Category Archives: Industry

Pharr Police Department Increases Patrols

Featured Government News Comments
police

As the holiday season continues, the Pharr Police Department wants to remind the public to take extra precautions behind the wheel. Increased patrols are now in effect through Jan. 1, 2023. Pharr Police officers will be on the lookout for speeding violations, traffic safety laws, seatbelts, drunk drivers and other violations. The Pharr Police Department encourages the public to find safe ways home, including designating a sober driver. According to…

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Port of Brownsville Recognizes DIX Industries

Featured Manufacturing/Industrial News Comments
DIX Industries President Lee Ostos accepts the Chairman’s Award from Brownsville Navigation District Chairman Esteban Guerra. (photo Port of Brownsville)

DIX Industries is the Port of Brownsville 2022 Chairman’s Award honoree in recognition of the company’s accomplishments throughout its 75-year history at the port. Brownsville Navigation District Chairman Esteban Guerra presented the award to Lee Ostos, president of DIX Industries, on Dec. 8 during the annual Customer Appreciation Luncheon at the Ambassador Event Center. DIX Industries was established in 1947 by Richard Ostos at the Port of Brownsville. The family…

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Storybook Garden Connects Books To Community

News Retail Comments
Activities focused on reading and learning bring children and their parents to The Storybook Garden. (Courtesy)

The Storybook Garden sits on a corner of Texas Boulevard just a moment’s walk from Business 83 in Weslaco.  It’s main street Weslaco and an appropriate place to find an independent bookstore with deep ties to its community. The historic hotel site suits the purposes and goals of Sarah Cuadra, the bookstore’s owner.  “We want to be a place for families to come and meet and develop a love for…

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Mission EDC Eyes New Trade Opportunities

Government News Comments
Teclo Garcia will bring a wealth of international trade experience to his new job.

Mission within a year will have direct access to a full-service, cross-border international bridge. The city, anticipating new opportunities in international trade, has hired an economic development executive with expertise in that field. Teclo Garcia is the new chief executive officer for the Mission Economic Development Corporation. He comes to the job after a three-year stint as Laredo’s economic development director in dealing with the Mexican business community and international…

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Spec’s Boosts Spirits In RGV

News Retail Comments
The founder of Spec’s, Carroll “Spec” Jackson, was widely known for being quite a character and for rolling around his larger stores for the sake of efficiency.

Company lore has it that Carroll B. “Spec” Jackson opened a store in Houston in 1962 for two reasons. One, he wanted to work for himself, and second, he didn’t want his wife, Carolynn, to have to work. Investing $7,000, he opened the first Spec’s, a wine, liquor and beer store. He opened on April Fool’s Day, which fit Spec’s personality perfectly. Spec’s son-in-law, John Rydman, now owns the company…

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Don Gollito Serves It Up “Harlingen-Style”

Featured Food & Entertainment News Comments

The block of West Van Buren Street where Don Gollito sits in Harlingen stirs a nostalgic feel. The Tex-Mex restaurant is down home all the way, “Harlingen-style,” as one of its owners, Fred Uribe, puts it. He co-owns the restaurant with Rick Silva, a self-described “jack-of-all-trades” of the local restaurant scene. On Van Buren, vehicles park at an angle that’s reminiscent of small-town America of previous eras. It’s appropriate since…

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Food Bank Passes ‘Ultimate Test’ In Giving Aid

Community News Non-Profit Comments
Libby Saenz is the Food Bank’s chief executive officer and oversees a staff of 80 employees that with volunteer assistance feeds about 76,000 people weekly.

The over 100,000-square-foot space of the former Valley Fruit Company is a place in motion with forklifts motoring between towering rows of canned goods. The Food Bank of the Rio Grande Valley runs its operations from the historic warehouse site where citrus and vegetables were once processed and packaged. Today, millions of pounds of foodstuffs and produce are shipped out from the same Pharr location to food pantries and nonprofit…

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Angel Tree Program Returns With Giving Season

Community Featured News Non-Profit Comments
Angel Tree Program

The Angel Tree Program, along with The Salvation Army’s iconic Red Kettle Campaign, is one of The Salvation Army’s best-known Christmas efforts. More than 100,000 children across Texas, enough to fill the Dallas Cowboys stadium, will experience the joy of opening presents on Christmas morning thanks to generous donors and the help of The Salvation Army. “The Angel Tree program provides toys and clothing to children and families who might…

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Brownsville Bakers Find Sweet Spot With H-E-B

e-Brief Features Featured Food & Entertainment News Comments
Manuel Alvarez and his wife, Nadia Escalante, sit at their display at H-E-B offices in highlighting their Japanese cheesecakes. (Courtesy)

Manuel Alvarez and his wife, Nadia Escalante, started out with an at-home bakery in Brownsville, creating their Pastel Japones. Said another way, they are Japanese cotton cheesecakes. The popularity of the fluffy sponge-looking cake would take off. In part it was due to the uniqueness of the product in the Rio Grande Valley market. It’s a region filled with pan dulce shops and custom cake bakeries.  It’s difficult to find…

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TWC Looks To Increase Child Care To Military Families

e-Brief Features Government News Comments

Texas Workforce Commission is partnering with the Department of Defense on the Military Child Care in Your Neighborhood-PLUS program to increase access to child care for military families. Through the program, DOD provides fee assistance to eligible military families to offset the cost of child care when there is no availability on base. In October, MCCYN-PLUS expanded into Texas, home to 15 active duty military installations with an economic impact of over $100…

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