A $7-million roadway connecting two busy parts of Expressway 77/83 in Harlingen is on schedule for completion this month. Spur 54 links southbound and westbound traffic on the expressway, running east-west behind Bass Pro Shops and in front of the Sam’s Club store in Harlingen. Construction on the 1.2 mile-long roadway began a year ago. It is already busy with traffic and leading to the development of new retail and…
Cynthia Duran is gearing up to start another school year – in whatever form that may take – but she’s always teaching. The Weslaco school district art educator has navigated through an interesting summer at her Busy Bristles Art Studio. The downtown Weslaco business also had its COVID-19 ups and downs. The enthusiasm for art never waned. The interest of children and adults to get before a canvas again ran…
Dr. Patricia Blanco was there at the beginning. It was fall 2013 and Our Lady Of The Lake University was making its big move in the Rio Grande Valley. The San Antonio-based university was establishing a bricks-and-mortar location in La Feria. It was a sure sign the Catholic school was intent on a permanent presence. “It was a leap for OLLU,” said Blanco, the director of the university’s RGV campus.…
Patrick Alvarez walks into big-box stores and their rows of school supplies and his trained teacher eye makes an astute observation. “A lot of the inventory doesn’t move,” said Alvarez, a social studies teacher at a Brownsville charter school. “It’s not what teachers really need.” The dollar stores offer discounts on inexpensive items like glitter and markers, but what about the more specific supplies and decorations teachers commonly need to…
Three Rio Grande Valley communities rank at the top of Texas cities of their size in a statewide competition that focuses on healthy actions like doing a workout, eating notorious food and drinking ample amounts of water. McAllen, Harlingen and Los Fresnos each finished first among all cities of their population ranges in the 2020 It’s Time Texas Community Challenge. The competition recorded an eight week-period of time this year…
The Weslaco Economic Development Corporation has awarded 37 local businesses with financial assistance from its small business loan/grant program. The program was announced in early May to help small businesses cope with the fallout of COVID-19 hardships. The EDC said the loan/grant program helps with payroll, mortgage, rent, utilities and basic operation costs. “The growing economy in Weslaco has based its success on the traditions set by our small business…
It was a day before the Longhorn Cattle Company reopening and owner Bill Turner was raring to go. “The fires are lit and the beans are cooking,” said Turner on June 2, the eve of his barbecue restaurant reopening after weeks of COVID-19 closure. The San Benito mainstay business along the expressway is a destination restaurant in the Rio Grande Valley. The days of closure were long ones for a…
Adam Shidler stayed busy in the two weeks his Weslaco business was closed. Government-mandated shutdowns due to COVID-19 kept his downtown coffee shop temporarily shuttered. Shidler used the time to do maintenance and upkeep at Weslaco’s Daily Grind. Working in his shop, customers would see him inside and knock on windows and wave hellos. Weslaco’s Daily Grind’s customers missed their coffee shop – and the feelings were mutual. “Our friends…
Sandy Pena is at one of her store counters, entering inventory to soon be featured on her website. It’s early June and in downtown Weslaco the temperatures already feel like mid-August. Inside Lionel’s Western Wear & Boutique, Pena is upbeat and feeling the new possibilities in the midst of a pandemic. “I’m not depressed or dejected at all,” Pena said. “I’m optimistic about retail. I think there’s still a place…
Violet Metz became concerned in March as grocery store lines grew and local governments issued shelter-in-place orders. “At my age, security is such a huge concern,” said Metz, 81, a McAllen resident. “If I really need something, will I be able to get it?” It was an extraordinary period of time in March going into April as the COVID-19 pandemic set in. The general panic being felt in the community-at-large…