Lanny Sinkin News

Opponents of the Hawaii Superferry lost a round in court, according to an Associated Press report, when U.S. District Judge Helen Gillmor refused to block the U.S. Coast Guard from enforcing a security zone in Kauai’s Nawiliwili Harbor when the vessel resumes service to the port. The Coast Guard established the zone and set aside a designated protest area off Kalapaki Beach after a flotilla of protesters prevented the ferry from landing Aug. 27. A separate security zone is to extend 100 yards around the ferry. The ferry, designed to carry more than 800 passengers and 250 cars between major Hawaiian islands, has been anchored in Honolulu Harbor since the protest…

A federal judge has refused to block the U.S. Coast Guard from enforcing a security zone in Kauai's Nawiliwili Harbor when the Hawaii Superferry is in port. The Coast Guard established the zone after a flotilla of protesters prevented the ferry from landing August 27th. In seeking a temporary restraining order, attorney Lanny Sinkin argued the zone would deny free speech by keeping protesters out of the water. U.S. District Judge Helen Gillmor says the security zone allows both protesters and supporters to exercise their First Amendment rights on land around the harbor. [Source: AP]