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The Island Moon
May 29, 2014 Around The Island By Dale Rankin editor@islandmoon.com
As we begin to once again try to reason with hurricane season there is some good news on the meteorological front. If the weed watchers at Texas A&M University Galveston got it right the Worst of the Weed may be over.
The voice of The Island since 1996
Schlitterbahn Opening Pushed Back to June 21
Park will be open to visitors during "rolling open" with Grand Opening set for July 12
According to a flyover done by the Galveston researchers last Friday there are still “several” Sargassum mats and slicks offshore but the expected southeasterly wind and the northbound surface currents will take the weed north of the Coastal Bend with Galveston Island taking the biggest hit in the next few weeks. The straight easterly winds, according to the Galveston researchers, which have been pushing the weed on area shores for weeks is shifting or has shifted to the south and our weed invasion should lessen as the increasing northerly current push it up the coast.
Weekly
Inside the Moon...
Finding the Lost Dutchman Mine A5
Farah's Backwater Adventures A7
Here’s hoping they are right.
Homeless count
Skydiving on her 81st Birthday A11
According to figures presented to the Corpus Christi City Council this week there are 912 homeless people in our city; 90 are children, and two of every three are men. Of the CCPD’s total $70 million operating budget $15 million is spent to arrest and process homeless people. We’re not sure if they are considered homeless while they are in jail.
Selena closed
By Dale Rankin; Photos by Miles Merwin The much anticipated opening of the Schlitterbahn waterpark on North Padre Island scheduled for Saturday, May 31, has been pushed back to June 21 by Park Developer Jeff Henry.
Some bad news for Island Selena fans; for the next two weeks the Selena Memorial located on the downtown seawall on North Shoreline at the People’s Street T-Head will be roped off for restoration and minor repairs So if you have visitors coming in who want to have their photo taken with Selena they’ll have to wait or take it from behind the ropes. And so it goes.
Memorial Weekend Speaking of our Facebook page we got more than 30,000 hits on our photograph of the shark caught Memorial Day Weekend at Bob Hall Peir on Sunday. It was over nine feet and drew quite the crowd before its release.
"We have several features of the park, the swim up bar and kiddie pools that could be opened now," Henry said Wednesday, "But getting city permits to bring visitors in through a construction zone is a problem. By June 21 we will have plenty of rides and attractions open so that anyone who comes to the park will go away happy."
Chesney Wins Runoff for Commissioners Seat Island Vote Crucial By Dale Rankin When the attack ads stopped and the dust settled the hottest race in Tuesday’s runoff election was decided by 162 votes out of 3942 votes cast. The Republican race for Nueces County Commissioner Precinct 4, which runs from Port Aransas, through North Padre Island, Flour Bluff and the city’s southside, culminating in the so called Tenderloin section of Corpus Christi on the south end of Ocean Drive, was between incumbent Joe McComb serving his second, and non-consecutive, term in the post, and former Corpus Christi City Councilman and County Court at Law Judge Brent Chesney.
Election continued on A6
A 9 foot tiger shark was caught and released near Bob Hall Pier And speaking of Memorial Weekend the crowds this year were big but not overwhelmingly so. The new road construction at the SPID/ Commodores/ SH 361 intersection proved its worth with only slight stacking on the outbound side early Monday afternoon. One problem area though is the unkempt “natural beach” south of Bob Hall Pier. The deep, soft, sugar sand along that stretch prohibits most beachgoers from driving through to the open Kleberg beaches to the south, the result being more people crowding onto the city and county beaches to the north.
Island Moon ArtWalk We’re asking vendors who want to show their wares at the Island Moon ArtWalk on the seawall on Saturday, 21, to get in contact with us at 949-7700 or editor@ islandmoon.com , or on Facebook at theislandmoonnewspaper so we have an idea of how much area we will need. The event is free to both vendors and the public. We may have some additional announcements about the event in the near future. Stay tuned. In the meantime, say hello if you see us Around The Island.
Seashore's Got Talent A15
Veranda at the main building The June 21 date will mark the first day that the public can enter the park. While announcing the change in the opening day Henry also announced that the name of the entire 500acre develop, of which the 61-acre Schlitterbahn park is a part, will be called Beach Country of Upper Padre Island.The waterpark itself will go under the name Schlitterbahn of Upper Padre.
