Home is where the hale is

Just because you're elected to the highest office in the land — er, the aina — doesn't mean the perks are immediately available. The state has always provided a home for the governor directly across the street from the Capitol building.

But Gov. Neil Abercrombie and wife Nancie Caraway weren't able to move in until May. A fair amount of work needed to be done on the place, according to press secretary Donalyn Dela Cruz. The 8-year-old home, built for $1.2 million, had a "required repair and maintenance update for carpentry, painting and electrical work" after its first tenant, former Gov. Linda Lingle, left office in December. Costs totaled $40,609.

Now, at last, the new occupants have settled in.

So how's the new place working out? We asked, and it turns out that, like most people, Abercrombie and Caraway think of their home as a private space. They would rather not have strangers, even tax-paying, voting strangers, tramping through the rooms and peering in the windows. They get enough of that at the office.

So you won't see pictures here of their living quarters. After all, the whole idea of the new house was to provide privacy for the governor and breathing space for Washington Place.

That beautiful and stately structure, perhaps best known as the former home of Queen Liliuokalani, is an ideal setting for receptions and posh get-togethers, but as a place where sitting governors can actually sit down and put their feet up? Not so much.

INSIDE INFORMATION » There is no weight room, hobby room or "man cave" in Hale Kia'aina.

» Exercise is accomplished at the Nuuanu YMCA, "the Y of governors," said Gov. Neil Abercrombie, a longtime member. Former Gov. Linda Lingle also worked out there.

» Abercrombie does not have a home office; his Capitol office is a short walk away. First lady Nancie Caraway, a political scientist, women's activist and authority on human trafficking, has a small home office with a desk, computer and printer.

» Hale Kia'aina is 5,000 square feet, with an additional 2,000 square feet of lanai space.

» Security allows the first couple to sit on the lanai.

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