KITV court reporter Cedric Yamanaka is hanging up his microphone to become Gov. Ben Cayetano's press secretary for the governor's final six months in office. Governor names Yamanaka
as press aideBy Leila Fujimori
lfujimori@starbulletin.com"It's a unique opportunity to see new things, meet new people and see government from a different perspective," Yamanaka said.
"In over 15 years, I've covered a lot of interesting events and made a lot of friends. It's the toughest professional decision I've ever made," the 38-year-old reporter said.
On June 16, Yamanaka will replace Kim Murakawa, who will attend law school in Washington, D.C.
Cayetano said in a written statement: "Mr. Yamanaka and I have many things in common, including growing up tough in Kalihi and having a voracious appetite for reading. I am confident that the qualities he brings through his many experiences will allow him to do a great job in serving the people of Hawaii."
Yamanaka's real passion is fiction writing, and says the new position will give him the opportunity to see what goes on behind closed doors on the fifth floor of the state Capitol, which may provide fodder for his next book.
Already a winner of the Cades Award for Literature, Yamanaka had his first book published this year. "In Good Company," a collection of short stories drawn from his experiences as a youth growing up in Kalihi, has sold nearly 2,500 copies.
Like the governor, Yamanaka is a Farrington High School graduate. After getting his bachelor's degree in English from the University of Hawaii and master's degree in English from Boston University, he returned to Hawaii, and got his first job in 1987 as a reporter at radio station KHVH. Two years later, he received an offer from KITV to cover the courts beat.