The City of McAllen Passport Division Facility will be open on April 13 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the City of McAllen Passport Facility, located in the Downtown Parking Garage at 221 S. 15th Street. “Passport processing times vary depending on the volume and we want to make sure that anyone wishing to travel has their required documents on time,” said Yasminda Garza, passport facility administrator. Appointments are…
McAllen Public Library is holding its ninth annual Amnesty Month through May 4, offering patrons the opportunity to return overdue library materials without incurring fines. The month-long initiative aims at reclaiming overdue books, CDs, DVDs, and Blu-rays. During Amnesty Month, patrons can return any overdue item to any of MPL’s three locations – Main (4001 N. 23rd Street), Lark (2601 Lark Ave.) or Palmview (3401 Jordan Rd. W) – regardless…
Servant Leadership is a theory that has stood the test of time. In the 1970’s, Robert Greenleaf coined the term Servant Leadership based on his qualitative research on what he described as effective vs ineffective leaders. Greenleaf was an AT&T executive who spent much of his research time exploring the topic of leadership. Based on the writings of Greenleaf, other researchers have both qualitatively and quantitatively explored the theory and…
South Texas College has become one of only six institutions across Texas to receive a Military Friendly School Gold Award and Military Friendly Spouse School recognition for the 2023-2024 school year. The recognition comes from VIQTORY, a service-disabled, veteran-owned small business, which publishes the annual Military Friendly rating for schools nationwide. The awards affirm STC’s commitment, effort and success in creating opportunities for the military community on all its campuses.…
Pam Le has a story to tell of a mother who came to the United States at age 17, knowing no one and speaking only her native Vietnamese. Hoa Le is the daughter of a U.S. serviceman she never met and a Vietnamese mother who died when Hoa was only eight years old. Coming to Houston through a sponsorship program, Hoa Le went about building an American life that would…
The Spirit of McAllen shone brightly during McAllen Day at the Camino Real Polanco in Mexico City on Feb. 29. The city’s delegation included 150 travel agents who arrived at a breakfast coordinated by three leading city officials. They are Daniella Plata, the director of international relations for the City of McAllen, Jeremy Santoscoy, McAllen International Airport’s director of aviation and the McAllen Convention and Visitors Bureau led by Leigh…
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley opened under its new name on Aug. 30, 2015 to mark a fresh start toward becoming a comprehensive regional university. On Aug. 30, 2025, UTRGV kicks off another new chapter in its nearly 100-year history when the university’s Vaqueros football team plays a Division I football game in Edinburg. “It will be 10 years to the date we opened the university,” said Guy…
Daniel Silva spent 19 years at the Mission Economic Development Corporation, starting as a fresh college graduate and ascending to being the organization’s chief executive officer. The climb to the top job was fulfilling, but eventually there was an aspiration for another challenge. In 2022, when the opportunity to serve more than one Rio Grande Valley community came along, Silva took it in seeking to have a bigger footprint. In…
Esmeralda Estrella’s students in a Texas State Technical College classroom are huddled around incubator equipment used to support newborns in neonatal intensive care units. The students on the Harlingen campus are enrolled in TSTC’s biomedical equipment technology program. Students jot down notes and confer in teams as if they were in real-world hospital settings. Maintenance and repair of this sort of equipment is critical to sustaining and saving lives. “The…
Futuro RGV, the City of McAllen and McAllen District 4 Commissioner Rudy Castillo host the first-ever “Government for a Day” initiative on April 6. The event is for all City of McAllen District 4 residents, symbolizes the city’s commitment to ensuring that every resident feels connected to the services available to them. Government for a Day takes place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Palmview Community Center, 3401 Jordan…