Growing up in Mercedes, Skyler Howell knew the name of Dr. Hector P. Garcia, but not much else about the man whose likeness graces the front of the local library. “I knew his name was on the library, but there was no context for it,” said Howell, a recent UTRGV graduate. Garcia was a Mexican immigrant whose family came to the Rio Grande Valley and Mercedes in the early 1900s.…
The father of the Port of Brownsville journeyed from a distant land to South Texas in the early 1900s and began championing the audacious goal of building a deepwater port along the U.S/Mexico border. Louis Cobolini immigrated from Italy to Galveston in the mid-1860s after being part of failed efforts to gain Italian independence from the Austrian Empire. In his early 20s, Cobolini, like millions of immigrants through the ages,…
Plein-air artist Ryan Henry always thought of taking a brief break from his usual landscape work to try murals and create art on the sides and fronts of buildings. “I had it in my mind for years,” said Henry, a South Padre Island-based artist. In late July, Ryan on an artistic limb, painted a great kiskadee above the entrance to his Meridian & Muse Fine Art Gallery on Padre Boulevard.…
Firefighters are in steady and acute demand nationally as training requirements become more complex and those in the profession face risks to their mental and physical health. In the Rio Grande Valley, South Texas College is expanding its fire academy regionally with plans to open a new training facility at its Mid-Valley campus in Weslaco. Some local school districts such as Harlingen CISD have established their own fire academies that…
A birdwatching industry that generates over $400 million annually for the Rio Grande Valley’s economy is about to add a new wrinkle amidst the nature enthusiasts. The Valley’s first birdwatcher lodge is set to open in late October near Mercedes in the heart of the region. The 10-acre lodge sits on farmland that once grew cabbages and is being returned to its natural state. Tamaulipan thorn forest, mesquite grasslands, and…
A commercial lane expansion at the Pharr International Bridge is nearing completion and full operational status as the 3.2-mile span dramatically increases its trade capacity. “We are going to have 100 percent more capacity,” said Luis Bazan, the bridge’s director, in a Mexico Business News article. “Four new lanes will allow us to significantly improve wait times, but the objective is no longer just to reduce them, but to eliminate…
McAllen Honors Clark Chevrolet Clark Chevrolet’s contributions to the city of McAllen were highlighted recently when the auto dealership was recognized as a SHINES Champion. McAllen SHINES is a community-wide civic pride and environmental initiative that focuses on promoting cleanliness, respect and responsibility among residents, businesses, and visitors. Among its key focus areas are honoring local businesses for their beautification efforts through mural creations and a commitment to keeping the…
The Port Isabel Lighthouse is more than a nearly 175-year-old landmark that once guided ships safely through the Gulf of Mexico and past the dangerous shoals near the Rio Grande. It shone a bright beacon that was visible for up to 16 miles in preventing shipwrecks and also acted as a strategic observation post for both Union and Confederate troops during the Civil War. Today, the historic lighthouse still stands…
Saronic Technologies will begin construction later this year of a $3.2 billion next-generation shipyard at the Port of Brownsville. The 835-acre facility – which is to be named Port Alpha – will build autonomous maritime vessels and is expected to create up to 10,000 direct jobs over the next 10 years. The shipyard site in Brownsville has the potential to expand to 4,400 acres as it ramps up the manufacturing…
Ricky Hernandez was the neighborhood kid who never left Joe Henry Castillo’s side for over 30 years. “He treated me like his son,” said Hernandez, the manager of Joe’s Oyster Bar & Gulf Seafood Market in Port Isabel. “Yes, I was an employee, but he shared everything he knew with me. I was with him 13 or 14 hours a day.” Hernandez so absorbed Castillo’s life lessons and ways of…