Port Aransas South Jetty (Port Aransas, Tex.), Vol. 41, No. 26, Ed. 1 Thursday, July 1, 2010 Page: 3 of 18
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Murray and Mary Judson
Co-Publishers
Mary Judson
Editor
Phone (361) 749-5131 E-mail: southjetty@centurytel.net
Port Aransas South Jetty
Copyright ©2009 Port Aransas South Jetty • All Rights Reserved
PINION
Member:
South Texas Press Association
Texas Gulf Coast Press Association
Texas Press Association
National Newspaper Association
Dave McNeely
Greens messing
with Democrats
A§> k MNTTER OF
PKCT, THJ&
TASK.
The Green Party hasn’t
been on the Texas ballot since
2002, but that hasn’t stopped
an effort to get on it in 2010.
That requires the gathering of
one percent of the vote from
the last governor’s election,
which this year would mean
43,991 valid signatures of
registered voters who did
not vote in another party’s
primary election.
So, there were some 92,000 signatures to the peti-
tion drive for the Greens turned in to the secretary
of state’s office in May, and it appeared the Greens
would be on the November ballot.
But the Democrats filed suit to block that effort,
claiming the money to collect the signatures came
from corporate sources.
At a recent court hearing before Austin District
ae Judge John Dietz, it was revealed that the initial ef-
^ fort to get the drive organized was funded by lobbyist
Mike Toomey, a longtime buddy and former chief
of staff of Republican Gov. Rick Perry.
$ Garrett Mize, 22, testified that he was paid $2,000
; a month for six months by Toomey from h is personal
* checking account to head up the petition drive.
The rather obvious reason was to use the left-lean-
ing Greens to siphon votes from former Houston
Mayor Bill White, the Democratic nominee against-
Perry.
One recent poll showed White and Perry at 43
3? percent each, so even several thousand votes could
i make a difference. There have been several guber-
natorial elections in which the winner did not get a
* majority vote because of the presence of third-party
^ and independent candidates - including Perry’s vic-
jjSj tory in 2006, with 39 percent.
Mize said he got cold feet and quit the petition
effort when he concluded that Republicans were
funding the petition drive without the knowledge
of the Green Party members.
The petition drive was then taken over by an
organization called Take Initiative America, which
refused to say where the $532,000 they funneled
t? to the campaign as an in-kind contribution came
from.
Lawyers for the Democrats contended it was from
corporate sources, which they say would prevent
the Green Party from accepting the petition effort.
S i Under Texas law, it is a no-no to finance campaigns,
or petition drives, with corporate money.
•y Judge Dietz, a Democrat, ruled that the Greens
^ should be removed from the ballot. Lawyers repre-
J senting the Green Party, including former short-term
n( Republican Supreme Court Justice Steven W. Smith,
appealed the matter to the all-Republican Texas
Supreme Court. He argued that removing a party
from the ballot deserves an actual trial. Operatives
for Take Initiative America have in the past been tied
to David Carney, the New Hampshire-based chief
s. political consult to Perry.
Green Party candidates in Texas general elections
in 2000 and again in 2002 drew from half a percent-
age point to more than four percent in races in which
there was a Republican-Democrat face-off, and more
in the few statewide races in which the Democrats
did not field a candidate in 2000.
i •: If a third party like the Greens gets more than five
percent for any statewide office, that automatically
qualifies them to put up candidates for any office
at the following election, without having to gather
petition signatures.
In 2000, Democrats did not field candidates
. against Republican incumbents in two Railroad
P Commission slots and one Supreme Court seat.
Green candidates got more than seven percent in the
Railroad Commission races and almost 10 percent
for the Supreme Court seat.
In 2002, the Democrats fielded candidates for
’> every statewide office on the ballot, and the Greens
r best showing was 1.75 percent for a Supreme Court
seat - nowhere near the five percent needed.
