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361-949-7700 editor@islandmoon.com The Island Newspaper since 1996 Facebook : The Island Moon Newspaper
May 23, 2013
It’s Memorial Day- Take a Veteran to Lunch
Around The Island
By Dale Rankin editor@islandmoon.com By Dale Rankin
It blew up the Laguna Madre murky and quiet; a little at a time announced only by the squawking of the gulls which fell on deaf Island ears – rolling in quiet and slow so that no one really noticed until it was upon us and too late; like a new State Law that no one wants to own rolling from up Austin way and leaving its stain on all it touches. But it wasn’t a state law; no friends it was the cursed Brown Tide. Out with the Blue Water and in with the Brown Water. In the last weeks the water in the Laguna and Oso Bay has turned the color of one of those fancy coffees - you know “café au lait half-caf-de-caf mocha mocha and put-it-in-a-green-cup” kind of coffee ordered by those trendy folks up Austin way. The fish noticed and their eating habits showed it. Thoroughly confused by having to hunt their dinner with blinders on they no longer paid attention to the phases of the moon or the time of day. Instead they lurch about like Texas Blind Salamanders living in dark Hill Country caves where the sun never shines. See Joey’s column in this issue for more details. There is great disagreement as to how/why this plague has been visited upon us. Trying to get a layman’s explanation of how brown/red tide works from biologist types is kind of like trying to get an explanation of the U.S. economy from a Ph. D. in economics; there are only two people in the country who understand it and they disagree. So when it comes to matters of Brown Tide we Moon Monkeys depend on those who use the resource and are out there keeping an eye on things everyday – the fisherpersons and guides and the consensus among them is that the problem became acute summer before last when the Corps of Engineers dredged around the Land Cut south of us and instead of pumping the spoils onto a spoil island like usual instead pumped it into the water in the Laguna near Baffin Bay. Until just a few weeks ago regular Northers brought the north wind that kept the brown water pushed south but as they slacked off the prevailing southeasterly wind has pushed the mocha mocha water up into our canals and bay. The good news is that the blue water continues to line our beaches and find its way into the passes in Port A and Packery with offshore swells running at five to six feet. The final day of the shrimp season is Thursday and in Port A the Polly Anna has been bringing in some of the most beautiful shrimp the locals have ever seen; ten count to the pound. We can only hope they are still there when the season kicks back in around mid-July.
Photo by Miles Merwin
Next Publication Date: 5/30/2013
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Time to Reason with Hurricane Season
Year 16, Issue 475
Swim for It!
By Dale Rankin The Hurricane Season kicks off in less than two weeks and the predictions for the season are in: 16 named tropical storms, eight hurricanes and four major hurricanes for the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season which begins June 1 and ends November 30. Of these, three are predicted to make landfall in the United States. The predictions are for a 20% chance that one of the storms will make an impact on the Texas Coast. The Department of Atmospheric Science at Colorado State University has been predicting hurricanes for thirty years and their findings, which take into account the predictions of several other similar organizations, form the basis for the season’s predictions. Their report, issued last week, says that warm water across the Atlantic and Caribbean, will likely result in an above-normal number of storms. The normal number of named tropical storms in a given year is 12, according to NOAA. According to the Colorado State findings not only will there be more storms this year than last year, but the storms will be stronger with several reaching category 2 or higher. However, this year’s season is expected to begin later than last year when two storms were named before June 1.
Photo by Brenda Barnett
Sunday was a good day to be this guy. On Sunday Tony Amos and volunteers at the ARK (Animal Rehabilitation Keep) in Port Aransas released six sea turtles (two Loggerheads and four Kemp’s Ridleys) and Mile Marker 35 on Mustang Island. All of these turtles had been in rehabilitation at the ARK and were ready to return to the wild. Thank you to everyone who attended the release and the volunteers who brought the turtles back to health! We thank you and turtles thank you.
Beach to Bay
The report states in part: “We anticipate that the 2013 Atlantic basin hurricane season will Hurricane continued on A8
City Manager Says Island Water Exchange Bridge Project is on Schedule Development at the Port will double the tax base By Dale Rankin The Park Road 22 (SPID) Water Exchange Bridge project is “on schedule and moving forward” in a time frame that will “coincide with the construction for Schlitterbahn” project, according to Corpus Christi City Manager Ron Olson. Olson spoke on Wednesday to the Padre Island Kiwanis Club, and said the city has committed $1.2 million to pay for the bridge’s design and planners are now awaiting a ruling from the state on whether an environmental impact study will be needed for the project. The bridge is part of a larger plan to develop the waterpark and a BeachWalk canal on the west side of SPID and a marina on the east, Bridge continued on A6
Dawn of the Age…of Wreckius… Smoke on the water…
Angels, Serpents and Frescoes
Twenty-two Steps to the Little Chapel on the Dunes
By Brent Rourk brentrourk@yahoo.com
If your eyes and throat have been scratchy lately blame the Mexicans…or at least their volcano Popocatépetl which has been spewing smoke and vapor for over a month. The volcano is located about 50 miles southeast of Mexico’s capital which is home to approximately 21 million people. Before that it was a giant fire in the Yucatan that was bringing smoke to our shores, now it’s a volcano. There seems to be a pattern here, lets’ hope it doesn’t escalate.
Fire in the sky…
More Beach to Bay photos on A 13
[This is part 3 of series of articles about The Little Chapel on the Dunes in Port Aransas, Texas. You can retrieve past copies of The Island Moon Newspaper on Facebook or by dropping by The Island Moon Newspaper office]
Frescoes in the Chapel Photo by Tamay Tipton
Hats off to Islander Jerry Watkins who has almost reached his goal of $15,000 in donations for the Island fireworks show on the 4th of July. A complete list of donors is in this issue and Jerry’s still a few thousand dollars short so anyone who has pledged to help, us included, needs to pony up this week.
While the planners fiddle Aquarius burns. It took the better part of twenty years to get the Aquarius Extension built. When the stretch of road which gets drivers from Commodores to Whitecap was finished late last year it was a cause for celebration but it came after a fight.
But we are happy to announce that the amount raised so far, if all the pledges come in, is enough to say that there will definitely be a fireworks show on The Island this summer.
Way to go Jerry…
The folks who lived on the old Aquarius feared high traffic counts and high speeds as a result. After a lawsuit and much discussion a decision was made that can best be described as If We Build It They Will Drive and then we’ll see how fast.
Until then, say hello if you see us Around The Island.
Placing speed humps on that road is problematic because it is a collector street Wreck continued on A3
The Little Chapel on the Dunes was initially painted white inside, and over the years that bright, white paint gradually yellowed; a result of natural fading and minimal maintenance. Vandalism had also left its sad mark on the walls. Further, layers of dust had hardened on the walls, making the walls dull and unattractive. The inside needed restoration after years of virtual neglect. Enter artist John Cobb who met up with Frank Carter in the 1970s. Cobb had an idea for the Chapel walls and he also had an art background that prepared him for such projects and commissions.
Cobb’s Background Initially, he studied art at the Texas School
The ceiling and back wall of Fine Arts from ages 7-12. His family then moved to the Coastal Bend. He studied with individual, accomplished artists for several years after the move, both in the Coastal Bend and in the Hill Country. He graduated from King High School and found a very inspiring teacher there Later Cobb went to attended both the University of Texas and the Rhode Island School of Design. At Rhode Island Cobb, “had a great winter season water color course with Dean Richardson. This set me on course to do large-scale watercolors.” He History continued on A11