KITV expanded its 10 p.m. newscast to one hour, effective last night.

The expansion sends “;a real positive message,”; given recent events in local media, said Mike Rosenberg, president and general manager.

Without specifying, he was referring to news consolidation at KGMB-TV and KHNL/KFVE-TV.

News Director Genie Garner “;feels that if a story is good and compelling and it takes three minutes to tell, that's wonderful,”; whereas a minute might be too long for another story, he said.

Any time the bosses say they want to add more news, “;as a news director, you're like, 'Great!'”; Garner said.

“;We've got all these great people with all these great connections (to) ... get those stories that nobody else has,”; she said. “;We've done it this last couple weeks, and we've done a phenomenal job.”;

It is standard for local stations to edit down stories from the 5 or 6 p.m. news to compress them for the 10 p.m. show, which had a smaller window for local news because of world and national stories.

“;We may not use anything ... from the 5 and 6. We may chop it a little, or we may take them to the next level in the 10 (p.m. show),”; Garner said.

Loe leaving beloved news biz

Stacy Loe will anchor her last 10 p.m. “;Hawaii News Now”; on Nov. 25 and wake up the next morning with a new job title: chief mothering officer.

Had she signed a new contract, she would have marked 20 years at KGMB next year.

The recent, sudden “;and devastating”; death of her father-in-law “;clarified things,”; she said.

Married to freelance producer/videographer/photographer Bill Paris, she is able to leave the workaday world to prioritize their 5-year-old son Cole, rather than work from 2:30 to 11 p.m. at a high-profile job as a top-rated anchor who succeeded Kim Gennaula, another top-rated anchor who also left the gig for a more kid-friendly schedule.

“;I was grateful that they wanted me to be part of the team and in a strong role,”; Loe said.

One of the ironies is, “;the more you get promoted, it requires working at night, and that's never going to be compatible with a young child.”;

Her noncompete clause will have her out of the local news business for a year, but after a bit of a break, “;I'm absolutely going to work ... (on projects) that work much better around my child's school schedule.”;

Retirement, take 2

Would-be retiree Fred Livingston is again trying to get out of the restaurant business. Last time he did that, he bought a restaurant.

Livingston has once again put Don Ho's Island Grill on the market for $150,000 for furniture, fixtures and equipment. Inventory will cost extra.

The name is not part of the deal unless Livingston recommends the potential buyers to the trustees of the Don Ho estate and they approve, “;but they really would like to keep the restaurant going with the Don Ho name,”; he said.

Disclaimer: Each item above would have been longer, but “;TheBuzz”; does not have the luxury of an hour's worth of column inches.