Issue 566
FREE
The
Island Moon
The voice of The Island since 1996
Free
Weekly
February 19, 2015
Around The Island By Dale Rankin
6th Annual Barefoot Mardi Gras Winners
editor@islandmoon.com
The Chamber of Commerce Weather continues of late, as of this writing, even as the Northeast, Midwest, and the Great Plains dig out of several feet of snow and ice. It reminds us why we live here. Water temps this week hit 70 degrees and the beaches have been full with driving conditions bordering on excellent.
February 19-22 This is the weekend to Whoop It Up in Port Aransas as the 2015 Whooping Crane Festival takes flight. The Coastal Bend is the only spot in the United States where the endangered Whooping Crane can be viewed at close range. The Port Aransas Chamber of Commerce celebrates this astonishing natural wonder this weekend, February 1922 with an annual festival honoring these grand birds.
Barefootin’ Barefoot Mardi Gras has come and gone and this one was without a doubt the biggest ever in the six years of the event with more than sixty floats in the parade and over 900 tickets sold for the King and Queens’ Ball which was held for the first time at the Veranda. This year marked the first time the event was marketed outside of Corpus Christi and the turnout of out-of-towners reflected it. Thanks to crews from the Nueces County Coastal Parks Board for prepping the beach to allow for the increased crowd, there is no certain count but it was in the “several thousand,” and thanks to the crowd for leaving the beach clean. We do a drive by of the beach each Saturday afternoon after the parade to make sure none of the 600-plus Moon Pies we throw from our float are left to attract seagulls – they can tear through a plastic wrapper in no timeand found none and no sandycandy. Congratulations to the Padre Island Business Association who helped organize the parade this year for the first time. We include a variety of photos in this issue and look forward to next year.
Whooping Crane Festival in Port Aransas This Weekend
In addition to the Whooping Crane, an awesome array of wintering migratory birds flock into the wetlands and onto the Texas shorelines of Mustang Island in and around Port Aransas. Birding tours by land and sea are highlights during the festival. Visitors of all ages will enjoy the many festivities during the celebration. Nature is the theme of the free trade show featuring numerous unique vendors. A wide selection of optics, paintings, photography and one of a kind gift items for the nature lover in all of us will be featured. Other activities include presentations from world-renowned speakers at The University of Texas Marine Science Institute, photography workshops and a variety of field trips.
Whooping Cranes cont. on A3 There were more than 60 floats in the Barefoot Mardi Gras Parade last weekend. The winners are:
Best Golf Cart - Debra Nunn 1st - Jeff Jensen - Islandscapes 2nd Padre Island National Seashore 3rd - Padre Island Muses More Mardi Gras Photos on A2, A4 & A11
Close enough for government work If you have been to the boat ramps at the JFK of late you may have noticed these signs.
Inside the Moon
$28 Million Revitalization Plan for Flour Bluff The City of Corpus Christi on Tuesday approved a Revitalization Plan for Flour Bluff which includes improvements to infrastructure, transportation, drainage, recreational facilities, and the economy. Some of the funds have already begun flowing into project and more will be forthcoming in the near future in the wake of Tuesday’s vote. All we can say is that it is high time someone did something to protect our fish population from wildfires and apparently the state and feds have both committed themselves to the task. Judging by the signs the Texas Parks & Wildfire Department along with the U.S. Department of Interior/Fish & Wildfire Service are joining forces to combat this growing problem; which may be caused either by wildfires on the water or spontaneous combustion of fish – the research is still out. It is ratings month for television news operations so expect some breathless teasers, “Record number of fish being killed due to wildfire! At Ten we’ll tell you what you can do to prevent wildfires on the open sea! Oh the fishmanity!
Bills Bills Bills We’ve been getting many questions on changes as gas, water, and electric bills for January hit Island mail boxes this month. New methods in monitoring use and billing have in many cases led to higher gas and water bills. All we can tell you is the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Call the city and ask questions. On the electric bill side the AEP delivery charges shown are often greater than the cost of the electricity used by the consumer. Larry Jones, with AEP’s Austin Corporate Communications office informs us that the charge is placed there by AEP after approval by the Texas Public Utility Commission and essentially is a charge for the use of AEP’s transmission lines which is passed on the Retail Electric Providers (REPs). The charge has always been there. What is different is that the charge has become such a large part of the
Around continued from A3
Since 2011 the city has spent $7.3 million in bond money in Flour Bluff on streets and drainage projects. Under the newly approved plan an additional $1.8 million in Capital Improvement Funds, Community Development Block Grants, and bond money will be spent on drainage in the area bounded by Flour Bluff Drive, Matlock Street, Military Drive, Jester Drive, NAS Drive and the undeveloped properties along Jester and Matlock. In addition, another $7.9 million in money from the 2014 bond election will be spent along Waldron Road from Caribbean Drive to Glenoak Drive where the road will be reconstructed, widened and rehabilitated into a five lane road with
Flour Bluff by the Numbers • The population of the Flour Bluff area is 23,338. • It covers 13.64 square miles or 13,739 acres • The ethnic makeup is as follows: Caucasian, 68%, Hispanic 25% , African American5% , 7% other • 22% of the population has income below the poverty level • 78% of the population is under the age of 20. • Army Depot is the largest single employer and employs over 5,000 people
Fishing A7
• The Naval Air Station was built in 1941 as part of the World War II war effort. The Air Station houses Naval flight operations and these operations have shifted emphasis from Naval air flight operations to Army helicopter and related operations • Many of the areas in Flour Bluff with blight and deterioration are properties that housed the original military workers at the Naval Air Station. • In 2009 BRAC military restructuring at the Naval Air Station expanded Army operations. A master plan was developed in 2009 to improve and upgrade facilities at the Corpus Christi Naval Air Station for Army helicopter operations. The planned improvements continue through 2040 • Crime in Flour Bluff 13% higher than the Corpus Christi average even though the average Corpus Christi crime rate is 33% higher than the State average. * Source: City of Corpus Christi
Sports A8
Bluff continued on A3
A little Island history
“Come and Take It’ Born on Copano Bay
By Dale Rankin In late 1835 as history began rolling inexorably toward a fight for Texas’ independence, a series of events on Copano Bay led to the first Texas flag, the words of which have become the battle cry of Texans and others who champion gun ownership rights under the Second Amendment. But what the Texans of 1835 meant by Come and Take It had less to do with individual rights than it did with the right of Texas’ settlers to fight against taxation without representation. On September 20, 1835 James Power who was one of the founders of the colony at Live Oak Point near the current town of Rockport
History continued on A6
Winter Texan Roundup A15-16
The battle flag of Gonzales depicting a cannon with the words "come and take it" beneath.
Live Music A16