Rio Grande Guardian's Podcast

MCALLEN, Texas - The new CEO of McAllen Chamber of Commerce has given his vision for the group. Josh Mejia was appointed president and CEO of the chamber in the summer. He recently gave a presentation to the McAllen Citizens League. “In the year 2021 when the COVID-19 pandemic was at its peak, there was a massive shift of mentality that took place in the country that steered away the attention fro...

MCALLEN, Texas - There are positive growth trends at McAllen International Airport, according to City of McAllen Aviation Director Elizabeth Suarez. “We continue to report positive growth trends for this year. Our first slide shows a three percent overall growth from last year. The more important news is load factors are up approximately six percent. This is despite market seats being down slightl...

MCALLEN, Texas - The chief construction engineer for the Hidalgo County Regional Mobility Authority has welcomed McAllen Mayor Javier Villalobos’ efforts to pull in more federal dollars for the Hidalgo County Loop. Ramon Navarro spoke about the various segments of the project at a recent McAllen Economic Development Corporation board meeting.  “First of all, we'd like to thank Mayor Villalobo...

EL PASO, Texas - The new chairman of the Texas Border Coalition has explained his immediate goal for the organization. El Paso County Commissioner David Stout said the goal is to secure passage of immigration and border management legislation in the lame duck session of Congress. Stout said the legislative measures TBC wants Congress to pass are contained in a new white paper just published by the...

AUSTIN, Texas - Border community activists testified against Operation Lone Star at a hearing of the Senate Committee on Border Security at the state capitol in Austin. Operation Lone Star is Gov. Greg Abbott’s $4 billion border enforcement initiative that targets undocumented migrants for arrest, jail, and deportation. It has been in the national news because Abbott ordered state laws enforcement...

AUSTIN, Texas - Border community activists testified against Operation Lone Star at a hearing of the Senate Committee on Border Security at the state capitol in Austin. Operation Lone Star is Gov. Greg Abbott’s $4 billion border enforcement initiative that targets undocumented migrants for arrest, jail, and deportation. It has been in the national news because Abbott ordered state laws enforcement...

MISSION, Texas - The City of Mission, Texas Citrus Fiesta and Go Mission Fund hosted their 2nd Annual Mission Veterans Parade on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2022. The Rio Grande Guardian International News Service interviewed Lisa Rivera, executive director of Texas Citrus Fiesta about the parade. "The highlight was all the veterans that participated. It was an honor to have them be part of it,"...

HARLINGEN, Texas - State Rep. Oscar Longoria of La Joya discussed the upcoming legislative session in a recent speech at the Harlingen Area Chamber of Commerce. He talked about the likely amount of money that will be available for appropriations, as well as education and healthcare policy. He also took questions from the audience. Here are his remarks, including the Q&A. Go to www.riograndegua...

MCALLEN, Texas - Luis Bazán, director of the Pharr International Bridge, says there are 400 companies moving from China to Mexico in order to be closer to the North American market. Bazán said he learned this fact while on a trade visit to Mexico. He said the job of he and his team now is to visit those companies and make sure they move their product across the Pharr International Bridge. Bazán wa...

MCALLEN, Texas - Judy Quisenberry is executive director of Valley Baptist Legacy Foundation.  She recently spoke at the 26th Annual TATOA Conference and Awards Ceremony. TATOA stands for the Texas Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors. The conference was held at the McAllen Convention Center.  The panel Quisenberry spoke on was titled Broadband Funding Alternatives under Philanth...

ELSA, Texas - Michael Pacheco, an associate with Coldwell Banker Commercial-RGV,  is predicting a "wave of development" in Elsa, Texas. Pacheco spoke at a "Commercialization and Investment Tour" event co-hosted by the Rio Grande Valley Partnership and Elsa Economic Development Corporation. "There are more eyes on the city of Elsa than there ever have been," Pacheco sa...

Daniel Rivera, the executive director of Elsa Economic Development Corporation, has given an overview of commercial opportunities in his city. Rivera spoke at the latest "Commercialization & Investment Tour" hosted by the Rio Grande Valley Partnership. He said he was working to get a healthcare system to open a hospital in the city. Her also spoke about the city's Pacific Trails...

