When 18-year-old Priscilla Cavazos walked through the doors of Fred Loya Insurance in 2003 to begin her new job, little did she know that 18 years later, she would walk into another insurance office every day. This office is in Edinburg and bears her name – Priscilla Cavazos Insurance Agency. At the time, Cavazos also did not realize the role that first insurance job would play in shaping her future.…
Michelle Quiroz is an engineer by training and had a fascination for a topic beyond her work for a large corporation with manufacturing operations along the border. The science and craft of coffee roasting fascinated her and got Quiroz wondering how to apply her disciplined thinking to a dream of owning and running a small business. It would lead to the beginnings of Reserva Coffee Roasters in McAllen. It opened…
The view from Ford Sasser’s sixth-floor office offers a wide expanse view of the expressway traffic running beneath it. Rio Bank’s new office tower looks out over Expressway 77/83 in McAllen since its opening in October. The city’s hospitals and medical district are just across the way. Sasser, Rio Bank’s president and chief executive officer, is a fixture on local television with a signature and folksy line. “Your kind of…
In the social media-driven world where a hobby can turn into a business in a flash, Samantha Cervantes is proof how fast such a thing can happen. The mid-20s-year-old mother of two children was looking for a job last year to help her family’s finances. It was a tough go of it as the employment market contracted with the shutdowns and slowdowns. Cervantes also had the issue of childcare for…
The many historical buildings that dot downtown Brownsville are coming back to life as investments in the city’s heritage. It makes business sense. Youthful investors are transforming old buildings in the city’s core, giving them makeovers, and turning them into restaurants, art studios and cafes. In one case, it’s stylish new lofts. Botica Lofts is gleaming new and on the corner of 11th Street and Adams in downtown Brownsville. It’s…
TSTC will soon launch two new online boot camps that train for in-demand careers in both cyber security and full stack web development. These boot camps require no previous experience, and contain tools and support to help students obtain a well-paying job in a short amount of time. TSTC’s Cybersecurity Analytics course incorporates 13 weeks of online training beginning March 1. According to TSTC, there will be 3.5 million unfilled…
South Padre Island will celebrate its second National Cook Your Catch Day Jan. 23 with events for avid anglers and cuisine fans of South Padre Island. The celebration includes a VIP fishing trip and dinner for regional influencers. Currently, eight restaurants will cook the catches of participants. The event also includes tips from fishing guides on techniques for catching different species and ideas from SPI chefs on how to make…
The McAllen Public Library is now allowing borrowers 17 years and older to take home video game titles for PS4, PS5, X-Box One, X-Box Series X and Nintendo Switch. The new circulating games carry ratings of E–For Everyone and T–For Teens. Video game borrowers must reside in the City of McAllen and be 17 years or older. They must also have an MPL card and provide verification of a current…
On Dec. 31, President Donald J. Trump issued a presidential permit for the expansion of the Pharr International Bridge. The 2020 permit amends the current permit to allow for the addition of another bridge at the international port of entry. This second span will add additional lanes to completely separate trucks and cars. Dedicated lanes for empties, full cargo, certified cargo and passenger vehicles will add capacity and reduce wait times. Pharr…
Miguel Lozano holds a tiny wooden box with a mesh top and points to what’s crawling underneath it. There’s a queen bee in there of European origin. It’s an important distinction, he said, because when she’s put in a hive, this queen will center a cluster of bees with Africanized roots, the ones dubbed “killer bees.” “She will calm the box,” Lozano said, looking out toward several hives in boxes…