If the Greens get to remain on the ballot, they
will again have an opportunity to reach the five
percent in a statewide race to get them on the ballot
in 2012. And that could be a continuing headache
for the Democrats.
Republicans, of course, can justifiably argue that
the Libertarian Party is on the ballot, and it tends
to draw voters mostly who would otherwise vote
Republican.
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Timely, local storm info: portasouthjetty.com
•'Winer a hnrriranp ran npruo_u;ror>Hnn —i i < • . .
Tracking a hurricane can be nerve-wracking,
mostly because of the uncertainty involved.
And so, on Monday of this week, we find our-
selves in the midst of that uncertainty.
Tropical Storm Alex was expected to become a
hurricane (winds of 74 mph or greater) sometime
Tuesday.
The 7 p.m. advisory on Monday had our im-
mediate area outside the “cone of uncertainty,”
but that could change with the 10 p.m. advisory,
or later advisories - it’s a tropical storm, seaborne
tempests known to have minds of their own.
their homes and businesses.
Those Ike updates (with
photos of flooding after the
storm made landfall) were
available free on our Web site
for anyone who clicked on
Get News Updates (top left of
our home page). All you do is
provide your e-mail address,
and we’ll send you an e-mail
notifying you of a new story
----------------------------- being posted on the Web site. You then go to www.
Everywhere you turn, you get a different story portasouthiettv.com. and the story will appear
about what predictions are depending on where the The beauty of this is that it will provide Port
predictions originated. Add confusion to a nerve-
wracking situation and it’s not a pretty picture.
We can help.
The South Jetty is coordinating with city of-
ficials to provide current updates throughout the
progress of Alex, or any other storm. As we did
when Hurricane Ike struck the upper Texas coast,
if Alex becomes a threat to Port Aransas, we will
large number of people.
Sign up for the news alerts, but check the
Web site periodically to see if something you’re
interested in has been posted between posting of
regular editions on Thursday mornings.
Our goal is to use our Web site to communicate
accurate, timely and relevant information to our
readers and take as much uncertainty out of the
hurricane equation as possible.
I just hope we won’t have to meet under those
circumstances too often.
One clarification: The news alerts are free to
the public, but they are not free to the South Jetty.
The trained reporters who collect that information,
digest it and turn it into stories do not work for free.
(In fact, no one employed at the South Jetty works
for free - bankers, grocers, utility companies, etc.
frown on non-paying customers.) The Web site on
which those stories are posted is not free to the
Aransas-specific information that is not available
elsewhere. Also, if you have a question that hasn’t
been answered in one of the news alerts, send me
an e-mail (the address is below), and I’ll get the
answer and post it. (0p ........,IU11W „1V 11CC
You It get more than just hurricane updates South Jetty, and the printer that prints the newspa-
when you sign up for news alerts — you’ll get pers does not provide that service free of charge.
nn«t .mHatPc „l. „ p . * : ’ . ...... ?',ma'IS wben1 we post breaking news, whether The post office does not distribute the newspaper
bT P<n ASnfS cir™mstances lt s a fire’ a play-off game score, election results throughout the country and abroad for free. To pay
VI imhu'l^m Jn rHr?nn We> S101 something e[se of broad significance to the for those services, the newspaper sells advertising
will include instructions from city officials regard- community, such as the resignation of H.G. Olsen to businesses that are engaged in the community
ing preparations evacuation, storm projections Elementary School Principal Sylvia Buttler last and who value the professional services offered
and conditions and, if it comes to pass, information week. by the South Jetty We annreciate that
about damage, conditions in Port Aransas (not Every story we post between regular editions is Mary Henkel Judson is editor and co-
TrZrftu, 'ocatjon ^fe^d t0 as the island not considered “breaking news,” so you will not publisher of the South Jetty. Contact her at
we are talking about Port Aransas) and mstruc- be ‘ ding-donged” with e-mails. We only send the south iettvdvcenturvteLner (361) 749-513lor P.O.
tions about how and when residents can return to e-mails for major stories or those that impact a Box 1117, Port Aransas, TX 78373.
