By Dale Rankin
This is the week we take a deep breath Around The Island as Spring Break 2026 winds down and we slide right on into the first of the two sweet spots on the Island calendar before we hit Memorial Day and the 100-day tourist season.
Spring Break 2016 had very different vibes on the Port Aransas end and on the Padre Island end. There is a lot going on Around The Island…
Whitecap NPI
There is big news this week at the Whitecap NPI project, where the marketing has gone global. We will have more on the progress over there in the next few issues, but the good news is that the event space there is expected to be open this summer.
So long Augie
We bid a fond farewell to our old friend Augie Meyers, who passed away recently at the age of 85. Augie was a regular visitor to The Island and the writer of standards like Hey Baby Que Paso? and who can forget the classic Velma from Selma. Augie rode his squeezebox and Farfisa-driven keyboards from the wild streets of Bulverde to the streets of Amsterdam, winning a Grammy with Bob Dylan along the way. With the passing of Flaco Jimenez last year, Augie was the last of the Texas Tornados. So long Augie—we’ll see you on the other side…
Two big events
There are two big events Around The Island this weekend, with the third annual Boat Show and Market Days at the Padre Island Yacht Club. This event has taken off and become an Island favorite—see the details in this issue.
Then there is the Friday Fish Fry over at St. Andrew by the Sea Catholic Church, where they turn Lent into a celebration. See the complete information in this issue.
Padre Island Property Owners election
The deadline for voting in the election for board members of the Padre Isles Property Owners Association has been extended due to the late influx of paper ballots. The voting will now continue until midnight March 30, which is after the annual members meeting on March 28.
There is also a provision on the ballot that would help clear up any obstacles to obtaining funds from FEMA in case of damage to the Michael J. Ellis Seawall if it is approved by voters. For details on the election changes, see the Letter to the Editor in this edition.
Whitecap Wastewater building approved
The Corpus Christi City Council this week approved $3.6 million to build a much-needed operations and control building at the Whitecap Wastewater Treatment Plant at the west end of Whitecap Blvd.
The center at the plant, which processes three million gallons of wastewater per day, was built in 1973. The price of $702 per square foot drew questioning from city council members, but that cost includes the monitoring and testing facilities needed to meet state water discharge standards and was ultimately approved for funding. Construction is set to begin in April.
Desalinization in Flour Bluff
The long-discussed use of the Barney Davis power plant in Flour Bluff as a site for a desalination plant for city water took a big step forward this week as the council approved the opening of negotiations with the plant’s owner, City Public Service, which is owned by the City of San Antonio.
The plant has a desal permit and an existing offshore line that could be used for outflow of brine but would likely need to be expanded to scale up production at the plant. The city staff told the council this week that CPS has agreed to the sale of desal water to the city, and the matter is expected to go before the CPS board in San Antonio this month.
For those new Around The Island, the plant is the structure you see when watching a beautiful Island sunset over the Laguna Madre.
Where the water!?
It is looking more and more like we are headed for Level 1 water restrictions before the year is out. It was reported to the city council this week that the Nueces River is not flowing below the saltwater retention dam, and the Navidad River, which feeds Lake Texana, is a trickle at best.
We feature more details in this edition. There was some comic relief at the council meeting this week as a woman rose to ask why we are “wasting water” when we are in a drought. It was explained to her that there is a difference between “wasting water” and “wastewater.”
Each week here at the Word Factory, we are careful not to confuse the spelling of “wastewater” and “waistwater,” as there is quite a difference. Just for the record, we also avoid clichés like the plague…
That’s all for now, folks. It’s the quiet time now, and life is good here on our little sandbar. You can come up for air and say hello if you see us Around The Island.
