Category Archives: Industry

LSNB Invests in Students, Schools and Seminars for Success

Lone Star National Bank

April was Financial Literacy Month, and during that time, Lone Star National Bank banking center representatives visited schools from Brownsville to Roma and up to San Antonio. Many of LSNB’s banking center managers are proud products of the very communities they now serve, returning to local schools not only to give back but to reach forward. Financial Literacy Month, manager of the Alton Banking Center, recently visited Juan De Dios…

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DHR Health Named to Nation’s 100 Top Hospitals

DHR Health Hospital

DHR Health is one of the nation’s 100 Top Hospitals, according to an independent quality analysis provided by Premier Inc. The primary purpose of Premier’s 100 Top Hospitals program is to inspire hospital and health system leaders to pursue higher performance and deliver added value to patients and communities. Participation in the study is not application-based, and award winners do not pay to market their honor. “As a teaching hospital,…

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Family-Owned Dealerships Endure In RGV

1950s-era Chevrolet pickup trucks like this vintage model turned heads when sold new at RGV dealerships like Clark Chevrolet and Tipotex Chevrolet. (Courtesy)

One Rio Grande Valley car dealer whose name is today emblazoned across the region got his start in a modest-sized store selling Buicks just blocks south of the courthouse in Edinburg.  Bert Ogden sold cars as a side business before opening his first dealership in the 1960s. He would purchase used cars from upstate Texas sources, restore them to running condition, and then sell them in the Valley. The downtown…

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Family Celebrates Vintage & Style

Carmen Garza describes she and her daughters as antique collectors who “love the hunt” and they have plenty of spaces to fill at their shop in downtown Harlingen. Jackson Street Antiques on the corner of Jackson and Commerce streets is one of the anchors of the specialty niche that downtown Harlingen has developed over the years. The collection of antique stores and like-minded businesses have given the downtown area an…

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Entrepreneur Views Challenge To Help Others

Thru My Eyes’ apparel seeks to be hip and fashionable while also highlighting cultural heritage themes. (Courtesy)

Joseph Mayers by training is an auto technician who also has a flair for style and design as part of his skill set. All of those skills and others would be called upon in his early 30s when he became visually impaired due to an ongoing medical condition. Today, Mayers says, he is legally blind and is not able to see clearly past 20 feet without magnification. The adversity he…

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A Second Chance with VIDA

Miguel Martinez III

April is Second Chance Month, and Harlingen resident Miguel Martinez III knows all about second chances. Dec. 5, 2024 is a day he will never forget. Martinez was released from prison after serving three years for burglary of habitation and theft of a motor vehicle. According to cleanslataeinitiative.org, Second Chance Month is “a nationally recognized celebration of second chances, fresh starts and breaking barriers for people who have been impacted…

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Port of Brownsville Thrives

Westa at Port of Brownsville

Food manufacturer Westa Inc., the first tenant of the Port of Brownsville’s 118-acre business park, is finalizing the layout for its $20 million facilities at the port. Taking advantage of the port’s maritime access, Westa Inc. will receive grains via barge from the Midwest, enhancing the company’s supply chain operations for its high-capacity flour mill and sunflower seed processing plant set to employ 120 people. Last April, the company celebrated a…

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La Pale Scales Up To Success

Daisy Alcazar beams with pride in front of La Pale packaging that will be on the shelves of over H-E-B stores in Texas.

La Pale’s store on International Boulevard in Brownsville is a vibrant ice cream shop featuring Mexican-style desserts. A big whiteboard in Daisy Alcazar’s back office at La Pale Frozen Bar in Brownsville tells the story of a small business making the leap to something much bigger. “HEB COUNTDOWN 48 DAYS TILL PICKUP,” is written in big blue letters. The message was written in late 2024 before the first delivery truck…

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South Texas All Hazards Conference Next Week

South Texas All Hazards Conference

The 11th annual South Texas All Hazards Conference takes place March 26-27 at the McAllen Performing Arts Center and McAllen Convention Center. As the second-largest emergency response training event in Texas — and the only one of its kind offered at no cost — the conference expects to host over 3,000 professionals from public health, public safety, law enforcement, emergency management, public works and educational institutions. STAHC follows the National…

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BRG Celebrates 40 Years of Service

OmniTRAX, the rail and real estate affiliate of The Broe Group, recently commemorated the 40th anniversary of its Texas rail affiliate, Brownsville and Rio Grande International Railway, at a ceremony of economic and community partners in Brownsville. Dignitaries from the Port of Brownsville, state and local economic partners, community leaders, and rail customers joined a leadership delegation from OmniTRAX and BRG to recognize the railroad’s pivotal role in keeping North…

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