Archive for August 1st, 2015

Reaction from both sides of TMT issue after 7 arrested at Mauna Kea

KITV: Seven people were arrested for camping during restricted hours from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. and six were given citations for prohibited activity. Demonstrators with Aloha Aina say they were caught off guard. "They didn't inform us why they are arresting. That's why they were here. They just kind of got ready for action started grabbing people and said you're going to get arrested. If you want to get arrested or do you want to get a citation?" said Lakea Trask. The state says that was not the case....

California governor declares state of emergency over raging wildfires

Reuters: California's governor declared a state of emergency on Friday as a string of wildfires raged across the state and a firefighter was killed battling a blaze in drought-parched forest, officials said. The firefighter, David Ruhl of Rapid City, South Dakota, was on temporary assignment in Northern California, where the brunt of 18 large fires burning across the state have destroyed homes and structures and temporarily displaced hundreds of people, the U.S. Forest Service said. Ruhl was battling...

Protesters arrested and charged blocking telescope construction crews on Haleakala

KHON: Tense moments on Maui Thursday night as protesters faced off against police as crews tried to resume construction of a controversial telescope on Haleakala. Maui police report that, at 10 p.m., officers were summoned to the Central Maui Baseyard to assist with crowd control. A representative of the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy initiated a complaint that numerous individuals were blocking the exit. A crowd of demonstrators gathered in front of the baseyard access road...

27 arrested protesting telescopes on 2 mtns

Advertiser: State and county law enforcement arrested 27 people and cited six others protesting telescopes being built on the summits of Mauna Kea and Haleakala overnight. Two weeks after Gov. David Ige signed emergency rules restricting overnight access to Mauna Kea, police and state officials arrested seven protesters and cited six others early Friday on the Big Island volcano. On Maui police arrested 20 people who tried to block a convoy bringing equipment to the summit of Haleakala for the under-construction...

Hawaii arrests 27 blocking Mauna Kea, Haleakala telescopes under new state rules

Biz Journal: Hawaii authorities arrested 27 protesters between late Thursday evening and early Friday morning for violating the newly implemented state emergency rule restricting access to Mauna Kea on the Big Island Island, site of the $1.4 billion Thirty Meter Telescope, and to Haleakala on Maui, where a solar telescope named for the late U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye is under construction. Seven men were arrested at Mauna Kea for camping in a restricted area on the Big Island mountain. They were booked on petty...

Arrests Mauna Kea, Haleakala During Dark Hours

Big Island Video: On a night where "Ku Kia`i Mauna" was chanted in defiance of the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope being built on Haleakala on Maui, and on the day where many Native Hawaiians planned to celebrate the holiday of La Ho`i Ho`i Ea, DLNR officers reportedly conducted an early morning raid on the encampment of Thirty Meter Telescope opponents on Mauna Kea, arresting a number of the self proclaimed protectors. "Mauna Kea protectors pulled out of their ceremonial hale and arrested by docare officers this...

Astronomers gather Hawaii amid telescope tensions

Washington Post: More than 2,500 astronomers from around the world are descending on Hawaii for a conference at a time when telescope construction is a sensitive issue in the state. The International Astronomical Union’s general assembly starts Monday. It was planned years in advance but is happening amid protests against the building of telescopes atop two mountains held sacred by Native Hawaiians. Some demonstrators on Maui and the Big Island were arrested Friday as scientists from more than 75 countries headed...

OHA objects 7 arrested Mauna Kea violating new DLNR rule

KHON: Seven protesters were taken into custody for violating state law overnight atop Mauna Kea. The Department of Land and Natural Resources said they were violating the new rules that have been put in place making it illegal to camp overnight atop the mountain. Back on July 14, Governor David Ige signed the newly proposed rules into law. From that date through the next 120 days, the Mauna Kea road will be restricted to anyone not traveling in a vehicle, between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. Camping gear is also...

7 Hawaii telescope protesters arrested after camping Mauna Kea

Associated Press: Seven men have been arrested for camping on Mauna Kea, where there's a new emergency rule restricting overnight access to the mountain because of protests against building a giant telescope there. The arrests early Friday are the first enforcement efforts since the land board approved the rule July 10. The rule restricting access to the mountain during certain nighttime hours and prohibiting certain camping gear is prompted by protesters' around-the-clock presence to prevent construction. advertisement...

Number of urban seagulls in Britain nearly quadrupled last 15 years

Independent: The number of urban seagulls in the UK has nearly quadrupled in the past 15 years, according to research which challenges claims that gulls are becoming more aggressive and suggests a soaring population is to blame for the rise in bird attacks. Initial findings from the first census of urban gull numbers since 2000, seen by The Independent, shine a spotlight on the causes of the seaside crisis of the summer – as attacks on humans and pets rise. They show that the number of urban gull colonies...