Law enforcement personnel are greeted nose-to-nose, a Native Hawaiian custom, by Mauna Kea 'protectors,'
During a visit to Mauna Kea, Hawaii's Gov. David Ige referred to the 1000 people blocking the road to the top of the dormant volcano as "protectors," not "protesters," a major shift in tone in the controversy over a giant telescope slated to be built on the mountain.
When he visited the kapuna, or elderly, blocking the road, he was given a lei as he rubbed noses in the custom of Native Hawaiians.
The Japanese American governor says both he and Hawaii County Mayor Harry Kim understand that the issues underlying the protests are deeper than the telescope and are about "righting the wrongs done to the Hawaiian people going back more than a century."
Ige is asking Kim to lead efforts to find common ground with protesters blocking the construction of a 30-meter telescope at the summit of the state's tallest mountain.
Native Hawaiians say Mauna Kea is a sacred mountain to them, despite the 13 observatories that are already on the mountain. The giant telescope would dwarf the other observatories. It would occupy a 5-acre site and be 18 stories high.
Mauna Kea, say scientists, is one of the prime locations on the planet for observing space.
Protectors of Mauna Kea have been blocking the road since July 15 to prevent trucks carrying building material for the observatory.
Hundreds of protesters have converged on the road leading to the top of Mauna Kea.
As the protests against the construction of a giant telescope atop Mauna Kea entered its second week, authorities sought a way to deescalate the tension and avoid any violence.
After a lengthy visit Monday with TMT protesters blocking access to Mauna Kea’s summit, Lt. Gov. Josh Green said the controversial telescope project might have to “move on” if an agreement with its opponents can’t be reached.
Protesters numbering 1500 camped out at the side of the road leading up to the 5-acre site for the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT), protesters consider the dormant volcano, Mauna Kea, a sacred mountain to Native Hawaiians.
There are already 13 observatories on the mountain but they would be dwarfed by the $1-billion TMT, which would stand 18 stories high. If built, the Thirty Meter Telescope would be capable of capturing images 12 times sharper than those from the Hubble Space Telescope. “We are not anti-science,” says Pua Case, one of more outspoken Native Hawaiian activists protesting the TMT. “We are against the building of anything 18 stories over our watershed, water aquifers, on our sacred mountain. It could have been anything; it just happens to be a telescope.”
Lt. Gov. Green, the highest ranking official to visit the site, also said he’d urged Japanese American Gov. David Ige to remove law enforcement from the mountain. Last week the governor assigned 80 members of the Hawaii National Guard to secure the mountain site.
“One project can’t be allowed to disrupt the fabric of our state’s ohana,” Green told Hawaii News Now. “So if there can’t be a brokered peace that prevents that, then the TMT would have to move on.
“I think we have to have a reckoning once and for all about if TMT should go forward," Green said. "If we go forward with the TMT without absolute buy-in from the Hawaiian people that will mean that we have not respected the Hawaiian people and after all, we are in Hawaii.”
In a statement, TMT officials said they remain “hopeful” that the project “can find a way forward." The statement continued: "TMT has become an icon for larger issues within the community. We respect those who express opposition and understand the pain they feel. However, whether or not TMT is built will not bring closure to it. We remain hopeful that we can find a way forward, with mutual respect.”
In an email to Popular Science, Scott Ishikawa of Becker Communications, who identified himself as "the spokesperson with the Thirty Meter Telescope project," wrote "We respect the rights of everyone—both supporters and protesters—to express their opinions." The mountain is special, he went on, and TMT is working to "protect and conserve Mauna Kea's cultural and natural resources, becoming a model of sustainable astronomy."
“The selected site below the summit has no archaeological shrines or features and no burials,” he went on. “It has also been documented that the site was not used for traditional or customary cultural practises.”
Meanwhile, over the weekend, demonstrations and marches against the construction of the observatory spread to Waikiki, Alaska, Maui, Las Vegas, San Francisco and Times Square in New York City.
The Standing Rock Sioux also sent a delegation to Hawaii in support of Native Hawaiians' quest for national recognition as an indigenous people and the Hawaiians' right to protect their sacred lands.
As officials brace for more protests against the construction of a telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii's governor expressed the desire to avoid the possibility of violence. Since mid-July, protestors have blocked the road leading up to the telescope's site atop the dormant volcano, Mauna Kea, preventing the delivery of construction material. Gov. David Ige said that his priority is to keep everyone in the community safe, including the activists at the base of Mauna Kea. The 80 National Guard members on the Big Island since the start of the protests will remain, state officials said.
