Category Archives: News

ILLUMINA Fest Lights Up Quinta Mazatlan

Community Events Featured News Comments

Quinta Mazatlan ILLUMINA Fest is back for five nights from Dec. 13-17 with more than 3,000 luminarias lighting the forest trails. A half-mile walk through the woods features over 30 light installations highlighting the various winter celebrations including Christmas, Hanukkah, Chinese New Year, Kwanzaa, Diwali and more. The one-way illuminated trail also guides visitors past light shows, art installations, community performers and holiday treats.  The Food Courtyard features many local…

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VIDA Receives $75,000 Workforce Grant

Community Featured News Comments

Valley Initiative for Development and Advancement is one of Texas Mutual’s 48 grant recipients from across the state to promote workforce development and foster economic growth in Texas.   “We are immensely thankful to Texas Mutual for selecting VIDA as one of its grant recipients for workforce development and safety training initiatives.” said VIDA President and CEO Felida Villarreal.  “Equitable career training opportunities and human capital investment must be prioritized…

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SBA Lower RGV Office Seeks Small Business Week Nominations

Community e-Brief Features News Comments
Small Business Awards

The U.S. Small Business Administration is seeking nominations for those who have what it takes to become America’s “Small Business Person of the Year” for 2023. “The SBA’s Lower Rio Grande Valley District Office is ready to accept nominations for the 2023 National and District Small Business Week Awards, including the annual Small Business Person of the Year Award,” Angela Burton, district director, said. “I encourage interested stakeholders to nominate…

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Storybook Garden Connects Books To Community

News Retail Comments
Activities focused on reading and learning bring children and their parents to The Storybook Garden. (Courtesy)

The Storybook Garden sits on a corner of Texas Boulevard just a moment’s walk from Business 83 in Weslaco.  It’s main street Weslaco and an appropriate place to find an independent bookstore with deep ties to its community. The historic hotel site suits the purposes and goals of Sarah Cuadra, the bookstore’s owner.  “We want to be a place for families to come and meet and develop a love for…

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Mission EDC Eyes New Trade Opportunities

Government News Comments
Teclo Garcia will bring a wealth of international trade experience to his new job.

Mission within a year will have direct access to a full-service, cross-border international bridge. The city, anticipating new opportunities in international trade, has hired an economic development executive with expertise in that field. Teclo Garcia is the new chief executive officer for the Mission Economic Development Corporation. He comes to the job after a three-year stint as Laredo’s economic development director in dealing with the Mexican business community and international…

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Spec’s Boosts Spirits In RGV

News Retail Comments
The founder of Spec’s, Carroll “Spec” Jackson, was widely known for being quite a character and for rolling around his larger stores for the sake of efficiency.

Company lore has it that Carroll B. “Spec” Jackson opened a store in Houston in 1962 for two reasons. One, he wanted to work for himself, and second, he didn’t want his wife, Carolynn, to have to work. Investing $7,000, he opened the first Spec’s, a wine, liquor and beer store. He opened on April Fool’s Day, which fit Spec’s personality perfectly. Spec’s son-in-law, John Rydman, now owns the company…

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Don Gollito Serves It Up “Harlingen-Style”

Featured Food & Entertainment News Comments

The block of West Van Buren Street where Don Gollito sits in Harlingen stirs a nostalgic feel. The Tex-Mex restaurant is down home all the way, “Harlingen-style,” as one of its owners, Fred Uribe, puts it. He co-owns the restaurant with Rick Silva, a self-described “jack-of-all-trades” of the local restaurant scene. On Van Buren, vehicles park at an angle that’s reminiscent of small-town America of previous eras. It’s appropriate since…

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Los Fresnos Embracing Growth

Community News Comments
The quality and size of the Los Fresnos Consolidated Independent School District are among the factors bringing growth to the city. (Courtesy)

The population of Los Fresnos nearly doubled from the 2010 Census to the one done a decade later.  The city’s current population of over 8,000 residents is a jump from the 4,500 in 2010. Los Fresnos at 47 percent population growth ranked second behind Edinburg among Rio Grande Valley cities in measuring 2020 over 2010 increases. The gross numbers are far below Edinburg’s as that city has gone over 100,000…

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UTRGV-Edinburg CISD Establish New High School

e-Brief Features Education News Comments
The UTRGV Mascot welcomes students to the UTRGV and Edinburg CISD groundbreaking ceremony on Nov. 29 for the new collegiate high school. (photo Paul Chouy, UTRGV)

UTRGV and the Edinburg Consolidated Independent School District broke ground on Nov. 29 on a new collegiate high school to serve the students of Edinburg. The facility will be located at 1407 E. Freddy Gonzalez Drive, just off the Expressway 281 frontage. A collegiate high school like this one focuses on academic pathways in the areas of education, engineering, computer science and health professions, as a way to create more…

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Food Bank Passes ‘Ultimate Test’ In Giving Aid

Community News Non-Profit Comments
Libby Saenz is the Food Bank’s chief executive officer and oversees a staff of 80 employees that with volunteer assistance feeds about 76,000 people weekly.

The over 100,000-square-foot space of the former Valley Fruit Company is a place in motion with forklifts motoring between towering rows of canned goods. The Food Bank of the Rio Grande Valley runs its operations from the historic warehouse site where citrus and vegetables were once processed and packaged. Today, millions of pounds of foodstuffs and produce are shipped out from the same Pharr location to food pantries and nonprofit…

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