Orphaned Lots

Here is the Law of Unintended Consequences at work again. The Town of SPI requires new buildings to be built up 5-8 feet above the street level. So what happens when people build on all three sides and you're left in the middle? Basically, you have most of the ingredients for a small swimming pool that can breed mosquitoes when it rains.

Add to that the heavy-duty trucks and now you have some pretty good ruts - contractors will use any empty lot as their private staging area without even asking.

In this case, the outcome has a good ending, at least we hope, since the builder turned out to be a real good guy and promised to help. But then I got to thinking, hey wait a minute here, my lot is at Ground Zero, dead level with the street. Therefore, if folks built up on the adjacent properties, I could be in the same boat.

Well, dang, I'm already in a house so I can't raise my yard and house 5-8 feet without the use of a bulldozer and starting over again. I know the Town has good intentions, but some of us in the cute old beach bungalows from the 70's and 80's could be condemned by virtue of Town fines and a lien. Bummer.

Then I got to thinking, that these old pole houses were meant to flood, but the waters quickly recede by soaking into the sandy ground. The houses built on San Benito foundation clays do not allow water to percolate as well, so they end up actually making the runnoff problem WORSE.

I don't have any solution to the problem other than perhaps a better culvert and french drain system could be used on the side streets. For example, the joint in my driveway by the road (a little dip there for water drainage) allows water to seep down quite rapidly, whereas all the new construction is water-tight and they all have standing water for days after mine is dry. According to the experts with the Town for years, such a culvert and drainage system was proposed at one time but died due to ... some kind of opposition.

Funny how my lot works great and the problems are with the elevated lots. Maybe it's time to rethink the issue again.

Bird Drop, Casino Updates

I need a break from the "blowing up the bay issue." We've had some bird migration going on for a while now but with the latest cool front ... and another Saturday, the birds are dropping in again. The last front pulled mainly to the Northeast so most blew inland but hey I saw ... well a yellow belly and two orange bellies and they're not orioles or sap suckers ... man I need a class real bad. And a better camera and some binoculars that actually work. But it is fun to watch them. We just put out some sugar water and grapefruit halves to try to scope them in closer.

On a different note, not near a nice, latest word is that the casino issue is firing up in the Legislature. Doyle Wells and his crew have a lease on 27 acres next to Isla Blanca Park and today's local paper said he was going to court to allow a casino on "his" property. Yes, SPI was selected as a prime candidate and being the little weasels they are, they'll sue to make a buck ... even though they haven't invested a dime on the land itself as far a making improvements.

Sorry to bum you out, as the birds are already checking out our booty we just put out for them. Skittish little things, they are!

Still on it

April 19 is the day of the Eco-Tourism shindig at the Convention Center, 1-4. Latest I heard, Jerry Patterson, GLO Commissioner, would fly hisself down for a 4:30 meeting to talk about the "boondoggle in the bay" and oil & gas development. Important day on your calendar.

Then on April 25 we're having another SAVE THE LAGUNA MADRE meeting on the bay oil & gas issues. We've signed up some leaders from Cameron County and plan to get Surfriders and maybe a geo-teck person - more to develop as invitations are accepted. If you can be there, it is at Club Padre on South Padre Island at 6:30.

Just the facts, ma'am.

It's a Boy!

It turns out that I'm not going to be a grand-daddy real soon because of some complications but I can say that this century plant in my front yard started flowering right as the SAVE THE LAGUNA MADRE effort started. It does have a certain "manly" looking, no?

Let me tell you that was just like giving birth, or like watching my wife do all the work and almost fainting in the process.

The initial meeting went very well, some hickies here and there but for organized mayhem it was a pretty good show. If you haven't tuned in lately, we're very upset and concerned about oil & gas activities in our neck of the woods.
The funny part is that many of us support local oil & gas development because of our reliance on imported hydrocarbons from overseas. Some of us worked for oil & gas companies for our bread and butter. As a consultant I've done work for Citgo, BP, Chem-Oil, OilTanking, Lubrizol, and many, many other majors. About the only ethical twinge I had was that Venezuela bought out most of Citgo and some folks just don't likePresidente Chavez.

But folks this is our "Yellowstone" except that instead of mountains and snowy passes we have a unique bay that is perhaps the last pristine area of the US in terms of wetlands, hyper-saline bays, and productivity (shrimp, fish, birds, etc.). I never forget when a representative of ASARCO, a messy smelter operation with the bad plant in El Paso, was accused of not having an environmental backbone. He went purple-veined livid. "I give Audubon and Sierra ten grand each every year. I spend a month in the summer building trails and fixing stuff because the park rangers don't have any money. I'm trying to get ASARCO through what is most likely a plant shutdown, involving several hundreds and hundreds of less fortunate workers who would be fired. How do you think I feel? What did YOU do for the environment today?"

Ouch.

Fortunately, we don't emit nothing nothing and have a much cleaner conscience. Ain't that Century plant a booger?

A Word from the Chair

A core group of Save the Laguna Madre was formed on Thursday, March 22. We got a lot done to prepare for our big pubic meeting on Wednesday, March 28 at Club Padre. I didn’t exactly object but I was named acting Chairman and Steve O’Neal was elected as acting Co-Chairman. Note that I used the word “acting” because several slots were temporarily filled and some are still open if you’d like to lend a hand. We’ll bring the issue back up at the big meeting but yes, we did sort of pre-nominate some folks so as to get the ball rolling. Thanks to Ann Smith for orchestrating the meeting.

Word has crept around the grapevine that a group has been formed to protest the seismic surveys and future drilling of the Lower Laguna Madre. Some folks aren’t pleased about it but it should be noted that even the Town of SPI recently adopted a resolution to ask for hearings before anymore of this stuff happens to us. Most all the bureaucrats and teckies say that the seismic surveying permit does not require public hearings but it turns out that “blowing up the bay” could be much worse than directional drilling from land. We intend to follow that issue like a hawk and also get educated about the permit process for the drilling itself.

Lots of people want to start working on strategies on how to prevent anything further happening in the bay right now. I respect that sentiment but I don’t think we have all our facts. I can say that a very motivated environmental trial lawyer has joined the cause because the issue is so complex, and damage has perhaps and most likely already occurred. Folks, we are quite serious about this.

SAVE THE LAGUNA MADRE

Why Fight 'Em?

Notwithstanding my last post below which mentioned the challenges of even attempting to oppose Big Oil, folks are passionate about the Laguna Madre. It is a world class birding center and is right on the Midwest Flyway. In fact, the Island boasts a new facility of over a million dollars just to expand birding. Several hundred kinds of birds can be found in addition to Peregrine falcons, ospreys, and strange birds of Arctic or South Amercia origination.

The fishing between Mexico and Mansfield is nothing short of fantastic. Tarpon and rare snook can be found among large schools of redfish and speckled trout. Many state records for saltwater fly fishing are held by fishermen down here. Some studies estimated that on one tournament weekend called TIFT, over 500 boaters represent an economic value of several million dollars in direct and indirect revenue. Over two dozen guides operate a large charter fishing industry year-round, growing to over 60 in the summer.

We love our bay dolphins too and there are about a dozen boats that are used as excursion vessels for that specific purpose. Most all the bay dolphins have names and when a new baby is born it is cause for celebration.

