To read this post please scroll down.

 

Readers!

 

My July fund-raising campaign to celebrate the fifteenth anniversary since I began Behind the Black is now over. I want to thank all those who so generously donated or subscribed, especially those who have become regular supporters. I can't do this without your help. I also find it increasingly hard to express how much your support means to me. God bless you all!

 

The donations during this year's campaign were sadly less than previous years, but for this I blame myself. I am tired of begging for money, and so I put up the campaign announcement at the start of the month but had no desire to update it weekly to encourage more donations, as I have done in past years. This lack of begging likely contributed to the drop in donations.

 

No matter. I am here, and here I intend to stay. If you like what I do and have not yet donated or subscribed, please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:

 

1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.

 

2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
 

3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:

 

4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
 
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652

 

You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.


Starbase to take control of nearby beaches

The new government of Starbase has reached an agreement with its local county to take control of the nearby beaches that will allow Starbase to not only maintain them but close them when it choses.

Cameron County commissioners approved the agreement to hand over a portion of Boca Chica Beach on Tuesday. The deal outlines cleaning and maintenance obligations among other terms. Under the agreement, Starbase will be allowed to set requirements for beachfront construction and special events on the beach.

…The compact includes a plan to address beach erosion, which occurred at a rate of 10 to 20 feet per year from 1950 to 2012, Starbase Commissioner Jordan Buss told the county commissioners, citing a study conducted by the University of Texas at Arlington.

This agreement mirrors one Starbase had previously made with South Padre Island for other beach portions.

The article once again gives lots of column space to the fringe groups that oppose SpaceX and its operations at Boca Chica, even though the evidence suggests they have almost no support from the general public.

Genesis cover

On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.

 

The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.


The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
 

"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News

4 comments

  • Jeff Wright

    The usual suspects are Greens–but beach bums might actually be more problematic if they are really ticked off

  • Brewingfrog

    Beach erosion is a simple thing to deal with. South Padre Island has had the solution and implemented it for years now: Drag the seaweed that washes up every year up to the dune line. Decades of doing this have built up hundreds of yards of new beach just across the channel from Boca Chica, and there’s no reason they can’t start tomorrow.

    Whatever happens, SpaceX will do a better job, and be heavily criticized in the Media for it.

  • Dick Eagleson

    Jeff Wright,

    TX has a lot of Gulf coast beaches that are not right next to Starbase. Any actual beach bums – i.e., people lacking fixed addresses – can easily just mosey on elsewhere. Anyone violating beach closures – “ticked-off” or otherwise – can be arrested for trespassing and/or vagrancy.

    I hope SpaceX is eventually able to close relevant portions of Boca Chica State Beach and take over the terminal portions of Hwy 4 as a private road. But, in the meantime, progress is progress. The tortoises, at least, will be less likely to get used for traction by dirt bikers and four-wheelers if SpaceX gets to call more and more of the tune in its immediate environs.

    Brewingfrog,

    I defer to your superior knowledge of local hydrological engineering practices. You are certainly correct that SpaceX will do a superior job. It has a readily understandable interest in extending the beach outward – improving resistance of Starbase infrastructure to hurricanes and storm surges.

  • pzatchok

    Oh NOOOOOO!!!

    Muddy the mud skipper will die!!!!!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *