Hawaii’s highest court on Thursday heard a case challenging the approval of a $1.4 billion observatory on Mauna Kea. The Hawaii Supreme Court’s decision could mark the culmination of a seven-year process that led to a state-awarded conservation district use permit for the Thirty Meter Telescope project. The state Board of Land and Natural Resources and UH Hilo are respondents in the lawsuit filed by Mauna Kea Anaina Hou, Clarence Ching, Flores-Case Ohana, Deborah Ward, Paul Neves, and KAHEA:…