FEATURED, FROM LEFT: Former U.S. Congressman (1997-2017) Rubén Hinojosa, D-Mercedes, and his wife, Martha López Hinojosa, and Sen. Juan Hinojosa, D-McAllen, at the 46th Annual International Museum of Art & Science Collage Gala held in McAllen on Saturday, September 6, 2025.
FEATURED: Dr. Leonel Vela, a Valley native and the first physician in his family, is retiring after years of service as Division Chief for Population Health at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine, where he helped turn the long-standing dream of a South Texas medical school into a transformative reality for the region.
FEATURED: From a decade-long career as an IDEA Public Schools counselor, Executive Director of Rio Grande Valley LEAD (Linking Economic and Academic Development) to now Executive Director of the South Texas College Foundation and External Affairs, Marcos Silva, Ed.D., has made it his mission to serve his community through education. STC recently welcomed Silva to the higher education system, tasking him with the duty of raising funds that will provide life-changing scholarships to students. Silva is seen here on Friday, May 3, 2024 at the City of McAllen’s MXLAN International Economic Summit, which was held at the McAllen Convention Center.
Photograph Courtesy RIO GRANDE VALLEY LEAD FACEBOOK
Rep. Janie López, R-San Benito, was a coauthor of House Bill 1522, which is intended to improve government transparency by extending the notice posting requirement for open government meetings from 72 hours to three business days and requiring notices about budget meetings to include a publicly accessible copy of the budget, reports South Texas attorney Omar Ochoa. House Bill 1522 will become state law on Monday, September 1, 2025. She is featured here during a gathering of the Texas Counseling Association in Austin on Tuesday, March 11, 2025.
FEATURED, FROM LEFT: U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Texas Sen. Adán “Adam” Hinojosa, R-Brownsville, celebrate the passage of Hinojosa’s Senate Concurrent Resolution 13 on Wednesday, April 30, 2025 by the Texas Senate, which urged the U.S. Department of State and International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) to take immediate diplomatic action to ensure Mexico fulfills its obligations under the critical 1944 US-Mexico Water Treaty. SCR 13 was then approved the House of Representatives and signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott.
