It initially began as a way to help protect his mother Cecilia, a nurse at several healthcare agencies in the Valley. Julio Garza now runs an effort to support the medical community in the region as a whole. Garza, 23, says he found a niche creating protective face shields for healthcare providers by utilizing 3D printing techniques he learned as a student with the Advanced Manufacturing Technology Program at…
Texas Southmost College is ensuring the safety of its students, faculty and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic, including its youngest population. Since mid-March Texas Southmost College’s Raul J. Guerra Early Childhood Center followed the college’s lead in extending spring break and then closing. The center serves more than 50 children between the ages of two weeks to 6 years old. “These have been trying times,” said the center’s manager Marisela…
On May 16, the Port of Brownsville will observe its 84th anniversary. Opened in 1936, the port signified a new hope for economic prosperity in the Rio Grande Valley region. The port was the vision of an Italian immigrant Louis Cobolini. The 17-mile long Brownsville ship channel has since welcomed foreign travelers and businesses to its shores. In the port’s early years, agricultural exports brought citrus fruits from local groves and…
Shopping or dining Harlingen local businesses may pay off for some customers. The Harlingen Area Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring the “Shop Local” Lucky Draw contest the entire month of May. Each week, the Harlingen Chamber will hold a drawing and give away a $50 give card from a Harlingen business. To enter the weekly drawing, customers need to make a purchase at a participating business. Then they must write…
Foreign Trade Zone No. 62 at the Port of Brownsville reported a record-setting $8.9 billion in the combined value of exports and imports for 2019. The total value of export shipments through FTZ No. 62 reached $4.3 billion in 2019. This is an increase from $3.8 billion the year before. In turn, the FTZ received $4.6 billion in imports. These numbers are the highest in the zone’s history. Products in…
March Madness took on an entirely new meaning this spring when schools, businesses and even day-to-day living came to a screeching halt due to COVID-19. Everything changed from one day-to-the-next. For school districts, COVID-19 meant transforming the traditional concept of teaching into robust home-to-home learning, which is better known as “distance learning.’’ At IDEA Toros in Edinburg, technology-based Summit Learning is often used. It incorporates a Self-Directed Learning Cycle. The…
The month of March started like any other with businesses to run, bills to pay and jobs to fill. There was also a general awareness of a growing threat. The COVID-19, known as the coronavirus, was making its way across the oceans to the United States. In fact, it had already arrived. By mid-March, the threat was very real. Coronavirus outbreaks hit both coasts of the United States. Texas would…
For Andrea Bernes, it started with a question that would transform her bakery in the coronavirus era. “A customer asked me if I would sell her flour,” said Bernes, the owner of Linda’s Cakes & Desserts Specialty Shop. Bernes mulled that over. It was mid-March and long lines were forming at grocery stores as the COVID-19 crisis arrived in the Rio Grande Valley. “Then one of my suppliers asked if…
Rio Grande Valley businesses, like those around the country, are dealing with disruptions and an upheaval in a way of life unlike anything experienced in our lifetimes. Here’s a look at how three RGV businesses prepared for what they knew was coming and how they are doing in adapting to a new normal. Menchaca Family Clinic Michael Menchaca didn’t wait for any official announcements for Menchaca Family Clinic. The family…
Mario Dominguez is a believer in the Central Texas style – and oak is the key. He starts the flame every Tuesday night at his hometown barbecue restaurant in Mercedes. It will then burn steady and sure for the next five days at The Smoking Oak. The line of customers starts forming before the noon hour at the BBQ restaurant on 546 Hidalgo Street. The oak burns slow, thus giving…