It looks like the Port of Brownsville may get that steel mill it’s been wanting. David Stickler, CEO of Arkansas-based Big River Steel, was quoted in a June 5 article in metals trade publication Fastmarkets AMM saying that the company is spending time, money and effort toward construction of a mill in the southern United States, “with the most focus currently on the Port of Brownsville.” BRS is in the...
Andrew Canon had just been named the first executive director of the Rio Grande Valley Metropolitan Planning Organization, and his bosses were already giving him a hard time. “We have no November meeting,” Canon said at this week’s board meeting, citing the Council of Governments schedule that the recently created MPO follows. “I believe our next board meeting will actually be Dec. 11, since we follow the COG schedule.” “For...
In addition to recycling common objects such as plastic bottles and cardboard boxes, Island visitors will have a chance to reduce the amount of uncommon items sent to landfills. Coinciding with America Recycles Day, the South Padre Island Environmental Health Services Department (EHSD) is hosting the 10th annual Recycle Land Saturday, Nov. 16, from 8 a.m. to noon. The event will be held at the Community Center at 4501 Padre...
The Island is reporting record-breaking sales tax figures and strong hotel occupancy numbers for summer 2019. Ed Caum, director of the SPI Convention and Visitors Bureau, said last July’s sales tax revenue was more than 8.2 percent higher than July 2018, and that hotel occupancy taxes increased 4.13 percent for June and July year to year. He said also that SPI’s website had seen a nearly 20 percent increase in...
Isla Blanca Park received another upgrade from Cameron County, in the form of an open-air amphitheater overlooking the Brazos Santiago Ship Channel. The amphitheater site is in the Dolphin Cove area of Isla Blanca Park. Overall, the project cost $2.1 million, using money from the County Hotel-Motel Venue Tax approved in 2016, and took just over a year to construct, starting in December 2017. With nearly 41,100 square feet of...
It was perfect weather for the 4th Annual Hallowings Monarch Migration Festival. The South Padre Island Birding Nature Center and Alligator Sanctuary (SPIBNCAS) hosts the annual celebration of the Monarch butterfly migration which passes through South Padre Island late October and early November. The generation of Monarchs born in the late summer and early fall makes the full migration to wintering grounds in central Mexico. They are a super breed...
South Padre Island Birding Nature Center and Alligator Sanctuary (SPI SBNCAS) received a call on the morning of October 27, 2019, from SPI Police Department regarding a four-foot nuisance alligator near the KOA entrance, right off Padre Blvd. Texas Parks & Wildlife were contacted first and, since they were several hours away, they asked the Police Department to contact SPI SBNCAS. There had been sightings of this alligator around the...
As Halloween continues to draw near, a few local nonprofits plan to incorporate the holiday spirit into their educational facilities this weekend. The South Padre Island Birding, Nature Center and Alligator Sanctuary will host a Hallowings Monarch Migration Celebration Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. A variety of activities such as guided walks and sandcastle lessons will be offered throughout the celebration. Additionally, the event will have face painting,...
From its scenic views to its easy access to fishing, the city aims to transform this frequently visited area into its first coastal park. This week Port Isabel City officials held a groundbreaking ceremony for the park, which will be named in honor of the late Arturo Galvan, a former city mayor. “This park is a continuation of his legacy of service to the City of Port Isabel,” City Manager...
Out in the Gulf of Mexico, an area that was once bare and described as being as flat as a pancake has transformed into a flourishing artificial reef created from deployed boats, vessels, concrete rail ties and massive cinder blocks. For the past several years, Friends of RGV Reef has been creating graduating stepping stones of reef habitat to provide shelter and aid to fish populations along their lifecycle. Yesterday...
