My question to Pentax was "Is this lens being discontinued?"
The response is ( paraphrasing ): Pentax has not announced any plans to discontinue production of this lens. It is currently backordered with their manufacturing division, and date of availability is not known.
So there you have it, straight from someone paraphrasing what came out of the horse's mouth. The lens is still in production. There hasn't been any announcement regarding it being discontinued. It is backordered. Availability date is unknown. Clear as mud. :)
Dave