ETTERS TO THE EDITOR
......
* >|c % ifc jjc ij<
Spill a massacre
Russia can and would have capped and sealed the
BP oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico in a matter of days
if it had been in Russian waters. She has done so
routinely with similar runaway wells.
We needed a Cincinnatus for President a month
ago, not a political hack or worse. In the face of
the worst industrial “accident” in the history of the
United States, I have contacted my senators and
representatives, spoken with all the business people
and oil people I can, donated to the fishermen’s relief
funds in Louisiana and Texas, as well as donating
to the ARK(Animal Rehabilitation Keep) in Port
Aransas, and signing up to work at their oiled bird
facility.
Now, I am praying. What I am not doing is sitting
in New York City and making wisecracks on national
TV. Never mind. The BP oil leak is headed to your
town soon, after defiling the mouths of every river
on the East Coast.
If I could, I would put every involved BP manager
and executive under house arrest awaiting trial for
high crimes against humanity and massacring mil-
lions of God’s creatures.
Molly Porter Burke
San Antonio
In Texas in the 2000 presidential race, Green
Party candidate Ralph Nader’s 137,994 votes (2.15
percent) didn’t matter. Republican George W. Bush
got a comfortable 59.3 percent.
But in Florida, it did matter. Bush was eventu-
ally declared the victor over Democrat A1 Gore by
Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader I 11 tftkc 3W3y PIC3 fOF IlClp
got 96,000 votes, or about 2 percent. Most observ-
ers think most of those votes would otherwise have
gone to Gore, and Bush might never have reached
the White House at all.
Contact McNeely at davemcneelylll @gmail.
com or (512) 458-2963.
provide more educational opportunities for students
of PAISD. The Board of Trustees gives so much of
their time serving the children of our community.
I was fortunate to have taught third grade with
Gayla Wiggins in Flour Bluff in 2003-2004. She
came to my classroom one morning and suggested
I apply for the elementary principal’s position in
Port Aransas.
I laughed and said, “Yeah, right, with no admin-
istrative experience? I wouldn’t have a chance.” I
didn’t think I had a remote chance, but I did apply
because my professors always said to apply and get
as many interviews as you can for the experience.
You know the rest of the story. Thank you to Billy
Wiggins for believing in me, and thank you PAISD
Board of Trustees for approving his recommenda-
tion six years ago. I will forever be grateful that this
“hometown gal” was given the opportunity to prove
herself as a leader. Thank you to all of Port Aransas
for the unbelievable support you have always given
me! Thank you to my exemplary Olsen Elementary
staff and students and to all of the PAISD family. I
will miss each and every one of you. Take care of
Mr. Buttler!
Sylvia S. Buttler, former principal
H.G. Olsen Elementary School
PS. Port A rocks!
South Jetty (946-020)
is published weekly
Pays Periodicals Postage
at
Port Aransas, Texas
POSTMASTER:
Send address changes
to:
South Jetty
141 W. Cotter/P.O. Box 1117
Port Aransas, TX 78373
When asked what I will take away from PAISD
as I begin a new journey in Flour Bluff, the question
filled me with emotion and left me speechless. When
I collected my thoughts, I compiled a list.
I will take the memories and experiences of
working with the most dedicated teachers and
paraprofessionals I have ever known. My staff,
students and I were blessed with volunteers who
gave of themselves freely, willingly and often. As I
have stated in the past, this community is as generous
today as it was when I was a child attending Olsen
Elementary. The Port Aransas Education Foundation
is just amazing with its dedicated board members
and everything they do for teachers who, in turn,
Flags to be available
I have been visiting your beach for many years,
and have really enjoyed laying eggs in your dunes.
But this year, I am sad to say, it is not very turtle
friendly. 1 have to battle the piles of trash left by
visitors when they could simply walk over to the
trash cans that are placed all along the beach.
