Author Archives: Ricardo D. Cavazos, VBR content editor

Ricardo D. Cavazos is a Rio Grande Valley native and journalist who has worked as a reporter, editor and publisher at Texas newspapers. Cavazos formerly worked as a reporter and editorial writer at The Brownsville Herald, Dallas Times Herald, Corpus Christi Caller-Times and San Antonio Light. He served as editor of The Monitor in McAllen from 1991-1998 and from there served for 15 years as publisher at The Herald in Brownsville. Cavazos has been providing content for the Valley Business Report since 2018.

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Bringing Expertise & Services To Higher Level

July 1, 2021

Ricardo D. Cavazos, VBR content editor

These are heady days for the Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation as it incorporates emerging technology and the excitement of SpaceX at Boca Chica into a growing economy. The BCIC funds economic development and boosts quality of life projects. There’s plenty of that in Brownsville right now. Downtown improvements and a flurry of small businesses are seeing early successes and working to scale up operations. The BCIC is in the middle…

Extending Bicentennial Gives McAllen True North

July 1, 2021

Ricardo D. Cavazos, VBR content editor

McAllen is an elongated-shaped city that’s hemmed in by Edinburg and Mission on its eastern and western flanks, with boundaries running long-and-narrow. The city’s shape may appear narrow on a map, but it has hardly kept Hidalgo County’s largest city from growing over the years. For decades, the historical north-south corridors of 10th and 23rd streets were sufficient for traffic flow. City planners knew years ago that wouldn’t be enough. …

Nurse Practitioner Rises To Serve RGV Community

June 24, 2021

Ricardo D. Cavazos, VBR content editor

e-Brief Features Featured Healthcare Comments

Aaron Salinas began his health care career at the ground level. His start came as an emergency medical technician. Here, Salinas got a firsthand look at the essential medical needs of Rio Grande Valley residents. “There were a lot of things that didn’t add up,” Salinas said of observations he made as an EMT, and then a paramedic, in going into the homes of residents in Hidalgo and Cameron counties.…

Brownsville To Host Expo Featuring Job Openings

June 11, 2021

Ricardo D. Cavazos, VBR content editor

Events Featured News Comments

The City of Brownsville and the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation are teaming up to host what it is the largest in-person career expo in the Rio Grande Valley. Careers And Coffee takes place on June 28 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Brownsville Events Center. There will be no entry fee. At a June 10 press conference, GBIC and city officials, along with employers present, said more than…

Amor y Pan Gains Recognition

June 4, 2021

Ricardo D. Cavazos, VBR content editor

Featured Food & Entertainment News Comments

Becoming an entrepreneur and starting a business during a pandemic has taught Karina Saldivar some valuable lessons while deepening her appreciation for local support of small businesses. The latter has been vital for the success of her business, Amor y Pan. The bakery and store promotes healthy living with products that appeal to fans of keto, vegan and paleo lifestyles. A look inside her stylish shop just off Expressway 77/83…

El Disco Blossoms Into Success Story

June 1, 2021

Ricardo D. Cavazos, VBR content editor

News Retail Comments

Up in his son’s second floor office, Francisco Pulido pulls out a book of family photos. He then smiles at the sight of a skinny 19-year-old youth. “That’s me,” he said, pointing to himself in the late 1970s, standing in front of a record store in Nuevo Progreso. He was a young entrepreneur then. He was the son of Tamaulipas farmers, opening up a record shop in a town already…

Harlingen Makes Park Destination Points

June 1, 2021

Ricardo D. Cavazos, VBR content editor

Featured News Recreation & Tourism Comments

Living in Harlingen these days means having access to as much parkland and hike-and-bike trails as can be found in the Rio Grande Valley. It’s a point that Harlingen Mayor Chris Boswell likes to make, as he did recently when the city marked the official opening of the Lon C. Hill Destination Park. The $3.3-million project transformed what was an ordinary green space. It is now over 50 acres of…

Alamo B&B Caters To Birders

June 1, 2021

Ricardo D. Cavazos, VBR content editor

News Recreation & Tourism Comments

The headline atop the easel paper pad was in all caps and featured “SIGNIFICANT SIGHTINGS.” Underneath the big letters there were 23 bird species listed that had been seen across the Rio Grande Valley over the first three weeks of April. Next to that column were another 13 bird species spotted at South Padre Island. “It has been an exceptional year,” said Keith Hackland, who owns and operates the Alamo…

San Juan Becomes Development Hotspot

June 1, 2021

Ricardo D. Cavazos, VBR content editor

Community News Comments

San Juan for years was on the periphery of the growth that came to define the McAllen-Pharr-Edinburg metro area. It was a stop of little notice when it came to business, heading east on Expressway 77/83. The feel began to change in the late aughts, around 2008, when H-E-B left Pharr to build and open one of its superstores in San Juan right along the expressway. It added a buzz…

Valdez Sets Sights High For Weslaco EDC

May 27, 2021

Ricardo D. Cavazos, VBR content editor

Community e-Brief Features Featured News Comments

The Weslaco Economic Development Corporation has a new executive director and its new leader comes from within the organization. Steven M. Valdez was selected as the executive director by the EDC’s board on May 19. Valdez formerly served as the EDC’s director for nearly five years. He comes into his new job with an understanding of the organization’s key functions. He also knows how it interacts with city government. Those…