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DPS troopers, Texas Rangers, and other eligible Highway Patrol personnel would receive daily overtime pay protections while promoting public safety under plans by Rep. Canales, Rep. Miller, and Sen. Hinojosa

DPS troopers, Texas Rangers, and other eligible Highway Patrol personnel would receive daily overtime pay protections while promoting public safety under plans by Rep. Canales, Rep. Miller, and Sen. Hinojosa - Titans of the Texas Legislature

Featured: Texas Department of Public Safety troopers, wearing their traditional “Texas Tan” uniforms and cowboy hats with their patent leather gun belts, showed up on Friday, March 3, 2017, along with other South Texas law enforcement professionals for the groundbreaking of the multi-million dollar Regional Center for Public Safety Excellence, located at 4300 S. Cage Boulevard in Pharr. The upcoming campus is a collaboration between South Texas College, the City of Pharr, the Pharr-San Juan-Alamo School District, and the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS). “The facility will benefit the region by adding additional programs in public safety, law enforcement, border security, and fire science. These programs provide college level certificates and degrees for public safety and law enforcement professionals in the Rio Grande Valley,” said Mario Reyna, Dean for Business and Technology at STC. “Furthermore, this center will be able to accommodate the professional continuing education courses required by all law enforcement officers. The spectrum of courses offered will cover all the needs of our region. Traveling to College Station or San Antonio for specialized training will be a thing of the past.”

Photograph By ALEX RÍOS

Texas Department of Public Safety troopers, Texas Rangers and other DPS commissioned officers, such as Criminal Investigations Division Special Agents, Texas Capitol Security, and other personnel within the Texas Highway Patrol, would earn overtime pay on a daily basis under legislation by Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, Rep. Rick Miller, R-Sugar Land, and Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen. House Bill 483 by Miller/Canales and Senate Bill 297 by Hinojosa, which are identical in language, would change Section 411.016, Government Code, to allow DPS, which is a state police force, to calculate overtime for eligible staff – including its Homeland Security Division and Counterterrorism Division – based on working more than eight hours in a 24-hour period, according to the bill analysis of both measures. The two bills would benefit officers because it would allow them to take sick leave or other types of leave without risking the loss of earned overtime. As DPS officers move to a standard 50-hour work week, they will develop a reasonable expectation of paid overtime based on the standard schedule. “In order to increase protection for our citizens, DPS often has its troopers on duty for up to 12 hours a day, which is 48 hours during four days of a five-day, eight hour a day, workweek. ” Canales explained. “But currently, if for whatever reason, any trooper who has worked more than 40 hours in four days is not available or not needed on the fifth day, he or she would not receive any overtime pay. That’s not fair. Our law enforcement professionals put their lives on the line for us every day.”

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Record turnout anticipated for Fiesta Edinburg on Thursday through Sunday, February 23-26, 2017 at H-E-B Park, with Edinburg EDC serving as a major financial sponsor for 49th annual event

Record turnout anticipated for Fiesta Edinburg on Thursday through Sunday, February 23-26, 2017 at H-E-B Park, with Edinburg EDC serving as a major financial sponsor for 49th annual event - Titans of the Texas Legislature

Featured, from left: Dalila Razo, Office Manager, Letty Reyes, Director of Business Development and Public Affairs, and Agustín García, Jr., Executive Director, who are on the staff of the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation, and acting on behalf of the Board of Directors of the Edinburg EDC, on Monday, February 13, 2017, present a $15,000 check from the Edinburg EDC to Letty González, President, Edinburg Chamber of Commerce, to help with the 49th Annual Fiesta Edinburg. Fiesta Edinburg will run from Thursday, February 23 to Sunday, February 26, 2017 at H-E-B Park, located at 1616 S. Raul Longoria Road.

