After Ten Years of Trying the Bags Are Still Flying
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Inside the Moon Texas Women Anglers A2, A7 Sand Art A5 Fishing A11 P.I.E. Luau A13 Seashore Happening A16 Salty Dog by Steve Coons Issue 802 The 27° 37' 0.5952'' N | 97° 13' 21.4068'' W Island Free The voiceMoon of The Island since 1996 August 29, 2019 Weekly www.islandmoon.com FREE Around Musical Labor The Island Day on the By Dale Rankin Island The last few weeks have been Many venues surprisingly slow Around The Island. are offering live Streets from Sea Pines to Cotter have music this labor been bereft of the type of late summer day weekend traffic we have seen in years past as starting Thursday, families concentrate on heading back August 29th with to school. It’s not like Island dogs can the Mike O'Neill Blues Band from sleep in the street but the occasional 6-9 p.m. at Waves Resort. Admission lonesome coyote might be seen is free. roaming the neighborhoods. It is the Mikel Mays will be featuring quiet before the storm as sometime Karaoke on Friday from 8-Midnight. Thursday afternoon someone opens Smokehouse Guitar Army will play the gate on Interstate 37 and the Saturday (7-11PM). On Sunday, Tim tourist invasion comes swooping in Layden (Noon-4PM) and Sierra (5- from OTB and over the course of a 9) will provide live entertainment. few days hundreds of thousands of Winner, winner Sashimi dinner! The Sashimi won the best-decorated boat in the Texas Women Anglers Art Barrera will close the weekend people will fill up our little sandbar on Monday from Noon-4PM. until Monday afternoon. Whatever Tournament last week in Port Aransas. Results and photos by Jan Rankin on page A7. happens on The Island leaves on Marker 37 is hosting the Island Monday. Music Festival on Sunday, Sept 1st starting at 6 PM with Bart Crow and Over the Michael J. Ellis Beach After Ten Years of Trying the Red Tide. much of the area that has been closed to traffic along the seawall is now back open as city crews have been working By the Numbers for weeks to widen the beach from Bags are Still Flying the north end southward. The berms blocking traffic had been located on Plan to ban on plastic bags on Padre Island shot down by courts Hotel the beach just north of the parking lot but are now well south allowing By Dale Rankin the Island landscape and taking up with the revenue raised to be used residence in Island trees and dune to clean them up on local beaches. Occupancy cars on most of the beach there. But a If the move to ban single-use plastic grass like so many White Pelicans a But the Island Strategic Action check this week found that the width bags in retail outlets on Padre Island group of Islanders began a move to Committee was not yet in place and of the beach was sufficient to allow were a child it would be in fifth grade Tax get the Corpus Christi City Council the idea didn’t catch traction for six room for vehicles and beachgoers to now. Editor’s note: Corpus Christi to ban or curtail their use in Island years. have plenty of room. Convention and Visitors Bureau Ten years ago after seeing the stores. Proposals varied from an Meanwhile, there were similar Chief Executive Officer Paulette Grocery store progress ubiquitous white bags flying across outright ban to a per-bag surcharge moves across the state with the city Kluge resigned from her post this of Brownsville taking the lead as month and City Manager Peter the first city in Texas to place a bag Zanoni told the city council this ordinance into the municipal code. week that the CVB board will hire The ordinance took effect in 2010 a successor. and by 2014 ten Texas cites including The City of Corpus Christi Austin, Sunset Valley, Laguna charges a 15 percent Hotel Vista, Fort Stockton, Eagle Pass, Occupancy Tax on local overnight This area along Packery Channel was eventually closed to the public Brownsville, Kermit, Freer and South facilities around the city. Six due to the bags that took up residence in the dune grass. Padre Island had bans in place. In percent of the HOT funds go to 2014 the Port Aransas City Council the state with 9 percent going to passed a bag ban to take effect in Wednesday, August 4 the city to fund the Convention Less than a week after the Corpus 2016 to give businesses time to adapt and Visitors Bureau and to Christi City Council approved the to the new rule. installation of a twenty-four inch ISAC to Consider Allowing advertise the city