Rio Grande Guardian's Podcast

RIO GRANDE CITY, Texas - Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick visited Starr County on Thursday to speak at a groundbreaking ceremony for a new medical development center.  While in Rio Grande City, Patrick spoke with reporters about the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on the federal government’s Remain in Mexico policy. Patrick was asked what advice he has for President Biden on immigration policy.  Here are his rema...

HARLINGEN, Texas - Cameron County Drainage District No. 5 is not just focused on flood mitigation. It is also concerned about development.  This is the view of Rolando Vela, assistant general manager of CCDD5. “Cities are so focused on bringing development. Truth be told, development does not occur unless you have drainage plans,” Vela said. “So, we see ourselves… not only are we mitigating, are w...

HARLINGEN, Texas - Cameron County Drainage District No. 5 has a service area of approximately 40 square miles within Cameron County. The area includes portions of Harlingen, the Town of Combes, Palm Valley and Primera.  CCDD5 was established in 1993 as a direct result of the flooding caused by the torrential rainfall of Tropical Depression Two. CCDD5 is responsible for construction, improvements,...

MCALLEN, Texas - U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez has responded to criticism that the Biden Administration has not had a strategic plan for Latin America.  The McAllen Democrat, who attended the recent Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, said the U.S. has neglected its neighbors to the south for a lot longer than the last two years.  “I don’t think the United States has paid enough attention to Latin...

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - In the light of the Uvalde school tragedy, Cameron County Commissioners Court has unanimously passed a resolution urging Gov. Greg Abbott to call an emergency special session to address gun violence. The resolution, offered by Commissioner David Garza, was based on a letter penned by the Senate Democratic Caucus. The caucus includes the Rio Grande Valley’s three state senators...

HARLINGEN, Texas - With tax season over, many taxpayers will have filed their tax returns and received their refunds.  However, some taxpayers may not received their tax refund. There are several reasons why this could be the case.  Rev Torres, a paralegal with the Texas Taxpayer Assistance Project, wants taxpayers to know the reasons why they may not received their refund. The Texas Taxpayer Assi...

MCALLEN, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott believes Texas higher education institutions need to be much more focused on preparing their students for the work place. Abbott said it is “inexcusable” that some students go to college for up to six or seven years and still do not find employment. Abbott made clear his views about higher education at a business summit co-hosted by the Texas Association of Business...

RANCHO VIEJO, Texas - Mike Willis, executive director of the South Texas Manufacturers Association, has given his view on how the Rio Grande Valley’s manufacturing sector coped with the coronavirus pandemic. Willis said there were winners and losers and cited some examples. A big issue right now is overcoming supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic. Willis provided his analysis at a recent...

RANCHO VIEJO, Texas - German Rico has spoken about the work Harlingen Economic Development Corporation is doing to attract new businesses to the Rio Grande Valley. Rico is industrial development manager at Harlingen EDC. He gave a presentation on the work of his group at a recent monthly meeting of the South Texas Manufacturers Association. The event was held at Rancho Viejo. Rico spoke about new...

RANCHO VIEJO, Texas - Ramiro Aleman has spoken about the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation’s efforts to attract new businesses to the Rio Grande Valley Aleman is director of business recruitment, retention and expansion at GBIC. He gave a presentation on the work of his group at a recent monthly meeting of the South Texas Manufacturers Association. The event was held at Rancho Viejo. Alem...

MCALLEN, Texas - NextDecade’s senior vice president for policy and corporate affairs has spoken about the potential of Liquefied Natural Gas export terminals at the Port of Brownsville. David Keane gave an in-depth presentation about the latest developments in energy exports at a recent Texas Association of Business/Rio Grande Valley Partnership Business Summit held at the McAllen Convention Cente...

MCALLEN, Texas - Kurt Knight-Turcan, Enbridge’s director for business development, has spoken about his company’s natural gas pipeline activities in South Texas. Knight-Turcan gave an in-depth presentation at a recent Texas Association of Business/Rio Grande Valley Partnership Business Summit held at the McAllen Convention Center.  Here is everything Knight-Turcan said at the event.  Go to www.rio...

