Walgreens on Sunday will open its fifth full-service store in Hawai'i and the first on Maui.

With the new 15,238-square-foot store opening at 342 Keawe St. in Lahaina, a pharmacy-only Walgreens in Lahaina will close today and employees from that smaller store will move to the new store.

Walgreens will continue to operate three other pharmacy-only locations on Maui, including one in Lahaina.

The new store, featuring a drive-through pharmacy, will open at 11:45 a.m. Sunday after a ceremony. Normal hours will be 7 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week.

MAUI ELECTRIC SEEKS 9.7% RATE INCREASE

Maui Electric Co. is seeking regulatory approval for a 9.7 percent rate increase next year that it says is needed to help pay for capital improvements and increased operating and maintenance costs.

The hike, which would apply to customers on Maui, Lana'i and Moloka'i, was requested in an application MECO submitted late Wednesday to the state Public Utilities Commission. It would increase the utility's annual revenue by $28.2 million.

The PUC and the Division of Consumer Advocacy will review the request. Any rate hike, if approved, isn't expected to take effect until mid-2010 at the earliest. If the full request is approved, the typical Maui household using 600 kilowatts of electricity per month would see its bill rise by $13.43 to $172.46.

SHORT-TERM LOANS FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

Hawai'i lenders have begun providing short-term small-business loans under a recently implemented program through the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Loans up to $35,000 are available to viable, qualified for-profit businesses that need short-term help making payments on existing debt over six months.

Bank of Hawaii approved the first loan under the SBA's American Recovery Capital Loan program last month. More lenders are gearing up to participate, the SBA said.

More information is available at www.sba.gov/recovery.

More broadly, the SBA said lending in its two largest loan programs has ballooned since the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act reduced fees and raised guarantees on SBA loans.