Rio Grande Guardian's Podcast

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas – Tourism on South Padre Island is rebounding well following COVID-19 but how people take their vacation is changing.  Vacation homes are in greater demand because they allow families to maintain the “bubble” they were in during the pandemic. This is the view of Ed Caum, executive director of SPI’s convention and visitors bureau, and Tom Goodman, a real estate broker on S...

EDINBURG, Texas - Did you know that over 14,420 Dreamers live in the McAllen metro region and contribute $39.8M in federal, state, and local taxes?  This information was provided at a recent forum co-hosted by the Texas Business Immigration Coalition, the Texas Opportunity Coalition and UT-Rio Grande Valley. The event was held at the Edinburg campus of UT-Rio Grande Valley. A Dreamer is a person w...

HARLINGEN, Texas - Did you know about the Russia-Paris connection?   According to Russian Pianist, Danil Trifonov, to this day, many building and street signs are bilingual Russian/French.   Trifonov explained this Russian/French connection when I recently spoke to him about his latest release, Silver Age, an homage to music created during this important period in Russian History. Pianist Danil Tr...

HARLINGEN, Texas - Rev Torres, a paralegal with Texas Taxpayer Assistance Project, says there is still time to obtain a $1,400 stimulus check from the U.S. Treasury. There are a number of reasons why an individual may not have received the check, Torres explained, in a podcast with the Rio Grande Guardian . “If you did not file a tax return, this may the reason you have not received your stimulus...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The governor-elect of Nuevo León says developing a high-speed passenger train between San Antonio and Monterrey will help improve security for border crossers. Samuel Garcia Sepulveda was in Washington, D.C., this week to develop partnerships and find funding sources for mobility projects. The trip was coordinated with the help of U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar of Laredo. In addition t...

EDINBURG, Texas - Driscoll has been a part of the Rio Grande Valley community for 25 years, with specialty centers in Brownsville, Harlingen and McAllen staffed by Driscoll pediatric sub-specialists and other clinical team members. Now, Driscoll Children’s Hospital Rio Grande Valley will further expand upon the mission of Driscoll Children’s Hospital founder Clara Driscoll to provide medical care...

BROWNSVILLE, TEXAS - The largest ever Career Expo to held in the Rio Grande Valley takes place in Brownsville on June 28.  The event is being called the Careers and Coffee expo. It will feature 1,500 job opportunities with various organizations, including the City of Brownsville, SpaceX, DHR Health, SteelCoast, Southwest Key, and National Electric Coil. The expo takes place at the Brownsville Even...

WESLACO, Texas - South Texas Health System has installed a High Resolution 1.2 Tesla Open MRI system at its Emergency Room in Weslaco. A Tesla unit is a measurement of magnetic field strength as it applies to Magnetic Resonance Imaging systems.  STHS hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony and open house to mark the arrival of its new state of the art Hitachi Oasis 1.2T Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) s...

It was a terrific opportunity yesterday to observe Mexican democracy in action. And, I have to say that the INE (Instituto Nacional Electoral) did an incredible job. They did an incredible job of organizing the election.  I would say more importantly than that, of working with Mexican civil society, and by civil society I do not mean NGOs (non-government organizations. I mean the people on the str...

McALLEN, Texas - The Rio Grande Valley economy, as measured by sales tax revenues, went “absolutely” bonkers” in March, says Matt Ruszczak, executive director of Rio South Texas Economic Council. While the figures for the state of Texas as a whole were impressive, up 30.09 percent on the same month in 2020, the increase in the Valley was huge - 42.19  percent. “It is absolute bonkers,” Ruszczak sa...

MCALLEN, Texas - Discussion on a proposed pilot project to help Matamoros residents get the COVID vaccine in downtown Brownsville came up doing a news conference held at the Hidalgo-Reynosa International Bridge on Wednesday, June 2.  The news conference was hosted by U.S. Sens. Jon Cornyn of Texas and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, and U.S. Reps. Henry Cuellar of Laredo and Tony Gonzales of San Antoni...

EDINBURG, TEXAS - The leaders of RGV Focus have given their views on the disappearance of Rio Grande Valley students from virtual classes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some schools, such as Vanguard Academy, did not lose any students. Others in the region lost many.  In the attached podcast, Ron Whitlock interviews Dr. Rodney Rodriguez, senator director of RGV Focus, Dr. Narciso Garcia, superinten...

