Pictured: Sticky notes and forms indicate which files will be going with us to our new location on Nimitz Highway and Sand Island Access Road.

PBS Hawai‘i staffers have heard this four-word question many times: “Have you moved yet?” It’s certainly pertinent, after more than a year of updates on our new building under construction across town and the latest fundraising numbers.

Until last month, the answer was: No, not yet.

Now, as you read this, the answer is: Here goes! We’re in the process of moving.

It isn’t happening in a day. The start of the exodus from the University of Hawai‘i Manoa campus was last month. The new technology being assembled is awesome, including a new undersea-overland fiber link to New York to access diverse national and international programming. But it’s people who make things happen. If all goes well, on May 2, our dedicated employees and students will find themselves in a beautiful new home for education and media-making at the corner of Nimitz Highway and Sand Island Access Road.

We hope and plan to sustain uninterrupted broadcasting throughout the move. Our “flash-cut” to a new broadcast operating system is scheduled for the middle of this month. At this time, we’re getting up to speed with new technology, operating in what Chief Engineer John Nakahira calls a “shadow state” of parallel broadcasting.

As I understand it, our current landlord, the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa, is turning over the space we occupy to the university’s Academy for Creative Media. We’re pleased that the academy will gain a gem of a TV/multimedia studio, large and well-designed. It survived a 2011 fire and is imbued with the memories of prominent people, dramas, and live music that often moved the soul.

At the Nimitz home, a new large studio awaits us, as well as two smaller studios. It is our fond and fervent hope that this new home will blossom with illuminating and interactive new local programming, raising the bar in a fine tradition of Hawai‘i storytelling.

The final live telecast from the PBS Hawai‘i Manoa studio takes place on Thursday, April 14  our weekly live, call-in public affairs show, Insights on PBS Hawai‘i. Next time you view Insights, on May 5, it’ll be coming to you from Nimitz Highway.

With our Board of Directors, led by Robbie Alm, I can’t speak of our new building without thinking of you and thanking you. The people of Hawai‘i Nei built this new home for education through multimedia storytelling.

You had faith in a locally owned, locally run nonprofit enterprise that uses technology and touch to serve our fellow citizens of all ages with rich programming.

Mahalo piha. Here goes!