Joey Lopez took office in 2019 as Cameron County’s Precinct 2 commissioner. He took office with $500,000 for park development as made available from a successful 2012 bond vote. The funds, Lopez said, were just sitting there and not being utilized in his northwest county precinct. Lopez began scouting for landowners who could donate tracts of land to the county for park development. The county commissioner set his focus on…
The first new refinery to be built in the United States in 50 years is coming to the Rio Grande Valley at the Port of Brownsville and local officials say it will make the region a hub for energy logistics and growth. America First Refining with the financial backing of India-based Reliance Industries will construct the facility on the southside of port’s shipping channel. It will take up to seven…
Alan Williams works with cities and schools in developing native habitats and will cut to the chase and ask local leaders what they’re willing to invest in green spaces. “Something I’ve talked to city managers and parks directors about is to be honest with ourselves and look at the time public works departments spend on tree care,” said Williams, who is the landscaping and gardening director for the Region One…
Nathan Burkhart in his six-year tenure at the Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation was on the ground floor of the beginnings of the space industry coming to his hometown. He served as the vice president of entrepreneurship and innovation at BCIC and became familiar with the leadership of SpaceX and its Starbase on Boca Chica Beach. It was during his BCIC tenure that he also met business owners and executives from…
The Brownsville South Padre Island International Airport opened a new 90,000-square-foot terminal in early 2021 amidst much fanfare in promoting the city’s transformation of its air traveler experience. Left behind was a 1970s-era 30,000-square-foot terminal whose outdated appearance was a striking contrast to the sleeker and more modern terminals found at airports in Harlingen and McAllen. All of that is in the past because the stylish terminal of today in…
Bill DeBrooke’s family referred to him as a “Grandpa Grumpy Pants” with a scruffy appearance and coarse demeanor who was unconventional and yet highly successful in making projects flourish. DeBrooke’s look and style could be misleading. He possessed a genius for problem solving and built “a Monopoly-like real estate empire from scratch.” The empire in this case refers to Downtown Harlingen. It’s where he and his family acquired dozens of…
The walk up to La Sal Del Rey gives hints of what lays ahead in glimpses of white between the thick and thorny green stands of South Texas brush. Then it opens in full view, a stunning expanse of an ancient lakebed with four million-plus tons of salt under shallow waters that reflect like mirrors to the clouds above. In dry months, the water recedes and then is completely gone.…
The rampant online speculation about the construction of a data center in Harlingen has come into clearer focus as the Cameron County judge and the city’s mayor acknowledged such an interest exists while emphasizing no formal proposals are under consideration. The property site for a possible data center is an 1,800-acre space adjacent to Valley International Airport and just outside of Harlingen’s city limits. This means any possible approval of…
McAllen Mayor Javier Villalobos gave his fifth State of The City Address in February and described his community as having “movement, energy and success.” Villalobos was exuberant in giving the address before a crowd of 1,300 at the McAllen Convention Center. The mayor walked around a large stage with a wireless headset microphone and enthusiastically ran down a list of accomplishments and projects achieved in 2025. Villalobos often cited the…
It was more the opportunity to restore a historic building than starting a business that was the initial inspiration for Hector Zavala when he saw a 1860s-era building in Downtown Brownsville. Zavala was in his mid-20s at the time when spotting an old botica building on the corner of 11th and Washington streets. The over 160-year-old pharmacy building that also housed doctors’ offices and a clinic had been left vacant…