Photograph By RONNIE LARRALDE

More than 15,000 local residents and visitors from as far away as San Antonio, drawn by two evenings of outdoor music concerts headlined by national and international stars, along with four days of one of the country’s top-rated carnivals, could set a record turnout for the 49th Annual Fiesta Edinburg on Thursday, February 23 through Sunday, February 26, 2017, reports the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation. “I believe we will break our records, and typically, we average 12,000 to 15,000 visitors for the four-day event, but with concerts, the carnival, the new venue, and the parade, we should surpass that figure,” said Ronnie Larralde, Director of Marketing and Special Events for the Edinburg Chamber of Commerce. “We have been promoting this event since December, and it has created the biggest buzz. Their is great entertainment coming, there has been a lot of promotion for our city, and it has continued to grow.” Major attractions are the Heart of America Carnival, regional food, arts/crafts plus the top notch musical entertainment, which include Josh Turner, Lauren Corzine, Eddie Sáenz, and The Powell Brothers on Friday evening, and Los Cadetes de Linares de Rosendo Cantú, Zamorales, Notable, and Resplandor on Saturday evening. Individuals may purchase tickets at http://www.hebparkrgv.com. For more information please contact the Edinburg Chamber of Commerce at 956/383-4974.

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Edinburg retail economy in December 2016 performed better than average of all cities statewide; Mayor García, Mayor Darling to share latest economic news in Edinburg on Thursday, March 2

Edinburg retail economy in December 2016 performed better than average of all cities statewide; Mayor García, Mayor Darling to share latest economic news in Edinburg on Thursday, March 2 - Titans of the Texas Legislature

Featured: The Center for Border Economic Studies (CBEST) of The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley on Friday, January 27, 2017, hosted its Economic Forecast Luncheon at the McAllen Public Library Conference Center. Visitors heard about the research and predicted outcomes of economic development in the area from speakers that included Francisco García Cabeza de Vaca, Governor of Tamaulipas, Mexico; Dr. Salvador Contreras, Director of CBEST; Dr. Dennis Jansen, Professor of Economics, Texas A&M University; María D. Juárez-Serna, Director of the UTRGV Small Business Development Center; and Dr. Keith R. Phillips, Assistant Vice President and Senior Economist, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, San Antonio Branch. Contreras addressed current and future regional economic activity, including the new, large retailers building in the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission area that place the MSA among some of the top metros in Texas, including San Antonio and Austin. The luncheon concluded with Gov. García Cabeza de Vaca, who told the crowd, “We can grow juntos (together) more than we can as two,” and encouraged our country to “build bridges, not walls.”

Photograph By SILVER SALAS

While the combined average of cities statewide in December 2016 showed a 0.9 percent decrease,  Edinburg recorded a 1.33 percent increase in its retail economy, according to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. For the month of December 2016, Edinburg’s retail economy – as measured by local sales taxes generated from purchases of eligible goods and services – had the third-best showing among the Valley’s largest cities. That figure is based on sales made in December 2016 by businesses that report tax monthly; October, November and December sales by quarterly filers; and 2016 sales by businesses that report tax annually. The local sales tax is used in Edinburg to help pay for many city services, while the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation uses its one-half cent local sales tax to help generate economic development in the city. For December 2016, Edinburg’s retail economy generated $2,248,780.54 in local sales taxes, compared with $2,219,178.85 during the same period in 2015, representing the improvement of 1.33 percent, also according to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.

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Edinburg’s Downtown, Courthouse Square, City Hall, UTRGV, and $150 million in business and residential structures to benefit significantly from $20 million in state funding to improve drainage

Edinburg’s Downtown, Courthouse Square, City Hall, UTRGV, and $150 million in business and residential structures to benefit significantly from $20 million in state funding to improve drainage - Titans of the Texas Legislature

Featured: Top images – Two perspectives of the $35.6 million Interdisciplinary Engineering and Academic Studies Building (IEASB), designed by Overland Partners Architects of San Antonio, and to be constructed by Vaughn Construction of San Antonio. Bottom image – the southern portion of the Edinburg Campus of The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, with the location of the IEASB highlighted in burnt orange for easy reference. With about 53,400 gross square feet of space, the facility will be located in the heart of the campus, west of the Library and just north of the Student Union. 

