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House Resolution 33 created the working group, as a result of an independent report s findings criticizing the University of Hawaiʻi, the leaseholder of the mountain. The report was critical of UH for not adequately reaching out to the Native Hawaiian community for its oversight of Mauna Kea. It also acknowledged Mauna Kea is one of the best managed and protected lands in the state.
The university responded to the report, saying it recognizes the report s criticisms and it is reviewing and taking steps to improve its engagement with the Native Hawaiian community.
The working group is comprised of state lawmakers, representatives from the public and private sector, and those nominated by Native Hawaiian groups and organizations. Saiki says 58 people were nominated for seven spots to represent the interests of Native Hawaiians.
Saiki Finalizes Mauna Kea Working Group Membership - Honolulu Civil Beat
Protest leaders, UH officials and astronomers will all have seats on the panel. Reading time: 3 minutes.
Membership of a working group tasked with developing a plan to restructure the management of Mauna Kea has been finalized, House Speaker Scott Saiki announced Monday at a press conference.
Among the group’s members are representatives of several state agencies, observatory workers, House lawmakers, University of Hawaii officials and opponents of the Thirty Meter Telescope, a $2 billion project that stalled most recently in 2019 amid protests on Mauna Kea.
Saiki appointed Rep. Mark Nakashima, whose district includes Mauna Kea, as chairman of the panel. Work is expected to wrap up by December and in time for the 2022 legislative session.
State House names four members to Mauna Kea Working Group Mauna Kea (AP Photo/Caleb Jones, File) (Source: Caleb Jones) By HNN Staff | March 31, 2021 at 4:56 PM HST - Updated March 31 at 4:58 PM
HONOLULU, Hawaii (HawaiiNewsNow) - After the state House adopted a bill in March to create a Working Group for the management of Mauna Kea, four members have been named.
The Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Board of Land and Natural Resources, University of Hawaii Board of Regents and Mauna Kea Observatories selected the following representatives:
Sterling Wong, chief advocate of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs
Robert K. Masuda, first deputy at the Board of Land and Natural Resources
Billy Kenoi, 52, died January 26, after a long battle with leukemia.
Kenoi started his post-secondary education at Hawaiʻi Community College and the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo before transferring to the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He later earned a law degree from
UH Mānoa’s William S. Richardson School of Law.
He went on to become a public defender in Hawaiʻi courts and moved into politics, becoming Hawaiʻi County mayor at age 39. Kenoi also worked as a lecturer at Hawaiʻi
CC 2004–09 and again 2017–18.
“On behalf of the entire
UH Hilo community, I extend my deepest condolences to Billy Kenoi’s ʻohana, colleagues and friends,”