Category Archives: e-Brief Features

UTRGV To Offer Physical Therapy Doctoral Program

e-Brief Features Education Healthcare News Comments
UTRGV will begin offering a new Doctor of Physical Therapy starting Summer 2025. (photo UTRGV)

UTRGV will offer a new Doctor of Physical Therapy program starting summer 2025 to increase the number of trained therapists in the Rio Grande Valley and access to therapy services.  The program, under the UTRGV Department of Physical Therapy in the College of Health Professions, will have an anticipated cohort of 40 students per year.  The 113-hour program was approved by both Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the Southern Association of Colleges and…

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UTRGV Receives Another PhD Program Approval

e-Brief Features Education News Comments
UTRGV Engineering Building in Edinburg. (photo UTRGV)

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has approved the first Ph.D. program for the UTRGV College of Engineering and Computer Science. The new Doctor of Philosophy degree program in Materials Science and Engineering is the ninth doctoral program to be approved for the university since its inception in 2015. It is also the seventh to be implemented in the past two years. Overall, the new program bumps the number of Ph.D. degrees…

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De Hoyos Becomes McAllen ISD Acting Superintendent

e-Brief Features Education News Comments
Rosalba De Hoyos

Last week, McAllen ISD‘s Board of Trustees unanimously selected longtime educator Rosalba De Hoyos as the acting superintendent of Schools at a Special Meeting. Outgoing Superintendent J.A. Gonzalez made the recommendation.  “She has done a phenomenal job,” Gonzalez said. “She’s a tremendous educator. I have all the confidence in the world of her.” During her 29-year career, De Hoyos has served as a teacher (both elementary and secondary), counselor, dean…

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IMAS Invites McAllen Residents To Back To School Bash

Arts Community Events e-Brief Features Featured News Comments
IMAS Educator Edgar Cortez gives a Science on a Sphere presentation to McAllen ISD students.

The International Museum of Art & Science and McAllen Public Utility host the Back to School Bash on Aug. 19 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The immersive event celebrates the new school year with a fusion of art, science and community engagement, and will feature a wide range of activities and community partner booths for attendees of all ages. In addition to the engaging activities, the Back to School…

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Arts Studio Offers Everything ‘Under One Roof’

Arts e-Brief Features Featured News Comments
An indoor mural highlights the diversity of arts programs offered at the RGV Arts Studio.

A view across the social media presence of the Rio Grande Valley Arts Studio reaffirms its founder’s assertion of having everything “all under one roof.” There’s a “beach dance camp” to go with galleries of colors featuring the artwork of children. There are photos of teenage girls immersed in a sewing workshop in preparing for a fashion show. Little ballerinas in another image are in poses they just took during…

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Rio Grande Regional Hospital Earns Distinction For Surgeries

e-Brief Features Healthcare News Comments
Dr. Jaime Villarreal, cardiothoracic and vascular surgeon, and Dr. Adriana Gomez, chief medical officer, of Rio Grande Regional Hospital.

Rio Grande Regional Hospital has earned a distinguished three-star rating from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons for its patient care and outcomes in aortic valve replacement combined with coronary artery bypass grafting. The three-star rating, which denotes the highest quality category, places RGRH among the elite for AVR+CABG surgery in the United States and Canada. Rio Grande Regional Hospital is the only hospital in south Texas to currently hold a…

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STC Police Academy Cadets Graduate With Guaranteed Jobs

e-Brief Features Education Government News Comments
STC 30th Police Academy

The South Texas College 30th Police Academy recently celebrated the graduation and recruitment of every single graduating cadet in a ceremony joined by friends and family at the Regional Center for Public Safety Excellence in Pharr. For the first time in program history, all students were offered conditional job offers from the Hidalgo County Sherriff’s Office weeks before completing the 22-week program. Sherriff J.E. “Eddie” Guerra attended the ceremony and…

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Quinta Mazatlan Holds Youth Nature Photo Contest

Community Events e-Brief Features News Comments
Quinta Mazatlán Nature Photo Contest

Quinta Mazatlán is currently hosting a free Summer Youth Nature Photo Contest along with nature photo workshops designed for children. In partnership with The Valley Land Fund, the center encourages children to get creative and explore nature with a camera and/or smartphone. Kids ages 5 to 18 are invited to take nature photos anywhere in the eight most southern counties of Texas this summer. Each child can enter up to six…

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Texas State Parks Among the Nation’s Best

e-Brief Features News Recreation & Tourism Comments
Texas State Parks

Texas State Parks is competing against three other state park systems to receive 2023 National Gold Medal Award for Excellence in Park and Recreation Management. Presenters for the award are the National Recreation and Park Association along with the American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration. “I’m proud to have the hard work of our Texas State Park staff recognized for building one of the best state park systems in…

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City of McAllen Offers Cooling Centers

Community e-Brief Features News Comments
McAllen Public Library, McAllen cooling centera

As temperatures and heat indexes continue to soar, the City of McAllen would like to remind the public that many city facilities are open and available to the community as cooling centers. McAllen Community Centers are open for patrons to come in and cool off. Seats are available in the lobby as well as access wi-fi and areas to recharge phones. In north McAllen, the Lark Community Center at 2601…

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