When my friends and I actually manage to get past
the beer cans, we have to dodge the cars that fail to
see the 15 mph speed limit. I weigh 80 pounds, and
it is hard for me to beat a speeding vehicle.
And if we do manage to miss the trash and the
cars, then we have to climb straight up over a foot
tall shelf created by the huge machines that create a
road on your otherwise beautiful beach.
_
I’d like my hatchlings to continue to enjoy Mus-
tang Island. It is a great place, but it is becoming
harder and harder to survive. Maybe with the new
mayor in town he might be able to help us. Can you
call him for me? I don’t have a phone. Thanks.
K. Ridley
(Submitted by Lee Harrison, Port Aransas)
Plan now or pay later
Even if you don’t believe that the President was
told in the middle of February (two months before
the explosion) that a disaster was about to happen
with the BP rig in the Gulf, you have seen the lame
response to it.
It may not be obvious that the 17 countries that
offered help, and were turned down, care more about
us than our own government. The fact is, the money
to be made by destroying the oil lousiness dwarfs the
money our town will lose because of it. We cannot
count on those that are pushing for “cap and tax” to
save our beach and our town. They want as much
damage as possible to prove that oil is bad. We are
on our own.
It’s time for us to save our own future. We are
spending money to clean seaweed off our beach
everyday. We could spend just a little more and save
that seaweed to place back on the beach and absorb
the oil that will be coming in October when the cur-
rents and tides change. The current administration
and eggheads that run the disapproval of programs
to save the beaches and wildlife will not help us until
it is too late. They have no ideas; they just have to
study anyone else’s to death.
We can wait for the disaster as is typical of gov-
ernmental agencies, or we can act like Americans
and take care of ourselves. We need to plan now.
Let them fine us for taking care of ourselves; we
can fight it in court until reason returns, or until the
whole country is as desolate as we will be without
our beach.
I’m for planning and fighting, not giving up.
Monte Sirmon Jr.
Port Aransas
Continued from Page 1A
Bureau employees on hand to give out U.S. flags
suitable for waving.
The visit is part of Sail South Texas 2010, an
event planned to show off the vessels in a free
event that includes entertainment and tours of the
ships. Included in the event are the Mexican Naval
Academy s B.E. Cuauhtemoc, the Esmeralda from
Chile, the Capitan Miranda from Uruguay and the
Coast Guard’s Eagle.
The event features self-guided ships’ tours from
10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day, starting Friday.
A beer and wine tent opens at 4 p.m. each day.
with entertainment, and more entertainment is fea-
tured on the International Pavilion stage. For the
entertainment schedule, go to the Sail South Texas
Web site at www.sailsouthtexas2010.com.
Fireworks will follow the entertainment at 9:30
p.m. each day and a blessing of the fleet is sched-
uled for 9 a.m. Monday, July 5. The ships will get
ready to leave after that, and should pass through
Port Aransas outbound late Monday morning,
Cardenas said.
To get to the event, take the ferry across to Harbor
Island and follow State Hwy. 361 through Aransas
Pass toward Ingleside. At the Aransas Pass city
limits, veer left onto Farm Road 2725 and continue
another 3.5 miles to Farm Road 1069. Turn right on
Farm Road 1069 for a little over a half-mile to the
entrance to the former naval station on the left.
While admission to the event and to the ships is
free, parking is $5 per vehicle. Coolers are not al-
lowed, and sponsors recommend comfortable dress,
including closed-toed shoes.
For updates on the ships’ arrival and departure
schedules, check the South Jetty Web site at www.
portasouthiettv.com.
Thursday, July 1,2010 3A
Todd Hunter
Water safety
is key on holidays
This upcoming Fourth of
July weekend, thousands of
Texans will be descending on
the state’s many lakes, rivers
and estuaries - many of those
located in House District 32.
