Grant will fund Ko Olina keiki center

Seagull Schools will build a child care center in Leeward Oahu with a $1.3 million donation from the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, the school announced last week.

The grant will help pay for construction of a center in Ko Olina that is expected to be completed by May 2010 and serve 150 children between 2 and 5 years old. It will sit on one acre being donated by Jeffrey Stone of the Ko Olina Development Corp.

The land has an appraised value of $1.7 million, the school said.

Founded in 1971, Seagull Schools provides child care and early education to 830 children at six locations.

Ethics panel has pair of seats to fill

The deadline for applications to serve on the Hawaii State Ethics Commission has been extended to March 20.

The state Judicial Council announced that there are now two vacancies with the resignation of Kathleen Pahinui, whose term expires June 30, 2012. The council had advertised earlier for applicants to fill the seat held by Maria Sullivan, which expires June 30.

An applicant must be a U.S. citizen and Hawaii resident not holding any other public office. The state Constitution prohibits commission members from taking part in political campaigns.

Applications are available from the Judicial Council, Room 206-C, Aliiolani Hale, 417 S. King St.; on the Judiciary Web page, http://www.courts.state.hi.us; or by calling 539-4702.

The Judicial Council, attached to the Hawaii Supreme Court, screens and presents the names of nominees to the governor, who appoints the Ethics Commission members.

Dialysis clinic to open in Kaimuki

Liberty Dialysis-Hawaii will dedicate a new clinic Sunday in Kaimuki to provide services to East Honolulu patients with chronic kidney disease.

The company's third new clinic in less than a month is at 3625 Harding Ave. The other new clinics opened Feb. 8 in Waipahu and last Saturday in Kona.

The renovated 8,000-square-foot Kaimuki facility has 24 dialysis stations and 23 employees.

One out of every seven isle residents suffers from chronic kidney disease, compared with one of every nine mainland residents, according to Liberty Dialysis.

Patients suffering kidney failure require dialysis to clear their blood of waste products. They need treatments three days a week for three to five hours at a time.

The new clinic will provide service from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. six days a week. It has heated dialysis recliners, individual cable televisions with DVD entertainment, and Internet access.