“I know my product, and I love my product,” said Pilar Gonzalez, founder of Habibi Gourmet which makes DipIt gourmet yogurt dips. But over 600 other contestants had submitted their made-in-Texas food products to H-E-B’s Primo Picks Quest for Texas Best, aiming for $70,000 in cash prizes and the chance for placement on H-E-B shelves. Gonzalez was one of 25 selected for the final round and traveled to Houston for…
Our cars, trucks and SUVs represent major investments and lifestyle choices. Investing money in keeping them running well and looking great is a wise decision. We take pride in our vehicles and baby them to keep them in optimal condition: washed, waxed, oiled and aligned, accessorized with custom sound and alarm systems, new tires and window tints. A wide range of Valley businesses stand ready to primp our ride. Vehicle dealers…
Has the expressway billboard for the RGV Spy Store caught your eye? Ric Tamez hopes so. “It lets people know we’re here,” said the owner of RGV SpyTek, which carries security cameras, GPS trackers, recording devices, data recovery tools for hard drives and much, much more. “We’re the only spy shop in the Valley, but it’s a competitive world,” he said. “I’ve got to stay ahead of anyone thinking about getting into the business.” Tamez, a former McAllen Police Department burglary investigator, opened…
Tom Mason II and his father staked out different areas of real estate expertise. The elder Mason ran Mason & Company, a Valley brokerage and property mangement firm, for almost 50 years. His son, also a broker, focused on commercial property valuations, asset management and property tax appeals in Dallas, handling a $3 billion portfolio which included North Park Mall and Dallas Market Center. Mason returned full time to the Valley 18 months ago and took over as owner/broker of…
Large, colorful math posters of decimals, multiplication tables, fractions, algebraic symbols and calculus functions cover the walls of Shine Learning Center’s restroom. Admittedly, that is an unusual learning environment, but the private tutoring center takes its mission seriously. When Joseph Khamo was an elementary and middle school teacher, he knew some students did not grasp some fundamentals and needed supplemental education. As a principal for grades 6-12, he arranged tutors for those students, expecting them to rise to their grade level. To his surprise, the students made little to no progress. “We needed a results-based tutoring center…
The heat’s on: it’s time to get in your boat and fish, cruise and chill. Our beloved bay boats, those shallow-water-loving, tunnel-hulled vessels, let us float across the flats of the Laguna Madre, spotting redfish finning and dolphins jumping. In boats zipping down the Intracoastal canal with friends and family, we are happy to get away from it all and to drift past the islands and sloughs. On good days,…
A spring rain drenched Wally Winters and his son as they loaded 22 large palms — Chinese fan, washingtonia and sago — onto the San Antonio contractor’s trailer. Winters, who with his wife Lillian owns Adams Gardens Wholesale Nursery, admitted he didn’t usually run the forklift, but he had sent his crew home early because of the heavy rain. Yet 35 years earlier, when he first purchased an abandoned nursery on 10 acres off Bass Boulevard west of Harlingen, Winters had been the crew. His initial goal had been to restore the…
The cough and cold syrup sold under the Dr. Manzanilla label is designed to appeal to the Hispanic customer. The female, cartoon doctor is named for the popular herb manzanilla or chamomile, and the over-the counter medicine is physician-developed and -recommended. Telenovela star Laura Flores is pictured on the bi-lingual label of the brand headquartered in Raymondville. While Dr. Roberto Rey was completing his pediatric residency and pediatric oncology fellowship at Beth Israel Medical Center in…
The Valley’s top outdoor tourist attractions are simultaneously magnets for residents enjoying a staycation. In fact, three of the most popular Valley destinations rely on local clientele in the same way they count on local suppliers to keep them operational. So it makes sense this summer, when you are ready for a break from the ordinary or a mini-vacation, to look no farther than Schlitterbahn Waterpark & Resort, Gladys Porter Zoo and Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge. These outside destinations…
Hurricane season brings an annual flurry of disaster mangement forums focused on being prepared to respond when a disaster overwhelms a community. In contrast, disaster resiliency emphasizes a proactive rather than a reactive approach to a weather-related calamity by trying to avoid or lessen the impact on humans and the built landscape. The Disaster Resiliency Symposium, organized by the FIRE (fire, insurance and real estate) students of UTPA’s College of Business Administration, addressed topics such as hazard mitigation planning, cross-border resilience, and examples of successful resilience strategies and policies. “We flood…