Newswatch
Police, Fire, Courts
Star-Bulletin staff and wire
Pentagon kills plan to have Internet voting
Citing security concerns, the Pentagon has canceled Internet voting that would have involved as many as 100,000 military and overseas citizens -- including 600 Hawaii Army National Guard and Army reservists serving in Iraq and Afghanistan -- a U.S. Defense Department official said yesterday.The announcement comes two weeks after outside security experts urged the program's cancellation in a scathing report. They said hackers or terrorists could penetrate the system and change votes or gather information about users. At the time, the Pentagon said it felt confident enough to proceed.
But Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz has since decided to scrap the system because Pentagon officials were not certain they could "assure the legitimacy of votes that would be cast," said a Pentagon official.
The official said alternative voting systems will now be considered, possibly using the Internet as well. The official could not say when, if ever, such a system would be ready.
Accenture eDemocracy Services, the vendor that built the system, issued a statement indicating testing will continue.
Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin staffEAST OAHU
Bicyclist is robbed in Hawaii Kai by pair Police are looking for two men who robbed a bicyclist at knifepoint Wednesday afternoon in Hawaii Kai.
Police said the men, in an older black Dodge Caravan, drove up to the 18-year-old man about 3:45 p.m. at Hawaii Kai Drive and Opihikao Street. The men got out of the van, and both allegedly brandished 8-inch knives and took money from the victim.
One suspect is described as in his early 20s, 5 feet 8 inches tall, 160 pounds, with a medium build, tanned complexion, green eyes and crew-cut blond hair. He was wearing a blue, red and gray flannel shirt and bluejeans.
The second suspect is described as in his 20s, 6 feet 4 inches tall, 240 pounds, with a heavy build, fair complexion, brown eyes and a beard, wearing a red and green beanie, a red Quiksilver T-shirt, a flannel shirt and bluejeans.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Big Isle man dies after truck runs off highway A 25-year-old Big Island man was killed early yesterday when his truck crashed on Highway 19, fire rescue officials said.
Police identified the victim as Andrew Camacho, of Paauilo. Police said that at about 12:20 a.m., Camacho was driving a 2003 Ford pickup truck east when it ran off the right side of the highway, then swerved back across the highway and off the left side of the road and ran through a guardrail and into the gulch.
Rescue crews removed Camacho from his vehicle, and he was transported to the Hilo Medical Center where he was pronounced dead at 4:15 a.m. Police believe speed to have been a factor in the crash. An autopsy has been ordered to determine Camacho's cause of death.
House fire injures 2 in Kailua-Kona
One woman and a firefighter were injured in a house fire early yesterday in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island. The names of the victims were not released.When fire units arrived on the scene at about 1:50 a.m., they found the second floor of a two-story wooden house at 74-5057 Kealakaa St. engulfed in flames.
The fire caused an estimated $200,000 in damage, fire officials said. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
LEEWARD OAHU
Medical examiner identifies diver The Honolulu Medical Examiner's Office has identified the 50-year-old diver who died Saturday 2 1/2 miles off Maili Point as Fritz Sandoz, of Waianae.
Sandoz was the owner of Capt. Bruce's Scuba Charters, police said.
The medical examiner has deferred releasing the cause of death pending further studies.
Honolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
