A separate "contested hearing" regarding Mauna Kea will begin Feb. 11 in Hilo. It is a quasi-judicial process in which various grassroots citizens groups and individuals are challenging the University's management of the observatories, on the basis of public trust doctrine and water law.
Opponents of expanding the observatories on the Big Island admit that the scientists have a noble goal - gazing at the stars to learn more about the universe and its origins. But the proposal is wearing out the welcome mat extended for over thirty years by friendly Hawaiians offering their historic Aloha. Residents call the telescopes "pimples," but mainland - owned daily newspapers tend to present a Hollywood version in their pro-development editorials of the astronomers as "super-heroes."
This article focuses on the Native Hawaiian side of the story. It does not attempt to be comprehensive, but rather concentrates on interviews with those challenging the expansion of the observatories.
Both astronomers and locals are awed by the mountain and its natural resources with respect to the special access it provides to the heavens and the universe. Their perspectives, however, are quite different and have become polarized. "That's just a bunch of junk up there now," one local described the millions of dollars of high tech equipment atop the mountain. Some observatory personnel, on the other hand, apparently treat the rocks which Hawaiians consider sacred without respect.
Opponents of expanding the observatories on the Big Island admit that the scientists have a noble goal - gazing at the stars to learn more about the universe and its origins. But the proposal is wearing out the welcome mat extended for over thirty years by friendly Hawaiians offering their historic Aloha. Residents call the telescopes "pimples," but mainland - owned daily newspapers tend to present a Hollywood version in their pro-development editorials of the astronomers as "super-heroes."
This article focuses on the Native Hawaiian side of the story. It does not attempt to be comprehensive, but rather concentrates on interviews with those challenging the expansion of the observatories.
Both astronomers and locals are awed by the mountain and its natural resources with respect to the special access it provides to the heavens and the universe. Their perspectives, however, are quite different and have become polarized. "That's just a bunch of junk up there now," one local described the millions of dollars of high tech equipment atop the mountain. Some observatory personnel, on the other hand, apparently treat the rocks which Hawaiians consider sacred without respect.