Category Archives: Featured

McAllen Ranks as a Top City for Inbound Moves

Community e-Brief Features Featured News Comments

According to the website moveBuddha.com’s recent analysis of mover search data, McAllen ranks 14th among U.S. cities with the highest inbound-to-outbound move ratios for 2025. The study, which analyzed data from thousands of searches conducted on the moveBuddha.com  moving cost calculator, found that for every person leaving McAllen, almost two are arriving. McAllen Mayor Javier Villalobos highlighted the city’s continued growth, saying “McAllen’s affordability, safety and quality of life make…

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Mission Mom’s Balance Pays off with VIDA

e-Brief Features Featured News Non-Profit Comments

This month’s VIDA spotlight is written by Chris Ardis and VIDA Staff For years, Mission resident Maria Garcia had juggled the responsibilities of being a wife and mother to three energetic children, now ages 4, 8, and 12. Yet, despite her best efforts, Garcia found herself facing unemployment, her dreams of a stable career dimmed by the weight of financial burdens and uncertainty. Garcia’s dreams came back to life while…

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Elsa EDC Fuels Small Business Growth

Community e-Brief Features Featured News Comments
Elsa Economic Development Corporation

The Elsa Economic Development Corporation is looking to support local entrepreneurs with the launch of the Lift Elsa Incentive Program. The small business loan initiative will boost cash flow and provide affordable capital for businesses in Elsa. In partnership with LiftFund, the program offers zero-percent interest loans to eligible businesses. Through this initiative, the Elsa EDC is buying down the interest on loans up to $50,000. They are eliminating interest…

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Uncle Chops: Weslaco’s ‘Home Away From Home’

Featured Food & Entertainment News Comments
Uncle Chops features a signature line of burgers with sweet sourdough buns.

A battle-worn firefighter’s helmet rests on a shelf over the bar at Chris Cuellar’s restaurant in Weslaco. The rigors of the job he held for over 10 years in service to his community would take a physical toll. Injury problems would compel him to leave the Weslaco Police Department and bring a need to reinvent himself while still being a young man. Being a restaurateur is a thought that had…

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Fiesta Edinburg Begins Feb. 27

Community Events e-Brief Features Featured News Comments
Fiesta Edinburg

The 56th annual Fiesta Edinburg is coming up from February 27 to March 2 at the Bert Ogden Arena, expecting to draw in thousands of attendees to Edinburg. This year’s star-studded musical lineup kicks off on Friday with Corrido artist Edgardo Nuñez, T3R Elemento, and Nivel. On Saturday, five-time Grammy Award winner La Mafia takes the stage as well as Latin Grammy Award-winning artist and former lead singer of Grupo…

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San Juan Mom Receives a Lifeline with VIDA

e-Brief Features Featured News Non-Profit Comments
Rosa Diaz

San Juan resident Rosa I. Diaz describes life as a single mother with four children as both challenging and rewarding. Working full time as a provider, she earned above minimum wage; however, stretching her $11-per-hour earnings proved to be no small task. “While I was grateful for my job, I knew I wanted more for myself and my family,” Diaz said. She saw an advertisement for the Valley Initiative for…

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Artist Finds Fit In Brownsville

Arts Featured News Retail Comments
Students at Annebrije Pottery Studio in Brownsville create a range of different products that are available for purchase.

Annelise Rosas’ growing-up years in Monterrey and Austin left a yearning for another city of her youth. Brownsville is the place where Rosas feels the most comfortable. The Rio Grande Valley’s largest city is the best fit for the interchange of languages she speaks. In Monterrey, Rosas was seen as an American and a bit of an outcast despite being the daughter of Mexican-born parents. The view of her in…

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Festival Celebrates Island Kites

Community Events Featured News Recreation & Tourism Comments
Kite flying on the Island has grown in popularity over the years, in part thanks to the efforts of Susie and Bill Doan of B&S Kites. (Courtesy)

Flying kites on the beach can bring a sense of wonderment in looking up and seeing your handmade craft sway with the gusty seaside winds. Susie and Bill Doan are Ohio natives and kite aficionados who during visits to the South Padre Island became smitten with the beach. In their late 40s, the couple moved to the Island and turned a hobby into a business. B&S Kites opened in 1998.…

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McAllen Seeks Feedback to Name New City Park

Community e-Brief Features Featured Government News Recreation & Tourism Comments
McAllen park survey

The City of McAllen’s Parks & Recreation Department is seeking public input to name a new 23-acre nature park located at 8701 N. 23rd Street. This addition to McAllen’s extensive park system will offer activities such as kayaking, canoeing, fishing, walking trails, an archery range and a campsite. Other features include boating and fishing piers, a gazebo and a multi-purpose meadow. “The ‘Name Our New Park’ survey represents a unique…

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Port of Brownsville Breaks Ground on Channel Deepening

e-Brief Features Featured Manufacturing/Industrial News Comments

The Brownsville Navigation District and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers held a groundbreaking ceremony on Dec. 6 for Phase 2 of the Brazos Island Harbor Channel Improvement Project. The project will deepen the 17-mile-long Brownsville Ship Channel from 42 feet to 52 feet, improving navigational safety and enabling larger commercial vessels to access South Texas. “The Brazos Island Harbor Channel Improvement Project is paramount to the Port of Brownsville’s…

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