Conflict on Mauna Kea

The National Science Foundation has launched an informal outreach to Hawaii about possible funding efforts for the stalled Thirty Meter Telescope project.

A citizen petition filed with the Hawaii County Board of Ethics claims there was an uneven application of the law in response to a months-long demonstration that blocked a road up the state’s tallest mountain.

Plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the state of Hawaii over management of land around the Mauna Kea Access Road are seeking a partial summary judgment in the case.

Construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope atop Mauna Kea will not begin this year, a project official said Wednesday.

The University of Hawaii is considering possible new management structures for governing land on Mauna Kea in an effort to improve its stewardship of the state’s highest mountain.

Demonstrators blocked an access road in a months-long protest against the Thirty Meter Telescope Project on the summit of Mauna Kea.

The Hawaii County Council plans to discuss a new potential agreement with the state about reimbursement for law enforcement costs during demonstrations against the Big Island giant telescope project.

The cost to build a giant telescope that’s unpopular among many Native Hawaiians is now estimated to have ballooned by a billion dollars.

Japan is a major contributor to the project.

In December, law enforcement agreed to stand down and protesters agreed to move their blockade.

Gov. David Ige approved the rules in January.

Gov. David Ige was asked about the discord on HNN’s Sunrise on Wednesday morning and acknowledged that there are concerns from the project’s partners.

Gov. David Ige on Monday approved long overdue rules for the management of Mauna Kea.

“The idea would be that, by the end of next year, you wouldn’t even know there was a telescope here at all."

The trial for the 38 arrestees at Mauna Kea started with a first group of four.

An estimated 3,000 astronomers, educators, science writers and enthusiasts are attending the five-day conference.

Protesters at the Mauna Kea Access Road removed barricades for the first time since July as the demonstrators against a giant telescope project shift their focus away from the construction site.

Friday was moving day at Mauna Kea. Hawaii County trucks brought in heavy equipment. Workers rolled out black ground covering over an old lava road and used gravel material to create a smoother surface for the activists’ kupuna tent.

The Hawaii Police Department has gone $3 million over budget primarily because of the necessity of an increased police presence near the site of demonstrations at the Mauna Kea Access Road, an official said.

Protesters stressed they’re not leaving their encampment ― or the mountain.

It's still not clear if the deadline will be enforced.

In the eyes of government, the protest camp that went up at the base of Mauna Kea is operating outside the law. But for those who at Puuhonua o Puuhuluhulu, the protest is about so much more than a telescope. They camp, day after day, because ― they say ― they have a calling to protect the aina.

In a statement, TMT said it sought to put construction on hold because it had concerns the state was unable to provide safe access for everyone.

The agreement has a five-year term and was accompanied by legislation that would allow up to $10 million in reimbursement.

Hawaii has spent about $15 million to ensure safe access to Mauna Kea during an ongoing protest of a giant telescope project, the governor said.

The Hawaii County Board of Ethics ruled a prosecutor does not have a conflict of interest in cases involving protesters arrested for blocking a giant telescope’s construction.

With cars traveling at 60 mph along Daniel K. Inouye highway and police reporting near accidents, the private security was hired over the summer to keep motorists and pedestrians safe.

The 80-year-old mayor is doing his best to hear both sides of the conflict.

"I think the fire is burning. The lahui will still be here."

The convoy stretched from Kapolei to Kualoa Regional Park.