to out of town sewer line south of Whitecap the visitors. The tax historically has right of way has been cleared and Utility Vehicles on Island Streets raised about $16 million per year, stacks of pipe are on site. Normally but Zanoni last week estimated the building of a sewer line isn’t Recommendation goes to City Council the tax will raise $19.2 million in much in the news department but this the coming fiscal year. By Dale Rankin removes the ban on unlicensed one clears the way for the building of Four issues back we reported vehicles other than golf carts on the adjacent IGA grocery story and The Island Strategic Action revenue numbers for the City a city street with a speed limit of that folks is news. Committee will consider whether of Corpus Christi’s Hotel 35 mph or less. When the city’s to recommend to the Corpus Christi Occupancy Tax (HOT) for the current golf cart ordinance was City Council that Utility Vehicles second quarter of 2019 showing put in place several years ago, a and/or All-Terrain Vehicles should that the tax raised $4,181, with move also approved by the ISAC, Bags and birds don't mix well. be allowed to use on Island streets. $308,111 (7.4%) from Mustang state law forbade inclusion of the Island and $1,070,646 (25.6%) The agenda for the ISAC meeting slightly larger, faster-moving, and The most progressive of the city from Padre Island, meaning that on Wednesday, September 4, generally safer vehicles. ISAC bans came from Brownsville where $1,378,757 (33%) of the total 5:30 p.m. at Holiday Inn Express members at that time stated their in 2011 a surcharge of one dollar across the city came from Mustang on Windward, includes an item support for including the UTVs in per bag was levied with the money and Padre Islands. That was in that allows the fourteen-member the golf cart ordinance but were raising $300,000 the first year with spite of the fact that all of the advisory board to the council to told by the City Attorney that the money raised earmarked from major short-term stay facilities vote on the issue. The issue is anything other than golf carts as cleanup of the bags around the city. along State Highway 361 are still This photo shows the retaining wall timely since on September 1 a defined under state law at the time A seven–member Environmental at the back of Balli Center which is new state law takes effect that closed due to Hurricane Harvey also back under construction after last ISAC cont. on A4 Bags cont. on A4 damage. week’s council vote. We know there This week we go back in time were skeptics and given the history to the First Quarter of 2019, the of so many Island projects we were A little Island history slowest time of the year for short- in the group, but seeing is believing. term rentals on Mustang Island If anyone sees a White Whale in the and Padre Island. Gulf try to get a picture. Weak Dollar, Real Estate Bargains $5.4 million in annual city Pan the Goat funding for CVB Remember a Attracting Germans to Texas 95% of CVB funding comes while back when from the city Editor’s note: This story ran on we told you 13 CVB employees about Blue’s goat the Associated Press on November Kid Tuaca that 9, 1987. Hotel Occupancy Tax First got kidnapped CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas Quarter 2019 in front of Padre (AP) _ West Germans taking Island Burger advantage of a weak dollar and a $478,048 (14.9%) I-37/Leopard Company? The real estate slump are buying into $143,188 (4.5%) North Beach Kid returned but Texas, say developers who credit $779,004 (24.3) Downtown we got us another foreign money for an ambitious goat related development on Padre Island. $1,166,966 (36.5%) disappearance Crossdown/SPID/Ocean Drive Fifty West Germans provided this time but not a total of $2 million for initial $21,592 (0.7%) Southside exactly around here. Local Tim Bruce, funding of Lake Padre, the 450- known as Sir Alexander Nomad, who $274,185 (8.6%) Padre Island acre project under construction, frequents The Island and Flour Bluff J.F. Boudreau, vice president of $334,279 (10.4) Mustang Island lived up to his name recently and set Island Development Corp., said out hitchhiking and train hopping to $608464 (19%) Total Padre and Monday. Mustang Islands Padre Island in the early days of its development. Around cont. on A4 History cont. on A4 August 29, 2019 Island Moon A 2 Texas Women Anglers Tournament 13317 S. PADRE ISLAND DRIVE @ 6 PM GATE OPENS @ 6 PM Sunday Sept.