BROWNSVILLE, TEXAS - The Texas Department of Transportation recently unveiled signs for I-169, the spur linking the Port of Brownsville to I-69 East.  Local elected officials and community leaders were present, along with members of the Alliance for I-69 Texas. The event had been delayed for two years due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Rio Grande Guardian International News Service conducted aud...

MCALLEN, Texas - Bernie Sanders, the U.S. Senator for Vermont, was in the Rio Grande Valley this past weekend to support Michelle Vallejo, the Democratic candidate for Texas Congressional District 15.  Sanders participated in a rally at the Cine El Rey in McAllen, and then went block-walking with Vallejo. In his speech at the rally, Sanders discussed the following topics: healthcare in America, ed...

RIO GRANDE CITY, Texas - Every time Congressman Henry Cuellar visits Rio Grande City he is struck by the growth that is occurring.  “You can see the momentum. I mean, look at the stores that we have now, look at the coffee shops, look at the restaurants, the national restaurants we have over here,” Cuellar said, in an exclusive interview with the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service. In...

PHARR, Texas - The start of the fresh produce season was celebrated at the Pharr International Bridge recently with an event titled “A Taste of Trade.” The event was hosted by the Pharr Bridge Board. One of the speakers at the event was Pharr International Bridge Director Luis Bazan. During the festivities the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service conducted an interview with Bazan, along...

PHARR, Texas - Alejandro ‘Alex’ Meade is senior vice president of economic development and public finance at Texas Regional Bank. Meade gave the keynote speech at the annual retreat of RGV Focus. It was held at the Pharr Development and Research Center. RGV Focus is a collective impact initiative created in collaboration with Educate Texas and Communities Foundation of Texas. Founded in 2012, its...

WESLACO, Texas - Adriana Cruz, executive director of economic development and tourism in the Office of the Texas Governor, gave the keynote presentation at a recent RGV LEAD conference. LEAD stands for Linking Economic and Academic Development. The group held its State of Education & Industry in the Rio Grande Valley conference at the Knapp Medical Conference Center in Weslaco.  In her remarks...

MCALLEN, Texas - Rio Grande Valley students that sign up for VIDA’s programs secure employment opportunities with an average starting salary of more than $48,000 upon graduation. This information was unveiled by Felida Villarreal, executive director of VIDA, at a recent gala held by the group. Villarreal spoke about the accomplishments of VIDA at the Double Tree Inn & Suites in McAllen. “I’m v...

PHARR, Texas - The Rio Grande Valley has done exceptionally well in moving from the top to the bottom in the statewide averages for K-12 education. However, there is still a long way to go.  This is the view of Dr. Daniel P. King, executive director of Region One Education Service Center.  King gave the opening remarks at a recent RGV Focus retreat. It was held at the Pharr Development and Researc...

MCALLEN, Texas - The civilian labor force in the Rio Grande Valley is not growing as fast as that of Texas as a whole or, indeed, the United States, as a whole. This information was reported by Mike Willis, executive director of the South Texas Manufacturers Association.  At a recent STMA monthly meeting, held at the Double Tree Inn & Suites in McAllen, Willis said he had been looking through...

South Texas College recently held its Fall 2022 Professional & Organizational Development Day at the McAllen Convention Center.  The event was attended by hundreds of STC faculty, staff and workers. The attached podcasts includes some of the remarks made at the event by Ricardo Solis, president of STC, and Julian Alvarez, labor representative on the Texas Workforce Commission. Go to www.riogra...

MCALLEN, Texas - Valley International Airport’s decision to offer more routes for leisure passengers has helped the airport gain a greater market share. That is the view of Elizabeth Suarez, director of McAllen International Airport.  Giving her monthly report to the McAllen Economic Development Corporation’s board of directors, Suarez said the Harlingen-based VIA is, year-to-date, now neck and ne...

MCALLEN, Texas - The Texas Workforce Commission is holding its first ever conference south of San Antonio. The two-day 6th Annual Apprenticeship Texas Conference wraps up Sept. 23 at the McAllen Convention Center. For the last five years the conference has been held at the River Walk in San Antonio. In an interview with the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service , TWC Commissioner Julian A...

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - The Texas House Committee on Transportation recently held a field hearing  in Brownsville.  Held at the UT-Rio Grande Valley campus in Brownsville, the hearing was hosted by UTRGV and the City of Brownsville.  After the hearing, the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service  interviewed three leaders in the region. Brownsville’s interim city manager, Helen Ramirez, spoke...