Bill "Billy V" Van Osdol, "Mento" Mele Apana and their "Na‘au Therapy" morning show on KINE-FM 105.1 have left the building, and were succeeded by Dave Lancaster and "Sista" Sherry Clifton, the former morning team on sister-station KRTR-FM 96.3.
Format and personnel changes are a fact of life in radio, but that doesn’t mean such changes are easy for listeners to handle.
After the disappearance of Van Osdol and Apana in late November, each for different reasons but essentially at the same time, their fans took to Facebook protesting the loss of the morning show personalities.
Van Osdol said his departure was "a mutual parting of the ways."
"They were going in a different direction" that did not include Van Osdol and Apana on-air as a team. "I was given a chance to discuss the future, and I decided that it was time," he said.
Working with Apana, "these last 18 months have been the best 18 months of the last 31 years," Van Osdol said.
Van Osdol remains a contributor on "Sunrise" on Hawaii News Now and still will be involved in the Na Hoku Hanohano Awards program.
Lancaster and Clifton, meanwhile, are happy to return to morning radio as a team.
"I’ve always loved Hawaiian music," Clifton said, "I grew up with it." She also had worked for the station previously.
"It’s the best, being back with Sherry," Lancaster said. "We’ve known each other for so long, from back at KSSK when she was an intern," he recalled. With the friendship that developed, "we look at each other and we know what each other’s thinking."
Separately, KINE parent company Summit Media-Hawaii also has hired the uni-monikered Tantra away from KUCD-FM 101.9 and KDNN-FM 98.5 to co-host mornings with K.C. on KPHW-FM 104.3.
The hip-hop scene has "needed a woman," she said. Excited, she plans to bring "positivity and keep Hawaii uplifted, hater-free and full of aloha that is kind to hip-hop."
Tantra came to the Oahu radio market from Maui where she worked for two years after 10 years in Hawaii island radio, and she is originally from Southern California.
ON THE NET:
» www.billyv.net
» www.hawaiian105.com
» www.power1043.com
L&L EXPANDS TO GUAM
The first of what will be several L&L Hawaiian Barbecue restaurants on Guam will open this week in the Tumon Bay Center, described by company officials as being on the Waikiki side of Guam.
It may seem hard to believe that with all the expansion of L&L over the years, the company did not previously have a presence on the island.
"International (locations) are always a challenge," said Eddie Flores, CEO. However, other quick-service restaurants, such as Panda Express, do well on the Pacific island, he said.
It is the seventh location to open outside of Hawaii, within the Pacific Rim. L&L franchises are open in China, Japan, Indonesia and New Zealand.
The demographics on Guam are similar to Hawaii but not identical, so while the regular L&L menu will kick off the restaurant’s service there, staple dishes of Guam including red rice and chicken kelaguen will be added over time, said Josie Akana, director of franchising.
Reach Erika Engle at 529-4303, erika@staradvertiser.com or on Twitter as @erikaengle.
