History lesson
Watching the strong and well-coordinated response to the Thirty Meter Telescope brought back memories of another protest during the building of the hotel at Hapuna Beach State Park. People did not want the hotel to take over that beach, and there were protests.
The powers that be launched a campaign assuring, among other things, that the hotel would not be visible from the beach, would not change the landscape, and, above all, “our kids will have jobs.”
What happened once the hotel was approved: The pali at the north end was blasted away for days; the hotel now dominates the view to the north; the hotel beach chairs “occupy” that end (which is the safest place to be in the water when Hapuna is pumping) — and I guarantee you will be asked to leave if you sit in that area.
Beyond that, the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel closed on the day that the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel opened, and there was a net loss of over 100 jobs, despite the fact that Mauna Kea hotel employees had been promised they would all have jobs at the new hotel.
I also remember the building of the Hyatt, in an area of unique and irreplaceable anchialine ponds.
The ponds were protected, and were not to be affected by the construction. However, on a Sunday afternoon, a judge lifted the injunction for two hours during which numerous ponds (maybe 32) were bulldozed. This was painful!
There is also a history of lies, broken agreements, environmental degradation and broken trust regarding Maunakea. The state has approved the building of a 14th telescope when the “agreement” was limited to 10.
The kupuna have expressed it well: Enough has been taken.
Ricia Shema
Volcano
TMT solution
First of all, the Gov. David Ige needs to open the Maunakea Access Road.
Second, the protesters need to move off of the highway and relocate further up the access road.
It’s very dangerous driving through that area of the main highway. There are people crossing the highway constantly, cars turning around on the highway, stopping on the highway, and parking right on the edge of the highway.
People standing right on the edge of the highway is a distraction to the thousands of drivers who drive through Daniel K. Inouye Highway to go to work every day.
The public’s safety is at risk here. As far as the construction of the TMT, the governor needs to remove the three telescope domes first as promised to show good faith, or give a committed date on removal.
I am neither for or against the building of TMT, but if the protesters want to protest something significant, it should be against the military when they drop bombs or shoot missiles on the bottom of Mauna Loa during their practice runs, or protest when hotels, condos and rich gated communities block our access to our shoreline where we fish, pick opihi, or just to go for a walk to enjoy the ocean. In Kona there are quite a few condos built around and/or next to ancient Hawaiian structures.
We live in an imperfect world, and progress is inevitable, but we need to meet each other halfway and compromise our differences. Meeting of both sides to discuss this matter is long overdue. Continued protesting on both sides will not solve this controversy.
Darrel Andrew
Keaau