Rio Grande Guardian's Podcast

AUSTIN, Texas - Port Mansfield and the Port of Brownsville are the beneficiaries of a decision by the state Legislature to provide more funding for Texas maritime ports. At a recent Texas Transportation Commission meeting, Travis Milner, a section director for TxDOT, spoke about the maritime funding programs his division runs. “Three funding mechanisms are available to Texas seaports that tie dire...

HARLINGEN, Texas - It is never too early to talk about the upcoming tax season. Joining me today is Rev Torres, a paralegal with the Texas Taxpayer Assistance Project.  Torres is going to tell us about some changes that are in store for the upcoming tax season.  Have you received payment via one of several cash payment apps?  Today we're going to talk about cash payment apps, and how they may...

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - With a huge LNG project at the Port of Brownsville projected to create a massive increase in truck traffic, Cameron County RMA has started a master plan study of State Highway 48. At the peak of its construction phase, NextDecade’s liquefied natural gas export terminal will see the hiring of 5,000 workers. Most of these may be transported into the port by bus. Cameron County a...

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - Representatives from NextDecade and its main contractor for the liquefied natural gas export terminal being built at the Port of Brownsville, Bechtel, gave the keynote presentations at a recent South Texas Manufacturers Association meeting. However, the presentations were deemed private and not for publication. So, the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service sought the...

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - Members of the South Texas Manufacturers Association heard about new projects from various local economic development corporations at their most recent monthly meeting.  Julia Landrum, community development and marketing manager for San Benito EDC, gave brief details about a big manufacturing firm coming to her city. Steve Valdez, executive director of Weslaco EDC, spoke about...

MCALLEN, Texas - South Texas College is operating in a new era of transformation, its president has said. Ricardo Solis spoke in depth about the future of the college at the unveiling of STC’s new logo. The logo is based on the college’s mascot, the jaguar. The event was held at the McAllen Convention Center. “Today, STC is in a new era of transformation, change predicated by the post-COVID era, t...

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - Border communities often have the answer to border-specific issues, such as improving truck movements across land ports of entry, and the federal government should listen. This is the view of Pete Sepulveda, executive director of Cameron County Regional Mobility Authority (CCRMA). Sepulveda gave the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service an exclusive interview followin...

MCALLEN, Texas - Lynda Lopez, executive director of public relations and marketing at South Texas College, had a speaking role at the unveiling of STC’s new logo. The logo is based on the college’s mascot, the jaguar. “Even today, in parts of Mexico, the jaguar is still revered. You see, to the Aztecs, the Jaguar was a symbol of magic, power and authority. And for STC, I would argue, a symbol of p...

EDINBURG, Texas - RGV Metropolitan Planning Organization Executive Director Andrew Canon has announced his departure from the group.  Canon has held this position, plus that of one of its predecessors. Hidalgo County MPO, for almost 20 years. In an exclusive interview with the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service, Canon said he had been mulling the decision for many months. He said he ca...

MCALLEN, Texas - The STC Foundation has raised almost $1 million and its inaugural gala is still one week away.  Dr. Rodney H. Rodriguez, vice president of institutional advancement and economic development for South Texas College, gave the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service an update on the gala, which takes place at the Mission Event Center on Oct. 5, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. “We have...

EDINBURG, Texas - A UT-Rio Grande Valley engineering student has explained what it is like to be tutored by Dr. Karen Lozano, professor of mechanical engineering and the Julia Beecherl Endowed Professor at UTRGV. Alexa Villarreal is one of 18 students that will be in the inaugural class for the university’s new Doctor of Philosophy degree program in Materials Science and Engineering. Asked about s...

WESLACO, Texas - Weslaco Economic Development Corporation has made its first foray into Mexico and it plans to make more. Steve Valdez, the group’s president, and Michelle V. Garcia, who manages digital communications, represented the EDC on a trade mission to Monterrey.  In an exclusive interview with the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service, Valdez said the trip was very successful. In...

