TV anchor trading early gig for ruptured waterlines

KITV news anchor and award-winning reporter Jill Kura­moto will leave television news to become the information officer for the Hono­lulu Board of Water Supply effective Jan 6.

She will be "basically in charge of communications, mostly externally, and assisting (Manager and Chief Engineer Ernest Lau) in communicating the work of the Board of Water Supply," she said.

So, the two days of roadwork caused by the recent water main break on Dillingham Boulevard, the controversy surrounding the board’s billing practices and the break near McCully Shopping Center in May that caused serious flooding didn’t dissuade her from accepting the gig?

Kuramoto laughed.

"I know it’s not going to be an easy job" with all that the agency has on its plate, including the "30-year capital improvement plan that’s going to start rolling out, but I think I’m ready for the challenge and I’m looking forward to the experience," she said.

The job will draw upon her media skills and experience and she will get to serve an agency "that is important to the community. And I won’t have to wake up every day at 2 a.m. to do it," she laughed.

That said, she called the decision to leave KITV "heart-wrenching."

She joined KITV news in 1992 "almost right out of college," after working in West Coast markets, including San Jose, San Francisco and San Diego, and also as a reporter and anchor on Guam where she reported from the eye of Supertyphoon Omar, according to the KITV website.

"My colleagues at KITV have been like a family," she said, adding that she has been at the station nearly half her life and has celebrated milestones of her life with them.

Bottom line, though, she feels the timing is right for her to make this decision for her young family and herself, she said.

She anticipates that the biggest benefit of the new job and schedule will be "more quality time with my family."

Asked what she would say to viewers who will miss her, she said, "It’s been an honor and a privilege to be a member of the KITV news team, and I thank the loyal viewers for trusting me and allowing me into their homes all these years. It’s their support and words of encouragement that have made for a memorable career."

Her last day on the air will be Dec. 29.

Sharing, not scaring

Dec. 23 will be an unusual workday for the 15 employees of Graham Builders Inc.

CEO Danny Graham will take them out for their traditional holiday lunch at California Pizza Kitchen in Ala Moana Center, and for the third year in a row, each employee will receive a Christmas envelope containing $20 that they will be required to give away to a stranger that afternoon.

"It’s not so much the dollar amount," Graham said, "it’s a matter of giving something to someone. I’m hoping to show that there are some good people in the world."

The employees will have to "get out of their comfort zone" to approach the strangers in order to "give them something for nothing," Graham said.

Employees will ask each recipient to open the envelopes in their presence so they can see they contain money and not some sort of junk mail.

"We actually got a thank-you card" the first year from a girl who spent the money on gifts for her family, Graham said, but there is no expectation for such notes.

At the end of the day, employees will re-congregate at the office and share stories of the reactions they got from recipients.

"That’s the best part of the whole experience," Graham said.

Reach Erika Engle at 529-4303, erika@staradvertiser.com or on Twitter as @erikaengle.