Inside the Moon
La Posada Logo Winner A2
Sports A8
TGSA Surf Competition A9
The
Issue 630
Island Moon
The voice of The Island since 1996
May 12, 2016
The Island where half the fishermen are above average.
On the Rocks A11
Photo By Jeff Dolan
Free
Weekly
FREE
Whoop It Up this Saturday
Around The Island
Island Weekend
It’s a good time to make the drive down the sand to Big Shell. We drove halfway down last Friday, at low tide, and the driving was good and the beachcombing as well. For some reason there seems to be an inordinate amount of large trees washing up hereabouts.
TGSA surfing competition - Photo by Jeff Dolan
Seashore Schools Celebrate Twenty Years
By Dale Rankin editor@islandmoon.com The currents are ripping, the surf is surfing, the weather is beautiful, the wind has laid down, the mosquito population is behaving itself, and the tourists all came disguised as empty lawn chairs. We have our little sandbar to ourselves for two more weekends before the 100-day Tourist Season comes a-washing in from OTB and if the SandFest weekend is a harbinger of things to come it’s going to be a whopper.
As if we needed more reasons to celebrate, this Thursday is National Limerick Day (a bad time to be from Nantucket!), Friday is National Blame Someone Else Day (a bad day to be in jail), Saturday is National Dance Like a Chicken Day (otherwise known as any afternoon at The Gaff), Sunday is National Sea Monkey Day (every day for Moon Monkeys where it’s monkey sea monkey do), Tuesday is National Pack Rat Day (if your rat needs help packing this is the day), Wednesday is National No Dirty Dishes Day. So, as our old friend Ronnie says, “No whining on the yacht!”
Founders Jimmie Driver, Peggy Shirley, and Katie Howell at Seashore Learning Center By Brent Rourk This Saturday Seashore Schools will hold their largest annual fundraiser as supporters of the Island’s charter schools will gather at Schlitterbahn to Whoop It Up! From 7 p.m. until 11 p.m. Saturday the Veranda will be the place to be. The event features a great party, dancing to the music of Rocket Brothers Band food, and drink specials along with auctions and raffles with proceeds going to Seashore Schools.
Paddling an outrigger - photo by Jon Brandt
Twentieth anniversary This year’s Whoop It Up marks the
Beware of burglar We apparently have a burglar working in the Cabana East area with two break-ins in as many days with our desperado still breathing free air. Close your garage doors everybody.
Island bag ban After a year-long citywide voluntary “ban” on single-use plastic bags The Island Strategic Action Committee has taken the bull by the horns and voted to ask the Corpus Christi City Council to ban these flying wildlifekillers on The Island. If the council demurs maybe we can re-name them Bag Birds as they like to fly around The Island until they find the right tree to nest and decompose in. More than 300,000 of these little buggers are handed out in our city every day and The Island seems to be their favorite nesting place as flocks take to the skies on The Island wind on a daily basis. There is no word as of this writing when/if the council will take a vote on the issue.
In the meantime get ready for the Mother of All Deck Parties and say hello if you see us Around The Island.
SMA Director Barbara Beeler explained, “Charter schools do not receive any property taxes and cannot
Whoop it Up continued on A7
Island’s Highest Payers of Hotel Motel Tax
At top, suffers competed in the Texas Gulf Surfing Association competition at Bob Hall Pier. In the middle photo paddlers made their way from The Boathouse on Lake Padre, out Packery Channel to the beach as part of the Cinco de Mayo Longboard Pro completion. At bottom runners take off in the First Annual Brent Chesney Sandcastle Run near Bob Hall Pier. All proceeds go toward Camp Sandcastle for children wi6th diabetes and over 200 people showed up for a beautiful 5k run by the water. Top honors went to Seashore Middle School Academy student Hunter Perez with a time of just over 19 minutes.
Three Island Scouts Make Eagle Troop 949 held an Eagle Ceremony for three Scouts on May 14th at the Island Presbyterian Church. Eagle Scout is the highest advancement in Boy Scouts.Troop 949 has been active in helping with various activities and service projects to
Paddleboard Race A9 Paddleboarders made their way from The Boathouse on Lake Padre and out Packery Channel to the beach.
Whenever a visitor stays at a hotel or motel, or any overnight stay lodging, in Corpus Christi the city levies a tax which is used, among other things, to fund the Corpus Christi Convention and Visitors
Bureau. It is referred to as the HOT (Hotel Occupancy Tax). The following are the numbers from February 2015 and 2016 with the change in revenue noted in the third column.
Corpus Christi Top Payers
2015
2016
$ Change
% Change
CC Mustang
$247,591
$222,975
$24,616
11.04%
SANDPIPER CONDOMINIUM CC Mustang
$149,501
$138,588
$10,912
7.87%
SEAGULL CONDOMINIUM
CC Mustang
$123,925
$114,035
$9,890
8.67%
MAYAN PRINCESS
CC Mustang
PORT ROYAL BY THE SEA RESORT HOTEL
$64,581
$57,842
$6,738
11.65%
Corpus Christi Mustang Island Top 4
$585,597
$533,440
$52,157
9.78%
HOLIDAY INN GULF BEACH RESORT
Padre Island
$200,740
$160,618
$40,122
24.98%
ISLAND HOUSE COUNCIL OF CO-OWNERS Padre Island
$119,785
$104,228
$15,557
14.93%
GULFSTREAM COUNCIL OF CO-OWNERS
$109,637
$92,502
$17,135
18.52%
DUNES CONDOMINIUM Padre Island
$96,908
$88,010
$8,898
10.11%
EL CONSTANTE CONDOMINIUM
Padre Island
$82,647
$83,375
-$728
-0.87%
LA QUINTA INN AND SUITES PADRE ISLAND Padre Island
$73,516
52623.41
$20,892
39.70%
BAHIA MAR
Padre Island
$70,975
$62,469
$8,506
13.62%
BEST WESTERN ON THE ISLAND
Padre Island
$64,763
$51,346
$13,418
26.13%
COMFORT SUITES
Padre Island
Padre Island
Padre Island Top 9
$34,215
$76,946
-$42,731
-55.53%
$853,186
$772,117
$81,069
10.50%
Port Aransas Top Payers on A5
A little Island history
Isle of Plunder
The Island makes the Saturday Evening Post
Editor’s note. The following story appeared in the Saturday Evening Post on January 3, 1948. We thank Islander Brud Jones for sending it our way. This is part 1. By Lewis Nordyke
Island 4th of July Blast! We got word from Islander Jerry Watkins this week that the money is now in place for the Fourth Annual 4th of July Island Blast! fireworks show. Thanks to Jerry and Sharon who dreamed up and organized this event it has quickly taken its place as one of the highlights of the Island calendar. It is all paid for by donations from Islanders and Jerry is now collecting money for a down payment for next year which is due by January so help out if you can.
twentieth anniversary of the Seashore Schools and raises funds to augment the limited funding that the state provides charter schools. There is a different funding for public school versus charter schools, resulting in $3000 less for each charter school student enrolled – a sizeable and significant difference in funding. Fundraisers like Whoop It Up help supplement funding especially for facility construction and upgrades.
Island by the Numbers
Padre work
Work continues around Lake Padre as an additional crew has been called in and dirt is moving at a rate of almost 10,000 cubic yards per day. The canals to both sides of SPID are in place and bulkheading on the Lake Padre side is scheduled to begin as soon as the excavation work is complete in anticipation of the Water Exchange Bridge.
Live Music A18
Ryan Breen Earned his Arrow of Light in Pack 949 in 2009. He earned 36 merit badges and lead the construction and installation of the entrance sign to Sea Shore Middle Academy. Ryan will graduate from Flour Bluff High School and has earned a Distinguished Degree. Ryan plans to attend Blinn College in Bryan Texas, with a goal of transferring to A&M to earn a Computer Engineering Degree.
Scouts continued on A2
A desolate sandbar off the Texas Gulf coast has lured treasure hunters for 400 years. Despite the rattlesnakes and savage hurricanes they come still, seeking fortunes in flotsam and dreaming about the lost galleon of Cortez. Padre Island, which lies off the Gulf coast of Texas almost within sight of bright lights and traffic jams, is one of the most untamable spots in this country. What the storms don’t blow away, the sifting sands cover up. Man has been bucking the island for some 400 years. But today it is uninhabited, and its chief attractions are things which have been lost at sea, and which have somehow turned up on Padre.
