TheBuzz
TheBuzz
Guy Hagi will fill the weathercaster vacancy left by Kuualoha Taylor when he joins the KGMB news team as "Prime Weathercaster" for the 5, 6 and 10 p.m. news starting Sept. 11-- but wait, there's more. Sometimes rumors
prove trueAt 5 and 10, he'll share the anchor desk with wife Kim Gennaula -- but wait, there's still more.
In late September Hagi takes up hosting the second season of the "Island Chefs" cooking show, the other role Taylor departed for a job in San Diego.
Through more than six years at his previous job with NBC Hawaii Today -- KHNL's morning news show -- Hagi got to know many local chefs. The chefs are now "the guys I hang with, surf with, run with and consider to be my friends," he said.
He's looking forward to working with his wife, with whom he often shares master of ceremonies duties at community events, and to having the same schedule. They were married Jan. 21.
"We can use the carpool lane and all that stuff, but that might not work during the winter (surf season) when I'll be coming straight from Haleiwa or Sunset to the station -- she'll have to meet me there," he said.
Presenting the surf report will present an interesting challenge, he said. The 50 percent discrepancy between the official surf height scale recently adopted by the National Weather Service, and long-accepted local style "is going to be extremely strange this winter season." Hagi said the graphics may quote the official forecast of 20 to 30 foot surf, but he feels the responsibility to report it surfer-style -- at 10 to 15 feet.
KGMB News Director Bob Loy said Hagi will not be required to become a certified broadcast meteorologist, an industry trend. "He's already a six-year pro at this," Loy said, "I think he's proven to the viewers of Hawaii that they can rely on him for good weather (forecasting)."
"He's well-known in so many circles and is a proven success, with proven numbers, and that News 8 made a decision to give that away -- their poor decision is going to be something we'll benefit from."
Before the big debut, Hagi and Gennaula will vacation in Washington, D.C., and New York City.
Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin.
Call 529-4302, fax 529-4750 or write to Erika Engle,
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210,
Honolulu, HI 96813. She can also be reached
at: eengle@starbulletin.com