Category Archives: Community

McAllen Opens New Inclusive Park

Sanchez Elementary Inclusive Park

Later today (Jan. 6), local officials will open an inclusive park at Blanca E. Sanchez Elementary School. The park bring with it new avenues of play for children of all abilities. A ribbon-cutting will take place from 4:30 to 6 p.m. to officially open the park at 2901 Incarnate Word Ave., between Sanchez Elementary and the McAllen Youth Baseball Complex. Participating officials include those from Hidalgo County Precinct 4, City…

Read More

Local College, ISDs Part of $10.3-Million TWC Grants

JET grant

The Texas Workforce Commission has awarded 41 grants totaling $10,379,293 to multiple public community colleges, public technical institutes, public state college and independent school districts for programs that focus on supporting high-demand occupations through the Jobs and Education for Texans grant program. Locally, recipients include South Texas College as well as Brownsville, Harlingen, La Joya and South Texas ISDs. The JET grant program focuses on projects that develop training programs to…

Read More

UTRGV Receives $1.5M NSF Grant

Dr. Timothy Huber (Photo David Pike, UTRGV)

The National Science Foundation Division of Undergraduate Education has awarded UTRGV a $1.5 million grant to support a growing need for well-educated scientists, mathematicians, engineers and technicians. The UTRGV grant is now active and goes to a five-year project. It will fund scholarships for 60 full-time, first-generation college graduates pursuing a graduate degree in mathematics or physics. Incoming graduate students can receive up to two years of financial support. The cohort-based…

Read More

Finding Fertile Ground In `Underserved’ Weslaco

Schlotzsky's is among the restaurant chains entering the Weslaco market in recent years.

Corporate Asset Partners has developed retail and business plazas across South Texas and one of its chief executives has come to a conclusion about Weslaco. “The community has been underserved,” said Craig Garansuay of the San Antonio-based asset partners.  Garansuay has crunched the numbers and determined that Weslaco is above area market averages in some key consumer categories. In Weslaco, restaurants featuring hamburgers are 35 percent above area averages in…

Read More

Mission Ranks As Top Texas City For Winter Texans

RV and trailer parks have daily events for Winter Texans residing in their facilities.

The City of Mission every February hosts a Winter Texan Fiesta to show its appreciation for tourists who are often seen more as local residents than visitors. Winter Texans have been mainstays in the Rio Grande Valley economy for decades. Mission perhaps more than any other Valley city has a reputation for catering to its winter visitors. It has more RV parks than other Valley cities. The Greater Mission Chamber…

Read More

School Of Rock Beating Strong In McAllen

Leo Salazar, left, owns School of Rock McAllen with JJ Gomez working as his musical director.

The practice rooms at the McAllen school on North Ware Road bear the names of musical icons whose songs students learn to play. Zeppelin, Hendrix, Queen and Rush are among the names on windows looking into the practice rooms at School of Rock McAllen. Inside there are guitars in blues, black and green standing tall on stands where the instruments lean over just right. Drum sticks line up like pencils…

Read More

Bid 2021 Adieu With A First Day Hike In 2022

First Day Hike

Welcome 2022 with a First Day Hike at one of 89 Texas State Parks. Parks statewide will host a variety of self-guided and guided events so visitors can walk, bike or paddle their way into the new year. First Day Hikes at Texas’ state parks and natural areas aim to help visitors commit to their New Year’s resolutions to get healthy. Last year, 2,668 visitors ushered in 2021 by hiking, biking…

Read More

UTRGV Offers New Doctorate Degree

Mathematics and General Classrooms Building on the UTRGV Edinburg Campus. (hoto Silver Salas, UTRGV)

UTRGV now offers a doctorate in Mathematics and Statistics with Interdisciplinary Applications in the School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences. The program provides a strong mathematics and statistics background that supports intense quantitative work in a wide range of disciplines. The curriculum prepares scholars to work on problems at the intersection of mathematics, science, engineering, medicine, finance, computer science and other quantitative disciplines. It aims to be the most inclusive…

Read More

RSTEF Awards UTRGV $5M Scholarship Endowment

(Photo Paul Chouy, UTRGV)

The Rio-South Texas Education and Community Development Foundation recently announced it will establish a $5-million endowment on behalf of The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. The endowment will be funded annually over the next five years. UTRGV will match each annual payment to establish a total endowment of $10 million by 2026. Funds from the endowment will enhance UTRGV’s new Graduate Select Scholarships for students in Agriculture, Food, Natural Resources,…

Read More

Queen City Food Park Coming To Mercedes

Queen City Food Park owners Ashley and Roy Gonzalez.

  The Mid-Valley area will soon be getting a second food truck park when Mercedes opens its version in early 2022. The Queen City Food Park will be located right alongside the south side of Expressway 83 on its access road where it intersects with Virginia Street. Its owners are Ashley and Roy Gonzalez, who began the process of having a food park in mid-2020. The couple has worked closely…

Read More