The one thing that the Honolulu Weekly excelled at was the ability of the paper to effectively peel back the onion layers of any subject and really shine a spotlight on the core issues. I  remember more than once thinking that HW had really nailed the subject on the head especially with the various palace intrigues happening at the City Council and State Capitol. I remember thinking that this is a special publication because they were not afraid to tell it as it was - like when Ben Cayetano was quoted as telling the unions to <explitive> off. Another one had to do with the real power behind reorganizations in the City Council, and the fact that the Mayor has a lot of power to make that happen. 

While I feel CB does a decent job in mimicking the depth that HW seemed to be able to dive to, I know that the media and access to that much detail has changed. It is not so much the fault of journalists not able to get the story as it is sources who are more cagey and secretive than ever.