With the increase in activity
on our waters, it is vitally
important that everyone take
the time to observe boating
safety laws. Texas Parks and
Wildlife (TPWD) Game Wardens as well as local law
enforcement officials will be vigilant this holiday
weekend enforcing these laws for the protection of
you and your family.
I he issue of boater safety has recently come front
and center before the Texas Legislature through the
creation of the Advisory Panel on Boater Safety. The
passage of House Bill 3108 during the 81st Legisla-
tive Session called for the creation of an advisory
panel which, in recent weeks, has held public hear-
ings in the state capitol to hear testimony on the is-
sue. The panel has been charged with studying ways
to improve boating safety and with assessing the
effectiveness of law enforcement in keeping boaters
safe under our current laws. The panel’s report will
be presented to the TPWD, the governor, lieutenant
governor, speaker of the Texas House and the Texas
Legislature by the end of this year.
The creation of the advisory panel was influenced,
in part, by statistics presented to the legislature
showing an increase in boating fatalities and injury
accidents in recent yeaTs. The analysis presented
showed that since 2004, boating fatalities in Texas
had risen from 36 a year to 59 a year, while inci-
dences of injury accidents rose from 146 to 181.
Additionally* from calendar year 2007 to 2008, the
number of boating while intoxicated offenses rose
by 23 percent.
The following are “Boating Safety Tips” recom-
mended by TPWD. These tips should be kept in
mind both during the busy holiday weekend and
beyond:
• Always wear a personal flotation device (PFD)
or life jacket - Most boating fatality victims were
found to not be wearing a PFD at the time of the
accident. Boaters should always carry extra PFDs
in both adult and child sizes. Children younger than
13 years old must wear a Coast Guard approved PFD
while underway at all times.
• Avoid alcohol - Statistics show that the prob-
ability of being killed in a boating accident doubles
when alcohol is involved. Boaters should know
that the charge of boating while intoxicated (BWI)
is strictly enforced by law enforcement and carries
penalties similar to driving while intoxicated (DWI)
- including the possible suspension of your driver’s
license. , ,
• Enroll in a boater education course, regard-
less of age - TPWD recently provided data to the
Advisory Panel on Boater Safety showing the
relationship of alcohol-related water fatalities, in-
juries and accidents to operators of boats who had
not received any sort of formal boater education
training. In alcohol related accidents over the last
10 years, 81.3 percent of boaters had not received
any formal boater education. In non-alcohol related
accidents, 85.4 percent of boaters had not received
any formal boater education. For information on
classroom, home video and on line course options,
visit the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Boater
Education Web pages (www.twpd.state.tx.us) or call
1-800-792-1112.
• Be especially careful on personal watercraft
(PWC) - Please keep in mind that operators and pas-
sengers of PWC, must wear a life jacket. Also, before
you borrow or rent a PWC, take the time to familiar-
ize yourself with how to operate the vessel.
I will continue to keep you apprised of the work
of the Advisory Panel on Boater Safety. If you’d like
an further information about the panel or anything
mentioned in this article, please don’t hesitate to
contact my office. Have a safe and happy Indepen-
dence Day!
Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi, is the District
32 State Representative. Contact him at E2-808,
P.O. Box 2910, Austin TX 78768; (512) 463-0672
or todd.hunter@house.state.tx.us.
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or opposing political candidates are
political advertising and should be
taken to the advertising department •
all letters are subject to editing • letters of
complaint about private businesses will be
forwarded to the business and will not be
published • “thank you” letters are classified
advertising and should go to the classified
ad department
E-mail }
southjetty@centurytel.net
or mail to
P.O. Box 1117
Port Aransas, TX 78373
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Judson, Mary Henkel. Port Aransas South Jetty (Port Aransas, Tex.), Vol. 41, No. 26, Ed. 1 Thursday, July 1, 2010, newspaper, July 1, 2010; Port Aransas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth505844/m1/3/?q=green+energy: accessed June 20, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Ellis Memorial Library.