Usually, by the time shovels hit dirt on a jobsite, the ground they are breaking has been obtained and controlled by the owners and there’s no question that workers will be able to proceed with construction. But what happens when that ground is considered holy or ownership is still disputed, despite all the legal land ownership paperwork and all necessary permits being in place?
A perfect example of the tension that land disputes bring unfolded not long ago, when crews set out to build one of the world’s largest telescopes in Hawaii.
