Category Archives: Industry

RGV Prepares for Job Influx

e-Brief Features Events Manufacturing/Industrial News Comments

Companies investing in the Rio Grande Valley anticipate high demand for workers that may exceed 9,000 jobs. The news comes from seven large employers attending a Workforce Summit recently held at the Port of Brownsville. Three proposed liquefied natural gas plants will drive initial demand. The companies should receive their Federal Energy Regulatory Commission permits and commence construction within the next three years. During the construction phase these companies estimate…

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IBC Bank Awards Local Scholarships

e-Brief Features Education Finance/Banking News Comments
IBC Brownsville scholarships 2019

Students from 12 area high schools are the recipients of a total of $12,000 in scholarships from IBC Bank-Brownsville. The A.R. Sanchez Sr. Memorial and Fred W. Rusteberg scholarships are need-based scholarships for those high school seniors possessing a commitment to IBC’s “Do More” philosophy. “At IBC Bank, we understand that the future of our community depends on the success of our students,” says IBC Bank-Brownsville President and CEO Al Villarreal.…

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Strength In Numbers — NAI RGV

Gallery Real Estate Comments

When the regional division of a global commercial real estate company with 6,700 realtors across 67 countries celebrates a McAllen Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting, it’s a beautiful day. Mike Blum, NAI RGV partner and managing broker, shared with attendees at the May 29 event his heartfelt appreciation for community and chamber support. The grand opening event welcomed bankers, realtors, developers, contractors and more. The ceremony was also a celebration…

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McAllen Entities Pair Up for Discount Airfare

Featured News Transportation & Travel Comments
Aeromar

The McAllen Economic Development Corporation and the McAllen Chamber of Commerce are partnering to offer a $250 roundtrip airfare from McAllen to Mexico City via Aeromar Airlines. “McAllen Economic Development Corporation is happy to support McAllen International Airport and our great partner, Aeromar Airlines with this promotional offer. We are committed to expanding business opportunities and partnerships that benefit our community,” said MEDC President and CEO, Keith Patridge. “This fare promotion…

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Community Debate Spurs Compromise

News Recreation & Tourism Comments
Brownsville’s Historic Battlefield Trail is a nine-mile hike-and-bike path that runs north and south through the middle of the city. (Courtesy)

The old railroad tracks heading northward from Brownsville were removed 10 years ago, crossing over some of the city’s busiest streets and setting off a decade-long debate between developers and emerging exercise enthusiasts. The debate at times grew heated between those wanting to create a new north-south thoroughfare and proponents advocating for a hike-and-bike trail to add to the miles of such trails currently crisscrossing all parts of the city.…

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Mission Expands Youth Opportunities

Education News Recreation & Tourism Comments
Mission community leaders joined together for the groundbreaking for the expansion of the city’s Bannworth Gym into a full Boys & Girls Club. (Courtesy)

The way Mission Mayor Armando O’Caña likes to tell it, it was out of the mouths of babes where Mission drew inspiration to expand the city’s Bannworth Gym into a full Boys & Girls Club unit. “Back about six years ago, maybe even five years ago to be exact, I had a fifth-grader from the Sharyland school district come up and he planted the seed,” O’Caña said. “’Why do I…

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Connecting Rural Areas to the World

News Technology Comments
Jeff Shooshtari introduced wireless internet services to the Rio Grande Valley when he established Twin Communications. (Courtesy)

Jeff Shooshtari started with one antenna atop the Chase Bank tower in downtown McAllen. It was 1997 and the beginning of Twin Communications of McAllen/Edinburg. It was then the era of dial-up to the Internet. Moving large volumes of data online was the province of large companies. What is commonplace today was a rarity 20 years ago when Shooshtari, an engineer by training, began with microwave technology to launch wireless…

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Nonprofit Las Huellas Expands Reach

News Non-Profit Comments
Fundraiser attendees hold a plate of shrimp during Las Huellas’ Crawfish and Shrimp Boil fundraiser. (VBR)

Restoring the wild turkey population in the Rio Grande Valley has been the chief goal of Las Huellas of South Texas, but the now decade-old nonprofit organization has become a benefactor for many others. In the 10 years since it broke away from the National Turkey Federation, Las Huellas has given out close to $800,000 to nonprofit entities needing infusions of money to implement their programs. Organization that have benefited…

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Businesses Welcome Veteran Home

News Non-Profit Comments
Miguel Simental wipes tears from his eyes in an emotional moment after he learned he had been chosen to receive a mortgage-free home. (Oskar Hernandez)

Verturo Construction owner Joey Holand wanted to help veterans. In 2016, Holand and his wife donated a hunting trip that reunited two combat-wounded veterans. The pair had been separated after their tours of duty. “That weekend changed me as a person,” Holand said. “It changed me on how we look at our veterans.” Holand’s company and other contractors, in partnership with H-E-B’s Operation Appreciation and the nonprofit Operation Finally Home,…

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Rich Border Heritage on Display

News Non-Profit Recreation & Tourism Comments
A display of some of the merchandise available in the gift shop at the Brownsville Historical Complex on East Washington Street. (VBR)

Many historians contend that Brownsville is the second most historic city in Texas, ranking behind only San Antonio. Facts to back up that claim abound, with the Brownsville Historical Association acting as a primary resource to discover that story. With a valuable arsenal of facts, information and buildings that open doors to the past, the association offers a look back to the original city founders, battles fought in this part…

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