Kim to hold second meeting with Hawaiian leaders

Mayor Harry Kim will hold a second meeting with leaders of the Native Hawaiian community Friday regarding the Thirty Meter Telescope.

Kim said Tuesday that his efforts to find common ground between TMT opponents and supporters — a task assigned to him by Gov. David Ige in July — are continuing, although his own busy schedule has delayed his intended meetings.

Friday’s meeting will be a repeat of one Kim held in late July, when he invited Hawaiian community leaders from around the state to provide “guidance” regarding the TMT issue.

After that meeting, Kim said those he invited came to no consensus, but agreed to have more meetings to reach a solution that all sides can agree upon.

Protest organizers were not at the meeting.

Kim said he has invited largely the same group of Hawaiian leaders from the July meeting to the Friday meeting.

Since taking on his role as mediator, Kim said he has periodically met with Ige to exchange updates on their activities and the broader situation. Kim said he most recently met with Ige last Thursday, and said the two are in agreement on their goals.

“Right now, there are two sides,” Kim said. “But my dream is that we’ll have only one side someday that we all agree on.”

Kim reiterated his hope for Maunakea to serve as “a beacon of hope” for the rest of the world as a synthesis of native culture and values as well as scientific progress.

Hawaiians and others opposed to building the TMT have been occupying the Maunakea Access Road since July 15.