Author Archives: VBR

Mission EDC Teams Up for Educator Training

Education Featured News Technology Comments
computer science professional development

More than 100 teachers and counselors in Mission will receive computer science professional development this summer thanks to a local partnership. Mission EDC, Code/Interactive and the Mission Consolidated Independent School District are joining forces with Google to offer the training to 100 teachers and 20 counselors in elementary and junior high schools. One teacher from every grade level in Mission CISD’s 14 elementary and four middle schools will receive training.…

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UTRGV medical student receives award

Education Healthcare News Comments
David Goldblatt (photo UTRGV)

David Goldblatt, a second-year medical student at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine, is one of 66 students in the nation to receive the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Medical Research Fellows Award for the 2018-2019 academic year. The HHMI Medical Research Fellows Program provides students financial support for one year of full-time, mentored research training in fundamental biomedical research. Awards are given to medical, dental and veterinary students interested…

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TEEX brings low-cost OSHA training to RGV

Education Events News Comments
TSTC TEEX Summit (photo TSTC)

More than 400 people from municipalities and construction companies from Hidalgo, Cameron and Willacy counties were recently in attendance at a week-long Infrastructure and Safety Summit at Texas State Technical College. The summit, organized with the Infrastructure Training and Safety Institute (a division of TEEX), offered low-cost Occupational Safety and Health Administration training for employers. The Infrastructure Training and Safety Institute is the second largest OSHA training center in the nation…

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BCIC Offers Economic Development Grants

e-Brief Features Government News Non-Profit Comments
BCIC

Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation is seeking nonprofit and city partners to partner with to promote economic development. BCIC looks to promote the development through the BCIC Partnership Grants which focus on community development projects. Both nonprofit organizations and city departments are the focus of the grants. By design, the awards engage in the necessary community development needed to promote economic development opportunities. Through the grants, the BCIC will supplement up to $5,000…

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Does Your Nonprofit Need a Website?

e-Brief Features Events Featured News Non-Profit Technology Comments

Local nonprofits in need of a website may apply until May 27 to have a WordPress website created specifically for them. The charity hackaton do_action takes place June 22-23, allowing the RGV community to create websites for local nonprofit organizations. Created by CodeRGV and the McAllen Chamber of Commerce, the hackathon, providing five nonprofits with completed websites. The 24-hour event will be a platform for participants to works as teams, bringing unique…

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Facade initiative revitalize Downtown Mission

Featured News Comments
Mission Economic Development Corporation’s Downtown Facade Improvement Program

Dozens of dilapidated downtown buildings are now renovated thanks to the Mission Economic Development Corporation’s Downtown Facade Improvement Program. In partnership with locally-owned small businesses, Mission EDC has funded the refurbishment of more than 40 Conway Avenue storefronts in the past five years. Renovated storefronts include those of photo studios, barbershops, insurance agencies, boot stores and pastry shops. Still on a successful run, the program recently awarded its 41st matching grant to a small business…

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Groups Focus on Voices of Local Business

e-Brief Features Events News Comments
Small Business Roundtables

Local business owners are invited to share with a national non-profit their needs, challenges and views of doing business in the Rio Grande Valley. The Small Business Majority’s Small Business Roundtables take place May 7 and include an interactive discussion on those topics. The sessions focus on what business owners feel they need in order to grow and thrive in your community. Also up for discussion are what policy solutions would help…

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DreamBuilder Give Tools for Business Start-Up

Business Advice e-Brief Features Events Featured News Comments
DreamBuilder

The Women’s Business Center of Cameron County and the Brownsville Chamber of Commerce are now accepting applications from those interested in starting a business for its DreamBuilder Academy. The 12-module course is designed specifically for women (although anyone can participate) and creates a step-by-step framework for starting a business. The DreamBuilder format helps participants realize if they should start a business, as well as understand a business plan. Costs with…

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Deal Advances $1.6 Billion Port Steel Mill

e-Brief Features Manufacturing/Industrial News Comments
Big River Steel was the first to have a steel mill to achieve the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. The Brownsville Navigation District Board of Commissioners recently signed an option agreement to lease for the company to build another LEED-certified plant at the Port of Brownsville. (photo Big River Steel)

On Tuesday, the Brownsville Navigation District Board of Commissioners signed an option agreement for Big River Steel LLC to build a $1.6 billion plant at the Port of Brownsville. The agreement covers up to 800 acres of property. This will enable the steel-maker to develop a LEED-certified steel manufacturing plant, as well as storage and a distribution facility.  “This is good news for Brownsville and the result of hard work by many…

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UTRGV Receives Grant for Latina STEM

Education Featured Manufacturing/Industrial News Technology Comments
Latinas in STEM

The National Science Foundation has awarded the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley a $249,992 grant for the NSF INCLUDES Symposium for ADVANCING STEM Latinas in Academic Careers. The federal funds will be made available to UTRGV on Aug. 1. The funding allows UTRGV to place emphasis on increasing the number of Latinas in STEM workforce areas. The NSF symposium will provide a national platform to  discuss and address the issues that affect…

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