Category Archives: Industry

MFE Hosts TSA Precheck Pop-up Enrollment Event

Featured News Transportation & Travel Comments
TSA Precheck, airport

A TSA Precheck Pop-up Enrollment event will take place at McAllen Miller International Airport from May 8-12. The Transportation Security Administration program allows airline passengers a smoother screening process with no need to remove shoes, belts, 3-1-1 liquids, laptops or light jackets. The event’s daily hours are 9 a.m. to noon and 1-5 p.m. In order to participate in this local enrollment event, applicants must follow these steps to pre-enroll: Access…

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Entrepreneur Finds Right Fit In RGV

Professional Services Comments
Paint work on rims is among the most common service offerings at AB Powder Coating. (Courtesy)

Arturo Leon had never been to the Rio Grande Valley when he came here in 2014 to scout for a place to locate his specialized painting business. He had already been to southern California, where his father lived after relocating from Mexico. Warehouse space there was hard to find and what was available didn’t meet his needs. Visiting the Valley, Leon liked the cultural fit and immediate proximity to Mexico.…

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Shift To Vacation Rentals Boosts SPI

News Real Estate Comments
Many vacation rentals on South Padre offer beachside views and more privacy than staying at hotels.

South Padre Island is seeing rapid growth in its vacation rental industry and enjoys high average occupancy rates as compared to its Texas Gulf Coast competitors. It was a strength highlighted at a recent conference hosted by the Vacation Rental Managers Association of South Padre Island. There was also a list of challenges and areas of improvement cited at the mid-February meeting at the South Padre Island Convention Center. The…

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Roast House Goes Big In Brownsville

e-Brief Features Featured Food & Entertainment News Comments

Walk into The Roast House in downtown Brownsville and the first impression is how much space it occupies. The formerly cozy coffee shop on Alton Gloor Road in north Brownsville has grown dramatically since its move to downtown in the latter half of 2022. There’s 5,700 square feet of space put to use for community events, group meetings and of course, great coffee.  The Roast House is a “full-blown coffee…

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Physician Residencies Coming To Brownsville, McAllen

Healthcare News Comments

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and the HCA Healthcare Gulf Coast Division have announced an agreement to bring 30 resident physicians to Brownsville and McAllen by summer 2024, with plans to seat 150 total resident physician positions by 2029. Residents from the UTRGV School of Medicine will train at HCA Healthcare Gulf Coast Division affiliate hospitals Rio Grande Regional Hospital in McAllen and Valley Regional Medical Center in Brownsville. This is the first…

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UTRGV Receives Grant For Railway Transportation Safety

Education Featured Government News Comments
Constantine Tarawneh and UTRGV students install a bearing in the bearing testing lab at the UTRGV Engineering Building in 2020. (photo David Pike, UTRGV)

The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded UTRGV’s University Transportation Center for Railway Safety a $10 million grant to focus on promoting safety in railway transportation systems. Constantine Tarawneh – senior associate dean of the UTRGV College of Engineering and Computer Science, director of the UTCRS, and principal investigator of the grant – said the funding comes at a critical time for rail transportation, especially in light of recent railway…

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BIH Project Begins With Placement Area Improvements

e-Brief Features Manufacturing/Industrial News Comments
Port of Brownsville BIH Project

The first step in Phase 2 of the Brazos Island Harbor Channel Improvement Project is underway as the Port of Brownsville’s dredged material placement area improvement project began in early February. The BIH Channel Improvement project will deepen the 17-mile-long Brownsville ship channel from 42 to 52 feet. in February, the Brownsville Navigation District Board of Commissioners unanimously voted to award a $13.6-million contract for the channel improvements to RLB…

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UTRGV School of Medicine Award To Expand Cancer Research

Education Healthcare News Comments
Wayne Roberts, CEO of Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, and Dr. Michael B. Hocker, dean of the UTRGV School of Medicine. (photo Paul Chouy, UTRGV)

UTRGV and the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas recently gathered in McAllen with community leaders and key legislators to celebrate a five-year, $6-million award from CPRIT to the university’s South Texas Center of Excellence in Cancer Research. The ST-CECR grant is the first of its kind and amount for the academic medical institution and the border community, and is part of CPRIT’s Texas Regional Excellence and Cancer Award…

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STC Launches Corrections Academy This Summer

e-Brief Features Education Featured Government News Comments
The County Corrections Academy will begin this summer at the Regional Center of Public Safety Excellence in Pharr.

To tackle a never-ending shortage of correctional officers in the state, South Texas College is getting ready to launch one of its newest programs – the County Corrections Academy. The program will begin this summer, expanding on the Public Safety program offerings at the Regional Center of Public Safety Excellence in Pharr. “County correction officers must be licensed through the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, our program is designed to…

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McAllen International Airport Awarded $1.98 Million

e-Brief Features News Transportation & Travel Comments
McAllen International Airport

The Federal Aviation Administration has awarded McAllen International Airport $1.98 million for HVAC and lighting improvement. The funds come via  the $5-billion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, providing grants for airport terminal development projects for improvements aimed at addressing the aging infrastructure of the nation’s airports. Bipartisan Infrastructure Law grants fund safe, sustainable, and accessible airport terminals, on-airport rail access projects, and airport-owned airport traffic control towers. “The federal funding we received…

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