It was the second week in January and the first day for second graders at St. John’s Episcopal School in McAllen to visit the school’s new SmartLab. A second grader, Lily, said she wasn’t sure she wanted to return after the first half hour of instruction. “It’s kind of confusing,” she said. “This is your left, but it’s not the robot’s left.” Lily’s SmartLab partner for the day, Juliet, saw…
What a wild last 60 days. Holidays, fun family get togethers and real cold weather. Whew! Now it’s throttle time. All teams are prepped — we’re pushing the pedal to the medal. Production departments are rolling, sales personnel are on the streets and administrative executives are planning the next project while keeping tabs on existing numbers. Spring will be here before we know it, and then it’s peak season for…
The Dallas Cowboys recently concluded another disappointing season but the lack of success will hardly lessen the devout following the NFL franchise enjoys in the Rio Grande Valley. George Dunn, a senior retail manager for the Cowboys, says the RGV ranks third in Texas for sale of team merchandise, T-shirts, caps and all manner of gear with the familiar blue star. The third-best market ranking (only Dallas-Fort Worth and San…
Annelise Rosas’ growing-up years in Monterrey and Austin left a yearning for another city of her youth. Brownsville is the place where Rosas feels the most comfortable. The Rio Grande Valley’s largest city is the best fit for the interchange of languages she speaks. In Monterrey, Rosas was seen as an American and a bit of an outcast despite being the daughter of Mexican-born parents. The view of her in…
Felida Villarreal worked in the private sector as an accountant and financial analyst and developed an interest in the work of non-profit organizations focused on community service. In the early 2020s, that interest led to a job as the director of finance for VIDA, the acronym for Valley Initiative for Development and Advancement. The Mercedes-based organization was founded in 1995 and serves residents in the four-county Rio Grande Valley. The…
One of Steve Valdez’s primary goals in leading the Weslaco Economic Development Corporation was to make it “a data-driven organization.” Valdez took the EDC’s helm in 2021. In the years since, Weslaco has continued its steady and sure growth in reaching higher levels of growth. The data Valdez speaks of shows the recording of some new high-water marks in 2024. Weslaco generated over $1 billion in taxable sales for the…
The Texas labor market achieved a new record-high level for jobs and the civilian labor force in December 2024. The state added 37,500 positions over the month, reaching a total of 14,318,700 nonfarm jobs. Texas added 284,200 jobs from December 2023 to December 2024, bringing the annual nonfarm growth rate to two percent, which outpaced the U.S. growth rate by 0.6 percentage points. December marks the 12th consecutive month of…
Texas Southmost College will host its latest installment of its Living History Day on Feb. 1 at the TSC South Hall Lawn. The event is free and open to the public. Since 2017, Living History Day has been an event of sights and sounds of the past, celebrating the impact of both global and local historical eras. Visitors are encouraged to wear their best historical time-period costumes, meaning that it’s…
Flying kites on the beach can bring a sense of wonderment in looking up and seeing your handmade craft sway with the gusty seaside winds. Susie and Bill Doan are Ohio natives and kite aficionados who during visits to the South Padre Island became smitten with the beach. In their late 40s, the couple moved to the Island and turned a hobby into a business. B&S Kites opened in 1998.…
The International Museum of Art & Science is continuing its Young Adventurers program, thanks to funding from a PNC Foundation grant. The program provides accessible early childhood learning opportunities to children ages 1 to 6 with an accompanying adult, emphasizing the importance of play and exploration in fostering early STEAM skills. Young Adventurers is an educational program offering monthly weekday morning workshops from 10-11 a.m. Each session introduces a unique…