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Political Cartoon
Treat folks like you wanted to be treated

Treat folks like you wanted to be treated

With Spring Break kicking off the busy tourist season in Port Aransas, a lot of us locals who gripe about...

Our readers speak

Contrast in candidates This November, we will choose between Biden or Trump as our next President. Our Port Aransas “ReSisters”...

Stand against public information blackouts

Stand against public information blackouts

Shining light on our government through public information helps us ask questions of elected officials – and hold them accountable....

Parks and rec schedules events

Parks and rec schedules events

The folks at the City of Port Aransas Parks and Recreation Department have scheduled some upcoming activities for an adult...

Spring Eggstravaganza set at Roberts Point Park

A celebration of spring is planned for Saturday, March 23, at Roberts Point Park. Bring the kids to the annual...

Island Agenda

This Week Thursday, March 14 • Brown Bag Lunch/Lecture. (See story this page.) Friday, March 15 • Sunset Sounds concert...

Parks and Rec Roundup

Parks and Rec Roundup

The following are upcoming events and activities sponsored by the Port Aransas Parks and Recreation Department. For more information or...

PAHS netters bring home medals from Aransas Pass JV tournament

PAHS netters bring home medals from Aransas Pass JV tournament


Members of the Port Aransas High School tennis team took their game to Aransas Pass last week for junior varsity...

Lady Marlin bats woke up to win over Three Rivers

Lady Marlin bats woke up to win over Three Rivers


The Lady Marlins’ softball team won big and lost big in games played last week. The big win was an...

Marlin golfers take fifth at Alice tourney


Fore! The Port Aransas High School varsity boys’ golf team took fifth place as a team at a recent boys-only...

Varsity girls lead PAHS at Bobcat meet

Varsity girls lead PAHS at Bobcat meet


Highlights of a Thursday, March 7 track meet hosted by the Bloomington Bobcats included a high finish for the Port...

Young Marlins score medals on road trip to Woodsboro meet


Brundrett Middle School students put in some strong individual performances at a recent track meet, with several nabbing first-place finishes....

Marlins score 30 runs in 3 days

Marlins score 30 runs in 3 days


Port Aransas High School’s Marlin baseball team racked up two big wins and two tight losses last week. The team...

On stage

On stage

Port Aransas High School theater students Caden Meyer, left, and Hazel Hearn perform in a scene from ‘The Lonely Girl...

Picnic day

Picnic day

Students and parents enjoy a picnic in an outdoor area at H.G. Olsen Elementary School on Friday, March 8.

BMS, PAHS bands earn honors at regional contest

Port Aransas ISD bands have plenty to toot their horns about. Several band students from Port Aransas High School and...

Katheryn A. Becker

Katheryn A. Becker has died, aged 99, in San Antonio. She was born in Kirby, WY, to Ivan and Florence...

Doing the difficult thing

Doing the difficult thing

Pastor’s Pen

When I think back across my life, both to the big decisions, and the day by day choices, it is...

Better things are waiting

Better things are waiting

Coffee Girl

I donated my favorite pair of pants today. I hated to do it. It’s been a year since I’ve worn...

Tourism Marching On!

Tourism Marching On!

From the President’s Desk

From the early outlooks in March, this should be a great month of visitor activity. As we say goodbye to...

How to avoid arrest during Spring Break

How to avoid arrest during Spring Break

Chief Concerns

It is almost inevitable that when we make contact with someone that part of the conversation will be them asking,...

What is all that racket?

What is all that racket?

Education Notes

On Saturday, March 2, the Port Aransas High School Band travelled to Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi to participate in a...

Police issue arrest warrants for fatal shooting suspectFree Access

Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect the correct age of the suspect. An incorrect birthdate was provided. The Port Aransas Police Department has issued two arrest warrants for the suspect of the fatal shooting that took place on the Port Aransas beach just before midnight on Monday,...

Spring Break busy but calm

Spring Break busy but calm

Fatal shooting mars holiday

Until a fatal shooting late Monday night, March 11, Spring Break 2024 could have been described as busy but calm. (See story on the shooting Page 3B.) The beach in Port Aransas was mostly filled with families on Saturday, March 9, for the first weekend of Spring Break. However, the south area of the beach, near Mile Marker 32, was...

Man aiding Ukrainians faces porn charge

Man aiding Ukrainians faces porn charge

Only weeks after making headlines for his stated efforts to bring a beleaguered Ukrainian family to the U.S., a Port Aransas man now is facing a federal charge of transporting child pornography in interstate or foreign commerce. Court records show that a criminal complaint was filed against Darcy Randall Trett on Feb. 28 and that Trett made an initial federal...

Construction starts on new fire station

Construction starts on new fire station

A groundbreaking ceremony for the new fire station will be held at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 20. The event is hosted by the City of Port Aransas. The public is invited to attend the ceremony which will be at 325 Ninth St., where the new fire station is being built, according to a news release from Del Sol Consulting....

Cash tribute

Cash tribute

Cheers to first responders

Cheers to first responders

Port Aransas police, EMS, life guards and firefighters responded to an injured Spring Breaker who had an apparent knee injury on Sunday March 10. As the young man was transported to the ambulance, the crowd cheered the first responders. The incident occurred near Marker 32 on the beach as Spring Break got underway.

