In a new public service announcement unveiled today, Mayor Joe Jaworski assures visitors that Galveston's beaches remain clean, safe and open after state and U.S. Coast Guard officials announced the discovery of tar balls from the BP Deepwater Horizon spill.

Officials traced tar balls found on Bolivar Peninsula and Galveston’s East Beach during the weekend to the spill, which resulted from an April 20 explosion that killed 11 crew members aboard the oil rig Deepwater Horizon. The condition of the tar balls leads officials to believe they arrived in ship ballasts, not on ocean currents.

Galveston's tourism officials want visitors to know there is no loose oil or oil sheen on or near Galveston's shoreline.

"During peak season, it is vital for Galveston’s economy to continue with a successful summer," the Galveston Convention and Visitor's Bureau said in a statement. "This year the island is offering new special events and additional exhibits to its attractions to ensure guests are offered a variety of options for their summer vacation.

"The public service announcement featuring Mayor Jaworski’s message was created to support tourism on Galveston Island as well as to ensure guests that the situation is being closely monitored."

By Chris Paschenko
Surfers converged on Galveston's seawall Wednesday, June 30, 2010, to ride storm surge from Hurricane Alex.

About 100 people gathered at Stewart Beach in Galveston Saturday to participate in the Hands Across the Sand Movement, an international protest against offshore drilling. Not everyone agrees with their stance and oppose the Obama administration's recent moratorium on deep water offshore drilling. Click here to read more.

As I've reported before, this year's Galveston City Council election was a costly one for candidates who raised tens of thousands of dollars – and in some cases went into debt – for a chance to win.

Mayor Joe Jaworski was no exception. Jaworski raised and spent more than all four of his competitors combined. He estimates he raised $180,000, but spent $200,000, leaving him with $20,000 in debt.

Jaworski is hoping to shed some of that debt tonight. A star-studded cast of islanders is throwing a party to help Jaworski retire his campaign debt. The host committee includes wealthy and influential islanders and developers, such as billionaire and island native George Mitchell, Robert and Ann Moody, Landry's CEO Tilman Fertitta and Shrub and Peaches Kempner.

A sponsor will pay for the beer and wine at the party at 21st and Postoffice at 6 p.m. today, Jaworski said.

Jaworski said he invited everyone who contributed to his campaign to the party, which he says is an introduction to the city's "new mayor, new council, new day."

"If you want to take pity on the candidate who's in debt, be my guest," he said.

The campaign debt does not include a $40,000 loan Jaworski took on during his bid to oust state Sen. Mike Jackson, R-La Porte, from the District 11 seat in November 2008, Jaworski said.

Three candidates vying to become Galveston's next mayor put their competition aside, and in a show of good sportsmanship, posed for this photograph outside the polls Saturday.



Saturday's votes are still being counted but early voting totals have been released. Joe Jaworski captured 1,549 votes, or 52 percent, of the 3,017 votes cast during early voting. Betty Massey trails him with 832 votes, or 28 percent. Danny Weber is in third place with 516 votes, or 17 percent.

If no candidate achieves a majority of the vote, there will be a runoff June 19. Stay tuned for more results.

The last council meeting before Saturday's election ended abruptly Thursday night after four of the seven members left early.

When Councilwoman Susan Fennewald stormed out of the meeting in a disagreement with Councilman Tarris Woods, only three council members were left. Without a quorum, the meeting could not continue.

Fennewald left while Woods was talking about the last topic on the short agenda. Fennewald leaned over to Woods, who was discussing items in a presentation regarding the city’s federal disaster recovery program, and told him that if he didn’t ask a question, and stop making statements, she would leave.

Woods said he didn’t care if she walked out, so she did. Before Mayor Pro Tem Danny Weber adjourned the meeting, Woods snapped at Fennewald that he hoped her constituents saw what happened.

Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas and Councilwomen Linda Colbert and Karen Mahoney left earlier in the meeting. They said they had other engagements to attend.

The meeting – the last for some council members elected in 2008 – was marked by tension and sharp words as council members discussed a topic that has been a sore spot between some council members and city staff for the past week.

City council members had asked the police department to provide a report outlining all arrests for traffic violations in the past six months in response to public complaints by a man who was arrested for failing to signal a turn outside of the low-income apartment complex Sandpiper Cove at 3916 Winnie.

Police Chief Charles Wiley defended the police department Thursday against accusations that off-duty officers hired at the complex to work security were harassing residents and visitors. He said the stack of records he provided to council members proves officers aren’t discriminating against any particular race for traffic violations nor are they targeting people who live at and visit Sandpiper Cove.

Collecting the information took 105 hours of staff time and cost thousands of dollars, City Manager Steve LeBlanc said. He also said it was unfair for staff “to be hit with something” like Patrick Doyle’s public complaint at the council meeting last week regarding his arrest at Sandpiper Cove. Councilwoman Elizabeth Beeton invited Doyle to address council.

Doyle is a Galveston resident and not County Commissioner Patrick Doyle, who lives in Texas City.

“I’d appreciate it if we could handle it in a more professional manner,” LeBlanc said. “There’s plenty of other avenues to do that.”

Council members Woods and Beeton, who requested the information, defended themselves against what they perceived to be accusations from LeBlanc. They said all residents have a right to address council without prior notification that they intend to do so.

Re-runs of the meeting will play on Channel 16.

The chatter around town is that Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas intends to appoint three members to the Galveston Housing Authority board before a mayor replaces her. These appointments are a big deal, because they constitute a majority on the five-member board, which has had to make some controversial decisions about public housing since Hurricane Ike.

Thomas said there's no truth to the rumor. She said she has no plans to make the appointments, and she'll leave that decision up to the next mayor. If none of the five mayoral candidates on the ballot receives a majority of the vote, the top-two vote-getters will face each other in a runoff, which will likely be held June 19. The appointments have to be made by June 30.

The three commissioners whose terms expire in June are: Ray Lewis, Juan Gonzalez and Chairman Art Mabasa.