Rio Grande Guardian's Podcast

BROWNSVILLE, TEXAS - Bret Gardella, executive director and CEO of the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation, was in the audience for a presentation about the possible creation of a Greater Brownsville Municipal Development District. The presentation was made by Brownsville City Attorney Guillermo (Will) Treviño at a breakfast event hosted by the Brownsville Chamber of Commerce.  Brownsville v...

BROWNSVILLE, TEXAS - Brownsville City Attorney Guillermo (Will) Treviño says he believes SpaceX’s rocket launching facility at Boca Chica will one day be annexed by Brownsville. Treviño made his prediction at a breakfast event hosted by Brownsville Chamber of Commerce.  The event was held to discuss the two propositions Brownsville residents are currently being asked to vote on - the creation of t...

RIO GRANDE CITY, Texas - It is not often a mayor in Texas runs a video during his or her state of the city address that includes messages from eight dignitaries from Mexico. Sometimes a mayor from the border region will have a video message from one  or two of his counterparts in Mexico. But rarely eight.   But that is what Rio Grande City Mayor Joel Villarreal had in his recent 2024 State of the...

Dr. Can (John) Saygin says when he gets together with UT-Rio Grande Valley President Guy Bailey, the discussions are often about ways the university can create visible societal impact.     Dr. Saygin is senior vice president for research and dean of the graduate college at UTRGV.   “So, any any topic I bring up with him, we always get to the point and say, when are we going to see this impact in t...

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - The Port of Brownsville has secured more than $1.1 million in funding from the federal government for its Port of Brownsville Vessel Suitability Analysis and Feasibility project.  Congressman Vicente Gonzalez, D-McAllen, announced the award as part of $15,622,100 in Community Project Funding for the 34th Congressional District of Texas. “The Port of Brownsville is the only dee...

EDINBURG, Texas - Dr. Can (John) Saygin, senior vice president for research and dean of the graduate college at UT-Rio Grande Valley, is going to be involved in the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Consortium (TSIC). TSIC was formed recently by Gov. Greg Abbott and it follows the signing into law of House 5174, otherwise known as the Texas CHIPS Act. Nineteen universities will work with TSIC, includ...

MERCEDES, Texas - The United States Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission (USIBWC) Lower Rio Grande Citizens Forum board hosted an in-person and virtual public meeting on April 2, 2024. At the event, held in Mercedes, Texas, the head of the US section of IBWC, Maria-Elena Giner gave a detailed update on the State Department’s efforts to get Mexico to sign a new Minute related...

EDINBURG, Texas - A discussion was held recently on what can be done to fight back against the narrative that the border region is dangerous. The discussion took place on a zoom hosted by Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez and the Hidalgo County Prosperity Task Force.  Former Texas Secretary of State Rolando Pablos was invited to talk about the work of the Borderplex Alliance, which works to brin...

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - Texas A&M University’s South Texas Workforce Development Project at the Port of Brownsville will “train Texans to lead the workforce of tomorrow.” This is the view of Gov. Greg Abbott, who spoke at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the $30 million advanced manufacturing training center project. Organized by the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service, the center will provi...

MCALLEN, Texas - Public health official Eduardo 'Eddie' Olivarez says the biggest impediment to a healthy population in Hidalgo County is substandard housing in unincorporated areas.   Hidalgo County's chief administrative officer for health and human services made an impassioned plea for tougher minimum housing standards at a recent AltaCair Foundation event.   The “cluster meeting...

WESLACO, Texas - Robots were on the mind of businessman Mike Hernandez last week. The Texas A&M University System regent had two public speaking roles and on both occasions he mentioned robotics. One of his speeches was given at the Port of Brownsville. Hernandez was on the bill when Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas A&M Chancellor John Sharp announced plans to build a $30 million advanced manufa...

WESLACO, Texas - Robots were on the mind of businessman Mike Hernandez last week. The Texas A&M University System regent had two public speaking roles and on both occasions he mentioned robotics. One of his speeches was given at the Port of Brownsville. Hernandez was on the bill when Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas A&M Chancellor John Sharp announced plans to build a $30 million advanced manufa...

EDINBURG, Texas - Dr. Can Saygin says a $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to UT-Rio Grande Valley is a significant step towards moving the university to Carnegie R1 status. Saygin is a senior vice president for research and dean of the graduate college at UTRGV. R1 signifies that a university has “Very High Research Activity.” The $5 million grant, awarded by the Biden-Harris...

EDINBURG, Texas - Recently, Hidalgo County Prosperity Task Force invited Rolando Pablos, former leader of Borderplex Alliance, to participate in a zoom conversation about regional collaboration. Borderplex links the cities of El Paso, Texas, Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, and Las Cruces, New Mexico and brings in hundreds of millions of dollars of investment to boost their region.  In his remarks , Pabl...

BROWNSVILLE, TEXAS - Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño says the $18 million primary lane expansion project at Veterans International Bridge at Los Tomates is of regional, national, and international significance. Of the $18 million, $10.6 million came through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Treviño oversaw a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the project on April 3. Among the other speakers at the ev...

EDINBURG, Texas - Jaime Longoria is executive director of Hidalgo County Community Service Agency. Recently, Longoria participated in a zoom meeting organized by Hidalgo County Prosperity Task Force. The task force was set up by Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez to address poverty in the county. In his remarks on the zoom call, Longoria spoke about an event he organized to help around 500 worker...

MERCEDES, Texas - Dire is how the U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission is describing the water situation along the Texas Mexico border. Periods of droughts plus a debt Texas’ neighbor south of the Rio Grande has concerning water is creating a crisis that is set to intensify if a solution is not resolved soon. More than 300,000 people living along the border from El Paso to Brownsville...

LAREDO, Texas - U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar says his push to get Hispanic Serving Institutions equal footing with Historically Black Colleges and Universities has pulled in hundreds of millions of dollars.   Cuellar, a senior member of the House appropriations committee, gave an exclusive interview to the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service about this push, along with news of the latest app...

MCALLEN, Texas - Two of the three leaders of the Texas Workforce Commission attended South Texas College’s 2024 Workforce Summit. They were Joe Esparza, who serves as the commissioner representing employers on the TWC board, and Alberto Treviño III, who serves as the commissioner representing labor on the board. The two workforce development experts spoke on a panel titled: Microcredentials, Crede...

RAYMONDVILLE, Texas - Raise Your Hand Texas, a nonprofit group that supports public education, recently hosted a forum in Raymondville for the candidates running for Texas House District 37. Four candidates appeared, all Democrats. They were Ruben Cortez, Jonathan Gracia, Carol Lynn Sanchez, and Alex Dominguez. Incumbent state Rep. Janie Lopez, R-San Benito, did not attend. The moderator was Rio G...

EDINBURG, Texas - La representante federal Mónica De la Cruz, de Edinburg dio la respuesta oficial republicana en español al discurso sobre el estado de unión de 2024 del presidente Biden. Michelle Vallejo de Alton, el rival del partido demócrata De la Cruz, respondió a los comentarios de la congresista. Aquí están sus comentarios: Go to www.riograndeguardian.com to read the latest border news sto...

MISSION, Texas - The Rio Grande Valley is no longer a secret to the big franchise stores. They know about the region and they want to be here. This is the view of Daniel Galvan, principal broker at Coldwell Banker Commercial-Rio Grande Valley.  CBC-RGV is a full-service real estate firm based in McAllen that services all of South Texas. Galvan gave his analysis of the current state of real estate...

BROWNSVILLE, TEXAS - Brownsville Mayor John Cowen, Jr., spoke at a press conference held at the Border Patrol Station in Brownsville on Feb. 29, 2024. Cowen joined President Biden and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas at the conference, having earlier received a briefing from Border Patrol officials at the border, as well as immigration, law enforcement and asylum officers.  At a pres...

BROWNSVILLE, TEXAS - U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez spoke at a press conference held at the Border Patrol Station in Brownsville on Feb. 29, 2024. Gonzalez joined President Biden and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas at the conference, having earlier received a briefing from Border Patrol officials at the border, as well as immigration, law enforcement and asylum officers.  Gonzalez took...

SANTA ROSA, Texas - Sean Brashear, president and CEO of Rio Grande Valley Sugar Growers, Inc., has given an in-depth interview to Ron Whitlock of Ron Whitlock Reports. After 51 years in business, the Rio Grande Valley Sugar Growers co-operative decided recently to cease operations. In the interview, Brashear discusses his upbringing in a farming community, why sugar growing in the Valley was not s...