Category Archives: Industry

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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City of McAllen Approves New Commissioner Districts

Featured Government News Comments

At a special meeting on Aug. 1, the McAllen City Commission formally adopted an ordinance redistricting the City of McAllen’s single member voting districts. Redistricting was required because the results of the 2020 federal Census indicated a 48-percent population deviation based upon current district lines. Early in the process of drawing a new single member district map, the McAllen City Commission adopted a resolution establishing criteria to ensure that the…

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County Improving Drainage In Flood-Weary Towns 

Community Government News Comments
Maps show a network of canals and laterals that store and move water from Mercedes.

Hidalgo County Commissioner David Fuentes pointed to red and blue lines and arrows running through his precinct. Fuentes explained where $80 million of drainage improvements are occurring or are in plans in his Precinct 1. The crisscrossing of drains, laterals, canals and ditches form a patchwork of connected corridors to store and move water. It’s a network that isn’t always streamlined, but it’s vital in getting floodwaters out of towns…

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Shop Designs Creativity & Success

News Retail Comments
Shop owner Jessica Zarate at the Beary Creative Selfie Station.

Many business owners were forced to temporarily close in the spring of 2020, leading Jessica Zarate to open a shop, Beary Creative, from her home. Its name belies the fact that Beary Creative does not carry stuffed bears. “I’m a Bear,” Zarate said of being from Pharr-San Juan-Alamo.  If you live in the Rio Grande Valley, you likely know Bear pride runs deep in PSJA High School graduates. “I started…

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Project Casts Out To Reach Special Needs

e-Brief Features Featured News Non-Profit Recreation & Tourism Comments
Shane Wilson helps a special needs fishermen bring in a fish from the Laguna Madre.

The years had passed for Fito since his last fishing trip. A steady decline in health resulted in limits of his physical abilities. Once active in the outdoor life, the Brownsville resident had gone 15 years without fishing. Fito’s mother, Meg Beumel, thought those days were over for her son. Then via Facebook she heard of Fishing’s Future.  The nonprofit organization is based in South Padre Island and has chapters…

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Los Pinos Builds Ties To Rural Communities

News Retail Comments
Edward Leal keeps a keen eye at the family's Los Pinos Hardware stores.

Mateo Leal saw the burgeoning growth of Rio Grande Valley cities in the early 2000s and noted a gap in how some markets were served. “How about the communities on the fringes of the Valley?” It’s a question Edward Leal recalled his father asking when the family first envisioned the hardware stores that today dot Hidalgo County. Rural areas on the outskirts of city limits were poised for growth but…

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Professor Finds New Opportunities In Business

News Professional Services Transportation & Travel Comments
UTRGV professor Hanseng Lei has found opportunities and growth in Brownsville.

Hansheng Lei came to the United States from China in 2001 with no idea the endless frontier would lead him to Brownsville. Lei is a professor in the computer science department at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. His academic office on University Boulevard in Brownsville is a handful of blocks away from his business office at a warehouse that’s adjacent to the Veterans International Bridge at Los Tomates.…

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VRMC Recognized For Stroke Care

Healthcare News Comments
Multidisciplinary members of stroke program at Valley Regional Medical Center

Valley Regional Medical Center has received the American Heart Association’s Gold Plus Get With The Guidelines – Stroke quality achievement award. The award recognizes Valley Regional Medical Center’s commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines. These treatment plans ultimately leading to more lives saved and reduced disability. Get With The Guidelines puts the expertise of the AHA and American Stroke Association…

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