The enterprising beachcomber, Lewis Raywalt, salvages a barrel of tar on Padre Island Beach. He may sell it for as much as thirtyfive dollars. Charlie, his son, is only 3 but already has "sand in his shoes." With possibly a few exceptions, Padre is the world’s richest territory for beachcombers. Because of the crescent arc of the coastal bend and the currents that swish near shore, anything adrift in the Gulf of Mexico or the Caribbean is likely turn up eventually on Padre. World War
Sometimes ancient coins are uncovered by wind, but jewels have been found by digging holes II, with dozens of ship sinkings, made the beach a bonanza. Often, after choppy seas, it is littered with commercial valuable like heavy timbers and drums of gasoline. Offshore, in the Gulf, and under the sands of the island, are storied hulls
History continued on A7
A2
May 12, 2016
Island Moon
New La Posada Logo Contest Yields a Winner Student Design is Spectacular
Scouts continued from A1 better our community. The three young men have worked hard over several years attending camps and earning merit badges to earn the award of Eagle. Each Scout must also complete and lead a service project that benefits an entity for his Eagle Award. Eagle Scouts exemplify the virtues of service, leadership, and duty to God, using their training and influence to better their communities.
A photo booth Island style. Photo by Dale Rankin
Ms. Sam and the ladies at the Back Porch have had a busy season so far, and things are just getting started! Photo by Dale Rankin
By Brent Rourk Working closely with Lori Lee from the Art Department at Flour Bluff High School, the La Posada Foundation created a contest to design a new La Posada logo. After several designs were entered by Flour Bluff High School students and carefully considered, a winner was chosen. Last week the winning design and the Flour Bluff Art Department received awards from the La Posada Foundation for their creative work.
FBISD Art Teacher Lori Lee surrounded by young student artists who submitted La Posada Logo contest designs
Aaron Frahm is a junior at Marine Military Academy in Harlingen, Texas. He began his journey to Eagle Scout as a Tiger Cub Scout in Pack 949 in 2005. Aaron’s Eagle project was building and painting 11 benches for Calvary Christian School’s annual fundraiser, raising over $5,000 for their operations. He hopes to attend a U.S. military service academy and serve as a U.S. military officer
The winning student, RJ Blankenship, received a $50 check and the Art Department received a $200 check, while the La Posada Foundation also presented certificates of Outstanding Achievement to all of the art students who submitted a design. The Foundation expressed their gratitude to the Flour Bluff Art Department for working with the La Posada Foundation in a ‘win-win’ endeavor. A Special ‘Thank You’ went to outstanding Art Teacher Lori Lee for encouraging her students to enter. In cooperation with the Flour Bluff High School Art Department, the following students entered a design in the contest: RJ Blankenship (winner), Aubrey Banda, Lilly Carnes, Chloe Knuckols, Melissa Murphy, Josiah Duenes, and Jessica Fouch.
New La Posada Logo designed by FBISD Art Student RJ Blankenship
The fabulous La Posada parades will be held this year on Friday and Saturday, December 9th and 10th. Plan to enter the fun and colorful parades or volunteer to be a toy pick-up boat.
RJ Blankenship receives his award from La Posada Foundation President Doug Siefeldt
Reece Harrelson is a Junior at Flour Bluff High School and also attends TAMUCC in the University Prep Program. He is a member of National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta, UP Student Senate, Wind Ensemble and High School marching Band. He recently completed the High School Aerospace Scholars program and will be attending a weeklong summer camp at the NASA this summer. Reece's project added an outdoor dry erase board and potting bench to the outdoor classroom at the Flour Bluff Elementary. Reece earned 37 merit badges in Scouting. Upon gradation, Reece plans to attend college majoring in Aerospace Engineering.
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May 12, 2016
Island Moon
Letters to the Editor
Moon Monkeys Mike Ellis, Founder
Canals
Padre Island Teen
Dear Moon,
Distribution Pete Alsop Island Delivery Coldwell Banker Advertising Jan Park Rankin Classifieds Arlene Ritley Production Manager Jeff Craft Contributing Writers Joey Farah Andy Purvis Devorah Fox Mary Craft
In response to the POA article printed on May 5th, 2016, titled Canal Debris Poses Danger to Boaters, is a redundant conversation and seemingly useless. As long as the issues stated in this article are not enforced, there is no reason to assume they will fix themselves. If boaters are smart enough to afford the equipment to enjoy our waterways, they are certainly smart enough to understand what “NO Wake “means. Watching the uncontrolled boating activity in our canals on a daily bases, I am surprised there have not been more fatalities than the young girl mentioned in this article. The Island homeowners can thank the City of Corpus Christi’s weak building codes for the deck and pier failures caused by allowing contractors to use inferior fasteners while building these structures, and the continued lack of enforcement in regards to the posted no wake zones. The dog owners along the canals that allow their pets to utilize piers and decks as litter boxes, shows total disregard for neighbors and island residents. I’m sure these same people would not want to swim in my toilet, and I certainly don’t want to swim in theirs!
Todd Hunter
Island Moon,
Dotson Lewis Ronnie Narmour Brent Rourk Dr. Donna Shaver Photographers Miles Merwin Jeff Dolan Mary Craft Ronnie Narmour Office Security/Spillage Control (Emeritus) Riley P. Dog
Publisher
The Island Moon is published every Thursday, Dale Rankin, Editor / Publisher. Total circulation is 10,000 copies. Distribution includes delivery to 4,000 Island homes, free distribution of 3,000 copies in over 50 Padre Island businesses and condos, as well as 600 copies distributed in Flour Bluff, 1,400 copies on Mustang Island and Port Aransas businesses. News articles, photos, display ads, classified ads, payments, etc. may be left at the Moon Office.
The Island Moon Newspaper 14646 Compass, Suite 3 Corpus Christi, TX 78418 361-949-7700 editor@islandmoon.com Facebook: The Island Moon Newspaper
Where to Find The Island Moon Sandpiper Condos WB Liquors Port A Arts
North Padre
Stripes @ Beach Access Rd. 1A
All Stripes Stores
A Mano
CVS
Coffee Waves
Whataburger
Moby Dicks
Doc’s Restaurant
Spanky’sLiquor
Snoopy’s Pier
IGA Grocery Store
Isle Mail N More
Carter Pharmacy
Brooklyn Pie Co.
San Juan’s Taqueria
Ace Hardware
Wash Board Laundry Mat
Texas Star (Shell)
Port A Parks and Rec
My name is Judy Lane. My friend, Mike, and I spent last February in Port Aransas and enjoyed it tremendously. While there we were able to connect with a wonderful group of people who played pickleball. We are actively involved in the Springfield (IL) Pickleball Association and felt that it was important to find a place to spend a part of the winter where we could continue to play. Bill and Laura Arvold coordinated the playing of Pickleball for the Park and Rec Department and did a tremendous job. We were fortunate to have them. They worked closely with Pam Greene to make our Pickleballplaying experience a good one. It was quite obviously a sought after activity in that the group grew from 8 to around 50 just by word of mouth. We played at the skating rink three days a week. I would like to encourage you to consider finding a location for the pickleball group to play indoors during windy/inclement days. I understand that Port A is considering building a recreation center. That would be a perfect location for pickleball.
Dale Rankin About the Island Moon
Pioneer RV Park
Summer is within our grasp! Everyone is finally wrapping up the school year, which doesn't only mean more excitement for vacation, but the teachers are piling on assignments that they want to squeeze in before the school year is up. A few extra projects won't matter, however, when we're lounging in a beach chair poolside. You can see the students' daydreams become more and more vivid as the year comes to a close. Sometimes that excitement can be distracting, and we need to focus for just another week or two to keep our grades up and finish strong. Just a little way to go! If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, email me at PadreIslandTeen@gmail.com.
