Join us Thursday, June 20th at Zilker Park for a paddle out and clean up along Barton Creek.  

From 6:30 to 9:00pm.

International Surfing Day is an annual worldwide celebration of the sport of surfing while raising awareness of the state of our oceans, waves and beaches, which takes place on June 20.

2013 marks the ninth anniversary of International Surfing Day.

This year we are expecting over 150 individual International Surfing Day celebration events to take place globally.

International Surfing Day sprung from the idea that it would be great to have an annual day to celebrate the sport of surfing, while raising awareness for our oceans, waves and beaches.

From there, the first International Surfing Day Commenced with 16 domestic chapters and one international location.  Each year, International Surfing Day continues to grow, and last year we had more than 200 events in 30 countries worldwide.

Surfrider Foundation and TransWorld SURF make the 9th Annual International Surfing Day possible.

A group of members will be heading down Friday the 19th and possibly staying until Sunday the 21st. If you are interested in caravanning, camping, accommodations, or need more information please contact Nick (centraltexas@surfrider.org) or Marcus (marcus@brakewood.com).  You can also RSVP on our Facebook Event Page for the beach cleanup and get directions to Horace Caldwell Pier.

Created by: MastersDegree.net

A group of members will be heading down Friday the 13th and staying until Sunday the 15th. If you are interested in caravanning, camping, accommodations, or need more information please contact Matt Kuhn at mattkuhn99 [at] gmail.[com]. You can also RSVP on our Facebook Event Page for the beach cleanup and get directions to Horace Caldwell Pier.

Observed globally on June 20^th International Surfing Day celebrates the sport of surfing and helps raise awareness about issues facing our oceans, waves and beaches.

This year we will be hosting a paddle-out and cleanup just below Barton Springs at our usual spot (directions here) from 6:30 – 8:30. Following the paddle out and cleanup there will be food and beverages provided along with a raffle, and you can view the event page here.

In addition to the cleanup in Austin, the Surfrider Foundation has announced that 11-Time world Champion surfers Kelly Slater and four time Women’s World Champion Stephanie Gilmore will be this year’s International Surfing Day Ambassadors.  Supporters and fans can follow Kelly on Facebook (www.facebook.com/KellySlater) and Twitter (@KellySlater), and Stephanie (@steph_gilmore) on Twitter as they update fans on what they are doing for International Surfing Day, and how supporters can get involved with a local event and give back to our oceans, waves and beaches.

“We’re extremely excited to have both Stephanie and Kelly on-board as this year’s International Surfing Day ambassadors,” says Matt McClain, Surfrider Foundation’s Director of Marketing and Communications.  “Their positive influence as surfing and environmental role models to so many youths aligns perfectly with the goals of ISD and we hope that their involvement helps us reach a wider audience.”

To learn more about the Central Texas Chapter’s International Surfing Day event, visit www.intlsurfingday.com or check out our events page.

Unlike many other statewide elected Republican officials, I have made endorsements in very few Republican primary races. However, I am pleased to support Mayor Chris Paddie for election to the Texas House of Representatives.

I recognize that both Chris and his opponent, Rep. Wayne Christian, are conservative Republicans. They both support low taxes and small government. They are both pro life and pro 2nd Amendment. So why would I venture into this contested primary? I do so for one reason – Rep Christian’s self-serving legislation during the 2009 legislative session. Wayne tried to exempt his Hurricane Ike destroyed beach house from the Texas Open Beaches Act by secretly amending an otherwise good bill, HB 770. Wayne’s amendment didn’t apply to all Texas beach property owners, it just applied to a small stretch of Texas coast on Bolivar peninsula.

It was a special law for a special person, a member of the legislature, Rep. Wayne Christian. I think most Texans agree its fine to build on Gulf Coast beaches as long as you accept the risk and don’t expect the government to bail you out later. Well in this case that’s exactly what happened. In 2011 Wayne’s property was purchased for $175,391.25 by Galveston County using our Federal Emergency Management Agency tax dollars.

Not only did Wayne unsuccessfully try to make a special law just for him and a few others, he did something conservatives vehemently oppose-he took a bailout – paid for with our tax dollars.

