The Brownsville Navigation District is lowering the overall tax rate for property owners living within the district effective Oct. 1. The measure comes after unanimous approval at a regular Board of Commissioners meeting Sept. 9. The 2020 property tax rate for the BND will be at $.029778 per $100 valuation. This is a 17 percent decrease from the previous year’s rate of $.035920. The 2020 rate contains a debt rate…
Victor Rodriguez and Sally Fraustro-Guerra are the McAllen Chamber of Commerce’s Man and Woman of the Year. The two will receive honors in 2021 at the chamber’s annual banquet. Fraustro-Guerra is a McAllen native, graduating from McAllen High School and The University of Texas-Pan American. She is a real estate broker at Coldwell Banker La Mansion, serving in that role for more than 20 years. She is also the owner/publisher of…
In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, the U.S. Small Business Administration is hosting a virtual Hispanic Business Summit on Sept. 30 at 2 p.m. The SBA’s purpose with the summit is to both guide and inspire Hispanic entrepreneurs by presenting them with success stories and informative discussions in Spanish. Hosting the event this year is SBA’s Region VI, consisting of District Offices in Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Arkansas.…
Texas Southmost College was awarded reaffirmation of accreditation by its regional accrediting agency earlier this month. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges reaffirmation accredits TSC through 2030. “Accreditation from SACSCOC is the most important designation TSC can achieve for our community,” said TSC President Jesús Roberto Rodríguez. “Not only does it attest to the high quality of programs and services we offer, regional accreditation is required…
Keppel AmFELS at the Port of Brownsville will be building the largest hopper dredge in the United States thanks to a contract with Manson Construction Co. The 15,000-cubic-yard hopper dredge FREDERICK PAUP’s design is in collaboration with Hockema Whalen Myers Associates Inc. of Seattle, Wash. It will have a length of 420 feet, breadth of 81 feet and draft of 28.5 feet. The dredge is slated to be fully operational…
Today, SBA’s Lower Rio Grande Valley District honored the 2020 District Small Business Week awardees for six small business categories. The virtual ceremony is part of National Small Business Week going on now through Sept. 24. Michelle and Danny Quiroz of Reserva Coffee Roasters were named the district’s Small Business Persons of the Year. Both previously had successful careers working for large companies. However, Michelle’s passion for coffee drove their…
South Texas College is in the Top 3 nationwide and also in the top spot in Texas for enrolling and graduating Latinos according to Excelencia in Education. Washington D.C.-based Excelencia is a nonprofit organization that seeks to improve education outcomes for Latino college students. Their findings come as part of a Latino college completion study Aug. 12. STC enrolled 31,949 students in fall 2018, 95 percent of which were Hispanic…
The Food Bank of the Rio Grande Valley now has $14,952 more to provide food assistance to families in the Rio Grande Valley, thanks to a grant from the Knapp Community Care Foundation. The need for Food Bank RGV’s services has seen an increase with health and financial issues coming with both COVID-19 and Hurricane Hanna. With the funds, more than 75,000 meals will be available to underserved populations, according…
As part of National Small Business Week, the U.S. Small Business Administration and cosponsors will host all virtual events Sept. 22-24. This year’s activities will include educational panels providing retooling and innovative practices for entrepreneurs. The event will recognize the national award winners, including the naming of the National Small Business Person of the Year. The event schedule includes three days recognizing America’s outstanding entrepreneurs. The events shine a spotlight…
The Food Bank RGV is holding its inaugural Sunset Drive-Thru Emergency Pantry Sept. 16. From 4-7 p.m., or until they reach capacity, Food Bank RGV will distribute food to clients who are normally unable to attend during the regular DTEP hours due to work or school schedules. This one-day only Sunset DTEP distribution replaces the Food Bank RGV’s regularly scheduled Wednesday, 7-10 a.m. DTEP this week only. This distribution is…