Does the TMT Corp. really trust process?
The almost daily barrage of planted articles, full-page advertisements, published letters to government officials (including President Barack Obama), and highly suspect public opinion polls rolled out by the Thirty Meter Telescope Observatory Corp. in the past few months raises an important question: Does the TMT Corp. trust the legal process?
We’ve heard repeatedly that the TMT Corp. has the legal right — secured by a use permit issued by the Department of Land and Natural Resources and confirmed by a Circuit Court judge in Hilo — to build the Thirty Meter Telescope on top of Mauna Kea. The issue is currently before the Hawaii Supreme Court, which heard oral argument on Aug. 27. The court’s decision is expected any time. But maybe that’s precisely why we’ve seen the stepped-up public relations campaign by the billion dollar multi-national corporation. Could this be part of a concerted effort to sway public opinion (and, indirectly, the Supreme Court) in favor of the TMT on the eve of the high court’s ruling?
Why, if it has already secured the legal right to proceed with construction on top of Mauna Kea, does the TMT Corp. believe it needs to make its case before the court of pubic opinion? Could it be that the TMT Corp. understands that the use permit did not, in fact, meet the legal requirements set forth by state law to build on conservation land, and was rammed through the Board of Land and Natural Resources and rubber-stamped by a state court judge without due process of law?
Does the TMT Corp. trust the legal process, or is the recent public relations blitz a tacit admission that the right to build on Mauna Kea may not have been legally obtained in the first place?
Theodore Herhold
Waimea
Saving money on mosquito abatement hurts county
The State of Hawaii recently “saved money” by reducing its vector control staffing from 11 to four people. I am confident that the true costs of the dengue fever outbreak, including reduced tourism, medical treatment of patients, lost work time, etc., far outweigh the savings. If dengue fever becomes endemic to the county, the costs will grow exponentially as Hawaii loses its reputation as a premier tourist destination.
Many mainland counties (including many without tourism) have concluded that effective mosquito abatement programs are worth the cost. Hawaii should invest in an effective mosquito abatement program.
Matt Lincoln
Waimea