Pickleball
Jay Gardner
Lisabella’s Restaurant
Summer
Bob Kujawinski
Maybeth Christiansen
Port Aransas
By Elizabeth Clark
Island Italian
In my local Pickleball Club, we are fortunate to have played indoors throughout the winter months. Temporary tape was used on the gym
Schlitterfence "Fences make good neighbors" - a quote used to advocate harmoniously living; perhaps here on the island, it should read, "Good fences make good neighbors". At the home owners' meeting, concern was expressed for the lack thereof at the waterpark and the media actually drove out to interview residents. KRIS Communications sent reporter Jane Caffrey out to our Island to provide an opportunity to express concerns for the unsightly buildup above what was to be a fence to conceal the accumulated debris of the construction site for the waterpark. Residents were encouraged to express their concerns following an article that was in the Moon. Resident David Zillar was given the opportunity to express his concerns though much of his interview was omitted, however MayBeth Christensen was interviewed expressing concerns for the "junk yard" that is increasing and the management, Amy Gazin, at the waterpark stated that the cleanup is underway. The video KRIS featured showed how much has to be removed to cleanup the property that borders Aquarius and Commodores. It is encouraging that communications are accessible; the footage of the property spoke volumes to the validity of residential concerns that were expressed at the home owners' meeting which provides the residents a voice to help protect our home values. Sincerely, Barbara DeToto
September 16, 1945 Corpus Christi Caller Times
floor which was able to be removed easily when we moved back outdoors to the eight dedicated courts at a local park. Our club continues to grow because of the ability to play even during inclement weather. Pickleball is one of the fastest growing recreational sports in the country, particularly among seniors. I know that many members of my local club choose where they will spend the winter based on the opportunities available to be able to play pickleball. We will be returning to Port A for 6 weeks during the winter of 2017. A lot of our consideration was because of the camaraderie from the new friends we made on the pickleball courts. What a great public relations draw for Port A! Thank you for your consideration of including an indoor site for Pickleball as your plans for a recreation center progress. I would also thank you for consideration of placing temporary courts in an existing building until the recreation center is completed. I know everyone who played last year and those returning to Port A will greatly appreciate it. Sincerely, Judy Lane
Islanders be aware Tonight I went to the corner store to get a money order. When I returned there was a van blocking my driveway. I noticed the driver that I needed to park there. He blew his horn and 2 teenager with large canvas bags came running down my walkway. Jumped in the van and sped off almost hitting another car. When I walked up my walkway there was my little package dropped in the middle of the walkway. It was not there when I left or I would have seen it. I must have been at my gate by the postmaster as he usually does. In short, what were those teenagers doing at 7pm in my walkway with a driver blocking my driveway. You can only guess were they were after. Mrs. Hannie Woveris
Bags Hello, My 1st letter is in response to the plastic bag ban. I would say, when does it finally happen. I just recently spent a month in Holland with my family and enjoyed shopping every day with our own grocery bags. I was born and raised in Holland and have known all my live that I Europe you bag your own grocery stores. I do it here to when I get the chance only to hear "you don't have to do that from the cashier" Well instead of standing around and doing nothing I like to help the cashier out. Right now in Europe, if you insist on a plastic bag you pay for it 5 or 10 cent. If you pick up take out you pay for it automatically.
Did Ya Hear?
A3
By Mary Craft
New Advertisers There will be an Open House at 7565 Welkan Cove at La Concha Subdivision in Port A May 13 – 15. Call Rene’ Lugo for more info about this 3/2/2 home with beautiful views at 210-528-8424. Global Efficient Energy is offering a free inhome energy assessment to see how they can help you save up to 70% on your electric bill with solar. They use the newest USA made solar panels. Call Val Chandonia at 949-5290 for an appointment.
Business Briefs The “Island Gardeners” Garden Club invite you to a free tour of Island gardens on Saturday, May 14th 9 am – noon. The gardens are at 13641 Camino de Oro, 13978 Lanyard, 14917 Canadian Mist, 15666 Cumana, the community gardens and the butterfly garden at Douden Park. The 33rd Annual Songwriter’s Showcase will be held at the Tarpon Inn courtyard on Monday, May 16th 6 – 10 pm. There will be a $5 entry donation to benefit the Art Center. There will be food, beer and wine for purchase. The Padre Island Dog Club will meet Saturday, May 14th 9 am at JB’s German Bakery patio. The 11th Annual Art Fest will be held at Roberts Point Park in Port A on Saturday, May 14th 10 am – 5 pm and Sunday 10 am – 4 pm. Dr. Lloyd Stegemann announced his candidacy for City Council District 4. Former Island Strategic Action Committee chair Greg Smith is expected to make an announcement concerning the race. Dragonfly Restaurant has Texas size hand cut prime bone in ribeyes that they dry aged. The Curacao Bar has a new happy hour 4-6 pm weekdays with $5 select appetizers, $3 house drinks, $2/$3 longnecks, $4 margaritas, $5 infusions plus more. A Tax Resale Auction will be held at the Nueces County Courthouse on Saturday, June 4th with more than 200 properties to be sold to the highest bidder. For more info call 7600050. Whoop it Up will be held at Schlitterbahn on Saturday, May 14th 7 – 11 pm. It is the 20th annual Island Foundation and Seashore Charter School Benefit. Tickets are $20. The May Padre Island Business Association Mixer will be held at the Animal Hospital of Padre Island on Compass Tuesday, May 17th at 5 pm. The sponsors also include The Island Moon, Decks & Docks and Alliance Patrol Service. Dine Island is a restaurant event offering a unique three course dining experience at a value price now until May 25th. The participating restaurants are Veranda, Costa Sur, Boathouse, Angry Marlin, Padre Pizzeria, Island Time Sushi, JB's German Bakery, A la Mode Gelateria, Mikel Mays, Scuttlebutt’s, Surf Side, Texas Mesquite BBQ, Black Sheep Bistro / Barrel, Dragonfly and Aunt Sissy's Kitchen. A $1 donation from each meal sold will be given to the Food Bank. Go to their Dine Island Menus 2016 Facebook page for each menu. The Triggerfish Band will reunite to help celebrate the final official days of Port A Mayor Keith McMullen after ten years of service. They will play at the Back Porch 5 – 8:30 pm on Thursday, May 19th. There will be a complimentary nacho and taco bar for this “Nacho Mayor No More” event. A traffic light is being installed at the corner of Laguna Shores and Hustlin’ Hornet in the Bluff.
Island Obituary
Brian Banks
I even went in a clothing store and was asked if I had my own bag or needed to buy one. Well I had my own and I brought several bag with me, so yes, get rid of the trashy plastic bags. As for the gentleman who uses them for dog poop he pics up, there are special bags for that in the pet store or HEB and Walmart. Mrs. Hannie Woveris
Holiday Inn The Beach Bums will hold a memorial Saturday for our friend Brian Banks who passed away this week.
Jesse’s Liquor
Public Library
Scuttlebutt’s Restaurant
Chamber of Commerce
Island Tire
Brian’s friends are encouraged to attend on the South Packery Beach at 2:00 p.m. and celebrate the life of Brian.
Duckworth Antiques
And all Moon retail advertisers
We remember Brian with the words of Raoul the Beach Bum Poet.
Back Porch
WB Liquor
Woody’s Sports Center
Subway
Shorty’s Place
Flour Bluff
Giggity’s
H.E.B.
Stripes @ Cotter & Station Gratitude Gift Shop Keepers Pier House Port A Glass Studio The Gaff
The Life of Brian Welcome all who want to hear and tell the life of Brian Banks He touched so many lives Brian left his handprint on our hearts.
Liquid Town
And while we may never understand why he lifted his hand away from us
Whataburger on Waldron
We know that connection with Brian left an impression on us.
Ethyl Everly Senior Center Fire Station Police Station Stripes on Flour Bluff & SPID
Our hearts are hurting
Catch lots of trout on soft plastics when ever you see sea gulls working right now. This sow engulfed a DOA AIRHEAD over bye the CPL plant. - Joey Farah
Our souls are shaken by an ending we don’t understand But we can find comfort – even a few laughs – in sharing the Life of Brian.
A4
May 12, 2016
Island Moon
The Travelling Moon Gets Around
Bucket List Weekend at Skydive South Texas! By Maj Jason Towns, USAF Retired Owner, Skydive South Texas It was a big weekend for celebrating birthdays in the skies above Port A. David Frank of North Padre leaped from an airplane with instructor and parachute center owner Jason Towns for his 74th. He was joined on the flight and skydive by his daughter Julie who turns 43 next week!
Longtime Port Aransas resident Ronald Edwards marked his 73rd year with jumpmaster David Scott and loved every second of the thrill. Both newly minted skydivers say they hope to make it at least an annual occasion from here on out!
Gary Rueschhoff and Jim Tipton visit Eureka Springs, Arkansas and Branson, Missouri with the Moon!
David Frank
Ronald Edwards
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May 12, 2016
Island Moon
May Moon Phases
Stuff I Heard on the Island By Dale Rankin
Our city is now about three months into the UBER debate and as best as I can tell we are pretty much right back where we started which is not a very good place to be. Call a taxi to get to the airport from The Island and you are looking at about a two hour wait for a $65 ride (without tip) – that is if the taxi shows up. Clearly the taxi industry in our city has not served us well. In their defense we are a large city geographically, 460 squaremiles, and a small city population and incomewise, the 129th market out of 210 just ahead of Bakersfield, California and right ahead of Amarillo. It’s a tough town to make a living in as a taxi driver. Hence the need for the UBERs of the world.