“We will not be utilizing tear gas, as some of the rumors have been (saying),” Ige said. “We are looking for the best way forward without hurting anyone.”
The only Asian American governor in the US stopped short of removing the State of Emergency, which allows the troops to remove protestors, who claim the site is sacred and is of cultural significance for Native Hawaiians.
The latest to weigh in is Presidential candidate, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, whose district includes Mauna Kea. In a statement, she said:
"To many Native Hawaiians, kamaʻāina, and malihini alike, Mauna Kea is so much more than a mountain. It's a revered and sacred sanctuary connecting keiki and kupuna to the past, present and future, and where Native Hawaiians practice their customs and traditions.
"The materialistic way that developers and corporations are viewing Mauna Kea — ignoring the spiritual significance and relationship many Native Hawaiians have with the Mauna — is at the heart of the problem.
"It is hypocritical that many TMT proponents speak of their own spiritual quest for knowledge and wisdom, while simultaneously closing their eyes to the spiritual inspiration and significance that Mauna Kea offers — not only to Native Hawaiians but to humanity at large. Spiritual nourishment and inspiration is of much greater and lasting value than anything money can buy.
"It is this spiritual blindness often born out of arrogance or greed that is at the root of the desecration of our precious environment throughout the country and around the world."
More than 1,000 people descended on what they consider sacred Hawaiian land last week to form a blockade to stop the construction of a controversial giant telescope on Mauna Kea.
Police moved in to make 33 arrests, reported KHON. Among the first arrested, were kapuna, or elderly, protestors. All 33 where given citations and released the same day.
“This mountain represents more than just their building that they want to build,” longtime activist Walter Ritte said in a video interview livestreamed by Hawaii News Now, via Twitter on Monday, reported Colorlines. “This mountain represents the last thing they want to take that we will not give them.” Ritte was one of eight people who chained themselves to a grate in the access road at the mountain’s base to block construction.
According to the BBC, the 30 meter telescope (TMT) would be the largest in the world. Mauna Kea is held by the state in trust, supposedly for the benefit of Native Hawaiians. Protests, led by Native Hawaiians, have dogged the project since it was announced in 2009. Last Oct. the Supreme Court of Hawaii upheld the building permit granted by the State Board of Land and Natural Resources. Construction was scheduled to begin on July 15 this year.
Gizmodo reports that the protestors have won the support of some 200 astronomers who published an open letter .
“We call upon the astronomy community to recognize the broader historical context of this conflict and to denounce the criminalization of the protectors on Maunakea,” read the letter. “We came to protect our sacred land,” Hawaii News Now reported that a protester at Mauna Kea said last week during the arrests. “There’s not much more we have left.” There are already thirteen working telescopes at and around the top of Mauna Kea. If TMT is not built on Mauna Kea, there is a backup site in the Canary Islands."
Hawaii Gov. David Ige thanks his suppporters for the vote of confidence.
HAWAII VOTERS opted for the familiar based on last Saturday's primary election. They decided to keep incumbent David Ige as the Democratic nominee for governor, who had to beat back strong challenges from Rep. Colleen Hanbusa. Hanabusa gave up her Congressional seat for District 1 in order to campaign for governor leaving a void that attracted a whole host of hopefuls. In the end, voters picked Ed Case, who used to be the congressional representative for District 2.
Meanwhile, voters decided to keep Rep. Tulsi Gabbard as the Democratic nominee despite being pilloried by the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. Progressive challengers didn't fare well in deep blue Hawaii. Endorsements from progressive candidate Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez from New York failed to cross the Pacific in behalf of state Rep. Kaniela Ing, who hoped to generate a wave of grass-roots excitement for an upset win. In a tweet after it was clear that an upset was not in the cards for Ing, he wrote, "Campaigns end, but movements don’t we won’t stop the #FightForAloha" But Case, who describes himself as a moderate Democrat, won with 40% of the vote, followed by Lt. Gov. Doug Chin, who was instrumental in challenging Donald Trump's Muslim travel ban, and state Sen. Donna Mercado Kim. Kaniela Kim finished a distant 4th with only 6% of the vote. Hawaii is so deeply Democratic, that the nominee for the Democratic Party in any of the races is expected to win in November.
