The City of McAllen is developing an updated comprehensive plan and is asking for residents’ input on what they feel the community needs. A community meeting in which the public can speak takes place Oct. 11 at 5:30 p.m. at the McAllen Public Library Auditorium, 4001 North 23rd Street. At the meeting, McAllen city leaders and staff, including those who speak Spanish, will be on hand to receive comments and…
The City of Pharr and the Pharr International Bridge will host a special event “A Taste of Trade” to initiate the start of the 2022-2023 produce season on Oct. 6. The event, which is open to the public, includes produce growers, importers, distributors and consumers from the United States and Mexico. The annual “Start of the Produce Season” event takes place from 10 a.m. to noon at the Pharr International…
The City of McAllen Environmental Health and Code Enforcement Department is looking for a few good citizens via its Citizens Code Academy to help clean up their neighborhood. The three-week academy seeks to promote clean and safe neighborhoods through community empowerment and action by creating and maintaining strong partnerships between citizens’ organizations and Code Compliance Services. Attendees will learn about various subjects such as the department’s organizational structure, premise violations…
After a two-year hiatus, Living History Day is back on Oct. 8 at Texas Southmost College’s Fort Brown Campus in Brownsville. The lawn and grounds of the college’s Performing Arts Center will serve as a backdrop for a morning of family-friendly activities, historical reenactments and more unique ways to experience history. History instructors Dirk Yarker and Rob Ramaker are the principal organizers of the event, bringing people young and old enjoying…
The International Museum of Art & Science kicks off its seasonal programming with Día de los Muertos Festival presented by H-E-B Helping Here and Market at the museum on Oct. 9 from 1-5 p.m. Visitors can join a guided tour of the Mexican & Latin American Folk Art exhibition and view community altares. Art activities include candle painting, monarch masks and paper flowers. Traditional sugar skull decorating is also available…
Omar Juarez started boxing at age 8 under a father’s watchful eye at gyms in Brownsville. Rudy Juarez was an amateur boxer as a youth in Matamoros before family responsibilities obligated him to work and give up the sport. The elder Juarez wanted something different for Omar. Rudy then began taking young Omar to tournaments and other boxing-related activities where the youngster could sharpen his skills. Some of those treks…
The overcast summer morning was putting Malia Quinn’s artistic assessment of South Padre Island to the test. Gray skies had moved over from the Gulf of Mexico to replace the usual August Island sunshine. Even then, the shades of coastal grays validated Quinn’s belief in the Island. “There’s something special about the lighting here,” the artist said looking out the windows of her gallery on Padre Boulevard. “I don’t know…
Javier Villalobos set out clear priorities when elected McAllen’s new mayor in mid-2021. “Water, sewer, public safety and the police department,” he said, recalling some of the key issues of his campaign. What Villalobos didn’t figure is that education would emerge early on as a pressing issue in his tenure. More than 20,000 students in the McAllen school district were suddenly put into remote learning situations. Public health concerns in…
Lou Ann Sarachene was already well-versed on David’s Law. It was passed by the Texas legislature in 2017 to strengthen the penalties for cyberbullying while teaching ways to combat all forms of bullying. Sarachene reached out earlier this year to Maurine Molak, the co-founder (along with husband Matt and sons Cliff and Chris) of David’s Legacy Foundation. Sarachene is the former principal of Ruben Hinojosa Elementary School in Sharyland. She…
The headlines and buzz in recent years when it comes to higher education has been focused on the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and South Texas College. In Brownsville, the oldest college in the Valley has been quietly and steadily building momentum of its own. Texas Southmost College was established in 1926. Some of its programs and offices are based out of historic Fort Brown buildings that date back…