Rio Grande Guardian's Podcast

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño, Jr., has made the case for a “yes” vote on the Cameron County Arena project. In an in-depth audio interview with the Rio Grande Guardian, Treviño points out that property taxes will not be used to fund the project. Rather, he said, much of the money will come from an existing venue tax source. “Let’s go back. In the November 2016 election, t...

STEM Nation 2025 is a student conference organized by the Rio Grande Valley Philanthropic Foundation. STEM stands for Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics. The conference takes place at the Bert Ogden Arena on Tuesday, May 29, 2025. Diane Milliken Garza, executive director of RGV Philanthropic Foundation says the conference is important because while Hispanics comprise 20 percent of the...

AUSTIN, Texas - Dan Diorio is senior director of state policy for the Data Center Coalition.  Via a zoom, Diorio recently gave an update to the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service on the legislation he is tracking in Austin. He was joined on the zoom by Guillermo Aguilar of Blackstone Consultants. The Data Center Coalition’s website explains what data centers are. “Data centers are the...

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - When he appeared as a panelist at RioPlex’s Texas Port to the Stars FDI Summit in Houston, Brownsville Mayor John Cowen, Jr., said this is the best time ever to be the leader of his city.  Cowen said: “I think we have an extremely strong value proposition. I always tell people it's the greatest time ever to be mayor the city of Brownsville. We have over $40 billion of cap...

Carlos Ealy is assistant secretary of state for Mexican and Border Affairs in the Office of the Texas Secretary of State.  Ealy spoke at a reception held for the Texas Port to the Stars FDI Summit hosted by RioPlex at the Westin Galleria in Houston.  Here are his remarks from the stage. Go to www.riograndeguardian.com to read the latest border news stories and watch the latest news videos. 

HOUSTON, Texas - Valerie G. Segovia is vice of president of investor relations for the Texas Economic Development Corporation. Segovia spoke at a reception held for the Texas Port to the Stars FDI Summit hosted by RioPlex at the Westin Galleria in Houston.  Here are her remarks from the stage. Go to www.riograndeguardian.com to read the latest border news stories and watch the latest news videos. 

PHARR, Texas - The Pharr EDC Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing scholarship opportunities for graduating students residing in the city of Pharr.    The foundation supports both college and trade school career paths.   One of the foundation’s main fundraisers is an annual Casino Night. This year’s event will be held at the Regency Hall in Pharr on April 17.   To learn mor...

LAREDO, Texas - Legendary workforce development leader Blas Castañeda has been mentoring high school students for 49 years.  The retired president of CTA Global Solutions will join with Area Health Education Center to hold his Annual Scholarship Awards Ceremony on March 27. This event recognizes the exceptional academic accomplishments of students participating in CTA’s mentorship career developme...

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas - Veteran broadcaster Ron Whitlock, of Ron Whitlock Reports, recently interviewed U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar about Mexico’s water debt to the U.S. Whitlock asked Cuellar if the U.S. should withhold water from Mexico in California, in retaliation for Mexico not releasing water into the Rio Grande. He also asked the Laredo congressman if he would support Laguna Madre Water Dis...

MISSION, Texas - Many of the state lawmakers that participate in next week’s Texas Water Day at the Capitol will likely know about the dire water crisis facing the Rio Grande Valley. Certainly those that traveled the region as part of the Rio Grande Valley Partnership’s recent 2025 RGV Legislative Tour will be aware. That is because they heard twice from Dante Galeazzi, president and CEO of the Te...

WESLACO, Texas - Famed businessman Alonzo Cantu has thrown his support behind the work of the Rio Grande Valley Broadband Coalition.  The RGVBC unveiled its RGV Broadband and Digital Opportunity Plan at the offices of the Lower Rio Grande Valley Development Council.  The coalition noted that the Valley still lacks reliable internet access, holding the region back in a world that increasingly depen...

MCALLEN, Texas - During his 2025 State of the City Address, McAllen Mayor Javier Villalobos said he is often asked why he spends so much time in Mexico.   “Simple,” Villalobos said, answering the question. “Mexico believes in McAllen. Mexico embraces McAllen. Mexico invests in McAllen. Quiero que sepan mis amigos Mexicanos. Que McAllen entra alla a Mexico. And we depend on each other for trade and...

MCALLEN, TEXAS - The Institute for Leadership in Capital Projects (I-LinCP) is partnering with the Rio Grande Valley Partnership to present its inaugural program in the Rio Grande Valley. Building the Valley - Uniting for RGV Regional Growth will highlight the significant of organizations like the RGV Partnership and UT-Rio Grande Valley in shaping the region’s future.  The program will also explo...

