Port Aransas, TX

PDF of print edition City to help residents appeal next year's appraisals Efforts to lower property values fall on deaf ears BY PHIL REYNOLDS SOUTH JETTY REPORTER       Port Aransas may have lost the battle, but it hasn't necessarily lost the war. That's the position of city officials in the wake of a rebuff on July 16, when the Nueces County Appraisal Review Board (ARB) refused to change single-family property appraisals in the city. More ... 'Sea'horsing around       Brett Hippler, 14, splashes through the surf with his brother's miniature horse, named Big John, at the beach in Port Aransas on Saturday, July 21. Big John lives on property that the Hippler family has near Portland. More ... PAISD trustees support superintendent with raise BY DAN PARKER SOUTH JETTY REPORTER       A recent pay raise has lifted Port Aransas Independent School District Superintendent Billy Wiggins' annual salary to $110,000 - an amount that most of the district's board of trustees say Wiggins deserves for doing a good job. More ... Lawsuit potential delays vote BY PHIL REYNOLDS SOUTH JETTY REPORTER       The reported threat of a lawsuit drove city council members into a closed-door session on Thursday, July 19, before they agreed - sort of - to delay a vote on the second hearing of a special use permit until Councilman Rick Pratt is back on the council. More ... Drink up: Port Aransas water is safe BY MARY HENKEL JUDSON SOUTH JETTY EDITOR       Advisories out of Corpus Christi to boil water used for drinking and cooking do not apply to Port Aransas, although Mustang Island was erroneously included in the advisories until late Monday, July 23. On Sunday afternoon, July 22, Mary Moss, manager of Nueces County Water Control and Improvement... More ... Council OKs another employee BY PHIL REYNOLDS SOUTH JETTY REPORTER       The city's building department will get another employee under a budget adjustment approved July 19 by the city council. Or not. While the council told City Manager Michael Kovacs to use $7,000 from the budget to hire another worker, Building Official Joe Lamb said that worker probably wouldn't ... More ... Getting off here       Passengers exit a Regional Transportation Authority ferry shuttle at the 'terminal' near the Port Aransas ferry ramp. The shuttle, which started service Monday, July 23, is designed to allow workers to park on the Harbor Island side of the ferry route, ride the ferry to Port Aransas, and take the ... More ... PACT adds twist to fairy tales       A different twist on children's fairy tales is the theme of the current production at the Port Aransas Community Theatre. More than 30 kids perform in some aspect as production of "Into the Woods Junior" continues at 7:30 p.m., tonight, Thursday through Saturday, July 26-28. A matinee will be Sun... More ... Council reappoints P&Z incumbents BY PHIL REYNOLDS SOUTH JETTY REPORTER       With little discussion, city council members on Thursday, July 19, unanimously reappointed four incumbent members and the incumbent alternate to their expiring positions on the Planning and Zoning Commission. The commission has seven members plus the alternate. This year, four of the members' ter... More ...