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…
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…
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…
The McAllen Chamber of Commerce is currently coordinating McAllen Day in Austin during the upcoming 88th legislative session. The capitol visit will take place Feb. 15-17, 2023, with an entire day at the capitol on Feb. 16. During this time, the group has the opportunity to make personal visits with every Texas legislator. The group will divide into teams and visit with assigned legislators so they get to meet with…
Mercedes was one of the first Rio Grande Valley cities established between Brownsville and the Starr County communities of Roma and Rio Grande City. There was the American Rio Grande Land & Irrigation Company setting up operations in what would become Mercedes in 1909. The land company and its investors brought one of the first east-west railroad extensions from Brownsville to Mercedes and into the heart of what would become…
Nick Cantu makes his way up the back stairs of the old Citrus Theater. If walls could only talk, the stories the eight-decades-old movie house could tell. In an upstairs hallway, Cantu points to a room where he said the original owner of the Citrus, a doctor, practiced medicine in World War II-era Edinburg. For decades, the Citrus played the role of the hometown single-screen theater. The multi-screen movie plexes…
Pablo Pena started small with three employees, including himself, his wife and a friend. It was 1964 and the beginnings of Central Plumbing Supply in Weslaco on Kansas Avenue, just adjacent to the city’s iconic Tinaco cement water tower. Pena had worked in the plumbing supply business for a local company that closed when its business affairs weren’t properly managed. Starting his own small business, Pena knew he would do things…
The U.S. Small Business Administration is currently celebrating National Veterans Small Business Week through Nov. 4. The week includes a series of virtual and in-person events highlighting the entrepreneurial spirit and resilience of veteran small business owners. The celebration also comes on the heels of SBA announcing additional funding opportunities for community-based organizations to create targeted, impactful programming and expand access to SBA resources to support veteran entrepreneurs. “Each year we celebrate…
Brownsville’s extensive network of hike-and-bike trails has a new addition with the opening of the West Rail Trail. The nearly 7-mile-long trail was officially opened on Oct. 14 at Oliveira Park during a ceremony with remarks from Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevino Jr. and Brownsville Mayor Trey Mendez. The $8-million trail project runs from Palm Boulevard in the heart of the city and on northward past Alton Gloor Boulevard. It…
The Centennial Celebration of Texas State Parks is right around the corner, and park lovers are invited to get outside and join celebrations across the state. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, in partnership with Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation, will celebrate 100 years of Texas State Parks beginning in Jan. 2023. “We invite all Texans to experience these precious public lands that truly belong to them,” said Rodney Franklin, TPWD’s…