Top 100 Stories

Headline Surfer photos by Henry Frederick / Hotelier Wayne Heller drew a crowd of supporters in April in his quest to bring the Delta Queen to New Smyrna Beach, but city officials were less than enthusiastic.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Wayne Heller, owner of the Riverview Hotel pleaded with city officials to allow him to relocate the historic Delta Queen here from Chattanooga, Tenn. "as soon as possible."

"She's a real amazing vessel," Heller said of the 88-room converted water hotel during the citizens' comment portion of tonight's City Commission meeting. "We urge you to ask your staff to put together a short-term lease as soon as possible."

A New Smyrna Beach family's Staffordshire Terrier, similar to one shown here in this Wikipedia photo, was under a brief quarantine after nipping a baby girl on the ear when she touched an inoperable tumor on its paw.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- An 8-year-old family dog, a Staffordshire Terrier named "Guinness," who nipped on a 1-year-old baby's ear that caused a small abrasion after she touched a painful tumor on its paw, was quarantined for a week before being returned to its family in October.

The quarantine comes in at No. 57 in Headline Surfer's countdown of the top 100 local stories of 2012.

Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins, as shown here in this WWE.com photo, comprise The Shield.

NEW SMYNA BEACH -- They're not quite yet on the level of the NWO, but the Shield is making an impression in the WWE with back-to-back-wins in the WWE's Sunday night Elimination Chamber pay-per-view and again on Monday Night Raw.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Good grief! You could not get away from the anguished and alarmist reporting about the Triumph, a luxury cruise ship that experienced mechanical and systems breakdowns as a result of a contained fire. The ship did not sink; it floated safely around in the Gulf of Mexico until tug boats could tow it into port.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Some 200 strong led by Allen Chapel AME Church pastor Lorenzo Laws marched, prayed and sang -- all in respect to the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the national holiday.

EDGEWATER -- I think the resignation of the pope of his own volition should be heeded by many of our politicians and supreme court judges who think their positions are for life and stay way past viable ages. There are those who are trying to make it seem he is being forced out, but I think the man knows his limitations and is smart enough to step down.

EDGEWATER -- There are several areas we are going to tackle to make a teen respect your authority without pulling your hair out. They are in the areas of school work, house chores/rules, and friendship picking.

Photos by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images for NASCAR / Headline Surfer

DAYTONA BEACH -- Kevin Harvick made his No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet as wide as he could in the final laps, holding off repeated challenges for the lead on his way to victory Saturday night in The Sprint Unlimited at Daytona International Speedway.

On the last lap, Harvick blocked both Greg Biffle and Tony Stewart to win his third career Sprint Unlimited, NASCAR's fan-favorite non-points event that featured the debut of the Gen-6 race car. Harvick's previous Sprint Unlimited wins came in 2009 and 2010.

DAYTONA BEACH -- 2012 was a banner year for the Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce, which just celebrated its 93rd annual meeting with more than 650 guests attending at the Hilton Daytona Beach Resort.