Richard Kline surveyed a patch of the Gulf of Mexico about 15 miles northeast of the South Padre Island jetties and found a mostly watery lifeless bottom. “There were almost no fish in that whole 2.5-square-mile area,” said Kline, a professor of marine sciences at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. “Now, there are hundreds of thousands or more.” The difference between back then – before 2015 – and…
In family photos, she is the proud little girl, standing by her father, the skillful fisherman. Diamond Hernandez beams in the photos, helping her Dad, Rick Martinez, hold up a big catch of fish bunched up at the end of a line. “I remember my dad winning contests and getting TVs,” Hernandez said of his dad’s prize-winning fishing. “I’d think, ‘I want to do that.’” The family that fishes together…
The South Texas Chile Co. is on a dual-track mission that sets it apart from other Rio Grande Valley nurseries. The first goal is to grow all the chiles, “from jalapeno to the wild chiles like chile de monte,” as the nursery’s website states. The Raymondville nursery does offer more standard plant choices such as cucumbers and beans, but it has set out to be the chile specialty nursery of…
Finding a new entertainment option on South Padre Island that can gain traction isn’t easily pulled off. A former oilfield worker with an infinity for Island life decided to give it a try. Homer Garcia reached into his bag of ideas and came up with a 15-seat bicycle rig where peddling is shared and fun is had. “It’s pretty much a moving bar,” Garcia said of what’s experienced at his…
Joseph Duenas sought new experiences after graduating from Mercedes High School in 2006. He joined the Marines. Duenas trained to become an infantryman and did multiple combat tours in Iraq. He would stay on after his military service, working for a security firm contracted by the State Department. “I spent most of my 20s over there,” Duenas said of Iraq. The skills and training learned overseas were put to good…
Valley International Airport is experiencing its best growth numbers since 2008 as longstanding airlines return daily flights and new international flights to Mexico have been established. Marv Easterly, VIA’s director of aviation, provided that overview recently during a commercial and investment tour hosted by the Harlingen Economic Development Corporation and the Rio Grande Valley Partnership. The Harlingen-based regional airport has gotten through the worst of the cutbacks brought on by…
Killam Development of Laredo broke ground recently on a 175-acre business park at Anzalduas International Bridge that is part of a 3,400-acre project south of Mission. Cliffe Killam, the president of the development company, was among the dignitaries and community leaders at a May 2 groundbreaking. It marked the official beginning of an industrial park that hopes to attract manufacturing, logistics, cold storage and distribution facilities to the Sharyland Business…
Driving down Jackson Street toward Commerce, parking spaces are sparse near the old intersection that’s a historic crossroads in downtown Harlingen. The MOFI Nutrition – Energy Bar has something to do with this new burst of energy near Jackson and Commerce. Walk into the business and you get a warm welcome with the music of a fitness gym beating behind the shortened wall of the MOFI’s front counter. Kaci Spikes-Kemp…
In 1997, the limits of north McAllen didn’t go much past Trenton Road, with the first signs of development just beginning to take shape in the form of a sign promising a new H-E-B on the way. From that corner of Trenton and 10th Street, it was a trek much further north on adjacent Ware Road as it went past state Highway 107. Farmland with scattered duck ponds is what…
It all started with a coupon book. Kristi Collier in those early years of the 2000s had worked for the Red Cross. It gave her entry to RV parks across the Rio Grande Valley in seeking Winter Texans who could volunteer for Red Cross activities. Her second job with a title company ended in 2007 due to the housing bubble crash of the Great Recession. By then, Collier had started a…