Category Archives: Community

SBA Opens Business Recovery Center in Weslaco

Community Government News Comments
SBA logo

The U.S. Small Business Administration has opened a SBA Business Recovery Center in Hidalgo County to assist small businesses, private nonprofit organizations and residents who sustained economic losses and physical damage from severe storms and flooding occurring March 26‑28. SBA customer service representatives are now on hand at the Business Recovery Center in Weslaco to answer questions and assist with the disaster loan application process. The center is located in…

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Women Leaders: Own The Room & Be Confident

Community News Comments
Leaders of some of Brownsville’s more high-profile public sector organizations spoke about leadership roles at their organizations during the RGV StartUp Week.

Helen Ramirez was 29 years old when she first applied for a city manager’s opening. She recalled thinking that her chances were slim of actually getting an offer for the job. Ramirez did it for the experience of formally seeking such a job. And she saw it as the beginning of honing her pitch and building confidence that such jobs were within her reach. Fast forward to 2022 and Ramirez…

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Network Helps Women ‘Doing Amazing Things’

Community News Comments
Natalie Garza’s storefront in downtown Mission services as a meeting point for women entrepreneurs to discuss and share their experiences. (Courtesy)

A social media tagline for Con Ganas Mija gets to the essence of the organization and its energetic founder. “A network of women from the RGV who hustle!” Mija is a term of endearment in Spanish for a girl or daughter. Ganas can translate to “giving it your all,” or “doing your best.” Natalie Garza certainly does both and then some. In early 2024, she opened a storefront in downtown…

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Citrus Live Brings Back Glory Days

Arts Featured News Comments
The view from the second level of The Citrus Live provides a sweeping view of the 84-year-old venue.

Downtown Edinburg has lost much of its luster with aging infrastructure and block after block of lawyers’ offices filling up what were once retail spaces. For one day at least, on May 1, downtown was buzzing again. It was the day when the new Hidalgo County Courthouse celebrated its much-delayed completion and the venerable Citrus Theater marked its rebirth with a grand reopening event. Frustrations mounted in recent years over…

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Urban Forests Boost Butterfly Life

Community News Comments
One of the more than 300 species of butterflies in the Rio Grande Valley is the monarch, which migrates through the region on its way to wintering in Mexico. (Courtesy)

The urban forests found throughout McAllen and at its wildlife sanctuary are creating new habitats to help counter dwindling butterfly populations in the region and across the country. The efforts to do so have become a citywide initiative with educational programs at the Quinta Mazatlan sanctuary and a butterfly garden at McAllen City Hall. At local schools, students gather for tree-planting events at the urban forests and develop awareness of…

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Pharr Mother Knows Best

e-Brief Features Education Featured News Non-Profit Comments
Maria “Mily” Moreno

Pharr resident Maria “Mily” Moreno found herself at a crossroads in life. Divorced and the mother of two sons — ages 25 and 15 — she knew she needed to find a new path. Moreno resigned from her dead-end job and accepted a position as a part-time contract employee for the Texas Juvenile Justice Department. This move cut her income by $20,000 a year.  One day, Moreno encountered a South…

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VA Hosts Whole Health and Caregiver Summit

Community Events e-Brief Features Healthcare News Comments
yoga

VA Texas Valley Coastal Bend Health Care System invites veterans, their families, and caregivers to the Whole Health and Caregiver Summit on May 17 at Tropical Texas Behavioral Health Conference Center. Attendees will gain insights into VA’s whole health and wellness delivery system and the caregiver program, both of which support health and well-being. The summit takes place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the back of the building…

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TSC Welcomes Industry Partners for Productive Meet and Greet

e-Brief Features Education News Comments

Texas Southmost College welcomed representatives from its various industry partners to the ITEC Center on May 9 for the Business, Engineering, Architecture and Technology Industry Partner Meet and Greet. The event was TSC’s way of showing appreciation for the different industries who have contributed to helping enhance the various Workforce Training and Continuing Education programs, ensuring that students in those programs are learning the skills to fully prepare them once…

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UTRGV Libraries Become Patent & Trademark Resource Centers 

e-Brief Features Education Featured News Comments
The UTRGV Division of Research collaborated with USPTO, UTRGV University Library and the Entrepreneurship and Commercialization Center to host presentations in Brownsville and Mission, during RGV Startup Week, on the importance of intellectual property in fostering creativity and exploring licensing opportunities. (UTRGV Photo by David Pike)

Thanks to the recent opening of two new Patent and Trademark Resource Centers at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Libraries, Valley innovators will no longer need to drive 300 miles to the nearest patent office in Austin to secure intellectual property protection. Community members with big ideas for new technologies, products or brands now have access to essential resources in their own backyards with these university locations in Edinburg and…

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LSNB Invests in Students, Schools and Seminars for Success

Community e-Brief Features Finance/Banking News Comments
Lone Star National Bank

April was Financial Literacy Month, and during that time, Lone Star National Bank banking center representatives visited schools from Brownsville to Roma and up to San Antonio. Many of LSNB’s banking center managers are proud products of the very communities they now serve, returning to local schools not only to give back but to reach forward. Financial Literacy Month, manager of the Alton Banking Center, recently visited Juan De Dios…

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