The population of sea turtles is quite high, with over 100 residing as juvenile green turtles in the lower bay alone. We know there are at least that many because we rescued 136 in last winter’s cold snap. Other endangered species such as Kemp’s Ridley also nest here, although mainly on the beach side. The internationally known Sea Turtle Rescue center is located on our Island and it even has a satellite station down in Mexico; several thousand school children and adults visit the center every year.

Several universities operate marine research stations down here, and many academic papers have been published regarding work done addressing the complex ecosystem of the Lower Laguna Madre and its surrounding features. Some scholars find that gooey, brown-green sediment slime to be quite fascinating. While some of the research might sound arcane, they also investigate things such as Red Tide - they even formed a group called the "Red Tide Rangers" to help collect water samples when red or brown tide is in the area.

It is not just that the area boasts a strong eco-tourism economy that is the livelihood for many of us locals, but a way of life. We fish; we go birding; we even count butterflies. "Winter Texans" come here from all over the US and Canada. No, it is not maybe 500 people on a sand spit in lower Texas, it is much more and we will fiercely fight for our local environment. Anything that threatens the vision, industry, or way of life is simply not acceptable.

Playing Devil's Advocate on Drilling

Perhaps it is time to play devil’s advocate for a moment, speaking about why we oppose further development of oil and gas in the lower Laguna Madre. Basically, we think the oil and gas exploration, drilling, and production of oil and gas reserves there would save consequences that outweigh any benefits. Two words: prove it!

Gosh, this is actually a very hard thing to do. We can maintain that the eel grasses and marine life would be irreparably harmed, and already are by the seismic surveying. Prove it! Industry officials will likely say that only a few hundred thousand small fish at most, mainly baitfish, were harmed in any way. Will drilling and further development create underwater noise that confuses the turtles and dolphins? Prove it! At the end of the day, it will be very difficult to say that any particular action in the bay related to oil and gas extraction would hurt anything in the least.

I am saying this to prepare folks as to their expectations, which could be diminished. Right now, we hear, see, and feel the action in the bay and none of it can be very good for the bay and its marine and wetland residents. How could it be? The redfish and trout are scattered and nervous, very hard to catch. Some species such as the Roseate Spoonbill seem to have completely vanished. Some fear damage to the foundation pilings of their houses. To add insult to injury, we just saved over 100 green sea turtles but had to throw them back in where five and a half pound explosives were being set off, several thousand times, with miles of entangling sensor wire connected to seismic phones.

But on the other hand it gets more difficult to make a persuasive argument, since an oil company is operating in the Padre Island National Seashore (PINS) just to the north of us. Goodness, that’s a federal park that has to monitor all the endangered species; while they might not have the endangered ocelot, they should have had a higher hurdle to cross than our area, however “natural” we think our area is. True, the US Fish and Wildlife Service has some major land holdings in the area, although very little in the way of title to the mineral rights – and the submerged lands of Laguna Madre is State property. No oil company official would ever say in public that there are looser standards down here, but the precedent at PINS is definitely there.

I just want people to be careful about saying that they are emotionally upset … and might even move away if drilling occurs … but the task of proving true environmental or even economic damage is extremely difficult. We can bitch, moan, whine, and fuss, but what we really need are facts that can be proven - and would hold water under very heavy scrutiny. That is true even if we want to pursue a mitigation agreement that would limit the scope of drilling in the lower Laguna Madre.

As the old lawyer saying goes, otherwise we might as well be suing a ham sandwich.

Save Laguna Madre!

Save Laguna Madre

Kick-Off Meeting

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Club Padre, South Padre Island

Save Laguna Madre will hold a meeting regarding protection of the Lower Laguna Madre (LLM) on Wednesday March 28, 2007 at 6:30 p.m. at Club Padre on South Padre Island. This is an informal kick-off meeting to share information about concerns such as oil and gas development in our bays and the public is welcome to attend. This is not an official Town function and our group has no political or activist affiliation.

The meeting is being organized to help consolidate information about the current seismic survey of the LLM, which has literally generated a lot of noise. The concern is that after the survey is completed, the bay and wetlands could be drilled in what is considered an extremely fragile and pristine environment. The group is not opposed to expanding the State’s energy resources but may oppose further oil & gas development if it impacts the ecosystem and tourism economy significantly and adversely.

The agenda will contain updates from Town staff as well as some presentations from some knowledgeable sources as well as other activity and environmental groups. Email and Internet resources will be shared. Discussion will follow as to the possibility of selecting a standing committee. Participants are asked to not engage in bashing any particular person, agency, or corporation. Meeting notes will be taken and shared with all those who sign up for email distribution.

Please attend our meeting of March 28 if you are concerned about recent activity in the Laguna Madre and what kinds of things can be considered to help protect it.

Lions and Tigers and Bears (Oh My!)

Maňana-land just got a little more like the Wizard of Oz. The flap over the oil & gas exploration in the bay has reached a crescendo, with folks trying to figure out what to do about it. One source says that the investment in this phase of seismic testing could be about 28 million bucks … and you don’t spend that kind of money to let some little hick town like us try to get in the way. We’ll see as I [attempt to] write a briefing on the importance of the lower Laguna Madre for the Legal Beagles.

Meanwhile the beach erosion is getting worse, although some areas by the Tiki have had a few hundred truckloads of sand. Hey, isn’t that the Army Corps of Engineers dredge out there in Brazos Channel again? What’s this, the second time we missed a load of sand for the beaches? Talk about adding insult to injury.

And then bills were filed in Texas Legislature to allow for casino gambling, among the spots two resort Island along the coast … hey, wouldn’t that be Galveston and us? As you may recall, if casinos are approved within a year or two Doyle Wells will get to exercise his option to pave over Isla Blanca Park.

But we were talking last night how good we still have it, while out at a small bonfire gathering way down by the end of Park Road 100. Gosh it was beautiful, and nobody was on the beach except for a half-dozen of us Sons of the Beach. Fun was had.

Native Plants

Last week Sandy Feet wrote a column about native plants and destruction of a butterfly garden maintained my Nancy Marsden, as is linked here. In a nutshell, Nancy asked permission to maintain a beach access and got it, but the town clean-up crews pulled up everything that didn't look like a Wal-Mart flower. She was furious, and simply gave up.

Enter yours truly here, with a concept to "adopt an access." This came up in combination in our Bay Area Task Force, since we were looking at native plants in large concrete planters at the bayside street ends. What a perfect thing to do, ask permission from the Town to help maintain the plants, Gulf-side and bayside?

Then the Marsden Incident occurred. I had already asked Nancy if she would help our bayside effort but she called back the next day and said "no [expletive deleted] way."

Now this puts me in a sensitive situation, since the topic is on an official Town agenda, yet many of the locals have bailed. Gosh, I had even checked with the City Manager about our proposal, and while he said it was all Town property, he liked the concept of having the experts help maintain the plants - indeed, it is not just a few amateurs like myself, but real Master Gardeners and Master Naturalists.

One of the reason the City Manager was concerned was that these nice citizen groups were great, but their longevity was questioned - sometimes people move, get sick, or lose interest. Nobody had thought of the possibility that the Town iself would be the main cause.