HIDALGO, Texas - The authors of the Bipartisan Border Solutions Act conducted a fact-finding tour of the Rio Grande Valley on Wednesday, while at the same time promoting their new legislation. U.S. Reps. John Cornyn of Texas and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, and U.S. Reps. Henry Cuellar of Laredo and Tony Gonzales of San Antonio visited a Customs and Border Protection temporary overflow facility in D...

MCALLEN, Texas - In May, four legislators introduced bipartisan and bicameral border legislation called the Bipartisan Border Solutions Act.  The four legislators were U.S. Senator John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas, U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema, a Democrat from Arizona, U.S. Representative Henry Cuellar, a Democrat from Laredo, and U.S. Representative Tony Gonzales, a Republican from San Antonio...

BROWNSVILLE, Texas- A project to improve inspection facilities at Veterans International Bridge at Los Tomates in Brownsville is being fast-forwarded four years thanks to an innovative money-swap arrangement. The Rio Grande Valley Metropolitan Planning Organization would not have had money in the budget for the project until 2026, even though it is shovel-ready. So, the executive director of the R...

MCALLEN, Texas - The people of the Rio Grande Valley do not realize what a gem they have in South Texas College. This is the view of the president of STC’s board of trustees, Rose Benavidez. Benavidez held a news conference on Thursday to name a sole finalist for president of the college, announce a one-time payment for all employees, and present STC’s most recent state and national rankings. “One...

HARLINGEN, Texas - The City of Harlingen and South Padre Island are working more closely than ever to ensure an efficient shuttle service is operating between SPI and Valley International Airport. This is the view of Marv Esterly, aviation director for VIA. “We are joined at the hip with South Padre Island, the City of Harlingen and Valley International Airport,” Esterly said. “We carry 70 percent...

AUSTIN, Texas - Ruth Hughs is having to give up her role as Border Commerce Coordinator for Texas because she is resigning as Secretary of State. The Texas Tribune reported Friday that Hughs is tendering her resignation as Secretary of State, effective May 31. That is the last day of the current legislative session.  The Tribune notes that a secretary of state appointed in between regular legislat...

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - The Rio South Texas Economic council recently hosted a webinar fearing four sea/water ports in southern Texas and northern Tamaulipas. The title of the webinar was: Rio South Texas Virtual Visit: Sea Connectivity. The four ports were: the Port of Brownsville, with commentary by Eduardo Campirano; the Port of Harlingen, with commentary by Raudel Garza; the Port of Matamoros, wi...

HARLINGEN, Texas - According to wine entrepreneur and New York Times bestselling author, Craig Hall, the business climate in Texas is excellent. “I have got to tell you, there is a difference between the business climate in California and the business climate in Texas. It is a pleasure to be a Texan. It is a pleasure to have a business climate like we have in Texas and both from a tax standpoint t...

HIDALGO, Texas - Hidalgo Economic Development Corporation wants to develop a seven-mile hike and bike trail that extends to an existing trail in McAllen and a river walk similar to that in San Antonio. The ambitious plans were outlined during a recent webinar by Priciliano (J.R.) Treviño, executive director of Hidalgo EDC. The virtual Commercial and Investment Tour of Hidalgo was hosted by the Rio...

HARLINGEN, Texas - The Mexico Institute of the Woodrow Wilson International Center Scholars and the Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center of the Atlantic Council host a webinar recently on Mexico's upcoming mid-term elections. The election takes place June 6. It will be the largest election in Mexico’s history with electors choosing candidates for over 21,000 offices.  The election marks the ha...

PHARR, Texas - Texas Secretary of State Ruth Ruggero Hughs recently gave a major speech about international trade at a meeting of the Rio Grande Valley Metropolitan Planning Organization. The meeting was held at the Pharr Events Center. In her remarks, Secretary Hughs pointed out that the total assessment of trade transported between the Texas-Mexico border is valued at $615 billion and accounts f...

BROWNSVILLE, TEXAS - Brownsville Mayor Trey Mendez spoke about SpaceX and New Space in his recent virtual State of the City address. “2021 will be an exciting year for Brownsville and a year that we will begin to see the fruits of our labor. SpaceX has ramped up operations and the impact is very visible. So visible that we now have the attention of the world focused on Boca Chica," Mendez sai...

McALLEN, Texas - McAllen Mayor Jim Darling recently held his final State of the City Address. After 43 years in government, including three four-year terms as mayor, Darling will step down as soon as the result of the runoff election for mayor is known. The runoff is between outgoing city commissioners Veronica Vela Whitacre and Javier Villalobos. In his speech, Darling noted how the past year had...