State House and Senate lawmakers Friday approved a final version of a bill that would create an independent authority to assume management of Mauna Kea from the University of Hawaii following a five-year transition period. Read more
Mauna Kea would be administered jointly by the University of Hawaii and a new authority under the latest version of a controversial bill that aims to transform the management of Hawaii’s tallest mountain. Read more
Twenty-nine elders who were arrested on Mauna Kea during the 2019 protest to stop construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope had their cases dismissed Friday in District Court. Read more
Three House committees today passed legislation that would create a new governing body for the summit of Mauna Kea. Read more
Lawmakers from three state House committees heard a mix of reviews about a proposal to create a new entity to oversee the state-managed lands of Mauna Kea during a special meeting Saturday. Read more
The first Mauna Kea telescope to make way for the planned Thirty Meter Telescope will be decommissioned by the end of the year. Read more
The state’s astronomy sector pumped $110 million into Hawaii’s economy in 2019 and generated an overall economic impact twice that, according to the summary of a University of Hawaii report released today. Read more
Oversight of Mauna Kea’s summit would be the purview of a new stewardship authority, instead of the University of Hawaii, under a proposal set to be considered by the state Legislature. Read more
The University of Hawaii Board of Regents on Thursday approved an updated Mauna Kea Master Plan that guides oversight of the mountain for the next 20 years and accommodates the controversial Thirty Meter Telescope if and when it is built. Read more
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The University of Hawaii’s board of regents on Thursday adopted a draft plan for management of land on Mauna Kea, Hawaii’s tallest mountain, where an embattled giant telescope project has sparked discord about land-use decisions. Read more
Rough deadlines are in place for critical issues to be dealt with in 2022, but much uncertainty remains over what will happen with COVID-19, development on Mauna Kea, elections for every House and Senate seat, and the future of the city’s troubled rail project. Read more
The “pre-final” master plan for University of Hawaii-managed lands on Mauna Kea clarifies a commitment that none of the five sites where observatories are to be removed by the end of 2033 will be used for future astronomy operations. Read more
A working group tasked by the state Legislature to come up with recommendations for a new management plan for Hawaii’s tallest peak and its affiliated telescopes released the first draft of its proposal Friday. Read more
Mauna Kea is the proposed site for what would be the world’s largest optical telescope — the Thirty Meter Telescope. Read more
The University of Hawaii Board of Regents plans to receive a “Pre-Final Master Plan” for UH-managed lands on Mauna Kea on Thursday, followed by six weeks of public review and input. Read more
The recent National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Decadal Survey on Astronomy and Astrophysics for the 2020s (Astro2020) prioritizes U.S. funding of the Thirty Meter Telescope — with its contentious preferred site on Mauna Kea — continuing America’s legacy of colonialism and oppression of indigenous kanaka maoli. Read more
Now that the Thirty Meter Telescope has won a key endorsement for an influx of federal dollars, a top official with the controversial next-generation observatory said it will begin to prepare a funding proposal to the National Science Foundation while focusing on trying to heal its relationship with the community. Read more
The Thirty Meter Telescope scored a significant victory Thursday when a federal report ranked the proposed cutting-edge observatory and its U.S.-led cousin, the Giant Magellan Telescope, planned for Chile, among its top priorities for U.S. government funding. Read more
The report describes both TMT and the Giant Magellan Telescope, planned for Chile, as transformative to astronomy. Read more
The 38 Native Hawaiian elders prosecuted for obstruction were in their 60s through 80s and many of them are community leaders. Read more
Dozens of opponents to the Thirty Meter Telescope project on Mauna Kea walked by the University of Hawaii president’s Palolo residence in a display against the telescope project. Read more
