Category Archives: News

McAllen Wins Highest Festival Honors

e-Brief Features News Recreation & Tourism Comments
McAllen Pinnacle Awards and the World Festival & Event City Awards

The City of McAllen recently earned 49 awards, including an international designation and a coveted industry honor, at the Pinnacle Awards and the World Festival & Event City Awards during the 70th Annual International Festivals & Events Association Convention, Expo and Retreat in Palm Springs, Cali. The awards recognize the outstanding accomplishments, top-quality creative, promotional, operational and community outreach programs produced by events around the world. The professional competition drew…

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RGV Rubs Spice Up Texas Cuisine

Featured Food & Entertainment News Retail Comments
The TXQ Rubs include products entitled with the area codes of Texas cities as well as regional catch phrases.

Lou Castro creates what his TXQ Rubs call “Texas love” in the kitchen of a north Brownsville home nestled by a resaca.  Castro’s kitchen serves as a laboratory for the mix of spices, powders and ingredients that make up his growing collection of rubs for meats, vegetables and Mexican pastas. The TXQ Rubs are now on the shelves of hundreds of H-E-B stores, meat markets and specialty shops across Texas.…

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Donna’s ‘New Mindset’ Leading To Growth

Community News Comments
Donna recently celebrated a ribbon cutting of a new Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen restaurant in the city. (Courtesy)

April Castaneda is a multitasker as are many city administrators in smaller communities. She is the new executive director of the Donna Economic Development Corporation while also serving as the de facto manager of the local chamber. The latter had been inactive and the former was close to it before Castaneda recently made the move from the Weslaco Economic Development Corporation to lead a similar organization in Donna. For Castaneda,…

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AgriLife Director’s Career Spans Border

Agriculture News Comments
Ruben Saldana oversaw a 20-county region as the administrator for Texas AgriLife Research & Extension, District 12.

The last week of a nearly 40-year career in agricultural research and education was wrapping up in late August for Ruben Saldana. “It feels awkward and a little emotional,” he said in his Weslaco office where he served as the administrator for Texas AgriLife Research & Extension, District 12. Saldana provided leadership for a district that covers nearly all counties south of San Antonio as well as managing the AgriLife…

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Bob Mills Furniture Stores Expand To RGV

News Retail Comments
Bob Mills, his wife Margaret and their oldest son, Bryan, prepare for the ribbon cutting. San Juan Mayor Mario Garza is pictured third from the right.

Bob Mills and his oldest son cut through two ribbons in late August and officially brought a Bob Mills Furniture store to the Rio Grande Valley market. The company’s 12th store in its chain is located in San Juan and is the first one south of San Antonio. The Oklahoma City-based company now has nine stores in Texas. It represents a significant addition among the Valley’s furniture store offerings with…

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Matt’s Pivots Amidst Events & Market Changes

News Retail Comments

Jeremy Smith’s family-owned business demonstrated a steely resolve in getting through double catastrophes over the last five years – and coming out of both revived and refreshed. “Two things – the pandemic and the fire – and you learn to take what the market gives you,” Smith said of COVID-19 and a 2022 New Year’s Day fire that destroyed Matt’s Building Materials flagship store in Pharr. “You never let a…

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McAllen Is a Best Place to Live in America

Community e-Brief Features Featured News Comments
McAllen

The City of McAllen earns national recognition, ranking 20 in the U.S. News & World Report’s 2025-2026 Best Places to Live. McAllen joins six other Texas cities to round out the top 20: Pearland (3), League City (6), Leander (8), Flower Mound (14), Pflugerville (15) and Sugar Land (16). The annual ranking evaluates 250 cities across the United States based on affordability, job market strength, desirability and overall quality of…

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Texas Labor Force Grows in August

e-Brief Features News Comments
hiring

Texas had 14,347,700 total nonfarm jobs after adding 17,600 positions over the month in August. Over the year, the state added 195,600 jobs for an annual nonfarm growth rate of 1.4 percent, outpacing the national growth rate by 0.5 percentage points. Texas’ civilian labor force registered at 15,857,300 after adding 8,600 people over the month and reaching a new record high level for the series. Over the year, Texas’ civilian…

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UTRGV Recognized as a Great College to Work For

e-Brief Features Education News Comments
UTRGV

For the second consecutive year, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley has been recognized as one of the Great Colleges to Work For. UTRGV is among only 76 institutions across the country awarded the 2025 Great Colleges to Work For distinction, based on direct feedback from faculty and staff. The Great Colleges to Work For program, now in its 18th year, highlights colleges that receive top ratings from employees…

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RGV Hispanic Chamber Member Earns Top Honors

Community Featured News Comments
Noah’s Ark LLC

Rio Grande Valley Hispanic Chamber of Commerce members Daniel Pizaña and Erika Mazzola, co-founders of Noah’s Ark LLC, earned the Community Choice and First Runner-Up honors at the Startup Texas Pitch Fest on Sept. 9. The integrated pet care platform supports lost pet recovery, wellness guidance, and community connections. Pizaña presented the company during the live pitch competition at the eBridge Center for Business and Commercialization. He joined founders from…

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