Surfing protesters block ferry run
A dozen surfing protesters blocked the Hawaii Superferry from docking on its inaugural run from Oahu to Kauai with more than 500 passengers and crew Sunday evening, after a successful maiden voyage to Maui.
The four-deck, double-hulled Alakai carrying 500 passengers and 150 cars turned back from the harbor to the cheers of several hundred protesters beating drums and shouting Hawaii chants along a seawall, witnesses said. They were protesting the ferry’s failure to obtain an environmental impact report before launching Hawaii’s first interisland ferry service.
Ferry opponents said they would go to a Maui court today to stop the service.
More than 19,000 people have signed up to take advantage of the $5 fare through Sept. 5. After that, round trips to Maui or Kauai, with taxes and a fuel surcharge, will cost more than $240 for one passenger and a car.
CLEARWATER, Fla.
Hulk Hogan’s son injured in crash
The son of professional wrestler Hulk Hogan was seriously injured in a car crash Sunday night, police said.
A Toyota Supra driven by Nick Bollea was traveling at a high rate of speed at about 7:30 p.m., Clearwater Police spokesman Wayne Shelor said. Bollea, which is Hogan’s real name, lost control and hit a raised median. The car flipped around, and the back end hit a palm tree. “The car was destroyed,” Shelor said.
Bollea and an unidentified male passenger were extricated from the car by paramedics, Shelor said. Then they were airlifted to Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg. Their official conditions were not immediately available, but Shelor described the injuries of both men as serious.
Bollea appears on the reality TV show “Hogan Knows Best”with his father, mother and sister.
PROVO, Utah
Student claims hugging record
Kneeling for children and stretching to embrace taller people, a college student believes she’s hugged her way into the record books.
Jordan Pearce, 18, said she hugged 765 people in less than an hour Saturday and plans to send the results to Guinness World Records.
“I was getting pretty glistening,” Pearce said of hugging – and sweating – in the hot sun.
The current record is 612 hugs in an hour, the Daily Herald of Provo reported.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.
Evangelical leader leaving the pulpit
The ailing Rev. D. James Kennedy is not returning to the helm of the Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, where he has served for the last 48 years, his daughter Jennifer Kennedy Cassidy said Sunday.
The pastor, religious broadcaster, conservative activist and evangelical leader has been in and out of hospitals since Dec. 28, when he suffered a brief cardiac arrest.
Kennedy, 76, is one of Christianity’s “truly significant figures,” according to a statement by James Dobson, chairman of Focus on the Family. “Believers around the world are indebted to you for your vision and leadership.”
From wire reports