A devastating hurricane season last year that took a toll in the Caribbean tourism industry may have also opened a door of opportunity to increase tourism at South Padre Island. “The four major cruise lines have contacted South Padre Island about establishing a port of call there,” Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevino said during a recent State of the County event in Harlingen. Trevino credited the county for helping to…
Big economic news is expected to break in April with an announcement that will mark the latest industrial success story for Cameron County, further setting the stage for an unprecedented economic boom for this southernmost county in Texas. “We are on the cusp of some great things,” said Gilbert Salinas, director of the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corp. “And it’s no accident. This has been a 10-year body of work…
Keep McAllen Beautiful is organizing its annual Great American Clean-Up & Don’t Mess with Texas Trash-off for April 7, 2018 from 8 a.m. to noon at McAllen Municipal Park. KMB plans to hit the city’s major streets, hike and bike trails, city parks and schools to help keep McAllen looking clean and beautiful. “I am always so proud of our city during the cleanup because of the number of volunteers that participate and…
March 29 is National Mom and Pop Business Owners Day — a day to celebrate the value that family-owned small businesses bring to their communities. These days, Mom and Pop businesses face many challenges as they compete against larger retailers and service providers with expansive budgets. But Mom and Pops have some strengths bigger companies don’t. By leveraging them, they cannot only compete successfully but also excel. Here are four…
The UTRGV SBDC invites high-tech, innovative companies interested in seed funds for research and development to attend a workshop March 27-28. The government’s Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs are the focus. The two collectively offer more than $2.6 billion in high-risk, non-dilutive capital available to innovative small companies annually. Expert speakers for the sessions include Michael Kurek from BBBetc and Bijo Mathew from the UTSA SBDC Technology…
On March 15, IBC Bank Main in McAllen hosted the first annual RGV Women of Purpose event. More than 300 ladies of power, influence and purpose from throughout the Rio Grande Valley attended. They were further empowered by Catia Hernandez-Holm, author and motivational speaker. IBC Senior Vice President Dora Brown and her planning committee were thrilled to see a very successful turnout of regional business and community leaders. IBC McAllen…
Texas’ seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.0 percent in January and remains below the U.S. unemployment rate of 4.1 percent. The Texas economy added 240,500 seasonally adjusted nonfarm jobs over the year. This includes 16,000 jobs added in January. Annual employment growth for Texas was 2.0 percent in January, marking 93 consecutive months of annual growth. “Texas employers kicked off 2018 with the addition of 16,000 jobs in January and…
For the first time in more than a decade, Education and Training students from Texas State Technical College participated in the recent SkillsUSA competition hosted at the college and are headed to state competitions in April. “We are so excited and proud of our students,” said Education and Training Lead Instructor Myriam Aguila. “They have worked so hard and deserve this recognition. They have had quite the experience.” SkillsUSA is…
More than 750 high school level Computer Science enthusiasts converged on the HPE campus in Houston last weekend to participate in CodeWars 2018. CodeRGV was in attendance to learn more about the program and to build a stronger partnership with school districts across the state. In addition, the group learned how Valley school districts can participate in future HPE events like this one. The students, representing close to 100 districts across…
About 250 people attended the Port of Brownsville’s annual State of the Port event to celebrate continued growth and look forward to opportunities that may be just around the corner. “2017 was indeed a banner year,” said Brownsville Navigation District Vice Chairman John Reed. “And 2018 could become a turning point for the port and for South Texas.” Reed was the lead speaker at the Thursday luncheon in Brownsville. He…