Astronomy in Hawaii under threat?

[TomK]

It's interesting seeing some of the comments in this thread. One or two people seem to have taken the position that Bill 2024 is about astronomy whereas it's actually about the management of Mauna Kea. Of course, the consequences of the bill have a direct effect on the observatories and their staff including local staff and all the local vendors that are involved in supporting observatory operations. However, the observatories and astronomers aren't responsible for the management of Mauna Kea, that's currently the job of the Office of Mauna Kea Management.

One post is a self-claimed factless diatribe against astronomy on the island and another seems to think it's the job of the observatories to make songs while seemingly making the claim that Carl Sagan produced a song called "A Glorious Dawn" which he didn't, even if it is on vinyl.

Bill 2024 was originally about changing how Mauna Kea was managed and the consequences were clearly not thought out and/or perhaps the bill was an attempt to end astronomy in Hawaii. Fortunately, all those who opposed the bill, fearing the end of one of the things Hawaii is good at, created enough public pressure that the politicians changed their minds. What's not clear yet is what this hodge-podge of a bill, if finally passed, will actually end up doing for anyone.