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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, March 6, 2009

Behind the new TGIF

By Dave Dondoneau

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

From left, Kawehi Haug, Tracy Chan, Sonnie Rodrigues, Dave Dondoneau, Diane Seo and Nick Gervais make up the TGIF and Metromix staff.

NORMAN SHAPIRO | The Honolulu Advertiser

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Chuck Furuya is a brave man.

Hawai'i's first master sommelier, Furuya agreed to a blind taste test for the cover story of today's new TGIF.

We wanted to put his skills to the test to see if wine cost really reflects wine quality.

Without spoiling the read, I will say Chuck not only nailed it (picking the prices, the wine region and the type of soil the grapes were grown in), but he also hammered home the point that a good wine means different things to different people.

That's also the concept behind today's TGIF: Entertainment means different things to different people. We think we have something for all tastes.

Starting today, page 3 features a Hot List of staff-picked events for you to choose from. We also have a family events section, expanded our dining coverage to two pages, created a new Metromix section, kept our popular movie and music reviews, designed a more readable calendar of events and retained our local as well as national entertainment stories.

Something for everyone also describes our staff. Kawehi Haug, who, like Furuya, nailed today's wine story, is one of the premier food and entertainment writers around. Between Kawehi and Metromix night owl Tracy Chan, we have the night and music scene blanketed. And even though Wayne Harada is retired, he's still blogging on everything from music to performing arts and whatever tickles his fancy. Sonnie Rodrigues, our clerk, keeps tabs on all family events and brings order to the ever-changing weekly calendar. Adding Metromix to TGIF — which Chan and editor Diane Seo have built into an online juggernaut — was a no-brainer. Not everyone can or wants to hit the nightlife, but it's always fun to keep tabs on the club and music scene.

Lastly, a special shout out to TGIF art director Nick Gervais, who created the new design.

The newspaper world is changing. Readers have told us they want more pictures and quicker reads, so we've spent the past few months taking their suggestions to heart before unveiling the new look.

TGIF is always a work in progress, so if you have comments, suggestions or observations, send me an e-mail.

It's a new beginning, and we're looking forward to sharing it with you.

Reach Dave Dondoneau at ddondoneau@honoluluadvertiser.com.