Port Aransas, TX

PDF of print edition Prepare for Hurricane Dean      Nueces County and Port Aransas officials are encouraging residents and property owners to get ready for the possible landfall of Hurricane Dean. Current forecasts call for Dean to enter the Gulf of Mexico as a possible Category 2 hurricane as early as Tuesday. More ... Bells will be ringing students back to class COME MONDAY       School bells will ring in Port Aransas on Monday, Aug. 27. Teachers have been on the job since Aug. 20, and principals were in their offices as of Aug. 7. H.G. Olsen Elementary School students must report for class at 8 a.m. and will be considered tardy after the bell at 8:05 a.m. More ... Erin, Dean test city's storm readiness BY PHIL REYNOLDS SOUTH JETTY REPORTER       It was a roller-coaster couple of weeks, but City Manager Michael Kovacs believes there's a bright side. "Erin was good practice, a good chance to refresh ourselves," Kovacs told the city council on Thursday, Aug. 16. "We did some drills in the spring and winter, but this was a good chance to fir... More ... Early evacuators       These locusts packed it up and hit the road early, leaving a shell of their former selves in anticipation of Hurricane Dean's arrival. The creatures didn't stick around to find out that Dean went south. More ... City to present budget to public BY PHIL REYNOLDS SOUTH JETTY REPORTER       Residents will get their first chance tonight, Thursday, Aug. 23, to comment on a proposed city budget that totals $27,387,056, an increase of nearly 20 percent over last year's budget. At the same time, the city proposes to lower the Port Aransas property tax rate to 28.5770 cents per $100 valua... More ... Third time a charm for second reading Special use permit for higher density finally moves ahead BY PHIL REYNOLDS SOUTH JETTY REPORTER       A controversial building project off Avenue A near Oleander Street made it past the second city council reading on a special use permit on Thursday, Aug. 16, but not without some discussion - little of which had to do with the merits of the project. More ...