Same issue across Texas
Tides of the Week Tides for Bob Hall Pier May 12-19 2016
Day
High /Low
Tide Time
Height in Feet
Sunrise Moon Time Sunset
Th F Sa Su M Tu W Th
12 12 13 13 14 14 14 14 15 15 15 16 16 16 16 17 17 17 17 18 18 18 18 19 19 19 19
Low High Low High Low High Low High Low High Low High Low High Low High Low High Low High Low High Low High Low High Low
1:36 AM 10:30 AM 2:41 AM 11:05 AM 3:54 AM 11:29 AM 6:36 PM 10:30 PM 5:13 AM 11:46 AM 6:57 PM 12:29 AM 6:32 AM 12:01 PM 7:21 PM 2:03 AM 7:46 AM 12:14 PM 7:46 PM 3:10 AM 8:57 AM 12:27 PM 8:10 PM 4:02 AM 10:10 AM 12:35 PM 8:34 PM
0.1 1.8 0.3 1.6 0.5 1.5 0.9 1.1 0.7 1.4 0.7 1.2 0.9 1.3 0.6 1.3 1.0 1.3 0.4 1.4 1.1 1.2 0.2 1.5 1.1 1.2 0.1
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Cities all across Texas are struggling with how to handle their newfound role as the keepers of the barriers to entry for ride sharing services as taxi companies come to grips with the end of their city-sanctioned cartels. A push by UBER in the last legislative session in Austin for a uniform statewide law met with resistance from cities who don’t want to give up a birdin-the-hand cash stream for an uncertain cash flow under a new system. They failed in spite of hiring more than three dozen lobbyists and spent over $1 million; the taxi industry spent $500,000 and hired five lobbyists to stop them and won. The issue then and now is the same; mandatory fingerprint background checks for drivers. UBER decided to go political in the Texas city where they figured they had the best chance of winning their case, the high-tech city of Austin, and spent a reported $9 million to keep their business in a town where they have signed up 10,000 drivers and registered 500,000 riders since 2014. They lost last week with 44% of the vote. Most cities require fingerprint checks of taxi drivers and UBER, with the exception of the outlier Houston, flatly refuses to require them of their drivers. It is a reasonable request, especially when it is required of taxi drivers and the results of the inexpensive checks are back in less than three days. But here’s the rub; labor law dictates that if a fingerprint background check is required as a condition of becoming an UBER driver that driver is considered an employee rather than contract labor and the company must offer a full benefit package; something that is not in the current business model of UBER which is the market leader with operations in 170 markets and a $9 billion market cap. Requiring the fingerprint checks makes it economically unfeasible to sign up a critical mass of drivers in large cities in order to provide the quick response times that make the service popular. It’s a deal killer. UBER officials don’t make appearances during the debates because on this point they have no room to maneuver, and if they do make an appearance at a city hall in Texas or an
So what to do? There are two salient questions to be addressed. First, it is patently unfair to require taxi drivers to have fingerprint background checks and not require them of UBER drivers. This either/ or line of thinking led Mayor Nelda Martinez Tuesday to lead the charge for the fingerprint checks – council members McIntyre, Scott, McGill, and Hunter voted against the move – on the stated grounds of “safety for riders.” There can be no denying safety is the first concern, which leads to the second question of whether there is another way to provide safety without a categorical imperative that kicks UBER to the city limits for good since they are not going to bend on the matter because it undermines their $9 billion business model. Councils all across the state find themselves hoisted on their own petard as citizens demanding the service collide with the politics of risk if an unchecked UBER driver commits a crime against a rider. This issue is already shaping up to be a key question in the city council and mayoral races in November as UBER backers are now talking petition, which means registering voters, which may mean trouble for the five council backers of the fingerprint ordinance. Next comes a likely council review of existing taxi ordinances.
Split the baby After more than a year of debate San Antonio found a way to split the baby. The media outside of the city has done a poor job of reporting the details in the plan simply saying that the city “waved the fingerprint background requirement.” That much is true, but there is more. When UBER riders summon a ride there they can stipulate that their driver must have a fingerprint background check or not. Let the market decide. The same can be done for existing taxi drivers. Let the market decide. The surprising result in San Antonio has been that very few customers have required the checks so few drivers have had them. UBER, like in other cities, does its own “name” check (old technology) and for the vast majority of San Antonio riders that has been sufficient. So in an election year pushing “safety” for the public is good politics but it appears lousy policy, because now we are back where we started and the issue is almost certainly headed back to Austin where last time around the legislation never made it out of committee and to become a political football in the city elections where compromise is something you accuse your opponent of doing. In the meantime, if you’re trying to get a taxi to the airport from The Island consider
2015
2016
$ Change
% Change
Port A
$183,203
$169,558
$13,646
8.05%
HAMPTON INN & SUITES
Port A
$143,303
$106,365
$36,939
34.73%
LA MIRAGE HOMEOWNERS' ASSOCIATION
Port A
$114,276
$103,378
$10,899
10.54%
BEST WESTERN OCEAN VILLA
Port A
$98,087
$77,075
$21,013
27.26%
BEACHGATE
Port A
$78,588
$69,508
$9,081
13.06%
CINNAMON SHORE RENTALS
Port A
$75,481
$70,222
$5,260
7.49%
ISLAND HOTEL
Port A
$72,219
$52,218
$20,001
38.30%
HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS
Port A
$71,087
$70,995
$92
0.13%
CINNAMON SHORE RENTALS Port Aransas Top 9
Total Padre, Mustang & Port A
The BACK PORCH Scarecrow People Chris Saucedo Randy McAllister Mike Blakely Rosie Flores Billy Snipes (5-8)
May 12 May 13 May 14 May 20 May 21 May 22
The BACK PORCH Bar ON THE WATERFRONT
The
On Tuesday the Corpus Christi City Council voted 5-4 to require the fingerprint check and the dust you saw on the horizon was UBER leaving town. As a practical matter they left town in March but Tuesday was the coup de grace.
SAND CASTLE CONDOMINIUM
132 W. Cotter St.
exception to the fingerprint requirement rule in Texas, other than Houston, it will not likely be in the 129th market.
Port Aransas Top HOT payers continued from A1
$70,222
$75,481
-$5,260
-6.97%
$906,468
$794,799
$111,670
14.05%
$2,345,251 $2,100,356 $244,895
Calling All Dog Owners! Donations
For Riley P. Dog Park
Five ways you can help: Join our fundraising committee Buy a personalized paving brick for your family or business Make a cash donation Talk to a committee member about fundraising ideas We are a 501 c3 non-profit corporation. Make checks payable to Riley P. Dog Park, Inc. 14015 Fortuna Bay Dr.C.C., Tx 78418 Visit our website at: rileypdogpark.com or call Bev Hoffman (361) 949-7025
mail to: 14015 Fortuna Dr. C.C., TX 78418
Name:________________
Address: ______________ ______________________ Phone: ________________ Email:_________________ ______________________
PortA
BACK PORCH
One Bite and You’re Hooked! Bar Prime Rib Wednesdays Mini Golf Great Food Family Fun Seafood, Steaks, Salads, Burgers & a Full Bar Open 11am - 2am • Kitchen Closes at 1am 2034 State Hwy 361
361-749-TACO (8226)
11.66%
We’re ready to break ground on the Riley P Dog Park on Padre Island ... but we need your help.
RILEY P.
DOG PARK
Port A
$6.00
A5
off any oil change!
A6
Island Moon
A Little Short By Mike Mueck There was nothing out of the ordinary when I decided to “dash” into HEB during my lunch hour last week to pick-up an item or two that I had forgotten the day before. In a hurry, I picked out the first available parking spot I saw and once into the store quickly headed down the aisles that I knew held my items. I was feeling pretty good about myself at how efficiently I had used my time as I headed for the checkout. I spotted an express lane that had only one or two people ahead of me and was waiting there when up from behind me came a young woman hugging with all her might a forty pound bag of dog food. I could tell she was about to lose it, so I quickly offered to let her go in front of me which she gratefully accepted. When the cashier totaled the dog food, the young lady pulled out some bills from her purse and then started digging for change from the bottom of her purse.
