(BIVN) – The first community talk story with the Mauna Kea Stewardship and Oversight Authority (MKSOA) was held on Wednesday evening.

The talk story was a hybrid meeting, held both in person at the DLNR building on E. Kawili Street in Hilo, as well as online via Zoom. The meeting was also livestreamed to YouTube.

MKSOA board members explained to those in attendance the history and purpose of the authority, which is currently in a period transition, as the management duties of the University of Hawaiʻi are slowly transferred to MKSOA.

MKSOA members imparted to the public that the authority is in its early stages of operation. Difficult discussions, like the MKSOA position on the Thirty Meter Telescope, for example, have not yet occurred. Members say they intend to have those discussions further down the line.

MKSOA recently approved the hiring of John De Fries as its Executive Director.