“Hawaii News Now” has announced sports director Chris Tanaka will be switching from sports to news.

Tanaka will take over for current 5:00 and 5:30 p.m. anchor Shawn Ching. The station said Ching is leaving “Hawaii News Now” next Friday to concentrate full-time on his law career. “Hawaii News Now” is the branding for Honolulu’s CBS affiliate KGMB and NBC affiliate KHNL.

“Though Shawn Ching is difficult to replace, we are confident that Chris can fill his shoes on our top-rated broadcasts,” said KGMB-KHNL news director Mark Platte. “In the two years he has been with us, Chris has proven to be a gifted and intelligent anchor who can think on his feet.”

[Honolulu Star Advertiser]

Earlier today we reported Bay Area media blogger Rich Lieberman was saying Grace Lee was leaving KPIX.

Confirmation of Grace Lee‘s (pictured center) departure from the San Francisco CBS owned station has come from her new station, Hawaii News Now.

News director Mark Platte confirmed Lee will anchor the station’s morning news show “Sunrise.”  Lee began working for KGMB in 2002 before leaving for KCRA in Sacramento.  She returned to KGMB in 2007 to launch “Sunrise.”  She left again in 2010 to join KPIX as an anchor and reporter. Read more

Jennifer Robbins begins this week as a meteorologist at KGMB-KHNL in Honolulu.

Robbins comes from KABC in Los Angeles, where she was a weather producer for chief meteorologist Dallas Raines. Prior to that, she was an on-air meteorologist and environmental reporter at KBOI in Boise.

Robbins will be a reporter on the morning newscast and a meteorologist on the weekends.