KHON-TV has named Jai Cunningham and Olena Heu as the new anchor team for its morning news show, which will be renamed “;Wake Up 2day”; with new graphics effective Oct. 19.

“;We just felt we were at a good point with the station, with what's going on in the market. ... We kind of wanted to make a statement by promoting a couple people from within,”; said Joe McNamara, president and general manager. “;Olena just has a great personality and is known in the market, is a former Miss Hawaii, and we felt it was a good chance to give her an opportunity to step up.”;

Kirk Matthews, a news anchor for more than 20 years, will continue to deliver news headlines and special features, while his co-anchor, Kathy Muneno, will become the station's weekend weather anchor. She was a weather anchor at KITV upon returning to Hawaii a few years back and had previously served as morning news anchor before that.

The station has promoted producer Jessica Gellert to on-air reporter and has hired Antares Kaneshiro as its webmaster.

“;We just thought it was a good thing to do when everybody else is kind of cutting back,”; McNamara said.

KGMB-TV and KHNL/KFVE-TV have been trimming staff in advance of its shared services agreement in which it is combining staffs under one roof.

WARD CENTRE TO OPEN 3 NEW EATERIES

Three new restaurants will open in familiar spots at Ward Centre in the coming months. The first, on Oct. 23, will be Paparazzi in the former Brew Moon site, as has been reported.

The next is likely to be Ka Restaurant & Lounge in the old E&O space, by three of the investors behind the new Tsunami on South King Street. Ka will be different from Tsunami, said co-founder David Ung. Menu development is still under way, but it will be a “;contemporary, Pacific Rim-type”; menu for lunch and dinner, and it will have late-night entertainment.

The dishes and drinks will be “;very colorful,”; as fire is an inspiration for the name and concept, but that doesn't mean everything will be spicy, Ung said.

Pablo McGinty's will be opened by Hawaii born-and-raised Steve Hamile and his three partners in Auld Dubliner Irish Pub and Restaurant, based in California with several locations on the mainland.

Pablo McGinty's is slated to take over the former Compadres site. It will feature a mix of Mexican and Irish food and drink and will be one of three restaurants in which the Auld Dubliner guys have a stake, including Lahaina's Front Street Grill and Bar, and Canoes on Lanai.

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Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin. Reach her by e-mail at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).