AUSTIN, Texas - State Sen. Juan Hinojosa has given a shoutout to retiring Texas A&M System Chancellor John Sharp for his critically-acclaimed Bordering the Future report. Sharp published “Bordering the Future: Challenge and Opportunity in the Texas Border Region” in 1998 whilst he was Texas State Comptroller. The report gave an in-depth assessment of the economic, political, and social conditi...

WESLACO, Texas - President Trump said he would pause his planned 25 percent tariff duty on imported goods from Mexico due a “very friendly” telephone conversation with his Mexican counterpart, Claudia Sheinbuam. Trump said the tariffs would be put on hold for month while further discussions with the Mexican president take place.  Trump’s tariffs were scheduled to take effect Tuesday, with a 25 per...

AUSTIN, Texas - The Texas Association of Business is launching a new coalition, Texas Leads Trade, to ensure Texas businesses have a strong voice in the upcoming US-Mexico-Canada Agreement renegotiations. The Rio Grande Guardian International News Service broke the story through an exclusive telephone interview with TAB President Glenn Hamer. “We’re trading more than ever with Mexico and Canada. T...

MCALLEN, Texas - Futuro RGV, a citizenry group dedicated to improving quality of life in the Rio Grande Valley, recently held an in-depth discussion of the region’s water crisis. The RGV Water Solutions Forum was held at Rio Bank’s corporate headquarters in McAllen. The panel discussing the water crisis consisted of former McAllen Mayor Jim Darling, former Hidalgo County Irrigation District No. 2...

EDINBURG, Texas - The agricultural industry of the Rio Grande Valley has great supporters in Congress but needs more help at the state level. This is the view of Dante Galeazzi, president and CEO of the Texas International Produce Association. In an exclusive interview with Ron Whitlock Reports, Galeazzi said state leaders could help by providing half the money needed to line the Valley’s irrigati...

WESLACO, Texas - Javier Guerra, Channel 5 News morning co-anchor, gave the introductory remarks at the Lower Rio Grande Valley Development Council’s first ever State of the COG. COG stands for Council of Government. LRGVDC represents Hidalgo, Cameron and Willacy counties. Guerra pointed out that the gathering represents an evolution of the LRGVDC’s annual report, a meeting traditionally held durin...

BROWNSVILLE, Texas – Area residents Daniel Garcia and Joel Tijerina have been thinking about doing business with the state government for some time. In particular, they would to sell their services and/or products to one of the Lone Star State’s biggest buyers of goods and services but don’t know how to go about. But this week, the two are among a group of 20 people attending a Business in Develop...

MCALLEN, Texas - Kathryn Lueders, general manager of Starbase says the local community means a big deal to SpaceX.   Lueders gave the keynote speech at the Vistas from Texas seminar co-hosted by UT-Rio Grande Valley’s Center for Border Economic Studies and the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. Her presentation was titled: “SpaceX’s presence and impact on the RGV economy.” The event was held at Rio B...

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - In our latest episode on how to avoid the next coronavirus, through the lens of Dr. Madhavan A. Pisharodi, we discuss bats and rats. Pisharodi is a neurosurgeon who has been practicing in Brownsville, Texas for the last 31 years. Although a medical physician, some people might mistake him for an engineer, given the number of patents he has been issued.  Outside of the medical...

MCALLEN, Texas - Dante Galeazzi, president and CEO of the Texas International Produce Association (TIPA), worries that some of the smaller RGV cities will have their water supply rationed just like it was in Monterrey and Reynosa.   And it will be for the same reason - because water that should be coming to South Texas and Tamaulipas under a 1944 international water sharing treaty is being held ba...

HARLINGEN, Texas - The Port of Harlingen will try again to expand its overweight corridor route in the 89th Legislature starting in January. As in the 88th session, the legislation will be carried by state Rep. Janie Lopez, R-San Benito. The legislation failed to make it into law in 2023, in part because of opposition from the Texas Department of Public Safety. But, says Port of Harlingen Executiv...

RIO GRANDE CITY, Texas – The Rio Grande Valley Partnership held its latest Commercial & Investment Tour in Rio Grande City. It was hosted by the Rio Grande City Economic Development Corporation.  One of the sponsors was McAllen-based ERO Architects. The CEO of ERO, Brian Godinez spoke about the work of ERO, plus a new company he has co-launched, South Texas Facility Partnership.  Here is an au...