State briefs for July 22

Opponents of TMT launch protest march in Honolulu

HONOLULU (AP) — Hundreds of opponents of a planned telescope on Hawaii’s highest peak have launched a protest march.

Activists opposed to the Thirty Meter Telescope started marching Sunday morning in Waikiki.

Last week, hundreds of protesters blocked a road on Big Island to stop construction of the $1.4 billion telescope on Maunakea.

Many Native Hawaiians consider Maunakea to be sacred. Astronomers are hopeful the telescope will help them study the earliest moments of the universe.

Standing Rock Sioux stand with telescope opponents

CANNONBALL, N.D. (AP) — Standing Rock Sioux tribal members plan to gather at the epicenter of the Dakota Access pipeline protests to show solidarity with Native Hawaiians who oppose the construction of a huge telescope on Maunakea.

Sheridan Seaboy-McNeil said that Sunday night’s event on a bridge near the Standing Rock Reservation would include prayers and songs in support of Native Hawaiians fighting the telescope. She says Native Hawaiians stayed in North Dakota for several months during protests against the Dakota Access pipeline. She says it’s now time for Standing Rock to stand with Maunakea.