Start Spreading The Good News

Welcome to the inaugural issue of MidWeek Kaua’i. We’re excited because it’s the first time Oahu’s best-read newspaper has been available on another island.

For some readers this will be an all-new experience. For others it’s more like, “Eh, about time already!”

I know this because just about every time I’ve visited Kaua’i in the 15 years I’ve served as MidWeek‘s editor, I’d meet someone who recalled my days writing a daily column for 13 years at the Honolulu Advertiser – including the much-commented-upon “How do you really pronounce Kaua’i?” column. When I’d mention I was now with MidWeek, invariably the response was along the lines of, “Oh, I saw that at my auntie’s house in Pearl City. How come I can’t get that in Lihue (or Anahola or Waimea or Hanalei)?”

Well, now you can, every week – for free. I hope you’ll find it as informative, entertaining and thought-provoking as our half-million readers on Oahu do every week, as they have for the past 26 years. I think you’ll appreciate what Oahu readers tell us – MidWeek publishes “good news, local news.”

Barbara Bennett

But your MidWeek Kaua’i will not be the exact same publication readers on Oahu see. On a recent visit, I met with veteran journalists Joan Conrow and Anne O’Malley, who’ve been on Kaua’i a combined 49 years. I’m happy to say they’ll be providing Kaua’i-specific stories and photos of your friends and neighbors, including Poll, Newsmaker, Pa’ina photos and Kaua’i Business Round Table. We’re also fortunate to have retained the services of sales manager Barbara Bennett. And I’ll certainly be making use of my countless visits to the Garden Isle over the years.

You’ll find a little bit of everything in MidWeek Kaua’i, and something for everyone, starting with outstanding commentators on Hawaii politics and events. Chances are you’re already familiar with many of our writers: On any given week you’ll find columns from KHON-TV reporter Ron Mizutani, a Niumalu native who grew up surfing at Kalapaki Beach and writes with great passion about ocean issues and people; Bob Jones, the former KGMB-TV news anchor;

Larry Price, the former UH football coach who is half of the KSSK radio Perry and Price team; Dan Boylan, the historian whose smiling face has been part of election night TV broadcasts for more than two decades; Jade Moon, another former KGMB anchor; radio host Rick Hamada; former POW Jerry Coffee, and Bob Hogue, the former sports reporter and state senator.

You’ll also meet Ron Nagasawa, whose humorous tales of his best plans going awry have made him Honolulu’s favorite columnist. He also happens to be our publisher. (His assistant, by the way, is Kilauea native Linda Casuga Dawson.) Then there’s Kimo Akane, who writes a weekly column about happenings in Las Vegas, and Alison Stewart, aka the Click Chick, who writes about the latest high-tech electronic gadgets. Plus, editorial cartoonists Roy Chang and Dick Adair, who took first and second place in the recent Hawaii Publishers Association Pa’i Awards.

And MidWeek Kaua’i advertisers offer remarkable savings, so we hope you’ll support the local businesses that make free delivery of MidWeek possible to about 32,000 homes on the Garden Isle.

For me personally, as always, it’s great to be back on Kaua’i. I’m looking forward to reconnecting with old friends and meeting new ones too. Please send me your comments about MidWeek Kaua’i and letters to the editor at the e-mail address below. dchapman@midweek.com