Ouch. Right when we want to promote eco-tourism, beautify the Island, put in an official Town butterfly garden, plant 60 bayside concrete planters, and even revegetate some dunes, this comes along. As I explained to Nancy, I was sure that the work crew had no idea about how to maintain a garden, especially when the native plants look so scruffy after such a rough winter. But the damage was done - end of discussion.

I suppose I'll withdraw my motion, sadly, perhaps in the hopes that people can get educated and the political winds change. We'll concentrate on stealing rare plants from land fixing to be developed and throw them in our yards as fast as we can before they become extinct. It's the only interim strategy for now - tresspassing, thievery, and being sneaky.

But by golly, it feels good. The latest rare plants to be recovered include the Yellow Saphora, as mentioned over here.

Let's Git Nekked for Our Country!

I don't fly as much as I used to, but the latest story after the "let's throw away all the liquids and perfumes" is called "let's get naked." I am dead serious here! Starting in Phoenix, new back-scatter X-ray machines will be installed in major airports. The view the render is, well, naked as a jaybird. The idea is to identify bombs and all kinds of mean and nasty things.

Hey, can we get some of those in Harlingen and Brownsville airports, too? I will gladly get nekked for my country ... as long as that doesn't mean getting a physical to have to be drafted into the Army.

But you have to admit, other than some places in Europe and California, SPI has a world-popular Clothing Optional Beach, with loads of patriotic peeps out there. It is about 11 miles north of Cameron County Access 6 so as to be in Willacy County, although nobody knows because there's no welcome sign up there on the beach.

Honestly, I had no idea that supporting our War on Terrorism could be solved by getting nekked, but think about it, how can you possibly hide a bomb or some firearms when you don't even have on undies or a poncho? The only thing they're packing on the COB is various anatomincal parts of the bod, whose seismic potential is pretty much no more than a laugh and a jiggle.

So get your sunglasses and sun screen and head north to the COB, Americans, we have to support our country in a time of need. I am sure President Clinton would support this initiative as well!

De Planes, Boss, De Planes!

Today was the first day when the airplanes towed big Spring Break banners around the Island. Three were up today - Louie's, Geico, and Chaos. Oh well, I guess it is that time of year. Batten down the hatches, mateys, the wind's gonna blow!

Babe's Gets a Makeover

It was an empty, abandoned building. It was shocking pink. It used to be a strip club. It was Babe's.

Now, fortunately, somebody is doing something with it, definitely a pastel green and possibly office space.

According to the locals the building is not all that old, and was first a movie theater where you could have munchies and drinks - a concept now mainstream in hip places like Austin. Then after a metamorphosis, it became Babe's. The Town frowned as questionable folks snuck into the black doors of the shocking pink building.

Myself, I never went in those evil doors, having heard one or two contractor friends of mine blow their week's paycheck and get a DWI courtesy of Babe's. "Skank" was how they described the talent, "Skank but good at what they do." No need to go there, folks!

This was all pretty coincidental because I snapped a picture the same day Frank Bruni of New York Times wrote about how good the steaks are at some strip clubs. I think that's where they get the term "New York Strip Steak."

No wisecracks about the buns, hear?

A Big Week on de Island, Mon

After being on Monday’s turtle boat excursion, the busy week continued, in between office work and all that. Tuesday was Bay Area Task Force day, when we had a presentation by a “master naturalist” regarding acceptable plants for the bay ending planters, which really are 4-foot round sewer pipes (the irony is there …). The list was about exactly as I thought, even for a newbie like myself … but apparently a big cat-fight broke out when I had to leave early. Sheesh, folks, we’re not building a submarine here; we just want to green flowery stuff in the planters, for crying out loud!

Wednesday was my presentation in front of the Board of Aldermen in a public meeting. The topic was historical preservation and we had some Power-Point slides – we even got all practiced up. I had a wee bit of stage fright and can’t remember everything I said, but I had the audience laughing, smiling, and slapping their knees. The Aldermen passed three resolutions, anyway: (1) create a historical commission, (2) save the Coast Guard “shack,” the oldest structure on the Island, and (3) to celebrate the Town’s birthday.

After that I left in a hurry to meet the wife for dinner. My sources say the town police chief came on after my presentation and commented that his presentation wasn’t nearly as funny as mine … he winked and nodded at two cops at the front door and everybody thought they were after me! Did I sneak a bad word like “boobie” into my presentation? Anyway, no handcuffs ensued.

Thursday was dentist day, which although I dread them I got some crowns on my front teeth and I look tons better in the mirror now. Big checks were written. It was worth it though.

Friday I learned I was going to be a grand-daddy. Eric called and said his girlfriend was kinda pregnant (what son, like 40% or even more?). I think he was having one of those “deer in the headlights” moments but I was very happy, and promised to embarrass the new parents and spoil the kid to no end, of course. Grandfather for me, great-grandfather for my dad!

Then Sandy Feet had her beach-shack house warming party, which couldn’t be beat. Lots of youngsters like us between 40 and 70 banging away on drums and drinking pink tuna margaritas. LOL, the tuna here is a fruit of the prickly pear cactus, which can also be made into jelly and jam but makes quite a tart margarita, no doubt there.

In all, a week on the Island to remember.

Nine Rescued Turtles Released

One of the best parts of saving turtles is throwing them back in the bay, which we did today with 9 Atlantic Green Turtles. This is the only boat/turtle launching in the entire US, since the federal government has all these rules and bureacracy ... that fellow there is named Jeff George and yes he has a federal permit to do this. May I repeat, nowhere else can one do this, just right here on South Padre Island.


This fellow here, known as "RRR-451" was released in 59 degree waters up north on the Intra-Coastal Waterway about marker 93, slightly south of the Cullum House. Young master RRR-451 is about 3 years old and quite handsome, looking like a little astronaut or something.

It was a great day. Thanks to Sea Turtle, Inc. and American Diving for making this possible.

Manana Time

Lot's of catching up to do, but here's a good one - the US Congress decided it would be a good idea to change Daylight Savings from April to early March - that's March 11th this year, right around the corner. Well, that ought to screw up all the time-conscious people and half the computers!

Out here on the Island, such matters are almost laughable. You ask for a contractor bid and the fellow might be there in five minutes or five days.

Now all this was so some yahoo politicians could claim they were saving the US of A billions of dollars in energy. Now wait a minute, won't is be dark if we "spring ahead" so we have to wake up an hour earlier? I'm clueless here - it sounds like more energy would be required but who am I to say and why do I even give a darn?

Maybe we need to pass a law that says it's five o'clock here all the time. I've never seen such hooey in many a year.

SPI History Updated

If you want to see where ZZ Top used to jam out, you'll have to go over here.

More Turtle Business

This Friday the Town will commemorate "turtle days" with this lovely flag created by Christy (left) and sponsored by Nancy (right). It is at 10:00 at the Island Visitor Center. Plans are that the flag will fly until the end of turtle season, when the egg-laying is finished. Oh, did we mention the Saturn Street Uke Band will be playing there?

According to Jeff over at Sea Turtle, Inc., a bunch of turtles rescued from the recent winter "cold shock" storm will be released on Monday. This is open to the public but does require a reservation on the boat, which is down by American Diving at Sea Ranch Marina. Be there at 4:30 if you've made your reservations.

