Price Busters continued its expansion, with the opening of a new store in Windward Mall yesterday that specializes in party merchandise.

The store, Let's Party Hawaii, occupies 10,000 square feet of space near Macy's.

Hello Kitty and Thomas the Train are just two of more than 50 different themes for party goods available for both children and adults at the store, said Beth Tom, president and chief executive officer of Price Busters.

Adult themes include casino night, Mardis Gras, lu'au and bridal showers. The store also will offer costumes and party goods for Halloween.

There were 25 new jobs created by the store, Tom said. An additional 25 employees are being hired for a new Price Busters store scheduled to open in Kapolei on Oct. 7, the chain's eighth store on O'ahu.

The 12,500-square-foot Kapolei store will have a Let's Party Hawaii outlet inside it, as well as the traditional Price Busters staples of housewares, stationery and bath items.

BBB WILL HELP SHRED DOCUMENTS OCT. 17

Hawai'i's Better Business Bureau and its partners, Access Information Management, Pro-Filed Confidential Destruction Services and Shred-It, will offer free document shredding Oct. 17 at various sites across the island as part of the BBB's "Secure Your ID" Day.

"Properly destroying documents that carry information you don't want getting into the hands of crooks is an important first step to fighting identity theft, but it doesn't end there," said Dwight Kealoha, chief executive officer of Hawai'i's BBB.

Individuals and small businesses will be able to shred paper documents, CDs and floppy disks. BBB staff and representatives from Bank of Hawaii also will be on-site to provide advice and tips for identity theft protection, Kealoha said.

Shredding will be available from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at McKinley High School, Mililani High School and Castle High School.

MAUI-LANA'I FERRY FACILITY GETS FEDERAL AID

The efforts to expand the Ma'alaea ferry port on Maui will receive $6.2 million in federal grant money, Sen. Daniel K. Inouye announced yesterday.

The County of Maui received the funding for the Ma'alaea ferry project through a grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Ferry service is available between Maui and Lana'i, and the refurbishment of the dock at Ma'alaea Harbor will create a second port and increase overall ferry system capacity.