Category Archives: News

Harlingen Dedicates New Convention Center

Events Featured Gallery News Recreation & Tourism Comments
Harlingen Mayor Chris Boswell cut the ribbon to officially open the Harlingen Convention Center. (VBR)

City officials and community leaders gathered May 1 for a ceremony and ribbon-cutting to formally dedicate the Harlingen Convention Center. Attendees had a chance to tour the building and a community open house was on the schedule for the evening. Mariachis entertained guests upon arrival. A color guard made up of officers from the Harlingen police and fire departments started the ceremony. Harlingen school district students then led the pledge…

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Bootique Creates Retail Niche

News Retail Comments
Bootique owner Elma Chavez works on a display of men’s hunting apparel, one of the newer lines of merchandise. (VBR)

The history of a legendary Rio Grande Valley bootmaker provides the backdrop for the Bootique, a clothing and gift shop in downtown Raymondville. The store is in a portion of the brick building where Abraham Rios crafted custom footwear for decades. The building’s current owners, Cruz and Sonya Tijerina, ran the Bootique until they sold the business to Elma Chavez, former director of the Raymondville Chamber of Commerce. The Tijerinas…

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Giving Back: A Noble Donation

Giving Back News Comments
Noble’s Rene Capistran and Alfredo Garcia, in light blue shirts, prepare tacos for the participants at a children’s fishing tournament in Brownsville. Texas Noble Builders also served as sponsors for the event. (VBR)

When Noble Texas Builders unveiled its new headquarters in La Feria, scores of business leaders and elected officials showed up. Many wanted to check out the remodeled building that had been empty for a number of years. There were company employees brimming with enthusiasm. They now had one of the most modern office buildings in the Rio Grande Valley. In this small city of about 7,000 people, Texas Noble Builders…

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Jumping to Heights of Success

Featured Food & Entertainment News Recreation & Tourism Comments

The business plan is pretty simple. Offer modern facilities with kid-friendly fun, competitive pricing and top-notch customer service, and people will come. Xtreme Jump Trampoline Parks began in San Benito about three years ago and last month opened its newest location in Harlingen. They also have operations in McAllen, Corpus Christi and Laredo, with more planned in the near future for the Rio Grande Valley and other towns in Texas…

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Natives Grow in Popularity

Agriculture News Retail Comments
Mike Heep surrounds himself with hardy native plants known to attract birds and butterflies. (VBR)

Mike Heep spends his days cultivating native plants and educating people about the benefits of using indigenous vegetation in gardens and landscaping projects. Native plants are drought and freeze tolerant, and attract the birds and butterflies for which the Rio Grande Valley is famous. In 1964, Heep moved from San Antonio to the Harlingen area with his family. He operates Heep’s Nursery on the same two-acre tract where he grew…

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Tampico Style Food on Wheels

Food & Entertainment News Comments
Street tacos Tampico style are among the most popular menu items on the Food Mania restaurant on wheels. (VBR)

The kitchen is hot, customers are lining up, and Connie Chavirra is ready to serve. “You want jalapenos with that, mama?” she asks a customer, handing over a heaping plate of taquitos with slices of avocado, grilled onions and two lime slices on the side. Her husband, Gonzalo Martinez, is flipping over hamburger and hot dog buns on the grill, with a fajita quesadilla ready to go. The couple and…

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Curtain Call for Old Theater

Arts News Comments
Weslaco’s iconic concrete water tower rises above the original ground water storage building that now serves as a community theater. (VBR)

There was a time that the round, domed building with 12-inch-thick concrete walls stored much of Weslaco’s water supply. But for almost half a century, the historic structure has served as a community theater. Now, following a renovation with the help of the Weslaco Economic Development Corporation, the Tower Theater has a new lease on life. Constructed in 1928, the ground-level water storage facility was replaced in 1941 by the…

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Tragedy Tests Will to Succeed

Food & Entertainment News Comments
Baskets with burgers and fries are lined up ready to be served to Ranch House Burgers patrons. (Courtesy)

Building a business from scratch is enough of a challenge, and as Mike Barrera can attest, coming back from a tragedy will test you anew. Barrera was three years into establishing a successful restaurant business in Weslaco – Ranch House Burgers – when a fire struck in 2014 as he was making plans to get his second restaurant open in Mission. All that Barrera had built in Weslaco was gone…

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Youth Apprenticeship Open for Business

Education Featured News Comments
Youth Apprenticeship Program

The McAllen Youth Apprenticeship Program is inviting local businesses to participate. An offering from the McAllen Chamber, South Texas College and McAllen Independent School District, the program offers apprenticeships and work to high school juniors and seniors. A vehicle for talent development to meet future workforce needs, the program serves as a recruitment pipeline. Potential employees can also be molded and trained to a business’s specifications. The Chamber, STC and MISD…

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City Nature Challenge Kicks Off

Events Featured News Recreation & Tourism Comments
City Nature Challenge

The Lower Rio Grande Valley is joining more than 150 cities around the world for the annual City Nature Challenge. From April 26-29, the region joins eight other Texas areas in  the challenge to see which urban area has the most diverse landscape. Residents of cities and the surrounding areas can show the world just how much nature lives in Texas. Anyone can participate by joining an event or making observations using…

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