Yep, we go pretty nutty about saving our turtles down here! It will be good to see them swim again.

Surfside Chili Fest

Yes, they do let me out sometimes and here I am getting an award up at a chili festival up in Surfside, Texas. I heard it rained cats and dogs down here for the Chili Fest at Louie's, but it was probably warmer than 46 degrees and blowing from the north at 20. But anyway, it takes real courage to make chili on the beach especially in those conditions - I'd love it if we did it that way down here!

Several dozen folks attended the gathering of the Coalition of Confused Coastal Fishermen and other than being cold as heck it was fun. Think of them as "Sons of the Beach" with a fishing rod. Naturally, my pose here was suitably confused, since I didn't even cook a batch of chili. Nope, that's the Trash-Talking Award.

I guess I started it all out by posting stuff about the Pink Tutu, which to a redneck means they're ... you know, pink tutu-ish. I even tried to get Christy down here to make a real Pink Tutu, although the timing wasn't right. Maybe I should have done the Pink Seagull Award instead. Oh well, I did shout "yay" when I came back over the causeway today, glad to be warm again, and back home.

Going Postal on SPI

Has anyone else had problems with the SPI post office? Sheesh, they've returned so much that we've had to call nearly all our accounts because our locals here. All the bills and trash mail comes at the end of the month and we missed clearing our box out one time and I think they started throwing mail in the trash.

Then I noticed something funny, a few letters that made it through the madness they call the local post office. The letter was crossed out on our address and said "not a valid P.O. Box" but it made it anyway. I'll have what they're drinking or smoking, because the local post master said to use our street address and the mail would automatically go to our cluster box on Lantana Street (Cluster 10, Box 1). The only thing automatic seems to be a cluster f**k.

It is so bad a local business asked me for my mailing address so I said the street address and he replied "son, you don't really live here, do you?" By now I'm about to go postal myself.

Funny, all this noise started when the Winter Texans came down to SPI to open up mail box accounts, and the poor fellows probably went over the edge. Really, the entire Island was supposed to go off P.O. boxes for real residents over a year ago - I mean I signed a piece of paper twice (and two times again!) to prove it. In the back of the cluster box it says our names and our street address. How hard is that?

Sorry to say it, but when I need important stuff like goods and money, I use a real mail carrier. No offense, folks, but I've had stuff turned off because of the poor service. Plus, all the UPS and FedEx drivers are like way cool people, fun. I don't get that from the local U.S. Postal Service.

Miss Ya, Molly

Molly Ivins died today due to breast cancer. She was one hell of a lady in addition to be a great journalist, and was possibly one of the very few who could talk with Ann Richards and call her "Annie." You might not care for her brand of politics, but man could she write and be funny, all at the same time - something I aspire to. We'll miss ya, girl.

Those Amazing Roach Coaches

Don't call the copyright cops ... but I simply had to share this picture of a Roach Coach, this one from up by Austin way. You don't see many down here, where I guess they are bigger and are called a Taco Van or bigger yet, a Taco Trailer. Anyway, they deliver stuff to jobsites and for all the complaints and regulations, are quite good. The company that had the topless drivers were the best, of course.

Now see what happens when there is a small fender-bender and the cops show up? These here Roach Coaches do not like Johnny Law in the least, and this one decided to kersplode on two Officers of the Piece (pun intended). Pretty much got them with the ice and coke bin, eh? That Roach Coach does not look happy!

Probably it's grumpy about the weather, too.

Thermal Water Pollution

Sam writes as a guest columnist for Sphere, an environmental blog addressing his old stomping grounds. Some day we'll figure out how to actually make money doing this, but it was an honor to be included by a person who regularly gets in the New York Times. Check it out here.

The Round House

Wait a minute, that house isn't round, that's a square old Tiki beach house on Tarpon Street. For a round house you're going to have to looky here.

"Down on the Boardwalk"

Imagine strolling along the South Padre bayside on a beautiful boardwalk, a margarita or wine in hand, checking out the sunset, the cool art, the food, and just hanging out. The music is [relatively] soft; the lights are low; life is good. Why can’t we have that?

Good question. The area between Palm Street and Fisherman’s Wharf would make an excellent boardwalk, being in the commercial district. In fact, there are a couple of folks who have thought of it before although nothing has happened. There are a ton of reasons why not but let’s be positive.

Look what they did down there in Kemah, Texas, which used to be a sleepy old fishing town. What they did was a little extreme but that boardwalk brings in millions of dollars in revenue because somebody had the foresight to completely revitalize the area, being partly funded by companies such as the restaurants, amusement parks, and hotels. I think the vision for SPI would be a little more laid back than Kemah, and one would hope a lot more fun (sorry, Kemah).

What would it take? That’s a pretty good question because many of the local commercial establishments have built out over the water. All that would have to go bye-bye, including the docks, piers, and bulkheads. One of the more expensive parts of the project would be building a brand new bulkhead part of the way down the bayside, of course to some kind of design - curves, angles, and straight as an arrow are the main options. The boardwalk it then attached to the bulkhead and in some places could be free-standing. The boardwalk at the Convention Center is a fairly good model of the construction method, with its piers and cement boards that won’t rot.

While many communities provide for lighting and some amenities, the waterside can be leased or allowed to be developed as finger piers as well, a source of maintenance revenue. These waterside accesses are usually gated and locked because having people on leased or private docks especially at night is a major liability. I can see renting watercraft and having a charter fisherman drop-off and pickup area where possible, though, and maybe even a nature area.

The big attraction would be Friday nights in the summer, of course, when the fireworks go off at 9:15. Should be nice.

Save The Turtles!

Photo: Nancy Marsden

The turles need your help. Please call (956) 761-4511 at Sea Turtle, Inc. if you can make a donation. Donations would be used for medecine and all the other things that are required; the last count was slightly over 100 and more boats are out today.

I helped take a load of 36 over to Coastal Labs last night. That big fellow at the bottom of the picture weighed over 100 pounds. Thanks to all who have helped the cause already.

And hey, what's that big bright thing up in the sky there? Oh, so that's what the sun looks like, I almost forgot!

51 Degrees Farenheit

Here are some monster waves from Sandy Feet's SPI-Cam. This was Monday or Tuesday when the water was still in the 60's. By today the water temperature plunged to 51 degrees. The rapid drop cause about 20 sea turtle strandings, as reported in this link.

UPDATE: Nancy reports 8 more turtles rescued today by Scarlett. Very few dead fish were seen on the bayside of the Island, mostly 6-8 inch mullets. The air is warming but is still below 50 degrees, meaning that bay waters could still drop.

Insurance Be Darned

The real sleeper issue for 2007 could be getting homeowner and boat insurance. Not only are insurance premiums rising, but in many cases people are being downright dropped. All the large insurers such as Allstate, Nationwide, Metlife, and State Farm are pulling out of the coastal market, mainly on lowering their risks from hurricanes. All this is despite making billions in profit even taking Katrina into account (Allstate was reported to make 3.71 billion in 9 months of 2006).

All this really doesn’t matter, unless of course you want to buy or sell a dwelling, since the bank must have proof of insurance.

