The Mauna Kea Beach Hotel on the Big Island will reopen Dec. 20, more than two years after it was closed because of earthquake damage.

Prince Resorts Hawaii this week announced that the hotel will welcome back guests beginning Dec. 20 in a "soft" opening, and hold a formal grand opening in March.

The hotel closed indefinitely on Dec. 1, 2006, because of structural damage caused by a series of earthquakes on Oct. 15 of that year.

"The earthquake damage required us to close the hotel for a period of time, and we realized that it also presented an opportunity to conduct a comprehensive restoration of the property," said resort general manager Jon Gersonde.

The number of rooms and suites was reduced from 310 to 258 because some rooms in the main building were enlarged.

The renovations focused on improvements to guest rooms and suites, restaurants, the lobby and other common areas, the company said.

GOLF FUNDRAISER SET FOR TOMORROW

The Organ Open, a charity golf tournament to help pay for an upcoming kidney transplant surgery of a longtime Marriott golf employee, is set for 4:30 p.m. tomorrow at the Club House at the Ka'anapali Golf Course.

Lee Johnson, who works at the Marriott Maui Ocean Club, has been living for 13 years with a kidney disease that causes his kidneys to shut down. Recently, he was placed on the national organ transplant list.

After numerous drives in search of a matching donor, one was found with a Maui woman. The surgery will take place within two months in Minnesota. The fundraiser will help cover the costs of the transplant, travel and accommodations. For more information, call 808-276-8733.

$3.8M RELEASED TO DESIGN TECH CENTER

Nearly $3.8 million has been released to complete the design of the University of Hawai'i Information Technology Center.

The center will be on the UH-Manoa campus and eventually will service the entire UH system.

Currently, the computer system servers for UH's 10 campuses statewide are housed in Keller Hall, which was built in 1959. The computers are on the ground floor, which puts them at risk during floods and heavy rains.

In addition, the university's computing center, phone system and data communications and video hubs are dispersed throughout the UH-Manoa campus.

Those facilities do not have adequate backup air conditioning or security, and only one location has a backup generator.