Inside the
PIBA Mixer A2
Issue 640
Fishing A11
Traveling Moon A9
Tournament A7
The
Island Moon The voice of The Island since 1996
July 21, 2016
Around The Island
By Dale Rankin editor@islandmoon.com It has been a sweltering week here on our little sandbar. Water temperatures along our beaches are still holding steady in the low 80s but walking around outside is like a visit to a sweatbox. It’s hot out there folks. Why, just this week we saw a coyote standing in line at the yogurt shop – and coyotes don’t even have any money. The water along the beaches continues to be a murky brown, but the tourists don’t seem to mind. We just keep rocking along.
Drama on the JFK There were Big Doings on the JFK Tuesday morning when motorists were startled to see this waterspout tooling out across the bay during the morning commute. The thing was headed for the causeway and vehicles stopped to avoid driving through it. When they did it, caused a ten-car accordion wreck that sent one person to the hospital. Over at Texas A&M CC a Tornado Warning was issued. The JFK was never closed because by the time emergency crews arrived to check things out the waterspout was gone.
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What Will The Island Look Like in Twenty Years? Area development plan will be the blueprint By Dale Rankin For the past twelve years the Area Development Plan for Padre and Mustang islands has been collecting dust somewhere on a shelf at city hall. The plan was drawn up by a group of Islanders in 2004 and in reality has played little part in the actual planning of Island growth and development. It includes the universally ignored Island Overlay Zone rules which dictate everything from colors that can be used on Island buildings to a prohibition on banners and giant shark signs in front of Island businesses – none of which have been enforced by the city with regularity. So the Island Strategic Action Committee has set out to rectify the situation by updating the plan and will hold an open house to discuss the update and invite input from the public. The meeting will be held on Saturday, July 30, from 10 a.m. – noon, at the Seashore Learning Center gymnasium, at the corner of Encantada and SPID. The draft of the plan is on the City of Corpus Christi’s website at http:// www.cctexas.com/government/citysecretary/boards-commissions/isac. Comments to the plan may be
Two Killed in Crash on Kleberg Beach
submitted by mail to: Development Services, ATTN: M_ PI ADP, PO BOX 9277, Corpus Christi, TX 78401. Or by Email at: padreislandadp@gmail.com, or through a Facebook page at PadreIsland ADP. “Many aspects of the 2004 plan are still important and appropriate. However, there are items that are no longer appropriate and/or need revision,” said William Goldston who is Chairman of the ISAC subcommittee which drafted the plan. The draft plan will be available for public review and comments are encouraged for a 30 day period, ending on noon Friday August 12, 2016. Upon close of the public comment period, all comments will be reviewed and considered and when complete, the draft will be submitted to the ISAC for approval. Once approved, the draft plan will be submitted to the Planning and Zoning Commission and then it will go to the City Council for consideration and approval. The Island Development Plan in its finished form will be included in the Plan CC 2035, a citywide planning document currently under discussion by the Corpus Christi City Council.
Island Projects Let’s hope that’s the only twister we see as we head on into the heart of Hurricane Season 2016.
Live Music A16
Visitor’s Center Opens on The Island
A tragedy unfolded in the early morning hours Wednesday when two campers inside a tent were killed when a northbound driver crashed into their car causing it to roll over them, killing both. The scene is less than one mile south of Bob Hall Pier just south of Mile Marker 238 and just inside the Corpus Christi City Limits.
Police said the 21-year-old driver of a Chevy Silverado was driving northbound along the beach about 1 a.m. when he ran into the Loftis’ car which was parked outside the tent where they were sleeping. The car rolled into the tent killing the couple who were pronounced dead at the scene.
Friends of the victims at the scene Wednesday said that 32 year-old Lisa Loftis and her husband, 33 year-old Brian Loftis, had come to The Island from South Carolina looking for work with the hope of bringing their children here to live.
Beach continued on A3
Poco Bueno Tournament Pays Muy Bueno Dinero
45 mph speed limit At the base of the JFK on the Island side orange markers went up to signify that work has begun on the SPID/Aquarius intersection. The first result was a 45 mph speed limit sign right at the base of the bridge -- not a very big one, by the way. It wasn’t long before the PD showed up and began writing tickets. In some cases drivers were so accustomed to continuing their “JFK speed” as they ran the SPID gauntlet that police officers chasing them from a standing start had to pursue them all the way to the giant shark before the victim even knew they were being stopped. It has long been discussed that there is a need to slow down traffic on SPID and that day has arrived. Our guess is that if the PD maintains its presence there on the weekend when OTBers come barreling over the bridge it might raise enough money to add a couple of new lanes to the bridge – more traffic and more fine money – governance by circular logic. Of course given the history of where Island tax money goes it would more likely be the Harbor Bridge. The work is to reconfigure the Aquarius/SPID intersection and add a traffic light to allow traffic to access, new retail space and a new motel on the east side of the road. The most asked question concerning the project is why it is being done at the height of the 2016 Tourist Season? All we can say is, welcome to Corpus.
OTB Aside from dodging the traffic guns on the JFK there is another thing to remember if you are going OTB. Traditionally gas prices at Island pumps have hovered around 14 cents higher than prices OTB. These days that has jumped to around 17 cents as OTB prices have been around $2 per gallon while Island prices have been around $2.17. It must cost 17 cents per gallon to drive that two miles across the Laguna. Stay cool everybody and say hello if you see us Around The Island.
The Corpus Christi Convention and Visitors Bureau has opened a new Visitor Information Center at Schlitterbahn Corpus Christi. Previously the only CVB Information Center was located downtown. "Padre Island draws many visitors, and this partnership with Schlitterbahn allows us to have a presence near those visitors," said Paulette Kluge, CEO of the Corpus Christi CVB. The move was celebrated with a ribbon cutting that was attended by the bureau, Schlitterbahn officials and the Padre Island Business Association.
By Mary Craft The Poco Bueno Fishing Tournament is an invitation only family run fishing tournament that began in 1969 with 13 boats. It is said to be the richest tournament on the Gulf Coast with much of the money coming from the Calcutta auction held on Wednesday where side bets are placed on which boat
will bring in the largest blue marlin. Walter Fondren III was the original organizer and his son, Walter IV has continued the tradition. It takes place in Port O’Connor which is near Port Lavaca. It is an unincorporated community of about 1500 that is remarkably undeveloped. Little has changed in the last 30 - 40 years, in
Tournament Cont . on A7
A little Island history
Island Cubby Connection, Plus One Big Red Machine
By Mary Craft Puente Vista Condominiums are those you first see coming over the bridge and were built there with money invested by Cincinnati catcher Johnny Bench, Chicago Cub Ron Santo and three other Chicago Cub players. Padre Isles Investment Corporation had promoters with offices in Mexico, Canada, South America, Europe and 27 of the states trying to get Island investors. The one they had in Chicago managed to convince some major league baseball players to come visit the Island promising a great return on their investment. The Chicago office, rumored to be “connected”, would charter a plane for their investors instead of using the commercial airline Braniff that flew into Corpus Christi. The group was flown down in 1973 and, as was the norm for potential investors, were
Cincinnati Reds catcher Johnny Bench (left) chasing Cubs Ron Santo as they play football on Padre Island, Texas, in 1973. The caption on the back of the print said Santo and Bench were combining a vacation with a business trip as part of a group who had purchased property on Padre Island to build condominiums. Chicago Tribune 1973.. History continued on A7