Juror questionnaires head to mailboxes

The Hawaii State Judiciary is reminding residents that it will mail juror questionnaires this month to people who have a state driver’s license, are registered to vote in the islands or pay state income tax.

The questionnaires are used to help select people who might be eligible to serve as jurors in 2012.

Beginning next Monday, the questionnaires will be mailed to about 230,000 people around the state. They’ll go to 85,000 residents on Oahu, 70,000 on the Big Island, 50,000 on Maui and 25,000 on Kauai.

The Judiciary says those who receive a questionnaire have 10 days to complete and return it to the Jury Pool Office. Anyone who fails to respond could be penalized.

Grant to museum helps Hawaiian students

Bishop Museum has been awarded a federal grant to improve middle school education for Native Hawaiian students.

The museum said in a news release Monday that the $369,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education will allow the museum to partner with the Polynesian Voyaging Society and the University of Hawaii College of Education.

The project is to create a series of educational experiences for Native Hawaiian middle school students that combine Western science with cultural knowledge and practice.

The project is expected to create lesson plans, an online learning center, teacher workshops and other resources.

Museum President and CEO Blair Collins said the project will benefit more than 5,000 Native Hawaiian middle school students.

NEIGHBOR ISLANDS

Pediatric dental facility opens at Maui hospital

The opening of a pediatric dental unit at Maui Memorial Medical Center means parents no longer have to fly their special-needs children to Honolulu for work that can’t be done in a regular dentist’s office, The Maui News reported this week.

Those challenges prompted Dr. Colleen Inouye, chief of staff at Maui Memorial Medical Center, to figure out how to bring a pediatric dental facility to the hospital.

Local dentist Sonia Gupta has joined the program, along with anesthesiologists from the hospital.

The Lutheran Medical Center in New York offered to rotate dentists through Maui as part of its residency program.

The Hawaii Dental Society provided money for a portable X-ray machine with a pediatric attachment, and Patterson Dental Supply donated equipment.