"Sunrise" anchor Grace Lee will anchor her last "Hawaii News Now" morning show on Wednesday, the last day of the November Nielsen ratings period. Her impending departure was announced on the air yesterday, with further news that she had accepted a reporter-anchor position with KPIX-TV, the CBS-owned and operated station in San Francisco. It is a quantum leap for Lee, going to the No. 6 market in the U.S. from Honolulu, the No. 72 market as measured by households using television. Lee could not be reached.

"It is an understatement to say that Grace (not to mention Sunny) will be missed, but it speaks volumes about her standing in the broadcast community that a station with the reputation of KPIX would seek her out to be part of their team," said News Director Mark Platte in a staff memo.

Following the televised announcement, the social networks Facebook and Twitter were abuzz with talk of her departure, with colleagues and viewers offering good wishes and bemoaning the impending loss of Lee and her dog Sunny, who has been a fixture on the show.

Lee began her career at KGMB-TV in 2002, and following a stint at KCRA-TV in Sacramento, she returned to KGMB in 2007 as a reporter and was named, along with Steve Uyehara, as an inaugural "Sunrise" co-anchor. KGMB-TV later merged news and other operations with NBC affiliate KHNL-TV and independent KFVE-TV, so "Sunrise" is spread across all three stations on weekday mornings.

The identity of Lee’s successor will be announced on the air during the coming week.