Rio Grande Guardian's Podcast

PHARR, Texas - Pharr Economic Development Corporation is not just getting more and more calls for warehouse space. The EDC is being asked for bigger and bigger warehouses. The EDC’s property and business manager, Janie Cavazos, acknowledged as much in a recent presentation to real estate developers, brokers and bankers. “After hearing of what's happening with this area and all the near-shorin...

MCALLEN, Texas - Brownsville Navigation District’s port director, Eduardo ‘Eddie’ Campirano recently spoke at a meeting of TxDOT’s Border Trade Advisory Committee. In his presentation, Campirano spoke about a project underway to deepen the Port of Brownsville’s ship channel, plus plans to build an industrial park and construct a liquefied natural gas export terminal.  "Maritime transportation...

MCALLEN, Texas - Pharr Bridge Director Luis Bazan recently spoke at a meeting of TxDOT’s Border Trade Advisory Committee. In his presentation, Bazan listed some of the improvements happening at the bridge, including construction of a second span. With four more lanes, the new span will effectively double the capacity of the bridge. Bazan said Mexico is already building its half of the second span....

MCALLEN, Texas - The chairman of the Texas House Transportation Committee said he wanted to lay down some facts when he spoke before TxDOT’s Border Trade Advisory Committee. State Rep. Terry Canales of Edinburg spoke about some of his achievements in the area of transportation during the most recent legislative session. He then gave a big picture view of the importance of the advisory committee. “...

HARLINGEN, Texas - Veteran broadcaster Ron Whitlock, of Ron Whitlock Reports, recently met up with Dr. Jose Manuel De La Rosa, MD, a member of the U.S.-Mexico Border Health Commission. The meeting took place at the Texas Medical Association’s 2023 Border Health Conference, which was held at the Harlingen Convention Center. Whitlock was intrigued to know more about the U.S.-Mexico Border Health Com...

EDINBURG, Texas - Gov. Greg Abbott was the keynote speaker at the Rio Grande Valley Partnership’s recent 2023 RGV Economic Summit. The event took place at the Bert Ogden Arena in Edinburg, with hundreds of community, business, and political leaders in attendance.  Abbott was applauded throughout his 25-minute speech. He started his speech by thanking state Sen. Juan Hinojosa. The McAllen Democrat...

PHARR, Texas – Luis Bazan, director of the Pharr International Bridge, has announced details of Pharr Bridge Board’s 2nd Industrial Warehouse Summit. The summit takes place Thursday, Aug. 24, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. It will take place at the Pharr Development & Research Center in W. Dicker Road in south Pharr.  The title of the event is IWS2. The subheading is: Building a Competitive Border Regi...

MCALLEN, Texas - The vice president for strategy and new initiatives at the Wilson Center says border communities need to be better organized in order to have more of a say in Washington, DC. Duncan Wood, who also serves as a senior advisor to the Wilson Center’s Mexico Institute, spoke recently at an event hosted by the CEO Club and held at the McAllen Country Club.  After his speech Wood took qu...

MCALLEN, Texas - Mexico expert Duncan Wood says the state he is paying most attention to in Mexico these days is Nuevo León. Wood is vice president for strategy and new initiatives at the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C., and senior advisor to the Mexico Institute, which is housed within the Wilson Center. Wood spoke at three events in the Rio Grande Valley recently. At each one he praised the le...

LAREDO, Texas - As well as expanding the number of lanes at the Laredo–Colombia Solidarity International Bridge in anticipation of Tesla, a cross-border rail line should be added, says U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar.  The Laredo congressman was interviewed about the Colombia port of entry at a recent transportation event in his hometown.  Interest in developing the bridge has heightened due to a request...

LAREDO, Texas - Renowned international trade and finance expert Gerry Schwebel says Texas need to invest more in land port of entry infrastructure. The executive vice president, corporate international division, for IBC Bank says failure to make the investment will result in the state failing to capitalize on the current near-shoring phenomenon in Mexico.  Schwebel is based in Laredo. Across the R...

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - Entrepreneurs in Brownsville no longer have to worry about access to capital being a barrier. That is according to the Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation (BCIC), which runs the StartUp Texas Accelerator and Seed Fund.  This program has been investing in Brownsville community small businesses since 2020. This is how the most recent program worked. Local entrepreneurs...

