Nation
Telescope building permit affirmedHONOLULU — Hawaii's Supreme Court on Thursday affirmed a permit to build a solar telescope on a Maui mountain.The ruling denies a challenge by a group seeking to protect the sacredness of the summit of Haleakala. The University of Hawaii followed proper procedure for an environmental assessment, the Supreme Court also ruled in a separate ruling.Last year, eight people were arrested when protesters tried to stop a construction convoy heading to the solar telescope site. Kahele Dukelow, one of the protest leaders, said opponents are disappointed and considering what their next steps will be.“We only have one alternative now,” she said. “We have to continue to protest in other ways.”They hoped the decision would be similar to the court's ruling last year that invalidated a permit to build the Thirty Meter Telescope on the Big Island's Mauna Kea. That project has been the focus of more intense protests. Opposition to both telescopes cite concerns that the projects will desecrate sacred land.The permit approval process was not “procedurally flawed by prejudgment” nor was it “flawed by impermissible ex parte communication,” the court's 3-2 majority opinion said.State Attorney General Doug Chin said his office will look into whether the rulings have any impact on future matters before the state land board, including the Thirty Meter Telescope.
<b>Governor: No parole for Manson follower</b>LOS ANGELES — A judge has upheld Gov. Jerry Brown's decision to keep Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten in prison.Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge William Ryan on Thursday refused a request from Van Houten's lawyer to overturn Brown's decision.A state board in April had declared Van Houten, who killed a California couple more than 40 years ago, eligible for parole after years of good prison behavior.In July, Brown overturned the board.The Los Angeles Times reports the judge said in his Thursday ruling that there is still evidence Van Houten is a threat to society, and that he respects the governor's broad discretion in these matters.Van Houten, now 67, is serving a life sentence for the killings of Leno and Rosemary La Bianca.<b>Ramsey sibling files defamation suit</b>DETROIT — The older brother of JonBenet Ramsey filed a defamation lawsuit Thursday against a Michigan forensic pathologist who told a Detroit-area media outlet that Burke Ramsey killed his 6-year-old sister.The complaint alleges that Dr. Werner Spitz said in a Sept. 19 interview that 9-year-old Burke bludgeoned JonBenet to death in 1996.“Spitz made this accusation without ever examining JonBenet's body, without viewing the crime scene, and without consulting with the pathologist who performed the autopsy on JonBenet,” the complaint filed in Wayne County Circuit Court in Detroit says.JonBenet was found dead in the basement of the family's Boulder, Colo., home. In 2008, her parents and brother were cleared by prosecutors who said DNA on the girl's underwear didn't match anyone in the family.The lawsuit accuses Spitz of being a publicity seeker “with a history of interjecting himself in high profile cases.”Burke Ramsey, now 29 and living in the Charlevoix area in northern Michigan, is seeking a jury trial and at least $150 million in damages.His attorneys said they demanded a retraction the day after the interview, but Spitz refused.Boulder police said last month that the investigation into JonBenet's slaying remains open.The Associated Press