MCALLEN, Texas - Eduardo “Eddie” Campirano, port director for Brownsville Navigation District, says he is “enthusiastically optimistic” about business activity at the Port of Brownsville, including construction of liquefied natural gas export terminals.  Campirano gave an in-depth presentation about the latest developments at his port at a recent Texas Association of Business/Rio Grande Valley Par...

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - State Sen. Eddie Lucio of Brownsville says if he lived in Congressman Henry Cuellar’s district he would vote for him. Lucio appeared on a Ron Whitlock Reports show on Monday to endorse his good friend from Laredo. The two were desk mates when they served together in the Texas House of Representatives in the late 1980s. Cuellar also appeared on the show via Zoom. Another guest...

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - The executive director of Workforce Solutions Cameron says 70 percent of tomorrow’s jobs will not require a four-year degree.  Pat Hobbs spoke about the workforce needs of industry at a recent Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation conference held at the Brownsville Events Center. The event was titled Inquieta - Women Maximizing their Impact. Hobbs said he could count on t...

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - Fifty seven thousand nurses are needed in Texas by 2032, says the Texas Workforce Commission’s Julian Alvarez. The labor representative on TWC spoke about the shortage of nurses at a recent Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation conference held at the Brownsville Events Center. The event was titled Inquieta - Women Maximizing their Impact. Alvarez said TWC is working with...

MERCEDES, Texas - Prairie View A&M University Cooperative Extension has launched its first government contracting academy in the Rio Grande Valley. Titled the B.I.D. (Business in Development) Academy, the 7-week curriculum-based course teaches the skills necessary to compete and win state government contracts with a State of Texas HUB (Historically Underutilized Business) certification. The pr...

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - Helen Ramirez, executive director of the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation, has explained her strategy for overcoming any stigma associated with businesses relocating to the border region. Ramirez mentioned that GBIC has to work hard to overcome negative perceptions fostered by the national media when she spoke at a recent conference. The conference, titled Inquieta -...

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas - Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño, Jr., says a proposal from one of his predecessors to build an arena on South Padre Island is not viable. Former Cameron County Judge Carlos Cascos has been vocal in his opposition to building an arena as part of the Madeira master planned project on the corner of I-69 East and State Highway 100. Instead, said Cascos, such an arena sho...

MCALLEN, Texas - Vijay Sundaram, chief strategy officer of Zoho Corporation, has given the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service an exclusive interview about his company’s decision to set up an office in McAllen, Texas. Zoho is a global software development and technology company based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Its U.S. headquarters was previously in California but is now in Austin,...

MISSION, Texas - Mission Mayor Armando O’Caña has addressed claims from one of his political opponents that good ethics have not been at the forefront during his first term in the city’s hot seat. One of his political opponents has claimed O’Caña is the subject of an FBI investigation with regard to a contract the City of Mission entered into with Performance Services, Inc., to update the city’s w...

MISSION, Texas - If elected mayor of Mission, Norie Gonzalez Garza says she will work to get a higher education institution established in her city. Mission has so far missed out in securing any campuses or clinics associated with UT-Rio Grande Valley or its School of Medicine. Perhaps that has something to do with the fact that the City of Mission decided not to help UTRGV financially when it was...

MISSION, Texas - Former Mission Mayor Norberto ‘Beto’ Salinas says he is running for the top job in his city again in order to right the wrongs of the current administration.  There is a hotly-contested four-way mayoral race currently under way in the Rio Grande Valley’s fourth largest city. Salinas is challenging Mayor Armando ‘Mando’ O’Caña, current City Commissioner Norie Gonzalez-Garza, and UT...

RANCHO VIEJO, Texas - Texas-based economist M. Ray Perryman was the keynote speaker at Brownsville Navigation District's recent State of the Port Address. Topics covered included supply chain issues, inflation, the economic impact of the war in Ukraine, and workforce development. The Rio Grande Guardian International News Service has two stories on Perryman's speech. After Perryman'...

MCALLEN, Texas - The director of food and nutrition for South Texas Health System in McAllen has praised the work of Amigos Del Valle. Patrick Woodin said the nonprofit serves about 5,000 people with its meals-on-wheels service at any one time in Hidalgo, Cameron and Starr counties. However, he feels sure the demand for nutritious meals is much greater than that.  “Amigos Del Valle is a great orga...