Rio Grande Guardian's Podcast

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño, Jr., says he is pleased to hear Congress is finally going to consider compensating cities and counties for the loss of revenues caused by the coronavirus. Sales tax revenues to expected to plummet because of the tailspin the economy is in. Without extra funding from the federal government, Treviño argues, essential services such as police, e...

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - Congressman Filemon Vela recently hosted a Telephone Town Hall with a panel of experts to provide an update on the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.   The panel included specialists in health care, small business relief, unemployment insurance, stimulus payments and the impact of the virus on the border.   More than 4,000 constituents called in to ask questions of Congres...

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - A COVID-19 survivor participated in a telephone town hall hosted by Congressman Filemon Vela. Ivy Arroyo, who was born and raised in Brownsville, gave harrowing details of life on a ventilator “surrounded by death.”  He said he lost 25 percent of his body weight and suffered a huge mental toll, with the side effects of confusion, helplessness, hallucination and anxiety Arroyo...

HARLINGEN, Texas - If readers and listeners have questions about the economic impact payment stimulus checks being sent out by the federal government, please send them to The Rio Grande Guardian. We will pass them along to our resident tax expert, Rev Torres. Torres is part of the Texas Taxpayer Assistance Project, which is a division of Texas RioGrande Legal Aid. Rev Torres was a regular contribu...

RIO GRANDE CITY, Texas - Starr County Judge Eloy Vera says he is pleased Gov. Greg Abbott is treading cautiously when it comes to easing restrictions on the coronavirus lockdown.  Vera spoke during a webinar designed to explain to Starr County residents the speed at which businesses will reopen. “We are trying to open up the business community as best we can. I am certainly concerned about the spe...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - A record number of viewers - more than 1,000 - watched a Mexico Institute webinar about Immigration and the U.S.-Mexico Border during the coronavirus pandemic. The conversation included the analysis of two members of Congress - Rep. Veronica Escobar, a Democrat from El Paso and Rep. Dan Crenshaw, a Republican from Houston. The moderator was Andrew Selee, president of the Migrati...

HARLINGEN, TEXAS - CPA Rev Torres was a regular contributor on taxation issues when KHID 88.1 FM and KJJF 88.9 FM were running NPR programing in the Rio Grande Valley. Now the stations are longer part of NPR, 88 FM radio presenter Mario Muñoz has moved over to the Rio Grande Guardian , with Torres joining him to offer expert tax advice. Torres’ analysis has been in great demand since Congress anno...

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - The founder of the UTHealth School of Public Health in Brownsville says the economy should not be ‘re-opened’ until there has been a lot more testing for the coronavirus.  World-renowned epidemiologist Dr. Joseph McCormick was asked when it will be safe for shelter at home measures to be relaxed during a webinar hosted by Congressman Filemon Vela. “The testing issue continues...

PHARR, Texas - The superintendent of Pharr-San Juan-Alamo ISD, Jorge L. Arredondo, and the co-founder of IDEA Public Schools, Tom Torkelson were featured in a webinar hosted recently by the Rio Grande Valley Partnership. RGVP President and CEO Sergio Contreras wanted to know how school districts are faring during the coronavirus pandemic. He was particularly intersected in how students are being r...

MCALLEN, Texas - Sister Norma Pimentel of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley held a webinar on Tuesday to hear from churches and faith-based groups that are helping to feed the hungry. Pimentel is setting up a directory of those that are helping during the coronavirus. She also wants to create a list of counselors who can assist Valley residents who are suffering from stress during the cu...

EDINBURG, Texas - The dean of the UT-Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine says he is “guardedly optimistic” that  the coronavirus will not hurt the Rio Grande Valley as much as it has other parts of the nation. Dr. John H. Krouse was asked if the Valley would be spared the worst during a virtual town hall meeting last night. During the hour-long Q&A, Krouse was also asked when the pandemic wou...

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - Congressman Filemon Vela and the Small Business Administration’s Angela Burton held a webinar on Wednesday to discuss the $2.2 trillion CARES Act. The webinar was hosted by the Rio Grande Valley Partnership. Its president, Sergio Contreras, moderated the discussion. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act provides emergency assistance for individuals, fa...

Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño, Jr., has extended his Shelter in Place order. He announced he was extending the directive for another two weeks, until Tuesday, April 21, 2020 at 11:59 p.m.  “I appreciate everyone who is abiding by the order and understanding the reasoning for it. These are such difficult times in which we must sacrifice a little today, but for a greater tomorrow for all” Trevi...

SAN ANTONIO, Texas - Recently, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus held a conference call with reporters to highlight the danger of migrants catching COVID-19 in detention facilities. The CHC called on ICE to release migrants and asylum seekers, pointing out that most of those locked up are not criminals or a danger to society.  Two members of Congress from Texas were on the conference call - Joaqui...

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - UT-Rio Grande Valley’s School of Medicine is looking to test 100 individuals a day for COVID-19. Working with UT Health RGV, the Office of Congressman Vicente Gonzalez, Hidalgo and Cameron county leaders, and the City of Brownsville, UTRGV SOM has established two drive-thru testing sites, one in Brownsville and one in Edinburg. Dr. John Krouse, dean of the UTGV SOM, said the V...

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - Grappling with the current coronavirus pandemic is kind of like fighting a forest fire blindfold. That is the view of Dr. Jospeh B. McCormick, MD, MS, former regional dean of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health in Brownsville. McCormick, a renowned epidemiologist, has battled epidemics in South America and Africa before....

HARLINGEN, Texas - The Rio Grande Valley Partnership and the U.S. Small Business Administration want to help small businesses impacted by the Coronavirus. During a webinar lasting one and a half hours on Wednesday, Angela Burton gave in-depth information about the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, taking questions from small business owners. Burton is district director for the Lower Rio Grand...

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - State Sen. Eddie Lucio wants Gov. Greg Abbott to consider closing the Texas border with Louisiana because of a spike of coronavirus cases that could have occurred after Mardi Gras. The world-renowned festival, held every February in New Orleans, draws tens of thousands of revelers. According to a database maintained by the New York Times, the state of Louisiana has seen a rece...

SAN JUAN, Texas - La Unión del Pueblo Entero is stopping its block walking of colonias in support of Census 2020 due to concerns about the coronavirus. Instead, the nonprofit that assists immigrant and low-income families will encourage residents to participate in the census count through phone calls. And with the Census Bureau announcing it has stopped its field operations, LUPE will ask its memb...

BROWNSVILLE, TEXAS - In an exclusive interview with Ron Whitlock Reports , Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño was told by a reporter that it took two hours to find and buy a gallon of milk.  “And we do not even have a confirmed case yet. What is going to happen when we have a confirmed case?” Treviño asked, in response to the observation by veteran reporter Ron Whitlock. “Everybody has to remain c...

SAN BENITO, Texas - The 13th Annual Happy Birthday TexasFest, which draws thousands of visitors, will take place in San Benito this weekend, even though many people are concerned about coronavirus.  Federico Garza, president of the nonprofit that runs the two-day re-enactment festival, said the fact that the event is held totally outside will help ensure health safety. “We feel very confident in w...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar is to host a town hall meeting to plan Laredo’s response to coronavirus. Representatives from the city’s public entities, including its health department, will meet with officials from the U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Texas A&M International University, Laredo Community College, Laredo ISD, United ISD, Laredo Medical Center,...

HARLINGEN, Texas - Harlingen Mayor Chris Boswell says his city now has its first general education university campus, thanks to a unique partnership between the local school district and UTRGV. Harlingen CISD and UT-Rio Grande Valley are developing an early college high school where students will take courses that go towards a university degree. On behalf of the City of Harlingen, Boswell signed a...

HARLINGEN, Texas - In an interview with the Rio Grande Guardian , UTRGV President Bailey said the early college high school being developed by the university and HCISD is unique. “When you think of an early college high school, this is how it should be done. Our students will graduate as juniors in high school, everything they take will not only count as college credit, it will count toward their...

LAREDO, Texas - The Mid Rio Grande Border Area Health Education Center recently celebrated its 25th anniversary with a gala at the IBC Bank Annex in Laredo. AHEC was established in 1993 by a group of Laredo community leaders and the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. The aim was to help address the growing need for health care professionals and academic resources in the regi...