Artist Renderings Courtesy of OVERLAND PARTNERS ARCHITECTS

The availability of $20 million in state funds to significantly improve the drainage of heavy rains in downtown Edinburg will benefit many residences, businesses, government facilities, residences, and the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, including its School of Medicine, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has announced. The $20 million windfall, part of $400 million in state money budgeted for numerous Texas roadway projects in Hidalgo County, has been made possible as a result of ongoing efforts by the City of Edinburg, Hidalgo County, and the Edinburg EDC to build up the infrastructure for the proposed $150 million Hidalgo County Courthouse, which will built downtown, on the county-owned Courthouse Square. “We are very excited and very happy that along with this great new project ($150 million Hidalgo County Courthouse) that is happening in our city, we have $20 million that is basically being spent in the city of Edinburg for drainage,” said Mayor García. “This money for the drainage will help alleviate decades of flooding in the downtown area, not just on the Courthouse Square, but in areas surrounding the square that have flooded in the past.” Precinct 4 Hidalgo County Commissioner Joseph Palacios, who represents Edinburg, said the state money is being funneled through the Weslaco-based Hidalgo County Metropolitan Planning Organization, which is a federally-funded program that addresses the mobility goals of the cities in Hidalgo County. “We were very fortunate to secure $20 million for downtown Edinburg. This project will focus on road and drainage improvements right at the Courthouse Square, westbound all the way to the main outfall at Jackson Road and State Highway 107,” said Palacios. “Beneficiaries of this project are the commercial interests, the city, the university and the Courthouse Square.” According to Hidalgo County Judge Ramón García, the estimated value of the commercial and residential properties that will benefit from the drainage improvements – not including UTRGV or county or city facilities in the area – is estimated at $150 million. The engineering work is already underway, the county judge added. The Edinburg EDC Board of Directors is comprised of Mayor Richard García as President, Harvey Rodríguez, Jr. as Vice President, Elías Longoria, Jr. as Secretary/Treasurer, and Richard Rupert and Dr. Peter Dabrowski as Members. Agustín García, Jr. is Executive Director for the Edinburg EDC, which is the jobs-creation arm of the Edinburg Mayor and Edinburg City Council. Agustín García, Jr., Mayor Richard García and Hidalgo County Judge Ramón García are not related.

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“Nothing stops a Trane” – or Edinburg – as worldwide firm to set up shop locally and create up to 200 jobs at Owassa Lakes Business Park

trane-warehouse-pix

Featured: A frontal view of  the 50,000 square-foot building that will feature a Trane dealer sales office and warehouse, which is set to open on October 1, 2016 at the Owassa Lakes Business Park in Edinburg.

Photograph By DANIEL J. GALVÁN, CCIM

Edinburg is joining San Antonio and Austin as the latest sites for Trane, a world leader in air conditioning systems, services and solutions, to open company-owned dealer sales office and warehouse complexes that locally will eventually create as many as 200 jobs at the Owassa Lakes Business Park, located near Interstate Highway 69C. The announcement, made by leaders with Trane, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation, and Coldwell Banker Commercial, brings with it more positive news – the business park, which was first built in 2000, will now be at 100 percent occupancy, allowing CTC Distribution Ltd., which owns the complex, to begin planning for another 50,000 square-foot expansion. “‘Nothing stops a Trane’ is the famous slogan for this U.S.-based, global company, which sees Edinburg and deep South Texas as the place to be and in which to invest millions of dollars,” said Mayor Richard García. “Well, nothing stops Edinburg in protecting and promoting economic development in our city, from the Mom-and-Pop small businesses to the giants of industry, such as Trane, and many other Fortune1,000 businesses which have a strong and proud presence in our rapidly growing hometown.”

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