Special legislation just for a special legislator? Government bailout for a risky decision to build on the beach? That’s what Rep. Wayne Christian tried to do, and for that reason I’m supporting Chris Paddie. I hope you will do the same.

Jerry Patterson

Texas Land Commissioner

Lucha Libre guarding the trash collected at the Lady Bird Lake cleanup in April

It’s almost summer in Austin and what a better way to show your love for Austin than by participating in our first cleanup of the Summer! Join the Surfrider Foundation Central Texas Chapter along with hundreds of volunteers as they have a rewarding morning searching high and low for every last bit of trash and getting to know other lake enthusiasts.  Each cleanup will end with a prize for the most unusual object found during the cleanup!

On-the-Water volunteers should be 16 or older and be comfortable around water.

Surfrider Foundation Central Texas Chapter will be hosting at the Texas Rowing Center.

Please use the registration link below.

Date: Saturday, June 9th
Cleanup Time:  9am-11am
Location: Texas Rowing Center -1541 West Cesar Chavez
Registration: For on the water Click here — On the shoreline Click here

Please contact Matt Kuhn if the registration is full and you wish to participate in this event or if you have any questions.

Carol Severance's house in Bermuda Beach Subdivision, Galveston. Septic tanks on the beach, a Texas tradition that has been endorsed by our state Supreme Court. PHOTO: Ellis Pickett

In case you haven’t heard, the Open Beaches Act has been gutted, and a constitutional amendment along with centuries of tradition have been tossed aside by the Texas Supreme Court. To stay up to date on issues you can join the group Occupy the Texas Coast!, and here is the press release from the Texas General Land Office issued on April 4, 2012:

AUSTIN — The Texas tradition of guaranteed public access to the beach died today for Galveston’s West End with the Supreme Court reaffirming its prior ruling in favor of a California divorce attorney who bought rental properties on the beach.

“It seems that the Open Beaches Act – at least for Galveston’s West End – is dead, thanks to the Supreme Court,” Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson said. “This is truly a sad day.”

Justice Dale Wainwright delivered the court’s 5-3 opinion. Justices Debra H. Lehrmann, David Medina and Eva Guzman dissented. Justice Wallace Jefferson did not participate.

Patterson said the ruling ends any future possibility of much-needed beach renourishment projects for Galveston Island’s rapidly eroding West End and will make it impossible for the state to step in quickly to clear the beach of debris after the next hurricane demolishes the front row. After hurricanes Ike and Dolly, the General Land Office spent $43 million to remove debris from the state’s beaches and bays.

“This ruling is bad news for Galveston,” Patterson said. “It also gives a pretty big club to anyone who wants to challenge the Texas Open Beaches Act anywhere else along the coast.”

In 2005, California resident Carole Severance purchased several houses on the beach in Galveston. After Hurricane Rita hit that summer, the General Land Office sent Severance a letter stating her property was on the public beach and subject to removal under the Open Beaches Act. She was later offered up to $40,000 in public money to move each house off the beach. Instead, Severance sued, claiming the public’s right to access the beach violated her constitutional rights.

In 2010, the Texas Supreme Court issued an opinion in the case that called into question the public beach easement, a key provision of the Texas Open Beaches Act. The court ruled that despite centuries of public use, a public beach easement does not exist on West Galveston Island because the original Republic of Texas land patent from 1840 failed to reserve the public’s right to use the beach.

The court stated in today’s ruling that even for areas where a public beach easement could be proven by the state, that easement does not “roll” landward and would effectively be extinguished after each new storm event or hurricane that moved the line of vegetation.

The 2011 opinion threw the Texas tradition of public beach access into legal limbo and caused Patterson to cancel a much-needed $40 million beach renourishment project on West Galveston Island.

The opinion also triggered a robust response from Texans defending the Open Beaches Act that resulted in a rehearing that was ruled on today.

Disposable or  single-use bags used for meat, produce and bulk foods will be exempt from the new ordinance,  as well as, restaurant carry-out and delivery, newspaper delivery, and dry cleaning.  Additionally, charities and nonprofits that distribute food and other items to the needy will still be able to utilize disposable plastic bags.

The Central Texas Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, applauds the city council for their forward thinking efforts, and looks forward to assisting communities throughout Texas with future single-use plastic education and ordinances.