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THE LAST TIME I was on Kauai, I tried to imagine living on the North Shore where there were fewer tourists because of the incessant rains, but in exchange, the vegetation was so lush, flowers so beautiful, and most of its beaches uncrowded. I tried to take a picture of lone white horse, hitched up to a tree framed with the green pastures and mountains as if its owner left knew it would make a great picture. Driving up the two-lane highway, crossing numerous bridges spanning flowing creeks; Hanelei Valley was lush with fields of taro, a lonely house in the midst of all that beauty. How would it be like to live there?
ED DIOKNO
Kauai's Hanelei Valley before the recent storm
Hanelei Valley from the same lookout point during the flood.
The torrential rains of last week changed that beautiful landscape into broken bridges, whole sections of roads wiped out, homes built to survive tsunamis forced off their supposedly strong concrete foundations, homes collapsed like tinker toys. "I've lived here all my life and this storm was pretty gnarly," resident Kevin Kaleiohi told Hawaii News Now.
The National Weather Service lifted a flash flood warning for Kauai last Friday (April 21) and a flash flood watch across the Hawaiian islands. Although the storm hit all the islands, one of the worst hit was Kauai, which historically receives the most rain.
Hanalei on Kauai's north shore saw 28.1 inches of rainfall in a 24-hour period starting at 2 a.m.. April 16. Weather officials say it was likely record-breaking rain, but the rain gauge there stopped working. With the ground already waterlogged, the water had nowhere to go except to the ocean, unfortunately, the communities on Kauai's north shore were in the way. Living on the mainland, the disaster that struck Kauai barely made the news amidst the crazy goings-on in Washington. There was hardly a picture, much less TV footage of what befell paradise. The video of a visit last weekend by Rep. Tulsi Gabbard gives us a glimpse of the damage that occurred.
Cleanup has already begun. Hanalei is a popular tourist spot and it was also one of the areas hardest hit by the storm. Business owners that depend on tourism are suffering. "Although I see all the doors open, I just don't see all the people," Jimit Mehta told KHON-TV.
Even with the progress made over the last week, visitors are scarce. "We're looking at a 75% drop in business," Mehta said. Despite the flood damage, the Hawaii Tourism Authority wants travelers to visit Kauai even though parts of the island are recovering from major flooding. Tourism is the island state's No. 1 business. Flooding this month badly damaged the only road connecting the small north shore towns of Haena and Wainiha with the rest of Kauai. Some restaurants and shops in the nearby town of Hanalei also flooded.
But many other major tourist areas on the southern and eastern sides of the island were unaffected. And many other Hanalei restaurants and shops have reopened.
Kauai resident Ikaika Okuno rinses off his belongings.
Emergency rescue crews have evacuated 152 people by helicopter, 121 by bus and others by water, according to Gov. David Ige's office.
The governor and Kauai Mayor Bernard Carvalho flew with military and county emergency crews over heavily damaged regions in the Hanalei District, including Wainiha and Haena, seeing "the swollen Hanalei River, flooded neighborhoods and farmlands," according to the governor's office.
"Damage is very extensive in this area. The immediate problem is access. Several landslides are blocking roads into the communities.
"Crews are working to restore access to the Hanalei District, but it will take some time. We are establishing landing zones for aircraft. The Hawaii National Guard has deployed two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, two CH-47 Chinooks, eight Zodiacs and more than 45 soldiers and airmen to support rescue efforts, and to get medical aid and necessary supplies to the area," Ige said.
U.S. COAST GUARD
At the height of the flooding, the community near Hanelei Bay was under water.
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Evacuations
In a statement posted on Facebook, the County of Kauai said emergency agencies were working to get water and supplies into Wainiha and Haena, from where more than 100 people had been airlifted.
"Those who wish to be evacuated are advised that it is unknown at this time when they can return, as landslides continue to block access along Kuhio Highway between Waikoko and Wainiha," the statement said.
It said that power had been restored to the Wainiha pump stations and that water services would be slowly restored to customers in the Wainiha and Haena areas.
"However, DOW has issued a 'do not drink' advisory and a conservation notice for Wainiha and Haena customers. Those who are receiving water are also urged to heed the conservation notice," the county said.
U.S. NATIONAL GUARD
National Guard members helped evacuate residents and tourists from the flood on Kauai's north shore.
Coast Guard airlifts
The US Coast Guard said in a statement April 16 that its helicopters had helped local authorities rescue hikers around Hanalei Bay Sunday after being asked to assist early that morning.
"The north shore of Kauai experienced flash flooding with waters rising between five and eight feet above average due to the severe thunderstorms and heavy rains, trapping many residents inside their homes and on rooftops," it said in the statement.
