The Blood Bank of Hawaii is urgently seeking blood donations, especially for O-positive blood.

Donors must be in good health, at least 18 years old, weigh at least 110 pounds and show valid photo identification.

To make an appointment, call 848-4721 or (800) 372-9966 on the Neighbor Islands.

For more information on blood drives, visit www.bbh.org or visit one of the blood bank's locations at the Dillingham Donor Center, 2043 Dillingham Blvd., and the Downtown Donor Center at 126 Queen St.

The Dillingham Donor Center will have special holiday hours Monday, 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

KU'ULEI ROAD IN KAILUA PARTLY SHUT

A section of Ku'ulei Road in a Kailua is expected to remain closed to traffic through this morning while crews repair a broken 24-inch water main, the Honolulu Board of Water Supply said.

A city crew reported a main leak at 7 a.m. yesterday and the pipe broke about 11:30 a.m. No customers lost water service, but Ku'ulei Road was closed between Kainalu Drive and Maluniu Avenue.

DOWNTOWN ODOR SPURS EVACUATION

An estimated 50 to 60 people were evacuated from a downtown building yesterday after a handful workers complained of feeling ill from an odor.

The fire department's hazardous materials team was called to the Walter Murray Gibson Building at Bethel and Merchant streets just before noon but couldn't find the cause of the irritation, said Capt. Frank Johnson.

Six people reported symptoms including headache, scratchy throat and itchy eyes, Johnson said. They were checked out by emergency medical personnel but none were taken to the hospital, he said.

"When they were outside they started to feel better," Johnson said.

The hazmat team tested each floor with monitors and found nothing out of the ordinary, he said. Workers were allowed back in about 1:30 p.m.

Johnson said people reported the odor as similar to the smell of the solution used for hair permanent treatments.

WHITMORE VILLAGE BRUSHFIRE PUT OUT

Several fire companies yesterday extinguished a brushfire near Aheahe Avenue in Whitmore Village.

The fire was not considered a threat to homes, fire department spokesman Capt. Frank Johnson said. He did not immediately have a figure on how many acres were burned.

The fire was reported about 4:15 p.m. and declared out at about 6 p.m.

STATE TO GET $38M FOR QUAKE RELIEF

Hawai'i will receive nearly $38 million for agricultural disaster and emergency highway relief to help the state recover from an earthquake that shook the Islands last year, U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye said yesterday.

The money is part of the emergency supplemental appropriations bill before President Bush to sign into law, following House and Senate approval Thursday.

BIG ISLAND FOREST GETTING $300,000

The Big Island's Hawai'i Experimental Tropical Forest, established to be an internationally recognized forest research center, will receive $300,000 from the U.S. Forest Service.

The funds will be used for baseline biological surveys and mapping of resources, and for development or improvement of infrastructure needs such as buildings, roads and trails.