Category Archives: Government

More Than 1,400 Officers Trained at RCPSE

Education Featured Government News Comments
RCPSE interim Chief Administrator Sgt. Jose Moroles addresses law enforcement at STC’s President’s Advisory Council Committee luncheon Nov. 19. (photo STC)

More than 1,400 law enforcement officers have trained at South Texas College’s Regional Center for Public Safety Excellence since January. The numbers come from RCPSE interim Chief Administrator Sgt. Jose Moroles, who spoke recently at STC’s President’s Advisory Council Committee. STC is the first border community college in the nation to establish integrative training for local, state and federal professionals in law enforcement. This also includes those in public safety,…

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Census Official Urges Accurate Valley Count in 2020

Community Featured Government Moving On Up Comments
Bishop Daniel Flores addresses the audience at a Census 2020 Forum.

The 2020 U.S. Census will go out to a nation that’s more technologically wired than ever. Census Bureau officials expect the nation’s official population count to be the first of its kind. A solid majority of respondents will do so online. “The fact we’ve moved beyond paper only makes us more relevant to the American people,” said Timothy Olson, the associate director of field operations for the U.S. Census Bureau. …

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Brownsville Native Gains UT Honor

Government News Comments
Tony Garza

He was at the time a 20-something Brownsville lawyer seeking to become Cameron County’s district attorney. A turn of events in the fall of 1988, including the sudden death of the county judge, propelled Tony Garza into a different direction. Garza would shift over to running for county judge as a Republican. He appeared to be a longshot in a Democratic-leaning region.  What appeared to be improbable then became a…

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Los Fresnos Builds for the Future

Government News Comments
The new City Hall in Los Fresnos, complete after a year of construction.

Passing through or going through Los Fresnos isn’t what it used to be for this bedroom community along Texas Highway 100. This year alone, Los Fresnos, which brands itself as “A Community with Opportunity,” has taken some big steps when it comes to the way of providing better services to both its residents and those looking to relocate. Two major projects are now complete in the city. One is for…

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INNO Discusses a “New Era” for Trade

Events Featured Government News Comments
Jose Espinosa Alvarez, an instructor at Universidad Autonoma de Tamaulipas, speaks at STC’s 7th annual INNO Conference Nov. 1.

South Texas College’s seventh annual Binational Innovation Conference (INNO) took place Nov. 1. This year’s conference brought together those from industry, education and economic development. Each brought pertinent information with a focus on both innovation and the impact of students on the future workforce. “A New Era of Manufacturing in South Texas and Northern Mexico” centered primarily on the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. The proposed agreement looks to modernize the 24-year-old…

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Hidalgo County Holds Auction on Drug-Seized Vehicles

Community Events Events Featured Government News Comments

Hidalgo County will hold a Surplus Auction by Auction Marketing Oct. 19 at 10 a.m. The auction will include the sale of police seized cars, trucks, tractor trailers and trailers. Interested buyers can pre-register and view items Oct. 17 and Oct. 18 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office Grounds. Online registration is only available for online bidding at amtauctions.com. All other buyers must register onsite.…

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Pharr Breaks Natatorium Ground

Community Events Education Government Recreation & Tourism Comments
Pharr officials ceremoniously turn the dirt for the Pharr Natatorium groundbreaking.

Amid a crowd of enthusiastic swimming athletes, community members, and elected officials, the City of Pharr broke ground on the Pharr Natatorium Sept. 27. The Pharr Natatorium is a years-in-the-making project in partnership with the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and the Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Independent School District. “My son is an avid swimmer and my wife and I have had the privilege of cheering him on during many competitions,” said Mayor Ambrosio Hernandez.…

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Hidalgo Receives Recognition for Health Efforts

Featured Government News Comments
Health and Human Services Chief Administrative Officer Eduardo Olivarez, Commissioners Court, and Health Department Public Health Education Coordinator Ricardo Salinas, holding the county's Gold recognition.

Hidalgo County’s Health and Human Services department has received state recognition in the form of a Gold Award. The award comes from the Texas Healthy Communities Program for efforts to reduce cardiovascular disease and stroke, as well as other chronic diseases in the county. “This award is a direct result of collaborative efforts of a workgroup coordinated by Ricardo Salinas,” said Eduardo “Eddie” Olivarez. Olivarez serves as Health and Human Services…

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Brownsville Names Engineering & Public Works Director 

Featured Government Moving On Up Comments
Armando Gutierrez Jr.

Armando Gutierrez Jr. is now the Engineering & Public Works director of the City of Brownsville. Gutierrez oversees the department to implement systems, operational plans and policies to improve city services by efficiently and effectively allocating resources. The Engineering & Public Works Department aims to execute capital projects for improvements to city infrastructure. There is an emphasis on streets and drainage. Gutierrez was most recently the director of Public Works for…

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A New Vision of Mission

e-Brief Features Featured Government News Comments

Surveyor maps laid down the first legal representations in Hidalgo County in the late 1930s.  L. David Flores, the deputy city manager of Mission, said these basic maps were used as the legal representations for the county and its cities up until the early 1990s. Computer aided designs were already creating early versions of the first digital representations of the old maps. City governments began making use of these digital…

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