Aloha, readers

Nadine Kam

Let us entertain you
with our new sections

Sometimes life begins when you're dying. For too many years, the Star-Bulletin has been considered Honolulu's failing newspaper. I've always considered that perception a challenge and source of strength.

We found in our absentee and largely uninterested owner, Liberty Newspapers, a freedom to create, to take chances. Freedom to provoke without fear of corporate censorship. Having found our voices, we can't stop our mad experiments now.

Ownership of the Star-Bulletin has changed, but my mission has been constant, and that is to reflect the daily rituals, trials and tribulations of our amusing and largely befuddled society; on some days, we might even make sense of them.

The new Today aims to be the ultimate guide to life in 21st century Hawaii and America. If we do our jobs right, space travelers in the 31st century will believe they can hear the music we heard, taste the foods we ate, feel our joys and pains.

Of course I will have a lot of help in this monumental task. Longtime readers already know the work of Nancy Arcayna, Burl Burlingame, Dave Donnelly, Ruby Mata-Viti, Charles Memminger, Tim Ryan and Betty Shimabukuro.

And longtime free-lancer John Berger makes the leap to staff writer.

New to the Today staff are:

>> Gary C.W. Chun, formerly of KHON and The Honolulu Advertiser, who will write about music, film and lifestyles.

>> Shawn "Speedy" Lopes, a former Radio Free DJ and Advertiser contributor, who will cover night clubs and lifestyles.

>> Suzanne Tswei, who moves from our city desk to cover arts, garden and home.

>> Scott Vogel, of the New York Times and New York Times Digital, will cover theater, arts and entertainment, and lifestyles.

Tomorrow we introduce our Weekend magazine, Hawaii's guide to all things exhilarating Friday through Sunday. On Mondays we'll show you in pictorials how many of us enjoyed our weekends. My restaurant column, The Weekly Eater moves to our Wednesday Food section. On Saturday we introduce our Home section. More awaits when we begin our Sunday sections April 1.

As for dying? David Black has given us new life and we're going to live it to the fullest.

Nadine Kam
Features Editor

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