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - Mike Willis, executive director of the South Texas Manufacturers Association, says about a third of the manufacturing jobs in the Rio Grande Valley are located within the triangle of north Brownsville, Boca Chica, and the Port of Brownsville. Around 5,000 of the Valley’s 15,000 manufacturing jobs are located there.  Speaking at the September meeting of STMA, Willis said this p...

MISSION, Texas - Teclo Garcia, the CEO of Mission Economic Development Corporation, has explained his group’s plans to market Anzalduas International Bridge within Mexico. Mission is going to focus on cities further south than Monterrey, such as San Luis Potosí, Querétaro and Aguascalientes. The reason for this, Garcia said, is because Laredo and Monterrey are so closely aligned.  At a commerciali...

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - The Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation (GBIC) is working on a new message to promote the City in Mexico.  This was confirmed by Bret Gardella, the new executive director and CEO of GBIC. Asked how he intends to market Brownsville in Mexico, Gardella said: “Well, interestingly enough, since our budget was just approved by the board and by the city commission, part of th...

HARLINGEN, TEXAS - Orlando Campos, the new CEO of Harlingen Economic Development Corporation, says he has been very encouraged by everything he has seen in the city. “Everything that I've seen has been very, very positive. The community is moving in the right direction. There are a number of great projects in the pipeline that I think will benefit the community,” Campos said, in an exclusive...

HARLINGEN, Texas - Laura Haley, president of Cameron County Drainage District No. 6, is urging Texans to vote “yes” on a constitutional amendment in November.  “If your readers don’t know about SB 28 and Proposition 6, they to know about it. It is going to be on the November ballot. If voters approve this, this board will have a billion dollars to handle infrastructure and water projects,” Haley s...

EDINBURG, Texas - Edinburg is one of 160-plus cities in Texas that have been certified as a Film Friendly community by the Texas Film Commission. Each year, the City of Edinburg hosts the South Texas International Film Festival. The ninth such festival has just ended and to find out how it went Ron Whitlock Reports sought out Edinburg Mayor Ramiro Garza on its last night.  In the audio interview,...

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - On Thursday, Sept. 14, 2023, the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation (GBIC) hosted their second annual Rally in the Valley Conference. The networking event, held at the Brownsville Events Center, connected high school students from Brownsville ISD with prominent industry partners offering student internship opportunities.  The Texas Workforce Commission participated, in...

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - On Thursday, Sept. 14, 2023, the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation (GBIC) hosted their second annual Rally in the Valley Conference. The networking event, held at the Brownsville Events Center, connected high school students from Brownsville ISD with prominent industry partners offering student internship opportunities.  The Texas Workforce Commission participated, in...

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - On Thursday, Sept. 14, 2023, the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation (GBIC) hosted their second annual Rally in the Valley Conference. The networking event, held at the Brownsville Events Center, connected high school students from Brownsville ISD with prominent industry partners offering student internship opportunities.  The Texas Workforce Commission participated, in...

ALTON, Texas - Nuestra Clinica Del Valle (NCDV) has held a groundbreaking ceremony for a new health clinic the nonprofit is opening in Alton. The facility is being built on E. Dukakis Avenue, close to SH 107. The nonprofit will lease the facility from the City of Alton. Its current clinic in the city will then close. In an exclusive interview with the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service...

BROWNSVILLE, TEXAS - Pat Hobbs, executive director of Workforce Solutions Cameron, gave the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service an exclusive interview about the current labor market when he appeared at Rally in the Valley 2.0. Hobbs said the labor market is tight right now, which is why the conference, hosted by the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation, was so important. The netwo...

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - David Keane, senior vice president for policy and corporate affairs for NextDecade, spoke to students about careers in the energy industry at Rally in the Valley 2.0. The networking event, hosted by the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation and held at the Brownsville Events Center, connected high school students from Brownsville ISD with prominent industry partners offer...

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - Bret Gardella, the new executive director and CEO of the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation, was fulsome in his praise of his colleague, Karla De La Riva, for organizing the 2023 Rally in the Valley Conference. The networking event, held at the Brownsville Events Center, connected high school students from Brownsville ISD with prominent industry partners offering stude...