I don’t know if this is an issue on South Padre yet. Anecdotal evidence is that it is not. Some homeowners have been dumped, reinstated, or actually received a discount. A particularly disturbing trend is to watch the deductibles rise from 1 to 2 percent or higher, in site of paying more. Such downward pressure on the market could be a factor in 2007, given the recent "softness" or whatever you want to call the curious condition we see today.

I’m still learning about the industry but one feature that bothers me is that if a claim is needed, it will pay out minus deductible but the original value of the dwelling when the policy was set, and not reflect the ever-rising prices of Island property. So if you bought at 100K but needed to rebuild at 250K, well, that’s too darned bad. You just got a one-way ticket over the Causeway.

The problem started in coastal Florida and is making its way up the East Coast and down the Gulf Coast. Boat sales are reported to be extremely slow in Florida, a major boat building region, since nobody can find insurance (Progressive will write some policies for boats less than 26 feet but has tripled its prices). It appears that the insurance industry could end up setting coastal policy more than any other thing, unless something shakes loose - and hopefully not a big hurricane.

Light Snow Reported on SPI

I saw some sleet while walking the dogs ... checked the weather service and sure enough they reported "light snow mist" at 10:00 a.m. and 37 degrees. /Sammie

Another Excellent Bonfire

Last night's Capricorn Birthday Gathering on the beach was a glowing success, complete with a tent, cabana (wahoo!), truckload of wood, and some really special folks. About six or eight Islanders and SOB's had birthdays this past week. It is certainly a tradition to remember.

Amazing Walter showed up with his very cool cooking grill, some heavy iron for heating up the beans in a real cast iron pot and some wok veggies. I've got to get one of those! A sausage at the beach beats any baseball park weenie I've ever had - and by the way, I hope that dog who ate all the delicious jalapeno sausage had one hell of a fire-hot crap today. And no, we didn't eat much sand, an account of the wind block and all. It looked like a modern-day cowboy camp out there, it really did.

And what great timing, with rainy winter coming back ths week, to drop 40 degrees off the temperature. There was singing, dancing, ukuleles, stories, drumming, and all kinds of great fun. You could even hear coyotes in the distance, howling along with us.

Blowing Up the Bay

According to a reputable source, an oil and gas company is conducting a survey of the lower Laguna Madre looking for oil and gas. The air boats are setting most of the charges so they can literally blow up the bay, and then measure the shock waves for suspected hydrocarbon deposits way down deep. This activity should be on-going through the month of February.

If anyone has any further information please pass it along.

I did ask my source about whether there was already some oil and gas operations in the lower Laguna Madre. The fellow looked at me as if I was stark raving nuts. "Just yesterday I was out fishing and almost ran into three well heads." I had absolutely no idea. Can you imagine hitting submerged oil field trash at 47 miles per hour?

No, the sky isn't falling; they're blowing up the bay instead!

Mad about Native Plants

I sure was perplexed by yesterday’s Bay Area Task Force meeting where we were going to approve a recommendation for about 30 streets to get concrete planters. Dang, the list wasn’t exactly right and nobody could agree on the kinds of plants, which was by default the Century Plant. Some argued passionately how utterly worthless the Century Plant was but I mainly just gave up, as most people don’t seem to have a clue about what is a “native plant” for South Padre Island. They don’t care, and were just angling for a good ole rumble at a public meeting, anyway.

Pictured above are two cuttings from Padre Island Mist Flower, or more simply Blue Mist (Eupatorium betonicifolium). From what I can tell it is the only plant named after Padre Island. It is a low shrub with tiny blue flowers that attract butterflies by the dozens. These starts were saved from the condos that are sprouting up all over the Island like noxious weeds. The magnificant Blue Mist on the left has been rooted for several months and looks great; the one on the right was just pulled from the ground a week ago and looks like heck. When these fellows flower this spring they will look quite beautiful.

The plant is not listed as being endangered but is considered to be fairly rare, similar to the Yellow Sophora which I also am saving from mass destruction. But heck man, those nasty Century Plants are everywhere, a dime a dozen, and to pay honest money for one is almost criminal – especially compared to beauties like the Padre Island Blue Mist.

Spotted Seatrout Hullaballoo

This was a nice catch by none other than Amazing Walter on Captain Randy’s boat (photo credit: Amazing Walter). It inspired me to write a little about the upcoming regulations for spotted seatrout in the lower Laguna Madre. Of course, these are my personal views and not any of others. First though I’d like to point out a fairly nice website that promotes a regional approach for the lower Laguna:

http://www.supportregionalization.com/

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is going out for comment on whether a regional plan would serve the lower Laguna best, since its catch rates have seemed to lag in recent years despite having fairly healthy populations. By comparison, the red drum fishery (redfish) is doing extremely well, which is a sign that speckled trout might be some kind of decline. I don’t think they are proposing any specific regulations at this time.

The current regulations are 10 per day between 15 and 25 inches, and one of these 10 fish can be over 25 inches. Anything over 25 inches is considered a “trophy” speck. Lowering the daily limit to something like 5 fish per day would have the effect of building the fish stocks - and having more trophy fish in the plus-25 category.

This is where it gets dicey. Some “elite” pro fishing guides actually want the tighter limits because they want to advertise their services for hunting trophy fish. While I’m not sure about the numbers, the population of local fishing guides seems to be increasing each year reported in our local paper here), which could become a serious issue in future years.

I am fairly sure the TPWD will consider the trophy spotted trout issue during the commenting process, which should end later this month.

Too Good to Pass Up

There's been some heated discussion and politics on all fronts lately. So, being myself, I decided to have some fun and lighten up. Here, I describe some new plants that the Department of Transportation could plant in its new median project. Sorry if you've already seen this!

1) Ornamental Paver Bladder-Wort (Canus sprayus maximus, tex-dotii). This specially engineered plant attracts dogs to pee there but when they get close the automatic sprinkler comes on.

2) Giant Venus Trap (touristi tastus goodus). This is a true tropical marvel, which is baited with special stuff from Whataburger. Only problem is, it hardly ever moves!

3) Cretin's Cellphonius (cerebellum lactus). This is a very pretty, low plant with white flowers ... and 20 foot long roots that can snatch a cellphone right out of a car window.

Susan's Postcards

These are old postcards from the Isla Blanca Park area, which were found during our efforts to save the park against commercialization and casinos (thanks, Susan Smajdek!). There were older hotels on the Island but this is the earliest postcard or picture I have found so far. Interestingly, at one time there really was a casino on the Island, although I am sure it was quite small. The Dunes, above, was quite aptly named.

Some things hardly ever change, do they?

Here's Boomerang Billy of surfer fame out by his hang-out on the beach. He rented stuff and lived quite a storied life, so they say. A cabana bar up the beach by the Surf Hotel now carries his name. Credit: Rio Bravo.

This is the old pavilion, which was replaced by two new centers in more recent decades. The concrete pad still exists and is being considered for a helicopter landing pad.

Cool Old Postcards

Back in the early 1950's there wasn't a lot happening in the part of the Island that was further up the beach, so most of the action was down by the southern area, now called Isla Blanca Park. Thanks to a real nice lady named Susan for sharing a few pictures of old postcards. I have updated the SPI HIstory Channel and plan to include a bunch of these cool postcards over there.

