In Hawaii, a battle is brewing over a telescope

Actress Shailene Woodley holds a sign saying "We are Mauna Kea."
(Image credit: Twitter.com/ShaileneWoodley)

Early Wednesday, eight people opposed to the building of a giant telescope were detained on the top of Hawaii's Mauna Kea volcano. It was the fourth time in recent months that protesters have been arrested on Mauna Kea, which is considered sacred by many Native Hawaiians.

The protesters said on Wednesday that they were removed from the mountain at around 1 a.m. while praying. In a statement, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs — a public agency promoting the rights of Native Hawaiians that opposed the restricted hours — said: "Native Hawaiians have constitutionally protected rights to reasonably engage in traditional and customary practices, and regulations cannot eliminate the exercise of these rights." Work hasn't been done on the Thirty Meter Telescope since April, and the nonprofit building it hasn't said if it will continue the project.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.