Author Archives: Contributor

A will can save time and money

Without a properly-drafted Texas will, the cost of administering your estate will be expensive and time consuming. Texas has a unique system of independent administration that makes the cost of probating an estate relatively inexpensive.  But this independent administration process is available only if you have a properly-drafted will that contains the necessary language.  With a properly-drafted will, a single court filing and appearance can lead to issuance of documents that authorize your administrator to pay your debts and dispose of…

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A Snip Here, a Clip There

With hard work, penny-pinching and a goal, Janie Garza and her friend Angie Moreno were able to open Advanced Barber College & Hair Design Inc. in Weslaco nearly 30 years ago. Success hasn’t come easily. At age 14, Garza was kicked out of school for talking back to a school secretary. “The state required that my mom put me in school. The only school that would accept me was beauty school,” Garza said. She…

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Living it Up Downtown

Who hasn’t passed an old building and wondered what it was like in its heyday, when shop owners lived above their stores?  To highlight contemporary loft living on Jackson Avenue, Downtown Harlingen Manager Cheryl LaBerge partnered with the Harlingen Board of Realtors for a Living It Up Downtown tour. Harlingen is the only Valley city developing and promoting loft living, which is popular in big city downtowns. Downtown Harlingen is a destination with family-owned restaurants,…

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It’s a wrap

Mobile advertising has taken to the roads from Australia to Great Britain, New York to California. Now it has reached the streets in the Rio Grande Valley. Splashing color, design and information over the entire body of a vehicle is referred to as being fully wrapped. This latest trend in a long and creative history of advertising is quite possibly superseding billboards as the most effective way to promote business. Personalized designs, iconic cartoon figures and information partially covering a vehicle is – a wrap. One expert Valley wrapper…

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Career times two

Many people, when reaching the end of an illustrious career, look forward to retirement and unrestricted freedom to enjoy life. Others, like Brownsville’s Linda Wise Marin, go back to the beginning and pick up a career they left behind while attending college. “I loved art, but I loved people, too,” Marin said. “Although the many fine art electives I took in college strengthened my love of art, I completed a degree in psychology, a…

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Image stylist saves client’s time

If you’re tired of how you look, go in a slump every time you open your closet, or have a mental meltdown thinking about what to wear to an event, image stylist Lillyan David might be someone you want on speed dial. She was born with the fashionista gene and loves sharing her passion with clients. In business for herself as Closet Couture for the past three years, David recently…

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Texas Treasures Awards to Seven Valley firms

Created in 2005 by the Texas Historical Commission, the Texas Treasure Business Award program pays tribute to businesses that have provided employment opportunities and support to the state’s economy for 50 years or more. Seven Harlingen businesses located in the city’s historic center were presented with the prestigious award this fall: three law firms, three retailers and a service company. To date, only 119 businesses in Texas have been named…

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Lost in Translation

Every Human Resources Department writes employment advertisements that paint the same dream candidate.  In one way or another, every job posting looks and sounds like this. GREAT EMPLOYEE WANTED “Top company is looking for a person who wants to work!  Someone who understands workplace values, like showing up on time, respect for authority and meeting deadlines.  We expect our employees to dress appropriately, be goal oriented and follow through on…

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Brownsville Scrap Paper finds cash in trash

The bottom line is not the only measure of a successful business. Keeping more than 13 million pounds of waste annually out of a landfill means success to Ruben Guerrero Jr., plant manager of his family-owned business, Brownsville Scrap Paper, Inc. The dynamics are two-fold, no matter how you say it – reuse, repurpose, recycle, upcycle.  Trash comes in; trash goes out. The lucrative business has plenty of markets in…

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European-style bakery takes off

“We want everybody to feel at home,” said Leticia Garcia, picturing what diners should experience at the new bakery-café, Antigua. She and co-owner Brenda Araneda located Antigua in a cozy three-dining room house that seats 27 on Harlingen’s East Harrison. The café has a laidback and intimate ambience that is attracting a solid customer base built on word-of-mouth and return business. Open since mid-February, Antigua serves homemade pastries, soups and…

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