If anybody knows anything about this picture please do comment. My scientific wild-assed guess (SWAG) is this would be nears Wells' Point and Dolphin Cove looking across the pass to Boca Chica, with a really cool old steamer in between. Perhaps the cars can clue us on how old this postcard is, which could be 1955 or so.

UPDATE: actually, the old postcards were published over here ... the new version of Blogger has been quite a challenge in the photograph department, as things won't upload about 80 percent of the time. We apologize for any incovenience - and I wish Google would, too!

No Beach Left

Lori walks north of White Sand Street by the Tiki

How wide is the beach where you stay on the Island, and hundred yards wide or more? It sure is a pain the have to drag all that stuff out to the beach, isn't it?

Well consider the northern shores of our Town, where there ain't no beach at all. The photograph shows maybe 5-10 yards of beach and at that time the tide was still coming in; at full high tide Lori would be underwater and the waves right up to the man-made dunes.

This can also be viewed as the beginnings of a "continuous dune line" which is equally as disturbing. The trucked and piled sand by the north part of the island beaches is a drastic, temporary measure that will not last. All that can be done is to hope that a big storm will not wipe it all away and undercut the bulkheads and foundations, as it was doing a few months ago.

What was needed was hundred thousand of cubic yards of sand on the beach so as to extend the beach outward into the Gulf. If you notice, the last few beach renourishment projects have stopped by Inverness, since they couldn't pump more sand to the north. Thus the area between Inverness and the Shores could literally fall into the sea in a matter of a few years.

I never did understand the Island's beach renourishment program, since it put sand on beaches that did not need it. Beaches south of Oleander Street are actually gaining sand and don't need the dredge. The area where I took todays picture on the northside is losing about two feet of beach a year due to coastal erosion.

Folks this is a true disaster in the making and it is happening right here and right now. Imagine my wife in the same exact spot next year, but two feet lower - now you get the picture. Throw in a few bad storms and some Global Warming and this scenario is not looking good. It could cut the Island right in half right there.

* * *

As a postscript, I continued to notice that the sand at the end of White Sands Street was in fact black. Black sand is more common up by Corpus Christi but we have tons of it right at the end of this street. I will grab some samples to see if it is iron, which would be attracted to a magnet, or something else like carbon. /SW

Ila Update

Ila "the turtle lady" is better explained by her kin such as Mary Ann Tous (click for another link). I really was on an "old Island house hunt" but more should be said about our pioneer settlers.
I will be more than glad to host some here, but can't pay anybody to provide pictures or content, and copyrighted stuff is pretty much out of the question. Thanks for the website address, Mary Ann.

Feliz Ano Nuevo

I rarely ever make New Year’s Resolutions but this year perhaps a few would be OK as long as there is a healthy dose of humor. I hope that everyone has a wonderful celebration and upcoming year – see some of you at the Boomerang’s for the plunge. Here are some of my draft resolutions:

Don’t Drink and Blog. How is it that I can have this really wonderful day and two drinks later somebody sends a really stupid email and then the Gates of Heck are opened up? I really need to control those urges, such as maybe with Tango dancing or something.

Forget about Running for Alderman. Lori and I have both considered some very nice innuendoes from some very nice folks, asking us to run for office. After careful consideration, we think that neither of us would be good for the health, safety, and welfare of the good residents of South Padre Island, even if the dogs might like it.

Think about Quitting the Smokes. Now the dentist is on my tail in addition to the clinic doctor and about 75 percent of the citizens. I really do think about giving it up, as I am horribly addicted to Camel straights. Maybe I need to make the trip to Matamoros for memory pills and Viagra instead of the usual cigs and booze.

Start Catching More Fish. I hate to say it, but I caught more fish up in Austin than here. Not only was the trout ‘n' reds under-sized, but I caught sea robins, puffer fish, snake fish, and a weird one called the “look-down fish.” That's right, I got dissed by a fish! I caught a 4-inch triple-tail on a six-inch bait. I was the Rodney Daingerfield of fishermen, no respect. With untold millions of fish right outside my door, you’d think I’d have a few for fish tacos.

Grow Some Home-Grown Tomatoes. My ‘mater crop this year was worse than pitiful. I had ants, cutworms, fungus, and probably nematodes as well – I got exactly two and the Mockingbirds were already working on them. My new friend Don says he’ll share some secrets, which involves planting some fish (see above) in the ground for fertilizer and then grow the seeds right in the soil (what soil, Don?).

Become an Ornery Ole Semi-Retired Grump. Naw, we have too much pizzazz for that! We’ll be having dim sum parties for the Chinese New Year before you know it. Just don’t call it “dim Sam,” okay?

Have a good one, y’all.

Turtle Business

Update from January 2: please see Mary Ann Tous' site about Ila "the turtle lady."

After a whole passel of emails I decided I had to update the SPI History Channel with some more on Ila "The Turtle Lady." This shot is the current Sea Turtle Rescue Center with a fairly famous bronze sculpture or Ila hugging a Kemp's Ridley.

If you look in the archives on the left hand of this blog there was a nice article I reprinted in September, 2006 (courtesy of Sea Turtle, Inc. and a mysterious guy named Pedro). Also, there is a real sweet tribute at the Turtle Organization.

The latest turtle news: look at the underpass where Route 100 and Highway 77 meet - yep, those are turtles formed in the concrete and they are a tribute to Ila as well.

Expect to see more in the future as we plan our May Tiki Festival which is centered around saving sea turtles ... and having fun! We've been practicing for it, as you can see.

SPI History Channel

Not to send folks all over the place, I wanted to keep a separate "SPI History" blog for our native and touring history buffs. Plus, someone asked me real nice to start posting some photographs, as part of the SPI Historical Committee. Thus, if I make goofy statements on the "other" blogs, this new one won't be guilty by association! To give it a quick road tour, click here.

Oil and Gas Drilling Up

I wrote about the recent uptick in oil & gas drilling and production off our beaches in my alternative blog here.

Dune Update!!!

I'll leave my last blog entry and then say I have learned of many things the Town is considering in the way of dune protection. It is amazing what a few phone calls can do. In this case it is a pleasure to eat a little crow, since I think the Town is in fact moving forward.

It just might not be Christmas trees.

The Town should probably explain all this, since they have a formal process and media dude Jason Moody. My sense is that they would like to test some small geo-tubes (my words not theirs) that are used for erosion control and are filled with hay. Interesting concept, and I was and still am supportive of any similar idea - throw them down and let's see if they work.

So we may have a high school science class coming out to the Island, some new fangled erosion control thangs, and the same good ole fun that was envisioned in the first place. It might be cool to seed some dunes and then play the Unlitter Song, complete with the Saturn Street Ukulele Band. If your haven't heard us lately, we're getting quite good!

Thanks to the Town and I hope y'all appreciate our enthusiam for the beach. So, more updates when things happen...

Christmas Trees, Dunes, and You

Calling all friends and sons of the beach! A new annual tradition is to bury a few Christmas trees (and hay bales, whatever is good) in January, although this year things are off to a very rocky start. The Beach & Dune Committee didn’t do anything specific on the topic, the Town Manager has been quiet about his intentions because he is so busy, and time is running out to plan for this kind of thing. We really need your help to make this work.

The above picture shows small coppice dunes growing three weeks after we planted some Christmas trees between the Iverness and Bahia Mar last year, a notoriously eroded stretch of beach. As you can see it seemed to work just fine. Plus, it was fun working for a few hours that day (let us remember Gabe’s funeral at this time too).

I will personally volunteer to get a beach permit, haul used trees in my pickup, and do whatever is needed to make this work. I am suggesting two dates in January: Saturday the 13^th and Saturday the 20^th. That gives us a rain date in case one doesn’t work. Last year we met a little after eight in the morning and were done well before noon. Remember that stakes, degradable twine, beverage water, hay bales, trailer trucks, shovels, gloves and stuff like that are really good to have. I do think the Town will help and that you can too. If you’d like a different kind of fun on the beach please join us in this endeavor.

Anyway, I think it is a good idea for the community and would like to see if we have some support. I’m going to leave this post up here for a while to see what happens. That is how strongly I feel about the Christmas tree / dune building project. For those of you who want a dose of the “regular old Sammy” I will post some other things on my alternative website, the SPI Gas Company (click the title or on the menu at the left). It is not indexed with Google courtesy of Sandy Feet but hey, who cares? The dunes are much more serious stuff.

Season’s Greetings and a Happy New Year

Horny Manatee, Now?

Don't let this fella sneak up on ya!

Just when we were getting used to the idea that dolpin and porpoise can be "frisky" at times, it turns out that manatee are pretty horny little devils too. They even have their own website over at The Horny Manatee. While rare in Texas, we've got one more thing to worry about. As usual, it is the males causing the ruckus. The animal has become so popular FSU has adopted the manatee as their mascot. Yeah, I'm worried about their football players now, too!

Tha last sighting was up in Mansfield last summer, a little too close for comfort. However, horny manatee were also discovered way up the Mississippi and Hudson rivers in their pursuit of amour. Fortunately in the winter, most manatee make a bee-line to Florida, of places on Earth a place called Kissemee Park. I swear I am not making this up.

So How's the Drinking Water?

How’s your drinking water on SPI today? It sure is better than back ten years ago, when it was basically undrinkable. Let’s admit it, it sucked. I’ve reviewed a few reports from 2004 and 2005 and it sure seems the stuff is good these days, much better. The problems are the same as in the old days – too much treatment with chlorine and too much total organic carbon. But if you take into consideration that we’re getting our water from the Rio Grand, a veritable toilet, it’s not such a bad report card.

Each year the EPA requires all public water systems to certify their water, known as a consumer confidence report or CCR. These reports are supposed to be available to the public and a public hearing must be held. Each year we used to see these reports in the Austin area but down here in “la-la land” I have yet to see one. They probably sneak a notice in the local newspapers and hope nobody has a magnifying lens.

One of the main offenders was disinfectants such as chlorine, which can result in high levels of halo-acetic acid (29/60 ppb) and tri-halo-methane (THM, 52/80 ppb). The latter is a pretty bad actor and is cause for concern, as it is considered as a pollutant and possible cancer cause. Halogenated compounds are never very good to see in the environment.

The other was, hate to say it, crud. Yes, the Laguna Madre Water District got blasted pretty bad for total organic carbon and total dissolved solids (819/1000 ppm), although these are “nuisance” compounds that are not regulated by the EPA or Texas. What it means is that there is a lot of dirt in the water, disinfected dirt but dirt nonetheless.

In spite of these little blips that drinking water down here seems to be very good, maybe A- or B+. That is interesting because many of the locals refuse to drink the tap water. I can tell you when I moved into this house somebody spend a thousand bucks on a water filtration system – which I intend to rip out on account it is actually poisoning my tap water. You heard it here first, folks!

Damn Barges Again

Another towboat-barge rig hit the Queen Isabella Causeway today. Fortunately the safety features such as the dolphins and safety pylons worked, and the bridge itself was not damaged. More facts should become known in the next few days - and yes it was quite the topic of town gossip tonight. My understanding from watching a crummy video was that a tugboat was pushing three large, loaded inland barges, headed north, and then lost its way and two barges broke loose. I did see one barge and the load seemed to be some kind of bulk like cotton or fertilizer covered in a huge tarp.

I stopped by a few channels and the docks in Port Isabel for a look, and immediately noticed that the tide was ripping and racing at a very good clip, maybe 5-6 knots. If you recall, extreme tides were also mentioned in conjunction with the 2001 barge incident in which eight people died. However, today’s collision occurred in broad daylight and not at night (somewhere around 4:27).

The towboat, as tugs of this kind are called, seemed to be fairly large and was not a small underpowered vessel as I could tell (underpowered towboats lack maneuverability with large loads). It seemed stuck under the bridge along with the remaining barge. Around 7:00 p.m. my wife was finally able to come home, with the Coast Guard and DOT still doing inspections and investigations.

I will say I feel bad for the towboat captain and his relief pilot. This kind of thing is never expected and they must feel horrible – at least no vehicles were plunging into the Laguna Madre as in 2001. They’ve got to pee in a bottle and have to answer the same questions 500 times, will probably lose their jobs, and possibly face the courts. The last towboat captain who hit the bridge has a nervous breakdown and is basically a vegetable.

That said, the Intra-Coastal Waterway (ICW) in lower Laguna Madre probably needs to remain closed to towboat traffic until something is done. Whoever said that old “S” curve from through the swing bridge and Port Isabel was good and safe was possibly the most stupid person in the entire world. The towboats need a clear shot north and south and that’s just a fact. Let the towboats take the outside passage to Mansfield or Corpus but stop playing with such high risks until we get a new extension to the ICW to the Brownsville Ship Channel.

Fortunately, nobody was hurt that we could tell, although the barge-man was probably rattled pretty badly. I have been in the marine consulting business for over seven years and I’ve never seen anything like this – I mean up in Freeport, they have as many as 50 to 75 towboats PER DAY pass under their causeway and never an accident. I hope that this time, people will wake up and do the right thing.

What's Your Favorite Taco?

Okay, okay, I'm not worth a darn as a poet! But I know a good taco when I bite on one, alright?

So let us know your favorite kinds of taco and where to get 'em. Nothing is off the table, although I do think we should stick to tacos in Texas, OK?

That said, I can always tell how good a taco joint is by ordering two crispy beef tacos. Don't tell anybody I actually like them! And if the taco is wet and greasy and the veggies are stale, well, maybe time to move on. You can tell a lot that way.

Oooh, and then then there's the salsa, pico, and toppin's. Let 'er rip, folks, I've got a big Jones for some good tacos here. /Sam

Dark Winter Silhouettes

Lights from the neighbor’s house
Shine dimly on my winter windows
Dimmed by the cold night wind

Trees cast intricate shadows on my windows
Swaying in the gusts you can hear
Appearing like crazy monsters of your childhood

The house shivers and creaks in a gale force blow
As the trees branches flail twenty times
Sending me a message as if in Morse code

I watch the lights of the neighbor’s house
And the whipping trees
And the strange dark forms cast upon my windows

Mesmerized, I watch for some signal or some sign
Then off go the neighbor’s lights
Obviously they went up to bed

The wind calms
The shrieks and monsters go away
But deep inside the effect is still there.

