Omar Juarez started boxing at age 8 under a father’s watchful eye at gyms in Brownsville. Rudy Juarez was an amateur boxer as a youth in Matamoros before family responsibilities obligated him to work and give up the sport. The elder Juarez wanted something different for Omar. Rudy then began taking young Omar to tournaments and other boxing-related activities where the youngster could sharpen his skills. Some of those treks…
A tour of the Clever Foods & Supplements operating facility shows shiny white floors and gleaming silver equipment that’s intertwined and can churn out over 30 million vitamin gummies a month. The Clever facility is a new addition to the Mid Valley Industrial Park in Weslaco. Three executives with deep experience in manufacturing and sales are its owners and operators. They see the Mid-Valley city as an ideal location to…
Javier Villalobos set out clear priorities when elected McAllen’s new mayor in mid-2021. “Water, sewer, public safety and the police department,” he said, recalling some of the key issues of his campaign. What Villalobos didn’t figure is that education would emerge early on as a pressing issue in his tenure. More than 20,000 students in the McAllen school district were suddenly put into remote learning situations. Public health concerns in…
Lou Ann Sarachene was already well-versed on David’s Law. It was passed by the Texas legislature in 2017 to strengthen the penalties for cyberbullying while teaching ways to combat all forms of bullying. Sarachene reached out earlier this year to Maurine Molak, the co-founder (along with husband Matt and sons Cliff and Chris) of David’s Legacy Foundation. Sarachene is the former principal of Ruben Hinojosa Elementary School in Sharyland. She…
Elon Musk and SpaceX recently declared they were “one step closer to the first orbital flight test of Starship.” The reference was to the nearly 400-foot-tall rocket that’s perched at Starbase on Boca Chica Beach near Brownsville. The Federal Aviation Administration announced in June after a two year-study that SpaceX could expand its footprint on Boca Chica. The FAA, however, did not grant a rocket launch license. It cited 75…
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley will develop a McAllen Academic Medical Campus and its first piece is a major one. The university is planning an Oct. 14 groundbreaking, commemorating the start of construction for a $145.7 million UT Health RGV Cancer and Surgery Center in McAllen. It is being described as the single largest project in UTRGV’s history. The campus and its signature building will sit on Pecan…
Registration for the 29th annual Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival is now open for the event taking place Nov. 9-13 at the Harlingen Convention Center. The festival includes field trips, seminars, a trade show, a silent auction, a raptor show, kids’ activities and family fun. A keynote speaker for the event is Christina Baal, the 2022 Bird of the Year Artist for the American Birding Association. A wide array of…
Foreign Trade Zone No. 62 at the Port of Brownsville recorded an increase of 28 percent for the total value of exports in 2021. This increase amounts to the FTZ surpassing the $5-billion mark in exports for the first time. According to the U.S. Foreign-Trade Zones Board’s 2021 report to Congress on Aug. 29, FTZ No. 62 ranks second in the country with $5.2 billion in exported goods in 2021.…
The U.S. Small Business Administration is now accepting nominations for the 2023 National Small Business Week Awards. The NSBW Awards recognize SBA-assisted small businesses’ inspirational achievements and contributions to their communities and our nation’s economy. All nominations should be submitted electronically by 3 p.m. ET on Dec. 8. The awards will be presented during the NSBW Awards ceremony in the first week of May 2023. To nominate a small business owner in…
A World Boxing Council-affiliated event is coming to Harlingen in early October, expected to attract 400 amateur boxers and 4,000 fans to the city’s convention center. Atlanta-based Sugar Bert Boxing Promotions is bringing its Green Belt Tournament Series to Harlingen. It will likewise be the first time Sugar Bert will hold one of its tournaments in Texas. There will be four rings in the convention center, each hosting 50 bouts.…