As the seconds then minutes ticked by, I began to realize, as well as the people in line behind me, what was happening. The young lady kept finding a few cents in her purse laying them on the counter and counting. My growing resentment immediately turned to sympathy when she looked up at me like a deer in the headlights Let’s be honest, we’ve all been there at one time or the other. I asked” a little short, huh, how much?” The cashier told me two dollars. I’ll admit I was little surprised thinking it would be something in the range of a few cents. Nevertheless, I pulled out my wallet and handed the cashier two dollars, while the young lady repeatedly thanked me and promised to pay me back. I told her don’t bother. It was worth two dollars if I could just get out of there, and she could just return the favor the next time she was behind someone that needed a little help. This is where the story gets a little weird. The next morning when I pulled into my parking lot at work and opened my door, I looked down and crumpled up against the curb were two dollar bills lying in the leaves. Probably just dumb luck, but I would like to think it was much more.
Police Blotter
Bathroom break leads to missing car
Sunday, May 8, 12:53 a.m. 820 West Point Road Offense: Unauthorized Use of a motor vehicle
BBB offers advice for consumers seeking a trustworthy contractor following severe storms
By Kelly Trevino, Regional Director, Corpus Christi Better Business Bureau Your BBB offers the In Texas, severe weather can leave plenty advice for of damage in their wake for residents. And following as homeowners and businesses survey the finding a trustworthy repair aftermath of a storm, many may find they are in business or contractor: need of a roofer or general contractor. • Check with your insurance company as soon Unfortunately, the aftermath of a natural disaster often results in an influx of rogue contractors. These contractors often target homeowners in need of immediate repairs. Better Business Bureau serving Central, Coastal, Southwest Texas and the Permian Basin receives reports every year of contractors that allegedly take money up front, leave jobs unfinished or don’t start repairs at all. Although many homeowners have an emergency plan in place in case an unexpected natural disaster strikes, you often can’t prevent damage to infrastructure. When inevitable damage occurs, use BBB to find a trustworthy repair business or contractor. Last year, roofing contractors and general contractors were two of the top 10 most inquired about industries. Your BBB wants consumers to know, however, that not all out-of-town contractors and businesses have shady motives or intentions to scam you out of your money. BBB recommends that you watch out for these red flags to avoid getting ripped off after disaster strikes: • Contractors who solicit business door-todoor. Be cautious of contractors who offer vague information, don't provide a physical address or phone number and use scare tactics.
A 50-year-old woman reported her car stolen from a friend’s apartment to the Corpus Christi Police at a little before 1am Sunday morning.
• High-pressure sales tactics. Resist falling for phrases like the “good deal” you’ll get only if you hire the contractor on the spot or “this price is only good for today.”
The 50-year-old woman told Officers she was at a friend’s apartment drinking when she left her car keys unattended while she went to the bathroom. The 50-year-old woman told Officers when she came out of the bathroom, she noticed her keys gone, and she looked outside to see her silver 2003 Pontiac Grand Am gone. The 50-year-old woman told Officers she does not know who took her car. The vehicle has not yet been located.
• Pushy contractors. Like high-pressure sales tactics, be wary of a contractor trying to push you to sign a contract that makes them the exclusive contractor to do the repairs. This restricts the consumer from shopping around for the best deal.
No good deed goes unpunished May 5 11:15 p.m. 1700 North Tancahua Street Aggravated Assault A 33 year old man called Corpus Christi Policed after he was assaulted by the exhusband of a female while he was trying to help her change a flat tire. It all started when the man saw the exhusband hit the female through her open car window as she sat in the driver seat of her car in the parking lot of a bar located at 1724 North Tancahua Street. The ex-husband then walked away, and the man went to the car to check on the female. He noticed that she had a busted lip from the assault. He also noticed that one of her front tires on her vehicle was flat and he offered to change it for her. While in the process of changing the flat tire, the ex-husband returned to the car and began to yell at the man who was changing the tire. The ex-husband pushed the man, and then pulled out a pocket knife from his pants. The man was able to punch the ex-husband in the face and slap the knife away. While slapping the knife away the man suffered a minor cut to one of his fingers. Officers arrested the ex-husband, 49, for aggravated assault. Officers also determined he had a protective order against him forbidding him from contacting his ex-wife. He was additionally charged for violating that court order.
Family planning leads to Demolition Derby May 5 11:30 p.m. 3100 Ayers Street Offense: Aggravated Assault A female was arrested by Corpus Christi Police after she used her car as a weapon and intentionally struck another vehicle with her brother’s girlfriend inside. Officers arrived at a convenience store, located at 3102 Ayers Street, and were told that a 2002 Ford Escape with a 35 year old female driver and her 32 year old boyfriend were in the store parking lot. A 2007 Mitsubishi Galant sedan, driven by the sister of the boyfriend, pulled into the parking lot and blocked the Ford Escape in. When the driver of the Ford Escape tried to back out around the car that had blocked her in, the female driver of the Mitsubishi intentionally drove into the Ford Escape twice striking the driver’s side door. No one in either vehicle was injured. Officers arrested the 24 year-old sister, Jennifer Ramos who said she was upset at her brother for getting back together with his girlfriend.
Police Remember Fallen Officer Elias T. Mussett Jr. Corpus Christi City Marshall Elias Mussett Jr Contributed by Commander John Houston On May 5, 1892, the citizens of Corpus Christi were celebrating Cinco De Mayo with a parade down Leopard St in the area of where the courthouse is today to the uptown bluff. Elias Mussett Jr had just been relected as the City Marshall and would start his second term that day. Mussett rode at the front of the parade and was soon joined by his daughter Lillian on horseback. The celebration lasted all evening and prior to going to his home he made one last patrol of the city. City Marshall Elias T Mussett Jr. had run against a subject named John Parker. Parker
was a local trouble maker who the city council hired as a city police officer just three days before the murder even though everyone in the town told the council not to hire him. Parker had made numerous threats to kill Mussett during the election. At approx 1am on May 6th, Mussett stopped to speak with a local standing outside the Pancho Grande bar which was located near what is now Waco and Leopard St. As Mussett spoke with the subject about the night’s activities, Parker rode up in the dark and came to Mussett’s right side. Without as much as a word Parker fired one shot from his pistol killing Mussett immediately. Parker fled the area and went downtown to the police station located on what is now Mesquite St north of IH 37 and turned himself in for Mussett’s murder. Parker was charged with Murder and his trial began within one day. After days of testimony, Parker was found guilty of Murder and sentenced to life in prison with hard labor. He was sent to the Huntsville, Texas Walls Unit to serve his sentence. The entire city closed for his funeral. Mussett was buried in Rose Hill Cemetary on land that belonged to his father, an original founder of Corpus Christi.
• Demanding full payment upfront. Never agree to pay in full before the job is done. It is recommended to pay one-third of the bill and pay the rest once the job is complete. This will allow consumers a safety net if the job is not completed or the work is inferior. Pay by credit card, if possible.
The Corpus Christi Police Department responded to 961 calls for service and generated 239 reports for formal criminal complaints from 7:00 a.m. May 5 to 7:00 a.m. on May 6, 2016.
• Know the business you're dealing with. It's a good idea to get two or three bids, and compare materials, services, and guarantees, not just the price. Ask for customer references directly from the business. Finally, check out the business at bbb.org. • Take notice of the contractor’s vehicle. Look for signs or markings on it with the business name, phone number and appropriate state license plates. • Read and understand the contract and guarantee. Make sure you get a written estimate and contract. The contract should include a written description of the work to be done, and the price of labor and materials. If the company makes any verbal promises, make sure they are in writing. The guarantee should describe what's covered by the guarantee, for how long, and what the company will do to honor those promises. • Don't make the final payment or sign a completion agreement until all the work is done to your satisfaction. Don't fall for promises to return and take care of final details. It may be difficult to get the company to return once the job is paid for and signed off. • Know where to turn. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Texas Division of Emergency Management, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and your BBB have many resources available to help families prepare for what to do before, during and after disaster strikes. Kelly Trevino is the Regional Director for the Corpus Christi office of Better Business Bureau serving Central, Coastal, Southwest Texas and the Permian Basin. Kelly is available for media interviews and speaking engagements. You can reach her by phone: (361) 945-7352 or email: ktrevino@corpuschristi.bbb.org.
