Mercedes was one of the first Rio Grande Valley cities established between Brownsville and the Starr County communities of Roma and Rio Grande City. There was the American Rio Grande Land & Irrigation Company setting up operations in what would become Mercedes in 1909. The land company and its investors brought one of the first east-west railroad extensions from Brownsville to Mercedes and into the heart of what would become…
Nick Cantu makes his way up the back stairs of the old Citrus Theater. If walls could only talk, the stories the eight-decades-old movie house could tell. In an upstairs hallway, Cantu points to a room where he said the original owner of the Citrus, a doctor, practiced medicine in World War II-era Edinburg. For decades, the Citrus played the role of the hometown single-screen theater. The multi-screen movie plexes…
Pablo Pena started small with three employees, including himself, his wife and a friend. It was 1964 and the beginnings of Central Plumbing Supply in Weslaco on Kansas Avenue, just adjacent to the city’s iconic Tinaco cement water tower. Pena had worked in the plumbing supply business for a local company that closed when its business affairs weren’t properly managed. Starting his own small business, Pena knew he would do things…
Raudel Garza’s career in economic development leadership has taken him to Mission, Pharr and Harlingen. He is now heading to a new challenge – and city. Beginning Nov. 7, Garza will be the new executive director of the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation. His new job will come after a 10-year tenure as the chief executive officer of the Harlingen Economic Development Corporation. Edinburg is hoping Garza’s experience and stature in…
Brownsville’s extensive network of hike-and-bike trails has a new addition with the opening of the West Rail Trail. The nearly 7-mile-long trail was officially opened on Oct. 14 at Oliveira Park during a ceremony with remarks from Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevino Jr. and Brownsville Mayor Trey Mendez. The $8-million trail project runs from Palm Boulevard in the heart of the city and on northward past Alton Gloor Boulevard. It…
Omar Juarez started boxing at age 8 under a father’s watchful eye at gyms in Brownsville. Rudy Juarez was an amateur boxer as a youth in Matamoros before family responsibilities obligated him to work and give up the sport. The elder Juarez wanted something different for Omar. Rudy then began taking young Omar to tournaments and other boxing-related activities where the youngster could sharpen his skills. Some of those treks…
A tour of the Clever Foods & Supplements operating facility shows shiny white floors and gleaming silver equipment that’s intertwined and can churn out over 30 million vitamin gummies a month. The Clever facility is a new addition to the Mid Valley Industrial Park in Weslaco. Three executives with deep experience in manufacturing and sales are its owners and operators. They see the Mid-Valley city as an ideal location to…
The overcast summer morning was putting Malia Quinn’s artistic assessment of South Padre Island to the test. Gray skies had moved over from the Gulf of Mexico to replace the usual August Island sunshine. Even then, the shades of coastal grays validated Quinn’s belief in the Island. “There’s something special about the lighting here,” the artist said looking out the windows of her gallery on Padre Boulevard. “I don’t know…
Javier Villalobos set out clear priorities when elected McAllen’s new mayor in mid-2021. “Water, sewer, public safety and the police department,” he said, recalling some of the key issues of his campaign. What Villalobos didn’t figure is that education would emerge early on as a pressing issue in his tenure. More than 20,000 students in the McAllen school district were suddenly put into remote learning situations. Public health concerns in…
Elon Musk and SpaceX recently declared they were “one step closer to the first orbital flight test of Starship.” The reference was to the nearly 400-foot-tall rocket that’s perched at Starbase on Boca Chica Beach near Brownsville. The Federal Aviation Administration announced in June after a two year-study that SpaceX could expand its footprint on Boca Chica. The FAA, however, did not grant a rocket launch license. It cited 75…