Stage 2 water restrictions start March 18

Stage 2 water restrictions start March 18

Starting Monday, March 18, Port Aransas residents will only be able to use sprinklers to water their lawns once every two weeks. That is when enforcement of Stage 2 water restrictions will begin. The Nueces County Water Control and Improvement District No. 4 entered Stage 2 water restrictions on Tuesday, March 12, according to a water district news release. The...

Party time!

Party time!

Spring breakers flocked to Marker 32 on the beach in Port Aransas to kick off Spring Break on Saturday, March 9. The crowd here seemed to be in full party mode.

Fatal shooting claims life of Ingleside man

A 22-year-old Ingleside man died early on the morning of Tuesday, March 12, after being shot on the beach in Port Aransas. Another gunshot victim, a 19-year-old Alice man, underwent surgery early Tuesday morning at a Corpus Christi hospital and was expected to survive. Police Chief Scott Burroughs identified the man who died as Kristopher Wayne Welder. Although details were...

New access road may move

New access road may move

The City of Port Aransas is moving forward with a plan to build the proposed Beach Access Road B in a different location than where the road was previously planned. The city owns a 40-foot-wide easement directly adjacent to the south side of Cinnamon Shore North that stretches from the beach to State Highway 361. This is where the city...

Serenading

Serenading

Svala Starcher was serenaded by her boyfriend, Aidan Keck, at the beach in Port Aransas on Saturday, March 9. Both are from Spring Branch and chose Port Aransas as their destination for the annual break from classes.

City details finished street work, works to begin

City details finished street work, works to begin

The City of Port Aransas is moving along with construction work for the $6.5 million street and drainage bond voters passed in Nov. 2022. So far, the following projects have been completed: • Tarrant Avenue (from North Street to the bend heading south) – overlay • White Avenue (from Alister Street to Station Street) – overlay • Cotter Avenue (from...

Helping out Helping Hands

Helping out Helping Hands

Members of the Parrot Heads of Port Aransas presented a check for $7,800 to the Helping Hands Food Pantry on Thursday, March 7. The money was raised at the club’s annual Spring Phling event on Feb. 17. The Helping Hands organization will use the money to support the food pantry’s Backpack Program. The backpacks are filled with food and snacks...

Primary election vote totals tallied

Primary election vote totals tallied

Incumbent Michael Cloud defeated his challengers in the Republican primary race for the District 27 seat in Congress and this fall will face Democrat Tanya Lloyd, the winner on the Democratic side of the election. With 99 percent of the vote counted after balloting on Tuesday, March 5, Cloud had raked in 53,246 votes – 74.5 percent of the total,...

Ribbon cutting

Ribbon cutting

City and county officials plus other folks gathered on Thursday, March 7, for a ribbon cutting to commemorate the completion of the rebuilt headquarters of the I.B. Magee Jr. Beach Park in Port Aransas. The building underwent nearly $4 million worth of work after being heavily damaged by Hurricane Harvey. Standing in front, from left, are Scott Cross, director of...

Dancing ribbon

Dancing ribbon

Wendy Garcia of San Antonio danced and played with a ‘Rainbow Dancer Ribbon-wand’ on the beach in Port Aransas on Saturday, March 9. Garcia was in town for Spring Break. This year’s annual holiday for students and families is packed into one week, March 11-15, rather than spread over two weeks as is usually the case.

Shopping and styling in Port Aransas

Fashion and fun abounded at the Civic Center on Thursday, March 7. The occasion was the Port Aransas Garden Club’s 27th annual Fashion and Fedoras Style Show. Folks in attendance enjoyed some dining, drinking and shopping. And, of course, they delighted in watching local celebrities walking, strolling and strutting down the runway while modeling cool fashions.

Big black drum

Big black drum

Eddie Almendaez of San Antonio caught this black drum using sea lice at Roberts Point Park on Sunday, March 10. The drum weighed about 40 pound according to Almendaez and was released after the photo was taken.

New sea trout bag, size limits to go into effect

Rule changes to bag and size limits for spotted sea trout will go into effect on Tuesday, March 26, across the Texas coast, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) said in a news release on Friday, March 8. The new regulations include a three-fish daily bag limit per angler,...

Totin’ a tuna

Totin’ a tuna

Darin Homola of Hayti, S.D., shows a yellowfin tuna he caught while on a recent 56-hour offshore trip out of Dolphin Dock in Port Aransas. The boat captain was Tim Oestreich. Second captain was Matt Murchinson.

Anglers catching variety of species

Docks along the waterfront report they have been busy this past week with anglers catching a variety of fish species. At Dolphin Dock, employee Chelsea Pytel said that anglers on their 8- and 9-hour federal water trips have been catching Atlantic sharpnose shark, vermilion and dog snapper. A 12-hour offshore...

An easy lift for a big impact

Institute Insights

One of my favorite things about my job is seeing the positive impact we can have on the local bay systems. As stewardship coordinator for the Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve, it is my job to conduct research tracking our bay systems and oversee programs that instill a sense of stewardship. One of the programs that is very rewarding to...

Missed entrance

The crew boat Bayou Gold was the second boat in less than six months to run aground on the south side of the south jetty in 1994. Coast Guard spokesmen said better aids to navigation marking the entrance to the ship channel would not have helped in either case, though improved markings were scheduled to be put in place. This...