He was at the time a 20-something Brownsville lawyer seeking to become Cameron County’s district attorney. A turn of events in the fall of 1988, including the sudden death of the county judge, propelled Tony Garza into a different direction. Garza would shift over to running for county judge as a Republican. He appeared to be a longshot in a Democratic-leaning region. What appeared to be improbable then became a…
The initial vision of the McAllen Holiday Parade sounded rather modest to McAllen Mayor Jim Darling. Growing up in Rochester, NY, Darling dreamed of going to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. He never made it to the big parade in New York City, saying his parents couldn’t afford to make the trip. The City of McAllen decided six years ago that it would launch a Christmas parade. The mayor then…
The Valley Baptist Health System and its landmark hospital in Harlingen have long been synonymous with Cameron County. Its reach was extended in the county to Brownsville last decade with the purchase of an existing hospital. The health system is now making a huge strategic move. In Jan. 2020, it will open a micro-hospital in Weslaco. Valley Baptist executives say is a first move to further expand its footprint in…
The negotiations that led to the creation of a single Rio Grande Valley metropolitan planning organization meant more than being a positive sign of regional goodwill. It also spurred the Texas Department of Transportation to announce it would spend $1.1 billion over the next decade. The money is solely for highway and mobility projects in the Valley. The state agency believed the merger of three Valley MPOs into a single…
The first Magic Valley Electric Cooperative utility pole went up in 1937. It was on Mile 9 West in Weslaco. The cooperative was in business and would establish seven principles that would guide it. The seventh principle is one that is at the heart of what Magic Valley has done for more than 80 years. It’s “Concern For Community,” as the value states. This is a value that still lives…
Leandro Pedraza of VTX1 took the concept of paying it forward and then made it count in Raymondville. Pedraza, an accounting manager with VTX1, heard the Family Crisis Center in Raymondville had suffered a devastating burglary. The result was the theft of all of the facility’s computers along with other damages. Pedraza wanted to see what could be done to help and asked his supervisors for permission to proceed. At…
Rebeca Castillo is building from the ground up in giving San Benito its first viable economic development corporation. The San Benito Economic Development Corporation is in its third month of being a standalone entity from city government. The EDC is in its own building on Bowie Street. It is adjacent to the Heavin Memorial Park which wraps around the city’s main resaca. Furniture and refurbishment of a facility that was…
The City of Mission is celebrating its entrepreneurs in the food industry with its first-ever Foodpreneur Fest on Oct. 24. It plans to use the event as a fundraiser for the city’s food pantry. The city is partnering with the Mission Economic Development Council and the Greater Mission Chamber of Commerce in hosting the event on Oct. 24 at 6 p.m. at the Mission Events Center. Attendees at the event…
Rolling by the Kapal Cabinet House, a director with the Weslaco Economic Development Corporation makes an observation of what economic vitality means to a city. “Everyone enjoys seeing life back in the building,” said Steve Valdez as he moderates the Weslaco EDC’s 2019 bus tour. The tour is an annual event that brings together community and business leaders to view Weslaco’s economic gains. They also witness how the EDC’s efforts…
Sam Olivarez marks off the decades in his 100-year-old building by tapping lines on the concrete floor. “Here’s where the building originally ended,” he said, stepping on a line where Barrera’s Supply Co. started in the hardware and auto parts business. That line marks the first 50 or so years of Barrera’s on north Conway Avenue in the heart of Mission. It was the starting era which began in 1918…