2 off $20 Purchase, $ 3 off $30, $5 off $50 $
Offering: Full Set Refill Pedicure Manicure Gel Polish Waxing Facial Eyelash Extensions Permanent Makeup
100 colors of SNS Powder gel 300 colors of Powder
Free Wine & Soft Drinks
361-949-1794 Mon - Sat 9:30 a.m. - 7:30 p.m • Sunday 11 a.m - 5:30 p.m. 14493 S. Padre Island Dr., Unit B Next to Padre Pizzeria
We now have Gluten Free Pizza!
Family Owned & Operated Since 1987
Live Music
Police Calls
The Corpus Christi Police Department responded to 1303 calls for service and generated 209 reports for formal criminal complaints from 7:00 a.m. May 8 to 7:00 a.m. on May 9, 2016.
as possible. Ask about policy coverage and how to file a claim.
Deluxe Nails
Mussett is the first documented In the Line of Duty Death of a CCPD officer. Please remember City Marshall Elias Mussett Jr. and his family in your thoughts and prayers this day. The Corpus Christi Police Department responded to 826 calls for service and generated 230 reports for formal criminal complaints from 7:00 a.m. May 9 to 7:00 a.m. on May 10, 2016.
May 12, 2016
Ruben Limas Thursdays Brian Winfrey Fridays and Saturdays Reservations recommended
Daily Lunch Specials Monday - unlimited spaghetti salad and bread $7.50
Tuesday- 9 in. sub for 6in. sub price Wednesday- pasta menu full order for 1/2 order price Thursday- salad 6 in. sub and drink $6.50 Friday- unlimited dinner salad $5.99
The Original Pizza of Padre Island The Island's oldest full-service restaurant Private Party / Meeting Room Available by Reservation
Delivery on The Island after 5pm
Hours: Mon- Thurs 11 AM - 9:30 PM Fri - Sat 11 AM - 10 PM Sun 5-9:30 PM 15370 SPID (Just south of Whitecap) 949-7737 islanditalian.com
The Corpus Christi Police Department responded to 884 calls for service and generated 256 reports for formal criminal complaints from 7:00 a.m. May 4 to 7:00 a.m. on May 5, 2016.
Island Police Calls 14100 block Cabana East 3 p.m. May 7 Burglary of a habitation 14300 block SPID 8:30 a.m. May 10 Theft from a building 14400 block SPID 9:48 p.m. May 10 Driving while license suspended 14500 block Cabana East 9 p.m. May 5 Burglary of a habitation 13500 block Port Royal 7:27 a.m. May 10 Burglary of a habitation 15200 block Cruiser 5:01 a.m. May 10 Assault by contact/Assault 15300 block Tortuga 3:06 p.m. May 7 Criminal mischief under $100 14700 block Whitecap 3:33 p.m. May 7 Fire
Under the Bridge Open Daily 11:00 - 9:00 Lunch Specials Monday-Friday 11 am - 2 pm AlsoScoopy’s Veranda With Sweet Treats, Soups, Salads & Sandwiches Now Accepting Visa Mastercard & Discover
SPID/Encantada 7:17 p.m. May 7 Assault 11500 block Gulf Beach 5:06 p.m. May 9 Boat rescue
Snoopy’s Scoopy’s
(361) 949-8815 (361) 949-7810
13313 S. Padre Island Drive Corpus Christi, TX 78418
May 12, 2016
A7
Island Moon
History continued from A1 and precious cargoes. Beachcombers find coins and enough other plunder to keep them walking with lowered eyes and digging, sore-muscled, in the dunes. Goading them on is the exciting knowledge that a man named Singer once found an $80,000 treasure by walking the beach and gouging around I the sand. Another man took a fistful of gold from a tin can, and a woman found a box of jewels. But the most attractive treasure remains undiscovered. It is a Spanish galleon laden with gold, silver and gems that Cortez captured in Mexico. Many a man combs the island for this one rich ship. There is substantial reason for believing that it is there, somewhere. There is plenty of space for fortune seeking. Padre is the longest of the Gulf islands. It is a finger of shifting sand that curves along the coast for 117 miles between Corpus Christi and Brownsville at the mouth of the Rio Grande. The width varies from 1400 feet to four miles. Marine scientists say it is an overgrown sandbar from 15,000 to 20,000 years old. The north end is eighteen miles southeast of Corpus Christi. There a narrow pass divides it from Mustang Island, which has several hundred inhabitants, all living at Port Aransas, a shipping and fishing village. Occasionally the pass fills with sand and joins Padre and Mustang into one island 132 miles long. Laguna Madre, a lagoon of varying depth, but generally pretty shallow, lies between Padre Island and the mainland. The island, with the inside of its arch to the sea, is the perfect target for storms every person who has stayed on Padre has been virtually blown off, ultimately. It is no place to be in a bad storm. After a hurricane a few years ago a pilot flew over the island and counted forty-three places where Gulf waters were pouring across into the lagoon. Padre is dotted with constantly shifting dunes that send up windy sprays of fine dust. Tasseled stems of seaside oats grow bravely out of the sides of dunes. Here and there are motes of mesquite, and wild-chili pepper plants are sprinkled about. The peppers are violently hot. Almost anywhere there is apt to be a rustycolored rattlesnake. Packs of scrawny coyotes roam the island. the first white man on the island were beachcombers; they were Spanish sailors who landed more than 400 years ago to salvage cargoes of ships that been blown ashore. In later years there have been a few ranching enterprises, but they had more downs than ups. More than a century ago a Spanish padre, Nicholas Balli, founded a ranching colony on the southern end. The island, then known as Santiago, took its present name from the padre, but got little else from his venture. Much of the central portion is across the lagoon from the million-acre King Ranch. Kings owns a large acreage on Padre also, and at various times have run cattle on it. The descendants of an Irishman named Pat Dunn have been ranching from time to time on the northern parts for more than sixty years, although there isn’t very much grass there. The main attraction of the island – tales of treasure – lured me to Padre not long ago. I had heard of the Devil’s Elbow, a long, sweeping bend midway of the island. Here is where the sea has been disgorging derelict cargoes for centuries; it is where an enterprising beachcomber, Louis Rawalt, found a fortune in raw rubber. I wanted to do a little beachcombing, and I looked up Rawalt.
State Highway 361 Passing Lane Project Begins Monday in Port Aransas
Dine Island May 11-25 Let the Dine Island eating and drinking begin! Over 70 meals order from Aunt Sissy's Kitchen got the first Dine Island event off to a great start. Everyone on the island and OTB is invited and encourage to Dine Island! Eat at a participating island restaurant between May 11-25 and enjoy a delicious three-course meal for a value price and help the Food Bank. Restaurants will donate $1 for every Dine Island meal sold.. Go to our Facebook page (Dine Island), to see all the special menus, and plan your dining out experiences for the next two weeks. Please help us out by liking and sharing the Facebook Dine Island 2016 event with all your friends OTB. Participating Restaurants include:
A $6.5 million Texas Department of Transportation project to add a continuous left turn lane and passing lanes on SH 361 south of Port Aransas will begin Monday, May 9. The initial work will be the placement of traffic control devices identifying the 13-mile-long work zone on SH 361, which will be from just south of Access Road 1 to about a mile south of Access Road 2. The three-lane section consisting of a northbound and southbound travel and a new, continuous left turn lane will start just north of Gulfwind Drive (which is the road between the south end of the golf course and Pioneer RV) and extend south to the entrance of Mustang Island Estates Drive or just south of Port Royal, a distance of about four miles.
Veranda, Costa Sur, Boathouse, Angry Marlin, Padre Pizzeria, Island Time Sushi, JB's German Bakery, A la Mode Gelateria, Mikel Mays, Scuttlebutt’s, Surf Side, Texas Mesquite BBQ, Black Sheep Bistro / Barrel, Dragonfly, Aunt Sissy's Kitchen. If your favorite restaurant isn't on the list, ask them why not! Contact Debbie Noble at debnoble@juno.com for more information.
From just south of Mustang Island Estates Drive there will be a southbound passing lane about one mile in length that will end south of Beach View, which is between Lost Colony and the Mustang Island Conference Center. Then, there will be a ¾-mile transition section of roadway with no change.
Whoop it Up continued from A1
A northbound, 1 ½-mile long passing lane will be built beginning just north of Access Road 2 and ending about ½ mile south of the fire station.
hold bond elections for facilities…they must raise facility funding through private funding and debt incurred by Island Foundation.”
Added as a safety feature, passing lanes are sometimes referred to as “Super 2s.” They are periodic passing lanes added to a twolane roadway that allows slower vehicles to move to the right in a separate lane so following vehicles can pass without moving into the travel lane used by oncoming traffic. The passing lane will alternate from one direction of travel to the other within a section of roadway allowing passing opportunities in both directions.
