treat drug offenders.

[continues 80 words]

In regard to your Oct. 13 story, "Gone too soon": The onus is on the back of the University of Hawai'i. But not for having a student die from a toxic mix of alcohol and methadone. UH should be required to step forward and permanently terminate all students who at any time check positive with any drugs. Period.

All addictive drugs are defined by the medical profession as "mind altering." Thus, in Math QED, all students on any drug are already, or have already, started deteriorating their brain system. Why waste good money, time and space on students who knowingly have decided to blow their brains into uselessness when there are undoubtedly other prospective students in line to step in and fill the gaps?

If they check positive on any drugs, throw the buggahs out -- permanently -- and have the next applicants step forward.

Ted Gibson

Kailua

[end]

Jake Elmore came back to Hawai'i this fall to go to school. But mostly he came here to save himself.

Instead, the 23-year-old, 6-foot-tall business student left his UH dorm room six weeks ago in a body bag, the victim of accidental poisoning by a toxic mixture of alcohol and methadone, according to autopsy findings.

Like so many other young people, Jake was trying to find his way through a complex and competitive world where expectations are high, the risks seem tame, and alcohol and drugs are as seemingly plentiful as cappuccino.

[continues 1838 words]

Of all the well-deserved praise reported by the media for the late Patsy Mink, her final, courageous legislative act has yet to be mentioned.

On July 26, Rep. Mink introduced HR 5296 in the U.S. House of Representatives, titled "To Revive the System of Parole for Federal Prisoners."

Since the Parole Commission Phase-Out Act of 1996, federal prisoners have had little hope for parole or early release from long, mandatory minimum sentences, most of which (60 percent) are for drug law violations. Mrs. Mink's bill is intended to give hope to those nonviolent prisoners who are serving disproportionately long mandatory minimum sentences dictated by drug warriors in Congress and "lock-'em-up" prosecutors.

Hopefully, one of Rep. Mink's colleagues -- perhaps a colleague from Hawai'i - -- will take the lead on seeing this bill through hearings. That will take someone with the courage of Patsy Mink.

Donald M. Topping, President

Drug Policy Forum of Hawai'i

[end]

Here is one distinction Hawai'i absolutely does not want: According to U.S. Attorney Ed Kubo, our state has the worst crystal meth problem in the nation.

At a federal commission hearing over the weekend, Kubo told participants that as many as 40 percent of all people arrested in Honolulu tested positive for use of this methamphetamine.

Kubo claims that as many as 30,000 residents of Honolulu are hard-core crystal meth users and three times as many use it "recreationally." Crystal meth is commonly involved in violent crimes.

[continues 386 words]

HONOLULU (AP) -- Hawaii has the worst crystal methamphetamine problem in the country, according to U.S. Attorney Ed Kubo.

The problem is destroying families and communities, he said on Friday.

Kubo cited a Justice Department report that says 40 percent of the people arrested in Honolulu tested positive for methamphetamine use. Kubo said no other city came close to 30 percent.

In a talk to a presidential commission on Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders, Kubo also cited these statistics:

* 30,000 Honolulu residents are hard-core users of crystal meth and as many as three times more are recreational users.

[continues 265 words]

Hawai'i has the worst crystal meth problem in the country and it is destroying families and communities, U.S. Attorney Ed Kubo said yesterday.

Kubo, speaking to a presidential commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, cited alarming statistics on methamphetamine use in Hawai'i:

* 40 percent of people arrested by police in Honolulu tested positive for methamphetamine use, according to a Justice Department report. No other city came close to 30 percent, Kubo said.

* 30,000 Honolulu residents are hard-core users of the highly addictive drug and as many as three times more are recreational users.

[continues 476 words]