News anchor Tannya Joaquin has left KHON-TV to succeed the departing Kim Gennaula on KGMB-TV's 5 and 6 p.m. weekday newscasts.

      She took maternity leave last month and a noncompete clause will keep her off camera until she debuts on KGMB Feb. 2.

Joaquin had been working under an expired contract since February and was “;ready to move on,”; she told TheBuzz.

“;During the past seven months, my life and needs have changed. I learned I was going to become a mom and my husband Alan was laid off by Aloha Airlines,”; she said in a farewell e-mail to colleagues.

Her son Kaimana Alan Boyd Joaquin was born Aug. 31 and she is glad she “;can enjoy this time with my newborn.”;

KHON President and General Manager Joe McNamara would not discuss Joaquin's departure except to say, “;I'm glad she was able to find work that fit her needs.”;

McNamara noted that the return of longtime anchor and reporter Ron Mizutani has drawn “;overwhelming response”; and that Joe Moore anchors solo at 6 p.m. and 10 p.m.

“;The 6 o'clock is the largest, most-watched newscast in the state, not just at six,”; he said.

Joaquin was hired at KHON by Rick Blangiardi, who then oversaw both Channel 2 and KGMB. She looks forward to joining the KGMB team, “;knowing what type of leader he is, and knowing that he is truly committed to getting the best coverage.”;

“;It is an honor”; for her to succeed Gennaula, as she succeeded veteran Leslie Wilcox at KHON.

Meanwhile, Gennaula will leave the 10 p.m. show at the end of November and KGMB is close to naming a successor for that role.

Monkey around

Chi.mp is online and is bent on changing the way we use the Internet.

The .mp domain is for the Northern Mariana Islands. Chi.mp is a partnership between Saipan DataCom Inc. and SDC Hawaii LLC, a Hawaii-based startup co-founded mostly by local guys.

Chi.mp provides free, personalized domains where you can “;manage all the different parts of yourself across the Web,”; including LinkedIn, Twitter, photo-sharing and other social networking sites, said Tony Haile, the lone Brit of the bunch.

The group is passionate about giving people control of their own online identities.

For instance, it can be used to shield party pictures from potential employers Googling your name, but still allows for photo-sharing with friends, he said.

Much more will be said about Chi.mp on Bytemarks Cafe on KIPO-FM 89.3 and online at 5 p.m. today.