The Seven Tacos of Desire

I’ve been doing some research on dinner tacos, since I can’t seem to find a decent one on the Island here, although some are alright. There are seven kinds of tacos and being here so close to Mexico, you’d expect to at least see a few of them. Perhaps some kinds are more regional to places in Mexico, but here it goes. Let’s start with the easy ones:

TACOS AL CARBON. These are the grilled beef strips that we know and love as fajitas. I am not sure where the hot cast-iron plate idea came from, other than it is not mentioned in most cook books about Mexico. Onions are typically grilled separately and then added at the end. Strangely, the fajita beef is not chopped finely but often comes in large cunbersome strips. If you can afford them, the best are at the Sheraton's outside grill. Also called Carne Asada.

TACOS DORADOS. For some reason these are called flautas, which as fried tacos stuffed with shredded meat. Not my favorite, but good Valley standby.

TACOS DE PESCADO. Fish tacos are increasingly becoming popular although traditionally the battered fish is fried and you build your own taco instead of somebody else adding all the stuffing – and what’s with these four inch taco shells, anyway?

TACOS DE CAZUELA. We know this as carne guisada, where the latter word simply means “stew.” However, tacos de cazuela can be made out of anything including seafood, and the real thing can have nopales, mushrooms, chilis, and squash blossoms.

TACOS DE CARNITAS. This is basically pork that has been cooked in lard and orange rind, an interesting concept for the adventurous. What they call carnitas in the Valley is apparently nothing like the real thing in Mexico. Beware: some rather interesting parts of the animal are used unless you specify exactly what you want.

TACOS DE FRITANGAS. Rare in the US, these are fried foods such as chorizo and other interesting goodies. It is often served with a large platter of chopped cilantro and onions and some very hot salsa. Not to be confused with chorizo and egg breakfast tacos.

TACOS AL PASTOR. These are a knock-off on Arabian cuisine owed mainly to a large population of Lebanese who migrated to Mexico many years ago. Here a large chunk of meat, lamb but these days port, is roasted on a vertical spit and the meat is carved off the sides, not unlike how a real Greek gyro is made. It is served with spicy chipotle pepper sauce, however.

It all sounds good to me. Yes you can get some OK tacos on the Island but they are mainly for breakfast or either too small (fish tacos) or way too large (8-9 inch long breakfast tacos). Sadly, the best tacos on the Island are at the new Circle K convenience store.

Warm Day, Blue Mist

While freeze warnings are posted tonight for a good part of the Upper US including the Texas Hill Country, I thought a nice picture of my favorite critters and plants would be nice. These are of course Monarch butterflies rampant on a large cluster of South Padre Island Blue Mist - the only biological thing named after our island, may I add. My camera is not so hot and there were dozens of butterflies but you get the sense of it. By late Thursday all this will be blown to smithereens, the butterflies gone on their way to the mountains in Mexico, and the plant will die back until next year.

Oh, and please help save the endangered South Padre Island Blue Mist. These guys were hungry and want more!

Egotistical Monsters ...

After reading my last blog and today's op-ed article in the Washington Post I suppose I must stop and reflect. The web can make somebody appear as an egotistical monster, hyper-opinionated and dogmatic. There was a great cartoon in the New Yorker with a picture of a dog that said "On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog."

Or a fuzzy, friendly chimp.

Some background is maybe needed. For one I make no claim to be a journalist. Secondly there is the "Kerry Factor." It is hard to sound convincing if you flip-flop, make minor points, and talk in phrases such as "on one hand ... on the other hand ... So to make a point in a blog or article you often have to resort to WMD technology. You REALLY have to hammer home a point. It can appear like a bad case of hubris.

So I suppose my best articles are about moving to SPI, catching bizarre looking fish, and being observant of all the strange happenings. One I dea I had was an article about all the puff-ball looking flowers on the Island. I mean we got gold puff balls (Huisache), pink puff balls (the Pink Puffball of course!), yellow puff balls (small low plants, unknown to me), white/pink puff balls (Tepeguaje), dandelions, and many more I could list if I had a good book and some time.

By the way, my folks did name me "Sam" before the famous chimp of the same name was blasted into space, I think in 1961. My Chinese horoscope does say I was born in the Year of the Fire Monkey, however. What can I say?

Tirade!

I getting a little confused about the whole Comprehensive Plan thing now. My wife is on the committee and probably won’t like me saying this, but what the consultant recently put out was a complete crock of hooey. Entitled “Land Use Planning” it relies on a whole bunch of ten dollar concepts and questionable density factors … but goes on to say the actual land use planning will be done in the ordinances at some later date. I am fairly well outraged by now.

My wife would also tell me to “shush” because they’ve had to rewrite everything so far.

But I simply can’t resist. Folks, we can sit around and talk about all the theory and potential issues you want. We need a plan to help guide growth on the Island. That growth comes from residential and commercial building. It is plain and simple as that.

In case you have been hibernating the last two years, the concept of managed growth was extremely unpopular with the real estate, developer, and construction industries. A group known as Laguna Madre Business Association was formed to elect town leaders who would not pursue any comprehensive plan – the reason being that they like things just fine as they are today. I look at this as a very simple problem to solve: “What is wrong with the rules on the books today?”

That was actually an easy thing to identify, since a majority of the zoning and planning ordinances were created by Cameron County after being granted special legislation. All the concepts about setbacks, height limitations, use, and so forth were created in the 1970’s and have only been tinkered with since that time. Even many prominent developers on the Island note that in many cases, the existing ordinances make absolutely no sense (do I have to build a pyramid to comply with setbacks way up in the air?).

Yee-haw, we’re starting to agree on something here already!

Most will agree that the commercial zones look OK and that the residential zone boundaries seem OK, except when they abut each other in some awkward situations. But that Zone B “mixed use” concept by the beach was a real turkey, a brain fart. Basically, when you allow residential single family, multi-family, and commercial entities to exist together you have ABSOLUTELY NO LAND USE DEFINTION AT ALL.

Well ain’t that something. Zone B has been a time-bomb waiting to explode ever since John L. Tompkins’ visionary platting in the 1950’s and the 1970 articles of incorporation. People are starting to complain because their once residential streets are being invaded by commercial high-rise structures having the horrible, ugly architecture and no parking. I mean some structures are so ugly they would make a freight train take a dirt road! The concept of having a huge commercial building next to a charming Island two-story is indeed perplexing.

But wait, the Town decided to piecemeal the parking study to yet another consultant so they couldn’t get together on adequate parking, a major beef in Zone B. One can make all the excuses in the world about how and why this happened, but the fact remains that parking became a separate issue not linked to growth. The results, my friends, could be devastating, especially in Zone B and the Gulf side.

Many of us are getting tired of fighting such bureaucratic snafus and over-opinionated back seat drivers. If you want to fix a problem, I am sure we didn’t need to hire two consultants to not talk with each other and screw up everything as a result. There is a lot more brain-power on this Island than folks give credit for – we simply needed a very good moderator to keep us on track. Remember, even the developer lobby wants to fix some rules, too. It might be messy but as long as we stay out of court and act nice to each other, I think we can do it ourselves just fine.

One just has to act like it is no big deal, there are trades and swaps for the good, and as Texans (honorary or born here) we can fix it right here and right now.

Just a really good, strong, and independent moderator: that’s all we need.