Schlitterbahn continued on A16
Island United Political Action Committee Annual Meeting All Islanders Welcome – New Members to be Inducted
By Brent Rourk
All islanders are encouraged to attend the IUPAC annual meeting on Wednesday, June 4th at the Holiday Inn on North Padre Island from 6:30-8:00 p.m. where IUPAC will review this past year’s activities and also induct new members to the IUPAC Board. IUPAC is a nonpartisan organization that encourages islanders to vote in city elections.
IUPAC board members welcome candidates
IUPAC knows that a large block of voting islanders can make a difference and can swing elections. IUPAC also sponsors informational evenings where political candidates either debate or present their platforms in either formal or informal settings. The most recent IUPAC sponsored event was a very successful and wellattended candidate Meet and Greet at Mikel Mays Restaurant. During the annual meeting the IUPAC will be inducting new board members and as of this article there are four interested candidates: Karen Wall, David Devlin, Joyce Skowronski, and Mildred Fraley. IUPAC will also accept nominations from the floor during the annual meeting. If you are considering running for a IUPAC Board Member position, then please send a brief bio to Linda Walsh at lawalshva@yahoo. com.
Peak of the Kemp’s Ridley Nesting Season By Donna J. Shaver, Ph.D. Division of Sea Turtle Science and Recovery National Park Service Padre Island National Seashore Donna_Shaver@nps.gov The Kemp’s ridley sea turtle nesting season in Texas extends from April through mid-July. Typically, most nests are found during May and June. Through May 26, 44 Kemp’s ridley nests have recorded on the Texas coast this year. With the late and slow start of this year’s nesting season, there is “ground to make up”. The many people working to find and protect these endangered turtles and their eggs in Texas hope that many more nests will be found in the coming weeks. Thirty-five of the 44 nests were found on North Padre Island, including 32 at Padre Island National Seashore. Each year, more Kemp’s ridley nests are found on North Padre than at any other location in the U.S. Eight of the other 44 nests were on South Padre and the only nest
Roller Derby Takes Over A18
Time to Reason with Hurricane Season Light season preducted By Dale Rankin It’s the time of year to see if you find your hurricane shutters stowed away in the garage. The 2014 Hurricane Season officially begins Sunday but there is some good news. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, NOAA, has released its predictions for the 2014 Hurricane Season and predicts near-normal or below-normal 2014 Atlantic hurricane season with El Niño expected to develop and suppress the number and intensity of tropical cyclones The NOAA prediction is for 8-13 named storms, 3-6 hurricane, and 1-2 major hurricanes. Of course there is the reality that a
Hurricanes continued on A13
How Likely is a June Hurricane on The Island? A History of Island Hurricanes for the Month of June By Dale Rankin The 2014 Hurricane Season is now upon us, but what is the likelihood that the Texas Coast, The Coastal Bend, or The Island will see hurricane activity in the month of June?
Gulf storms in June
Kemp’s Ridley hatchling release at PINS found north of North Padre was on Matagorda Island. Turtle patrollers from various organizations are searching Texas Gulf beaches daily to find nesting Kemp’s ridley turtles and their eggs so that we can document and protect them. Beachgoers and other people working on the beach also sometimes find nesting, especially in developed areas of the Texas coast. Please watch for nesting Kemp’s ridley turtles while you are on the beach.
Immediately report nesting turtles to a passing turtle patroller or by calling 361-949-8173, ext. 226 (North Padre Island) or 1-866-TURTLE5 (elsewhere in Texas).
Nesting turtles If you see a nesting turtle, please do not rush up her or you could frighten her and cause her to go back into the water without
Turtles continued on A8
The longest gap between storms on the Texas coast is 15 years from 1886 to 1902, and statistically Texas is not due for another major storm until 2015; after that we are on borrowed time. But what about June storms in the Gulf of Mexico, and particularly along the Texas Coast? Texas’ storms have traditionally hit in the early or late part of the season with the most frequent months on the Texas Coast being August and September. But what about in June? Since 1960, only eight Atlantic basin hurricanes have formed in June or earlier. That’s an average of one every 6.25 years; but Tropical Storms in June are not as rare.
June Storm continued on A3