Each year Seashore students consistently receive top test scores in South Texas on academic aptitude tests. Whoop It Up is a chance to give Islanders an opportunity to support their community schools while having a fantastic evening.
Founders visit Seashore Charter Schools was recently honored to have three of the original Island Foundation stake holders, Jimmie Driver, Peggy Shirley, and Katie Howell, visit the campuses and enjoy the success of the schools they helped establish.
The project is expected to take about 11 months to complete. Additional work on SH 361 on Mustang Island that is either under way or soon to begin includes:
Over twenty years ago a few individuals inspired by Rudyard Kipling’s poem ‘If’ asked the question, “if you could dream…if you could think, how would you provide an excellent education to our Island community?”
• Widening SH 361 to a five-lane roadway from Avenue G to Beach Access Road 1A at a cost of $14.3 million. • This features two travel lanes in each direction with a center turn lane. Project also includes 13-foot-wide hike and bike path on east (beach) side of road and intermittent (due to wetlands) sidewalk on west side.
Their answers included small class size, quality teachers, stimulating curriculum, community partnerships, and an avid parent volunteer commitment and program. Those answers became ‘The Seashore Way’ and 20 years later with community support continues to yield wildly successful results and wellrounded and productive students.
• Expected completion: Fall 2016 • Widening SH 361 from Access Road 1A to Access Road 1, a distance of about one mile. Cost: $6.4 million.
So past and present stake holders, volunteers, and families will be celebrating 20 years of excellent education at Seashore when they “Whoop It Up” on Saturday, You can purchase your tickets online at IslandFoundation.com for $20 or buy them at the door for $30.
• This will basically be an extension of the current $14.3 million project with the construction of a four-lane roadway (two travel lanes in each direction with a raised median) and hike and bike path on each side. • Construction estimated to begin in the summer of 2016. Motorists are urged to expect delays, to allow extra travel time, to slow down in the work areas and to follow all traffic control devices.
Island Garden Tour
City of Port Aransas Election Results
It wasn’t too easy to get to Padre. Although the island is only a short distance from some of the lushest parts of the Texas coast, it is practically inaccessible. The narrow lagoon is too shallow for much boating, and is unsafe for fording. Light planes can land on the beach and take off with safety if the beach happens to be right, but only airmen who know the tricks will try it. The wet sand may happen to be as level and firm as an oak floor, or it may be full of holes or strewn with half-buried logs and flotsam.
Mayor Laura Lee Degenhardt: 114 Roger Powers: 99
Beachcombers Rawalt, who lives in Corpus Christi, has a stripped-down military weapons carrier – a four-wheel drivewhich is the thing for island travel. It wasn’t difficult to talk him into a trip. We went to Aransas Pass, which is about eighteen miles north and east of Corpus Christi and a place where the fish are supposed to bite every day. There we took a narrow causeway across Red Fish Bay to the north end of Padre.
Charles Bujan: 862
City Council Place 2 Beverly Bolner: 589 Roxy Curry: 436
Rawalt was a good man to go along with. He has roamed the Padre beach for twenty years. He know the island, its feel and its sound. Not long ago he and Mrs. Rawalt were on Padre, sleeping in a tent. They had no radio and knew nothing of storm warnings that were flying fast. At midnight, Rawalt awakened his wife and said, “There a sort of pop to the surf. Think we better hike it.” They loaded up and rolled out. They got off the island a few hours before a blow struck. Rawalt had read the sound correctly.
City Council Place 4 Bruce Clark: 538 Arnold Govella: 503
Be sure to mark your calendar for this year's Padre Island Gardeners annual FREE garden tour on Saturday May 14th, 9 am 'til noon. These are just two of the beautiful tropical yards on the tour.
City Council Place 6
Next Week: Roaming The Island with Louis Rawalt. Joan Holt: 723
Jackie Bales: 312
The Island's
Edge Salon Booth Rental Available!
Join 4 Proven Businesses For Networking & Fun Too! Decks & Docks The Animal Hospital of Padre Island
Island Moon Newspaper MAY PIBA MIXER
Alliance Patrol Services
949-0794
Corine Farah and a friend enjoyed the TGSA Surf competition on May 5
our Y g n Bri rds! a C s es un n F i s e u v a B &H k r o Netw
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May 12, 2016
Island Moon
SPORTS Hit Parade
Sports Talk Special to The Island Moon
The Third Team on the Football Field By Dotson Lewis Special to the Island Moon
of the field.
Dotson’s Note: There is a critical shortage of football officials in this area. Officials are needed for all levels of high school, middle school & youth football. The South Texas Football Officials Association is the local association that recruits and trains officials for this most important job. A registration and orientation meeting for new football officials will be held at 6:30 PM, Monday, May 16, 2016 at Doctors Regional Hospital Conference Room which is located at the intersection of Texan Trail & Fort Worth Avenue. If you have a question, please call Rudy Durate, 361-548-6358; Email: rudydurate8@yhaoo.com or contact me. I have been officiating football since 1946 and it is challenging, fun, and you even get paid for officiating. Please pass the word to any of your friends who may be interested. Who knows, you or one of your friends could be the Referee in a Super Bowl! We, the officials, are always on the winning team.
• Oversees the chain crew and grabs the chain when measuring for a first down. • Usually runs in after a play is whistled dead and places his foot to show where forward progress was made by the ball carrier at the end of the play. • Assists the line judge (who stands opposite the linesman) with illegal motion calls and any illegal shifts or movement. • Checks for illegal use of hands during kicks or passes.
By Andy Purvis Special to the Island Moon A quiet, private man, he once confided to a friend that it had cost him $10,000, yet 75 years later, we still revere his accomplishment. His spread-eagle stance was very unusual, but it worked for him. His teammates reported that he rubbed his bat with olive oil and swore he never broke a bat, he simply wore them out. I once wrote in one of my earlier books entitled, In the Company of Greatness, the real magic of Joe DiMaggio was that nothing looked hard for him when playing baseball. Make no mistake, he knew how good he was and, after his retirement, he demanded that before each of the 47 Old-Timers Day Games he attended, he would be introduced as “The Greatest Living Yankee Player, Joe DiMaggio.”
With all the shifting of players being done today, it’s interesting to note that DiMaggio never bunted for a hit during the streak. The streak almost came to an end on June 24th, against the St. Louis Browns. In Game 35 of the streak, Joe was hitless when he came to bat in the seventh inning. Browns’ Manager, Luke Sewell, ordered his pitcher, Bob Muncrief, to intentionally walk DiMaggio. Muncrief refused, Sewell relented, and DiMaggio lined a single into left field. The streak continued. During the streak, DiMaggio faced four future Hall-of-Fame pitchers: “Lefty” Grove, Hal Newhouser (twice), Bob Feller and Ted Lyons. Last but not least, when
• Supervises substitutions made by the team seated on his side of the field.
Line judge The line judge lines up on the opposite side of the field from the linesman and serves as an overall helper while being responsible for illegal motion and illegal shifts. A few of his many chores: • Assists the linesman with offside and encroachment calls. • Helps the umpire with holding calls and watching for illegal use of hands on the end of the line. • Assists the referee with calls regarding false starts and forward passes behind the line of scrimmage. • Supervises substitutions made by the team seated on his side of the field.
Football Officials The men wearing black-and-white striped shirts on an American football field are the officials. They enforce the rules, keep players from hurting each other, call penalties, and monitor the clock. Without the officials, a football game would be even more chaotic than it appears to be! Each official carries a whistle and a weighted, bright yellow flag, which he throws to signal that a penalty has been called on a play. In the event that an official throws his yellow flag during a play and then sees another penalty, he usually throws his bean bag.
With four officials one of the line judge’s most important jobs is supervising the timing of the game: • If the game clock becomes inoperative, he assumes the official timing on the field. • He advises the referee when time has expired at the end of each quarter. • In the NFL, he signals the referee when two minutes remain in a half, stopping the clock for the two-minute warning. (Not in high school or college games). • During halftime, he notifies the home team’s head coach when five minutes remain before the start of the second half.
Depending on the level of play, there may be two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight or nine officials “working” the game. Although we would like to have at least four officials assigned to a local middle school game, due to an extreme shortage of officials, we, at times only have three or maybe even two officiating a game. On a few occasions I have officiated a game alone (one person mechanics), while each team played with eleven players each. To say the least, the odds were against me.