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - In three recent speeches in the Rio Grande Valley, the vice president for strategy and new initiatives at the Wilson Center talked about a potential game changer for Mexico that would also positively impact the Port of Brownsville. Duncan Wood is also a senior advisor to the Mexico Institute. On July 27, he spoke at a luncheon held at Texas Southmost College that was hosted by...

MERCEDES, Texas - The Valley Initiative for Development and Advancement (VIDA) is garnering a lot of attention these days. Just a week or two back the nonprofit was named one of only 25 organizations nationwide and the only one from Texas to be awarded a $3 Million Nursing Expansion Grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to develop professional pathways to nursing. But, it has not always been in...

HARLINGEN, Texas - Valley International Airport has become the first airport in the Rio Grande Valley to offer covered parking for short stay vehicles. Nicolás J. Mirman, director of business development at VIA, said up to 300 cars can now be protected from the sun. “We just opened our covered parking areas, with more than 300 space of covered parking. It is the only covered parking in an airport...

REYNOSA, Tamaulipas - Of the 32 states in Mexico, Tamaulipas is the fourth most “peaceful,” according to a report published by Vision of Humanity. “Yucatán was once again the most peaceful state in Mexico, followed by Tlaxcala, Chiapas, Tamaulipas and Nayarit,” the report states. “Reflecting the great divergence in violence levels across the country, the average homicide rate in the most peaceful...

WESLACO, TEXAS - Valley Initiative for Development and Advancement is one of 25 organizations nationwide and the only one in Texas to be awarded a U.S. Department of Labor’s $3 Million Nursing Expansion Grant. The grant will be used to develop professional pathways to nursing. On July 27, a check presentation ceremony was held by VIDA at the Knapp Medical Conference Center in Weslaco. In addition...

WESLACO, Texas - Maria-Elena Giner, head of the U.S. section of the International Boundary & Water Commission, recently visited the Rio Grande Valley for a federal-state stakeholders meeting.  Held at Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center Auditorium in Weslaco, the meeting was attended by farmers, ranchers, irrigators and rural community leaders. Giner spoke for about 16 minutes. Most o...

MCALLEN, Texas - The availability of water for Rio Grande Valley residents and farmers has always been a top issue for Jim Darling. The former mayor of McAllen is president of the Rio Grande Regional Water Authority. He always gives updates on the water levels at Falcon and Amistad dams when he gives reports to McAllen Economic Development Corporation.  So, when famed Mexico expert Duncan Wood spo...

WESLACO, Texas - The healthcare and social assistance industry in the Rio Grande Valley is going to grow by between 23 and 28 percent in the next seven years, according to Workforce Solutions. The accommodation and food industry is going to grow 43 percent over the same period, while the administrative, support and waste management sectors combined will grow by 43 percent. The professional, scient...

SAN BENITO, Texas - The Rio Grande Guardian International News Service recently secured an exclusive interview with Rafael Tapia, the new grant manager for the Council for South Texas Economic Progress, otherwise known as COSTEP. For many years Tapia was executive director of Alamo Economic Development Corporation. In his new role Tapia is responsible for overseeing grants and managing the grant p...

MCALLEN, Texas - Although community group Futuro RGV did not take an official position on whether to the City of McAllen should rezone Green Jay Park, some of its leaders did offer public testimony. Although Futuro President Nedra Kinerk could not be present when the issue was debated at city hall, she sent a representative to speak for her. Kinerk said she was for moving the park from “agricultur...

MCALLEN, Texas - As evidenced at last week’s unveiling of a federally-approved Registered Nurse Apprenticeship Program, South Texas College has become a leader in apprenticeship programs. To learn more about STC’s approach to apprenticeships the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service interviewed Kim Moore, project training specialist at STC, and Leo Garcia, director of the institute for ad...

MCALLEN, Texas - Attending MXLAN’s International Economic Summit at the McAllen Convention Center, Index Reynosa’s Enrique Castro looked around the ballroom and expressed pleasure at what he saw. “Forty years ago you would not have seen this. It is full of Mexicanos. Back then there were not that many. McAllen was divided by the railroad tracks,” Castro said.  The maquiladora industry leader said...

MISSION, Texas - Mission community leader Ester Salinas has announced that final settlement in the long-running lawsuit filed by families impacted by the highly toxic Hayes Sammons agricultural pesticides mixing and receiving plant against numerous chemical companies has been reached. “We won. After 25 years, we’re finally getting the final settlement letters from the Hayes Sammons contamination l...