Category Archives: Industry

VBR Business Briefs

Community Education Finance/Banking News Transportation & Travel Comments
Executives representing Lone Star National Bank recently received five honors on the bank’s behalf from the Independent Bankers Association of Texas.

Lone Star National Honored For Services McAllen-based Lone Star National Bank was recently honored with five best of bank awards in honors given by the Independent Bankers Association of Texas. LSNB was honored for providing South Texas entrepreneurs with a range of services, including business education, expert-led workshops, networking opportunities and financial guidance through a complimentary eight-session cohort. Lone Star’s Small Business Education Program provides business owners with added expertise…

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‘Triple AAA’ Of Water Rescues Boats

News Recreation & Tourism Comments
George and Lou Ann Strader own and operate 12 rescue boats that provide essential services for fishermen in the Lower Laguna Madre.

The bright blue waters of the Laguna Madre can look calm and relaxing and be just the place to get away from it all. Tranquility can turn into worry – and quickly – when something goes wrong with a fishing boat. It won’t start. The boat is running low on gas or is out completely. The vessel has drifted into being grounded on the bay’s soft and shallow waters. “You…

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Shopping Strong In Mid-Valley

News Real Estate Retail Comments
The Mid-Valley market is brimming with new retail space and development.

The first stores at The Shops at Mercedes are opening in what local elected officials and business leaders see as another indication of the Mid-Valley’s emergence in the Rio Grande Valley’s retail market. “We’re seeing a shift in shopping habits,” said Dr. Ruben Saldana, a Mercedes city commissioner. “These new stores are a force multiplier for other developments.” And those developments are also being seen in the neighboring cities of…

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New Exhibit Boosts Zoo’s Momentum

News Recreation & Tourism Comments
White-faced saki monkeys are native to tropical rainforests of northern South America and are among the residents of the new Phase II of El Mundo Huasteco y Totonaco at the Gladys Porter Zoo.

The Gladys Porter Zoo is refreshing itself with new exhibits and property acquisitions that will meet the standards of national accreditors as the facility overhauls and redesigns its presentations. The Brownsville zoo opened in 1971 and had begun to show its age in recent years. Space restrictions were addressed in late 2024 when Brownsville city government and the zoo entered into an agreement with the local school district to acquire…

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New Museum Gives SPI A Heritage

Community Featured News Recreation & Tourism Comments
South Padre Island community and business leader Dennis Franke is seeing his dream of a historical museum on the Island coming to fruition after years of planning and fund raising.

Three South Padre Island community leaders met in 2009 to advance an idea that their city could be more than a beach resort destination. Dennis Franke, Steve Hathcock and Rod Bates founded the South Padre Island Historical Foundation with the expressed goal of establishing a museum of history. The wish of having a museum featuring the history of the Island seemed like a longshot given the resources it would take…

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Port Celebrating 90 Years of History & Accomplishment

Manufacturing/Industrial News Comments
The modern-day Port of Brownsville handles tonnage like the giant wind turbine blades seen across South Texas. (Courtesy)

The father of the Port of Brownsville journeyed from a distant land to South Texas in the early 1900s and began championing the audacious goal of building a deepwater port along the U.S/Mexico border.  Louis Cobolini immigrated from Italy to Galveston in the mid-1860s after being part of failed efforts to gain Italian independence from the Austrian Empire. In his early 20s, Cobolini, like millions of immigrants through the ages,…

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Lodge Adds New Twist To Birdwatching

News Recreation & Tourism Comments
A pavilion anchors the circle of casitas at the Blue Bunting Lodge.

A birdwatching industry that generates over $400 million annually for the Rio Grande Valley’s economy is about to add a new wrinkle amidst the nature enthusiasts. The Valley’s first birdwatcher lodge is set to open in late October near Mercedes in the heart of the region. The 10-acre lodge sits on farmland that once grew cabbages and is being returned to its natural state. Tamaulipan thorn forest, mesquite grasslands, and…

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Project Doubles Pharr Bridge Capacity

News Transportation & Travel Comments
The Pharr International Bridge offers logistics advantages that have made it the nation’s leading port for fresh produce imports. (Courtesy)

A commercial lane expansion at the Pharr International Bridge is nearing completion and full operational status as the 3.2-mile span dramatically increases its trade capacity. “We are going to have 100 percent more capacity,” said Luis Bazan, the bridge’s director, in a Mexico Business News article. “Four new lanes will allow us to significantly improve wait times, but the objective is no longer just to reduce them, but to eliminate…

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VBR Business Briefs

Community Education News Technology Comments
Daniel Clark receives a McAllen SHINES award on behalf of his family and its auto dealership. (Courtesy)

McAllen Honors Clark Chevrolet Clark Chevrolet’s contributions to the city of McAllen were highlighted recently when the auto dealership was recognized as a SHINES Champion. McAllen SHINES is a community-wide civic pride and environmental initiative that focuses on promoting cleanliness, respect and responsibility among residents, businesses, and visitors. Among its key focus areas are honoring local businesses for their beautification efforts through mural creations and a commitment to keeping the…

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PI Restaurant Honors Legacy Of Founder

Food & Entertainment News Comments
The seafood platters at Joe’s Oyster Bar continue to attract generations of families to the Port Isabel restaurant.

Ricky Hernandez was the neighborhood kid who never left Joe Henry Castillo’s side for over 30 years. “He treated me like his son,” said Hernandez, the manager of Joe’s Oyster Bar & Gulf Seafood Market in Port Isabel. “Yes, I was an employee, but he shared everything he knew with me. I was with him 13 or 14 hours a day.” Hernandez so absorbed Castillo’s life lessons and ways of…

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