Other Judges (depending on the number of officials: Back, Field & Side)
The following are the basic positions and duties of the “crew” “working” (officiating) an American football game.
• Whether field goal and extra-point kicks are good.
Referee (The good guy in the white hat) The referee has general oversight and control of the game. He’s the final authority for the score, the number of a down in case of a disagreement, and all rule interpretations when a debate arises among the other officials. He’s the only official who wears a white hat; all the other officials wear black hats. Only a few of the many referee’s primary responsibilities:
• The legality of catches or pass interference. • Whether a receiver is interfered with. • Whether a receiver has possession of the ball before going out of bounds.
With teams passing the ball more often, the NFL and many colleges added side judge in 1978 as the seventh official. When the ball is put in play, each official keys on (is assigned to watch) a player(s). With seven officials there are a minimum of 3 officials’ pairs of eyes monitoring all of the downfield action. On field goal and extra point attempts, two of the judges are positioned behind the goal posts to determine if the kicked ball passes between the uprights and over the crossbar of the goal posts. Judges are also:
• Monitors the quarterback during the game, watching for any illegal hits on the quarterback and checking the legality of blocks made near the quarterback.
• Is responsible for forward passes that cross the defensive goal line and any fumbled ball in his area.
• Requests that the head linesman and his assistants bring the yardage chains onto the field to determine whether the ball has reached the line to gain for a new first down, as needed, at the end of any down.
• Watches for pass interference, monitoring the tight end’s pass patterns, calling interference, and making decisions involving catching, recovery, out-of-bounds spots, or illegal touching of a fumbled ball after it crosses the line of scrimmage.
• Notifies the head coach when any player is ejected for unnecessary roughness or unsportsmanlike conduct.
• Watches for illegal use of hands by the offensive players, especially the ends and wide receivers, on defensive players.
• Confirming the legality of the players’ equipment. • Watching all play along the lines of scrimmage, sometimes a plane, between the offensive and defensive players. • Making sure that the offensive team has no more than 11 players on the field prior to the snap of the ball.
During the streak, DiMaggio had been the subject of every newspaper, newsreel and radio broadcast in America. The streak completely captured the imagination of the public. The question, “Did he get one?’ (a hit) was repeated over and over. In fact, Lou Gehrig, “The Iron Horse,” passed away on June 2, 1941, and nobody seemed to notice.
• Whether the defensive team has no more than 11 players on the field.
• Responsible for the play clock, which relates to time allowed between plays; and counts the number of defensive players.
A few of the many primary duties of the umpire:
There is no question that “Joltin’ Joe” began to cement his name in the history books on May 15, 1941. That day, Joe managed only one hit in four at-bats, in a 13-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox. What followed is considered by most baseball historians to be one of the most famous records in baseball. In fact, most sportswriters believe it’s also the purest record in the game. Joe would record a hit in each of the next 55 games in a row, a total of 56 consecutive games.
Among their many duties the judges rules on:
• Signals/announces all penalties and confers with the offending team’s captain, explaining the penalty.
Umpire
Joe DiMaggio swinging for the fences.
Joe DiMaggio-Athletics The streak would eventually come to an end on July 17, 1941, in Cleveland against the Indians. Indians’ third baseman, Ken Keltner, made two splendid backhanded stops on hard-hit ground balls and threw DiMaggio out at first, each time. There is a little-known story that DiMaggio and pitcher, “Lefty” Gomez, shared a cab to the ballpark in Cleveland that day. The cab driver told Joe that his streak would end that day. Gomez became enraged and blasted the cab driver. The cab driver’s prophecy came true. Since that afternoon, this record has never been really challenged. There are many interesting side notes that occurred during the streak. I wonder how many you might know about. DiMaggio hit .408 during the streak (91-for-223), with 15 home runs and 55 RBI’s. Believe it or not, Joe also hit 56 singles and scored 56 runs during the streak.
the streak began on May 15, the Yankees were 14-14, 5 ½ games behind the Cleveland Indians in fourth place. After Game #56 of the streak, the Yankees were 55-27 and in first place, with a six-game lead over Cleveland. The longest hitting streak since DiMaggio established the Major League record is 44 games by Pete Rose. Hitting streaks were nothing new for DiMaggio as he once had a 61-game hit streak in 1933, while in the Minor Leagues with the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League. That streak is the secondlongest in Minor League history, second to Joe Wilhoit (69 games in 1919). That season, DiMaggio was voted the American League MVP over Boston’s Ted Williams, who hit .406, the last time any Major League player has hit over .400 for a season. It’s funny, you can say the numbers .406 or 56 to a baseball fan and he will know exactly what you’re talking about. Here’s another interesting tidbit. Did you know that Joe DiMaggio wore the #9 during his rookie year, 1936, the same number as Ted Williams? He changed his number the following year, making the #5 famous for the New York Yankees. I admit that the 56-game hitting streak may never be broken, but for me there is one other statistic owned by DiMaggio that in my opinion is more magnificent. During his 13-year career, Joe DiMaggio hit 361 home runs, while batting .325; and he only struck out 369 times. The $10,000 that DiMaggio said he had lost was an endorsement from The Heinz Corporation, which would have been used to promote their Heinz 57 Ketchup. DiMaggio left us on March 8, 1999, at the age of 84. Even though he was immortalized most of his life, I still don’t think we knew or understood the real Joe DiMaggio. Andy Purvis is a local author and radio personality. Please visit www.purvisbooks. com for all the latest info on his books or to listen to the new radio podcast. Andy’s books are available online and can be found in the local Barnes & Noble bookstore. Andy can be contacted at purvis.andy@mygrande.net. Also listen to sports talk radio on Dennis & Andy’s Q & A Session from 6-8 PM on Sportsradiocc.com 1230 AM, 96.1 FM and 103.3 FM. The home of the Houston Astros.
Dotson’s Other Note: If you think you know football, you are in for a rude awakening. When you start officiating you will really learn the game. The foregoing descriptions of duties only touched on a miniscule part of the duties performed.Your comments, suggestions, questions and concerns regarding Sports Talk articles are greatly appreciated, please call the Benchwarmers at 361-560-5397 weekdays, Mondays thru Fridays, 5-7 PM, or contact me. Phone: 361-949-7681 Cell: 530-748-8475 Email: dlewis1@stx.rr.com
• Monitoring the legality of all contact between the offensive and defensive linemen. This official calls many of the holding penalties.
• Assisting the referee on decisions involving possession of the ball in close proximity to the line of scrimmage. • Recording all timeouts, the winner of the coin toss, and all scores. • Making sure the offensive linemen don’t move downfield illegally on pass plays. • Drying a wet ball prior to the snap when it’s raining.
Linesman The linesman has a number of jobs, some of which are: • Straddles the line of scrimmage and watches for encroachment, offside, illegal men downfield, and all the other line-ofscrimmage violations. • Rules on all out-of-bounds plays to his side
May 12, 2016
Island Moon
TGSA Surf Competition
Cinco de Mayo Pro Stand-up Paddleboard Race
A9
Photos by Jeff Dolan, Jon Brandt, and Scott Ellwood
Photos by Jon Brandt and Scott Ellwood
Dragonfly Restaurant Curacao Blues Come to Dragonfly and check out our TEXAS size Prime Bone In Ribeyes!! Dragonfly is Dry Aging & Hand Cutting Steaks in house!!! Arrive early to ensure yourself the BEST Steak you have had!
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Photo by Scott Ellwood
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Yard of the Month
Dr. Christi Kresser
Voted Best Veterinarian 2006-2015
Thank You For Supporting & Voting Us #1 in the CHRISTI KRESSER VETERINARIAN Corpus Christi & Coastal Bend Area
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The Island Gardeners awarded the May yard of the month to Doug and Diane Popma who reside at 13833 Lafitte. Their front yard is a wavy combination of colorful shrubs, rocks and a cute brick walkway that leads to a welcoming porch. If you like the front you should see the back! An infinity fountain that Diane and Doug created themselves from ceramic pots then surrounded with gorgeous roses. A variety of citrus trees and blooming shrubs decorate the surrounding yard. Drive by and see this beauty. Don't forget, this Saturday, May 14th is the Island Gardeners free garden tour featuring four privately owned homes and three parks. Also visit the community gardens at Douden Park. Look for signs!! Please contact Dianne Gimpel at 361-563-0951 to suggest a neighbor for yard of the month.
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A10
Island Moon
May 12, 2016