"Crews from the Hawaii Fire Department and Ocean Safety and Lifeguard Services have been evacuating residents to higher ground via jet skis but were unable to effect rescues in the towns of Hanalei, Wainiha, and Haena," the Coast Guard stated.
In one instance, the coast guard said hikers waved down one of its helicopters above Hanakapiai Beach after being stranded for two days and were hoisted to safety.
Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/news/business/article209683894.html#storylink=cpy
Rep. Gabbard tweeted out: "The #Kauai community is taking action to help each other after severe rain, flooding, and landslides have ravaged homes and businesses, and washed out roads across the island. If you want to know how to help our community on #Kauai, please visit @HawaiiRedCross at http://redcross.org/local/hawaii.
Weather forecast
The sun has returned to help dry out the island. Ominously, CNN meteorologist Pedram Javaheri said the forecast for Kauai was set to improve over the next couple of days.
"However, this is a part of the world is notorious for persistent rainfall over 300 days per year," Javaheri said.
"I'd expect showers and blustery weather to continue in this region, although not nearly similar to the amounts seen in recent days."
Kauai County said in its statement that the rain meant the Kalihiwai Reservoir had been nearing capacity Saturday afternoon and residents in low-lying areas had been told to evacuate.
"Since that time, the dam has been inspected and it has been deemed safe for residents to return.
Officials will continue to monitor the reservoir," the county said. It advised residents to stay out of flood waters.
"Heavy rains have caused storm water runoff throughout Kauai, leading to widespread flooding producing large areas of standing water. Coastal waters have also been affected and a brown water advisory remains in effect until further notice."
OFFICIALS ARE responding after Hawaiians were sent into a frenzy Saturday (Jan. 13) morning after receiving an emergency alert warning them to seek immediate shelter from a ballistic missile threat, reports NBC.
Thirty-eight minutes passed before they received another official mobile alert that the previous message was a false alarm.
On Saturday afternoon, Hawaii Emergency Management Agency Administrator Vern Miyagi announced at a press conference that a single individual had made the mistake. “I accept responsibility for this,” said Miyagi. “This is my team. We made a mistake. We are going to process this and study this to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”
Local television interrupted normal programs to alert viewers that the missile warning was in effect at 8:07 a.m. until 6:07 p.m. Following the false mobile alert at 8:07 a.m., officials had quickly checked with the military’s U.S. Pacific Command to ensure there was no missile threat. At 8:20 a.m., the state’s Emergency Management Agency tweeted, “NO missile threat to Hawaii.” The second mobile alert notifying residents of the mistake was sent at 8:45 a.m., 38 minutes after the first alert.
“USPACOM has detected no ballistic missile threat to Hawaii. Earlier message was sent in error. State of Hawaii will send out a correction message as soon as possible,” said Cdr. Dave Benham, a spokesman for U.S. Pacific Command.
The error led to a huge discussion over how such a thing could happen, especially when there are such high tensions between the U.S. and North Korea. Kim Jong-un had claimed recently that the “entire United States is within range of our nuclear weapons.” Just Wednesday, Trump apparently expressed that he will be open to dialogue with North Korea when it’s “appropriate.” “We’ve always supported having talks with North Korea as long as they’re credible and serious,” said a Trump administration official.
“What my family went through and what so many families in Hawaii just went through is a true realization that they have 15 minutes to seek some form of shelter or else they’re dead — gone,” Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, told MSNBC. She questioned how such a mistake could even happen and why it took so long to correct it.
Hawaii Gov. David Ige
“We’ve got to get to the underlying issue here of why are the people of Hawaii and this country facing a nuclear threat coming from North Korea today, and what is this President doing urgently to eliminate that threat?” Gabbard said, according to CNN. “I’ve been calling on President Trump to directly negotiate with North Korea, to sit across the table from Kim Jong-un.”
“We have the sirens, we have cell phones, we have internet and social media mechanisms,” Hawaii Gov. David Ige said at a press conference on Saturday. “We know that we need to be able to broadcast messages across all platforms. There was no automated way to send a false alarm [to wireless devices]. We had to initiate a manual process. That is why it took a while to notify everyone.”
Miyagi explained that a new team had come in after a shift change to test the ballistic missile checklist. However, the wrong button was pushed, sending the alert for an actual event instead of for the test. The responsible individual will not be fired but he and his coworkers will be retrained, according to Miyagi.
According to officials, Hawaii plans to utilize a new protocol before sending out a similar alert in the future, including adding a second person to the process. The Federal Communications Commission plans to begin its own investigation on the incident, according to Chairman Ajit Pai.
