Dispatch
Features, analysis and reporting on the island as it is — not as it's advertised.
Heritage preserves what Port Aransas has been. Dispatch is where we look at what it is becoming. Sourced, specific, and local.
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Three Dead in Five Days on the “Island Road”
Port A Local pulled ten years of state crash records for State Highway 361. Per mile driven, the island road produces fewer crashes than a typical Texas rural two-lane highway — and nearly twice the deaths. Every fatal crash on the corridor since 2016 is north of the only stretch TxDOT has funded.
We Were Asked What the Crash File Says About Darkness
Readers asked whether the ten-year record on State Highway 361 shows a day-and-night pattern. It does — a crash after dark on an unlit stretch is about four times as likely to kill as the same crash in daylight. Updated August 18 with the alcohol layer readers asked for next, including every fatal crash on the corridor since 2016 and why the public file undercounts impairment.
$66 Million in Closed Session
Wednesday at 5 PM, the Port Aransas City Council votes to consent to a $66 million hotel-and-convention center at Palmilla Beach Resort. The Master Development Agreement is being negotiated in closed session. Seven years ago, the same Council made a similar decision the same way — and the project was never built.
Nueces County Declares Local Drought Disaster
Reservoirs at 8.7 percent combined capacity. Stage 3 restrictions in force. Level 1 emergency projected for September. What today's declaration changes, and what it means for the island.
Port Aransas — A Tale of Two Islands
Tourism dashboards say the island is up. Main Street tells a different story — and the numbers, read carefully, agree.
The pipeline
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