On Friday, the University of Hawai‘i Board of Regents officially accepted the responsibility of implementing the Comprehensive Management Plan for taking care of Mauna Kea. They also appointed two Regents to sit ex-officio on the Mauna Kea Management Board. This is great news for those who want to be assured that management of Mauna Kea be done on the local level.

And in the legislature, conferees from the House and the Senate, who will reconcile HB 1174, HD3 SD2, the rule making bill that enables the Comprehensive Management Plan, have been set. The conferees all voted “aye” to the bill with large majorities when it passed through their respective Houses. The final bill was not very different from the ones that passed through both chambers and there should not be much difficulty reconciling the differences.

This is a good example of what it means to “follow the process.” There were no shortcuts or end arounds. Everyone had a chance to speak their mind and in the end, it made for a better document. Congratulations all!