HONOLULU (AP) — The Latest on Hawaii Supreme Court’s decision upholding a construction permit for a giant telescope (all times local): 1:30 p.m. Hawaii’s attorney general says there are further legal actions possible in the…

HONOLULU (AP) — The Latest on Hawaii Supreme Court’s decision upholding a construction permit for a giant telescope (all times local):

Hawaii’s attorney general says there are further legal actions possible in the long saga over whether a giant telescope can be built atop the state’s tallest mountain. Henry Yang, Chair, TMT International Observatory Board of Governors, issued the following statement in response to the news:



"On behalf of the TMT International Observatory, we are grateful for the Hawaii State Supreme Court's ruling that will allow TMT to be built on Maunakea. A second attempt to restart construction a few months later ended with more arrests and crews retreating when they encountered large boulders in the road. We are deeply grateful to our many friends and supporters for their tremendous support over the years.”

Work on the telescope on Maunakea was halted in 2015 when the Hawaii Supreme Court invalidated the Conservation District Use Permit on procedural grounds. HONOLULU — The Latest on Hawaii Supreme Court’s decision upholding a construction permit for a giant telescope (all times local):

One of the main Native Hawaiian leaders in the fight against a giant telescope says she’s bewildered by a state Supreme Court ruling upholding the project’s construction permit. Kealoha Pisciotta is among those who consider the mountain where the telescope is planned to be built to be sacred. "Astronomy and Native Hawaiian uses on Mauna Kea have co-existed for many years and the TMT Project will not curtail or restrict Native Hawaiian uses," the ruling said. The advanced telescope will answer some of the most fundamental questions of the universe, and Native Hawaiians will also benefit from it, the ruling added. We honor the culture of the islands and its people and do our part to contribute to its future through our ongoing support of education and Hawaii Islands’ young people. Reactions to the ruling from two Native Hawaiians showed how the issue has divided the community. After years of delay, including lengthy court battles and passionate protests from those willing to be arrested for blocking construction crews, builders of a giant telescope plan to move forward with constructing the $1.4 billion instrument on a Hawaii mountain that is considered sacred. The state Supreme Court's 4–1 ruling upholding the project's construction permit Tuesday is a victory for the contentious Thirty Meter Telescope — a collaboration between Canada, the U.S., Japan, China and India — planned for Hawaii's tallest mountain, Mauna Kea. After oftentimes emotional testimony for the hearing that spanned 44 days, the retired judge presiding over the proceeding recommended granting the permit, with conditions that employees attend mandatory cultural and natural resources training and that employment opportunities be filled locally “to the greatest extent possible.”

Opponents appealed again after the land board approved the permit. Opponents complained about various due process issues, including that the hearings officer had a conflict of interest because she was a member of a Big Island astronomy center.
The Hawaii Supreme Court affirms the permit for the Thirty Meter Telescope on Mauna Kea.