The Rio Grande Valley with its estimated population surging above 1.4 million is reflecting its new urban realities via Valley Metro. The regional bus system is adding transportation hubs and new routes with each passing year. Later this month, Valley Metro will open a new hub in Edinburg between City Hall and the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. The new hub will come off a year where Valley Metro…
Brownsville’s public market and town hall went up as the city got its start in 1850. Butchers and other vendors moved in a year later. The city’s central square would go through various rebuilds. It would survive hurricanes as well as other calamities through the ages with a city that grew up around it. The last half of the 20th century saw what came to be known as Market Square…
Foreign Trade Zone No. 62 at the Port of Brownsville remains near the top in the nation for the value of exports. FTZ No. 62 ranks third in the country with more than $3.8 billion in exported commodities in 2018. This is an increase from the $3.5 billion reported in 2017. The figures come from the U.S. Foreign-Trade Zones Board’s annual report to Congress released in late November. Since 2012,…
Welding Works International Inc. is the Port of Brownsville 2019 Chairman’s Award honoree. The award recognizes the company’s 20-plus years of “setting a high standard in safety training and providing ongoing contributions to the well-being of the Rio Grande Valley community.” Brownsville Navigation District Chairman John Reed presented the award to Welding Works President Alfredo de la Fuente at the Customer Appreciation Luncheon Dec. 3. More than 200 guests were…
Faculty in the UTRGV College of Education and P-16 Integration have been awarded a $1.2 million grant for Project PLEASE, a collaborative initiative to help grow leaders in special education administration. “Project PLEASE is a personnel training grant that will give scholarships and stipends to 14 vetted candidates to complete their doctorate in education in special education administration,” said Hsuying Ward. Ward is an associate professor of Human Development and…
The Brownsville Public Utilities Board is awarding ten 10 scholarships of $1,000 each to graduating high school seniors through its Project SHARE Scholarship program. All majors qualify for the BPUB Project SHARE Scholarship. To qualify for the BPUB Project SHARE Scholarship, applicants must: Be a graduating high school senior Lve in a household with a minimum of one year of utility service with BPUB at the application deadline date Plan…
Black Friday was coming and Shannon Farrell knew what it would be like on the day after Thanksgiving. “They won’t let their employees leave,” Farrell said of store managers at the Rio Grande Valley Premium Outlets in Mercedes. “The stores will be full, the workers will be busy, and we’ll be there to feed them.” Shannon’s Sweets is itself located at the outlets and has become a go-to place for…
He was at the time a 20-something Brownsville lawyer seeking to become Cameron County’s district attorney. A turn of events in the fall of 1988, including the sudden death of the county judge, propelled Tony Garza into a different direction. Garza would shift over to running for county judge as a Republican. He appeared to be a longshot in a Democratic-leaning region. What appeared to be improbable then became a…
Imagine being in a winter wonderland with snow surrounding you. You can also see Christmas characters, homes and businesses with various holiday decorations. Even Santa Claus is waving at passerbys. Better yet – imagine seeing all that without going to the coldest places of the United States or to the North Pole during this time of year. Well, imagine no more. Brownsville’s Dean Porter Park currently has all of that in…
The Port of Brownsville is one step closer to welcoming three new LNG projects with an investment totaling $38.75 billion. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved their proposals late last week during its monthly commission meeting. “Today’s announcement is another significant milestone in making these energy projects a reality and is the result of years of hard work by the applicants,” said John Reed, chairman of the Brownsville Navigation District.…