Newswatch Star-Bulletin staff and wire service

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Remembering Don

We would like you to share your memories and photos of Don Ho.

The Star-Bulletin will be publishing stories and photos celebrating Don Ho's life, and we want to hear from readers about how you remember the legendary entertainer. E-mail your comments and photos to donho@starbulletin.com, or mail to Ho-nolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd. Suite 210, Honolulu, HI 96813.

Please limit your contributions to 100 words or less.

State stays with electoral system

Gov. Linda Lingle has vetoed a bill permitting Hawaii to join a movement for a popular vote for president.

So far only Maryland has voted to switch from the Electoral College system of voting for president and instead requiring the state's electors to vote for whomever won the national popular vote.

Lingle said she was vetoing the bill, SB 1956, because it would require the state's four electoral votes to go to whomever won nationally, even if Hawaii had not voted for that person.

"Given the potential ... that Hawaii's electoral votes would be awarded in a manner that may not reflect the will of the majority of the voters in Hawaii, I believe that this bill is not in the best interests of the citizens of the State," Lingle said in her veto message.

Wind is eyed in copter's trouble

WAILUKU » Ross Scott, owner of Sunshine Helicopters, said his chopper made a hard landing on Maui on Friday because of a problem that did not appear to be mechanical failure.

"We're looking at other possibilities," Scott said. He said the hard landing might have been caused by an unusual change in the wind direction.

Scott said the helicopter was one of four used for a private party of 20 at the residential property of Beverly and Joe Gannon, owners of the Hailiimaile General Store restaurant.

He said some of the people aboard the helicopter declined medical care.

Federal Aviation Administration officials said none of the six people, including the pilot, was seriously injured in the hard landing at 3:51 p.m. Friday.

Credit Union warns of cyberscam

Hickam Federal Credit Union is warning its members about an e-mail scam that seeks to get their account information.

Blane Asao, the credit union's director of marketing, said yesterday that at least three members have reported receiving an e-mail, purportedly from the credit union, telling them that their accounts have been deactivated.

The e-mail instructs them to click a link to a Web site to reactivate their account, he said. The Web site is actually a copy of the credit union's online banking page and instructs members to put in their user name and password.

Asao assured the credit union's 40,000 members that their security system requires more than just the member's password to access their account.

Still, he stressed that when the credit union initiates contact with a customer, whether in an e-mail or a phone call, it never asks the member for personal information.

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Employers lauded for health initiatives

The Hawaii Psychological Association announced the Healthy Workplace Award winners earlier this year in cooperation with the American Psychological Association.

They include:

Nonprofit: Waianae Comprehensive Health Center, for an employee wellness program designed to promote emotional and physical well-being; government: state Department of Human Resource Development for integrating the theme "work is fun and healthy" into all areas of the workplace; military: 624th Regional Support Group for its 624 safety representatives that stress and monitor the group to make sure all follow safety regulations, resulting in only one injury in two years; small business: Tetra Tech for company policies that promote collaboration, teamwork, openness, flexibility scheduling and equality among all employees; large business: a tie between Kapalua Land Co. and Diagnostic Laboratory Services Inc. Kapalua was honored for its employee-chartered Kapalua Wellness Committee, which promotes balanced lives for workers. DLS was recognized for its service and true recognition of employees as the company's greatest assets.

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Kau'i Brandt was given the 2007 Ho'okahiko Award by Duke's Waikiki for contributions to Hawaiian culture.

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Police, Fire, Courts Star-Bulletin staff

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WEST OAHU

Off-duty officer shoots at men during car theft

An off-duty police officer shot at a car with two men inside who were allegedly trying to steal his son's car early Sunday morning from their Aiea house, police said.

Police said the officer heard a noise outside his bedroom window and saw two men breaking into his son's car at 12:45 a.m. Sunday.

The officer confronted the two men who were inside the car and identified himself as a police officer, police said.

When one of the men revved the car engine and began driving toward him, the officer, fearing for his safety, fired one round and hit the car's windshield, police said.

No one was injured.

The two men fled on foot, but police found the passenger, an 18-year-old man, and arrested him on suspicion of breaking into the car and possession of a prohibited weapon, a switchblade knife.

The driver is wanted on suspicion of first-degree attempted murder, auto theft and breaking into a vehicle.

He is described as between 19 and 20 years old, about 6 feet tall, weighing between 180 and 200 pounds, with a dark complexion and wearing a black T-shirt and shorts.

Police Internal Affairs is investigating the shooting, standard procedure when an officer discharges his weapon, said Michelle Yu, police spokeswoman.

The officer is a 24-year veteran with the Honolulu Police Department.

Kunia brush fire is aided by wind

Windier than normal conditions probably contributed to the spread of a brush fire that burned about 60 acres in Kunia yesterday afternoon, fire Capt. Frank Johnson said.

The fire burned in a gulch between Waikele and Village Park, and smoke affected homes in Village Park, Johnson said.

No homes were evacuated, and "the fire never got close to any homes," Johnson said.

About 60 Honolulu Fire Department firefighters and two helicopters fought the blaze along with military firefighters.

The fire, which was reported at 1:02 p.m., was contained by 4:30 p.m.

The Fire Department advises anyone with respiratory problems to leave an area affected by a fire until smoke is no longer a hazard and the fire is extinguished.

BREAKING

Woman hit in crosswalk dies

She is the 11th pedestrian to die on Oahu roads this year

A 74-year-old Honolulu woman is the 11th pedestrian to be killed on Oahu roads this year.

Jae Sim died at 10:30 p.m. Sunday at the Queen's Medical Center. She had been hit by a car while in a crosswalk on Alaneo Street in Palama at about 5:45 p.m. earlier in the day, police said.

Sim was crossing from the Diamond Head-side of Alaneo to the Ewa side when she was hit by a car that was making a left turn onto Alaneo from the Ewa-bound lane of Kuakini Street.