Category Archives: Industry

Hinojosa Finds Satisfaction In Helping

e-Brief Features News Professional Services Comments
Martha Vela Hinojosa, owner of LHM Employment Group in McAllen.

Help Wanted. Now Hiring. Join Our Team. Signs posted at entrances and on marquees of many local businesses share these messages.  Employee shortages seem to be affecting most industries, resulting in shorter hours of operation, canceled flights, sections of restaurants closed and rising stress levels. Martha Vela Hinojosa believes she was created for these current times of employers searching for workers.  Born and raised in Mission, Hinojosa graduated from Mission…

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Restaurateur Finds Bliss In Mercedes

Food & Entertainment News Comments
The open face Bliss burgers were called by one diner as the ‘best burger in Texas.’ (Courtesy)

Cindy Avalos got through a challenging 2020 that as a restaurant manager meant overseeing thin staff doing the work of many as her industry struggled to survive with pick up and delivery orders. For Avalos, it was a continuation of a career working in restaurants that started in her childhood in Harlingen, helping her parents with a Mexican food restaurant. “I have it in my bones,” she said of working…

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Home Builders Focusing Anew On Mid-Valley

News Real Estate Comments
New home construction is helping to spark retail development like the Gateway Travel Center currently under construction in Mercedes.

Esperanza Homes from its base in upper Hidalgo County moved into the Brownsville market in recent years. It skipped over the Mid-Valley but it was a short-lived omission. Esperanza, a division of Rhodes Enterprises, had designs on the Mid-Valley all along. It established on paper a Mid-Valley division in 2020, which in Esperanza’s case, runs from San Juan to Weslaco. The company moved this year to break ground on Texas…

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McAllen to Host IFEA World Convention

Featured News Recreation & Tourism Comments
McAllen Holiday Parade

The City of McAllen will host the International Festival & Events Association 65th annual conference from Sept. 19-21. The McAllen Convention Center will be the host site for attendees from not only Texas, but also 29 U.S. states and 10 countries from around the world. This is the first time since 2011 that the convention has been hosted in Texas. “This edition of the IFEA’s annual convention and expo promises to…

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U.S. Grant Will Help Weslaco Expand Industrial Park

e-Brief Features Featured Manufacturing/Industrial News Comments
Weslaco's industrial parks are now a focal point for storing and shipping Mexican produce and other agricultural products to many U.S. markets.

Weslaco’s Mid Valley International Industrial Park is the recipient of a $1.5-million federal grant to expand opportunities for commercial, cold storage and warehousing businesses. The industrial park has seen significant growth in recent years, especially with companies involved in cold storage and shipment of produce from Mexico, as well as other agricultural commodities like cotton. The federal grant to Weslaco comes from the U.S. Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration. The…

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TPWD And Hidalgo Expand Fishing Opportunities

e-Brief Features News Recreation & Tourism Comments

The City of Hidalgo, using grant funding provided through a partnership with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, has completed a series of projects to improve fish habitat and fishing access at Old Hidalgo Pumphouse Channel. The site is directly adjacent to the Old Hidalgo Pumphouse Museum and World Birding Center. This project is one of 21 receiving funds through the Habitat and Angler Access Program. The initiative began in 2021…

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STC and McAllen Partner For City Bus Training

Education Featured News Transportation & Travel Comments

The City of McAllen Transit Department and South Texas College has begun a new transit academy. STC will now offer training for prospective drivers of the city’s Metro Bus System, as an effort to address a severe driver shortage affecting the industry locally as well as nationwide. The interlocal agreement between the city and the college came with approval by city commissioners. The city is donating a 2011 Gillig 35’…

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McAllen Selects Local Firm For Bridge Construction

e-Brief Features News Transportation & Travel Comments
The Anzalduas Bridge (photo U.S. Customs and Border Protection)

The McAllen City Commission approved an award of contract to Wilson Construction Company of McAllen on Monday for the construction of new inbound and outbound commercial facilities and related paving improvements at the Anzalduas International Bridge. The contract is for $81.8 million, with a contract time of 320 days, approximately 11 months. The funding source for the project is a $63 million loan from the North American Development Bank and…

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Island Museum To Display Coastal History

e-Brief Features Featured News Recreation & Tourism Comments
Artist rendering of the new Historical Museum of South Padre Island (courtesy)

The city of South Padre Island will see the building of its long-awaited historical museum after being awarded a $1.5-million federal grant via funds from the American Rescue Plan.  The grant will go through the Economic Development Administration and will be matched with $375,00 in local funds. It is expected to generate $1.2 million in private investment. City leaders hope the new museum will be open by summer 2023. Community…

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Gulf Stream Marine Receives Safety Award

e-Brief Features Manufacturing/Industrial News Comments

The Gulf Stream Marine terminal at the Port of Brownsville has been recognized by LOGISTEC Stevedoring with its Mitchell Daudier Health and Safety Award for 2021. The recipients of this award receives the recognition for their demonstration of leadership, continuous improvement and advocacy of health and safety in the workplace. Gulf Stream Marine is one of three stevedoring companies at the Port of Brownsville. It includes a team of more than…

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