Jan. 20-22 marks the first of two upcoming weekends for the 26th annual SPI Market Days at the South Padre Island Convention Center. The indoor shopping event features a large collection of artisans in one shopping location. Vendors are both local and from across the United States. Items include original art, handmade jewelry, gourmet food and drink mixes, health and beauty products, pet items, home decor and goods, custom hand-cut…
UTRGV has announced the Las Huellas Association Endowed Fund which benefits students in the university’s College of Sciences. The Las Huellas endowment – a gift in the amount of $500,000 – provides scholarships to students pursuing a wildlife habitat conservation career. Kelly Nassour, UTRGV executive vice president for Institutional Advancement, said the university greatly appreciates the gift from the Las Huellas Association. “The fund will impact our students, community and…
McAllen ISD’s new aviation program for high school seniors took flight last fall and now the course of study will be expanding with the addition of more classes starting next school year. Starting in the fall, students will be able to take additional courses over a two-year period to give them in-depth training and more flying time as they earn a private pilot license and remote drone license through McAllen…
After graduating from high school, McAllen resident Cain Ballesteros took the step many young people feel is expected of them; he enrolled in college. But after a year and a half, he realized college wasn’t for him. Ballesteros tried to find his calling through a number of career paths, including certified nursing assistant, but none felt right. His dad, Arturo Ballesteros, a master electrician for over 40 years who manages…
In a continuous effort to promote health and wellness, McAllen ISD is now participating in the annual It’s Time Texas Community Challenge. The district has finished at the top of the state standings in the Medium School District category each of the past two years. “On behalf of the administration and our school board, I’d like to encourage everybody to take part,” McAllen ISD Superintendent J.A. Gonzalez said. “We are…
The Boys & Girls Club of McAllen, Visit McAllen, McAllen Parks & Recreation, PONY and the McAllen Chamber of Commerce will hold a joint press conference Jan. 18, announcing the return of the PONY International Softball World Series to McAllen in July. The Boys & Girls Club of McAllen has a long-standing relationship with Visit McAllen, McAllen Parks & Recreation, PONY and McAllen Chamber of Commerce through collaboration efforts in youth and community development. This…
The City of Edinburg has extended the date for submissions for the Boulevard of Heroes Banners Program. The new deadline for submissions is Jan. 15. The Boulevard of Heroes Banners Program is the City of Edinburg’s continued effort to honor and recognize Edinburg’s brave men and women who have served our country or are currently serving. Submissions must include a dress uniform photo and information of the veteran, which includes…
Danny Smith was taking a holiday break in New Mexico when one of his sons called with devastating news on the first day of 2022. “Dad, your shop is on fire,” Smith recalls upon hearing his 125,000-square-foot Matt’s Building Materials store in Pharr was engulfed in flames. Baldo Arriaga, a 20 year-plus employee of Matt’s, got to the store 30 minutes after the blaze was reported to the local fire…
Associate dean for the UTRGV College of Sciences Cristina Villalobos has been elected Fellow of the American Mathematical Society “for contributions to modelling and optimization and for broadening the participation of underrepresented groups in mathematics.” Villalobos, who is also a Myles and Sylvia Aaronson endowed professor in the School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences, becomes the first UTRGV faculty member to be named an AMS fellow. “It is an honor to have…
Alma Salazar, an English teacher at Faulk Middle School in Brownsville, is one of 15 recipients of a 2022 Humanities Texas Outstanding Teaching Award. Texas State Senator Eddie Lucio Jr. and former Humanities Texas board member Manuel Medrano presented Salazar with her award during the Brownsville ISD board meeting at on Dec. 13. Salazar also received a $5,000 cash award with an additional $1,000 for Faulk Middle School to purchase…