{"id":1915,"date":"2026-06-27T11:35:03","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T11:35:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=1915"},"modified":"2026-06-27T11:35:03","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T11:35:03","slug":"tmt-opponents-deliver-petition-to-major-funder-in-california","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=1915","title":{"rendered":"TMT opponents deliver petition to major funder in California"},"content":{"rendered":"
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PALO ALTO, Calif. (HawaiiNewsNow) \u2014 Dozens of people \u2014 including tribal leaders, members of Mauna Kea Education and Awareness from Hawaii Island and others \u2014 delivered a petition Friday opposing construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope on Maunakea to the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation in Palo Alto, California, which had committed $250 million to the project.<\/p>\n

Read more Waianae mourns legendary Seariders football coach Larry Ginoza<\/a><\/p>\n

The group also delivered a copy of a cease-and-desist letter that had been sent to TMT. <\/p>\n

\u201cOver 500,000 people are here with us today in the spirit of saying no TMT on Maunakea,\u201d Pua Case of Mauna Kea Education and Awareness told Hawaii News Now.<\/p>\n

\u201cShould the Thirty Meter Telescope be considered for the Caltech decommissioned site or back to the northern plateau, we are asking them to halt any further funding for the Thirty Meter Telescope and because they\u2019re the largest single donor funder. That\u2019s why we\u2019re here,\u201d Case said.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Alternative site under review<\/h2>\n

The petition comes as TMT is looking at another site on Maunakea. TMT\u2019s project manager told the UH Board of Regents last month the project is looking at the site where the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory was decommissioned and removed in 2024.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have taken a preliminary look of whether we can possibly build TMT on the decommissioned site scientifically, engineering-wise technically and we believe this is very preliminary, of course, and we believe we can,\u201d said Dr. Fengchuan Liu, TMT International Observatory project manager.<\/p>\n

Liu also addressed the project\u2019s history with the community.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe apologize for our past approach. We\u2019ve made mistakes. We focused too much on the legal rights to build TMT on Maunakea,\u201d Liu said.<\/p>\n

Read more Rockfall work to close Kamehameha Highway by Waimea Bay Sunday<\/a><\/p>\n

He said community engagement benefit programs focused too narrowly on benefiting STEM education and college scholarships. He said now efforts are broadening to people in Hawai\u2019i from underrepresented communities, rural areas, and cultural environmental programs.<\/p>\n

History of opposition<\/h2>\n

In 2019, months-long protests, including the arrests of 38 mostly kupuna, brought the start of construction to a standstill.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo what comes to mind for me is how many times do we have to say no over these decades and how many ways do we have to say no,\u201d Case said.<\/p>\n

Statements from TMT and the Moore Foundation<\/h2>\n

\u201cWe have received the petition and are reviewing it. Though TIO has reviewed the scientific and technical feasibility of building on the decommissioned CSO site, we have taken no action to change from the approved TMT site on Maunakea. TIO remains committed to respectful engagement with Native Hawaiian and Hawai\u02bbi communities,\u201d said Robert Kirshner, executive director, TMT International Observatory, in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe appreciate the deeply held views on this issue, and we welcomed the opportunity to listen,\u201d said Holly Potter, chief communications officer, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, in an email.<\/p>\n

Read more Wai Kai to host Olympic surfing qualifier for Team USA<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dozens delivered a petition in Palo Alto urging the Moore Foundation to stop funding the Thirty Meter Telescope project on Maunakea.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1914,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nTMT opponents deliver petition to major funder in California - Hawaii Moving Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=1915\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"TMT opponents deliver petition to major funder in California - Hawaii Moving Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Dozens delivered a petition in Palo Alto urging the Moore Foundation to stop funding the Thirty Meter Telescope project on Maunakea.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=1915\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Hawaii Moving Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-27T11:35:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=1915#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=1915\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/590d72f16cb0f571fd45812a3c7ea1d0\"},\"headline\":\"TMT opponents deliver petition to major funder in California\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-27T11:35:03+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=1915\"},\"wordCount\":500,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=1915#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/5bcbdf3801dd837a6ed178f35e99e328.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=1915#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=1915\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=1915\",\"name\":\"TMT opponents deliver petition to major funder in California - 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