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The director of the Spanish astrophysics institute said the Canary Islands site still remains only a backup to placing the TMT on Mauna Kea.

The six-member task force will report to the Board of Regents.

TMT officials say the world’s largest telescope will be a zero-waste facility, while the state has determined  it doesn’t pose a risk to the Big Island’s water supply.

What’s happening at Mauna Kea is a form of nation-building, and its value supersedes whatever the Thirty Meter Telescope could accomplish.

The TMT conflict can seem irreconcilable. Mediation experts and others weigh in on possible strategies for getting people to the table and resolving these types of disputes.

Many telescope staffers are frustrated by not being able to work, but they understand where the protesters are coming from.

Many of the leaders the Big Island mayor talked with Monday were from Oahu. He met earlier with the protesters at Mauna Kea Access Road.

Daily classes, medical care and a food tent: Thirty Meter Telescope opponents of all ages settle in for what could be a long standoff.

As dueling rallies unfold on both sides of the street, TMT backers talk about the project’s scientific and economic benefits.

Authorities and opponents of the Thirty Meter Telescope can’t agree on who should be allowed up the Mauna Kea Access Road.