by Legislative Media | Oct 13, 2015 | Politics
Featured: María González, a Student Assistant with the University of Texas Rio Grande Valle, signs in a student at U Central on Monday, October 12, 2015, at the UTRGV Student Services Building on the Edinburg Campus. U Central is a one-stop shop on both the Edinburg and Brownsville campuses that works with various offices to centralize services via one point of contact.
Photograph By PAUL CHOUY
Gone are the days when students have to wait in multiple long lines to get answers to their questions on financial aid, registration, enrollment and other issues. Students at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley now can receive assistance at its new one-stop shop – called U Central – on both the Brownsville and Edinburg campuses. On Monday, October 12, UTRGV celebrated the official opening of U Central with two ribbon-cutting ceremonies – one in the morning at El Gran Patio on the Brownsville Campus, and one in the afternoon outside the Student Services Building on the Edinburg Campus. U Central has been assisting students since August. UTRGV President Guy Bailey said U Central enables the university to achieve its primary goal of student success. “You need to have processes that help students get registered, get their financial aid, get in the right classes, meet advisers. And they need to be able to do that in as streamlined a fashion as possible,” Bailey said. “U Central provides that with cross-trained staff, technology and technological solutions to things. And it makes our goal really simple.” Bailey, the founding president of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, will be participating in a panel discussion during the Texas Tribune Festival on Saturday, October 17, at The University of Texas at Austin. The panel starts at 4:25 p.m. at the Student Activity Center Auditorium. The topic is “Price vs. Cost vs. Value.” Joining Bailey on the panel are Gregory Fenves, president of The University of Texas at Austin; Brenda Hellyer, chancellor of San Jacinto College; U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Dallas, and Renue Khator, chancellor of the University of Houston System and president of the University of Houston. Texas Tribune reporter Matthew Watkins will serve as moderator. Members of UTRGV’s Student Government Association will attend the festival to represent the university: Denisse Molina Castro, Vice President of the Brownsville campus; Alondra Galván, chair of the Senate; Nicholas Hill, senator at-large; and Marc Roque, senator for Liberal Arts.
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by Legislative Media | Oct 10, 2015 | Politics
Featured: Mayor Pro Tem Homer Jasso, Jr., on Wednesday, May 27, 2015, helps set the stage for the State of the City Address by Mayor Richard García, which focused on economic development gains for Edinburg. In the latest showing of the strength of the city’s economy, the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts reported on Tuesday, October 7, 2015 that Edinburg’s retail economy, from January through August 2015, is almost seven percent ahead of last year’s pace.
Photograph By MARK MONTEMAYOR
Edinburg’s retail economy from January through August 2015 is almost seven percent ahead of the same period last year, a figure that is better than the statewide average of all Texas cities, which came in with a 4.3 percent improvement year for the same eight-month period, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has announced. The EEDC, of which Agustín García, Jr. is Executive Director, is the jobs-creation arm of the Edinburg Mayor and Edinburg City Council. The EEDC Board of Directors is comprised of Mark Iglesias as President, Harvey Rodríguez as Vice President, Ellie M. Torres as Secretary/Treasurer, and Mayor Richard García and Richard Ruppert as Members. For the month of August 2015, the city’s retail economy registered a 13.89 percent rate of improvement over the same month last year, the EEDC added, according to data released on Tuesday, October 7, by the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. During the first eight months of 2015, Edinburg’s retail economy produced $16,812,351.02 in local sales taxes, compared with $15,753,379.17 for January through August 2014, representing an improvement of 6.72 percent. In August 2015, the city’s retail economy generated $1,671,788.87 in local sales taxes, compared with $1,467,867.49 for August 2014, representing an improvement of 13.89 percent, also according to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. By comparison, the average rate for all cities in Texas dropped .04 percent in August 2015 compared with August 2014. The local sales tax is used in Edinburg to help pay for many city services, while the EEDC uses its one-half cent local sales tax to help generate economic development in the city. The amount of local sales taxes collected also helps reflect the strength of an economy, along with construction activities, per capita income, education, historical performances, and related trends. The sales tax, formally known as the State Sales and Use Tax, is imposed on all retail sales, leases and rentals of most goods, as well as taxable services. Texas cities, counties, transit authorities and special purpose districts have the option of imposing an additional local sales tax for a combined total of state and local taxes of 8 1/4% (.0825).
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by Legislative Media | Sep 30, 2015 | Politics
Featured, Mayor Richard García, who also serves on the Board of Directors for the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation, on Wednesday, May 13, 2015, signs documents relating to Edinburg municipal business as Myra L. Ayala Garza, City Secretary, reviews his action at the raised platform used for city council, EEDC and Planning and Zoning board meetings. Those public sessions are held in the council chambers at Edinburg City Hall.
Photograph By MARK MONTEMAYOR
With construction and related building activities in Edinburg from January through August 2015 totaling almost $86 million, area leaders on Thursday, September 17, gathered at Doctors Hospital at Renaissance to celebrate the grand opening of the city’s latest architectural showpiece – Day Surgery at Renaissance. Day Surgery at Renaissance, located at 5520 Leonardo Davinci, immediately east of Women’s Hospital at Renaissance, is a 90,000 square foot, two-story outpatient surgical center that features eight operating rooms, 40 pre-operative beds, 40 recovery beds, and 10 endoscopy suites. Day Surgery at Renaissance, based on the building permit issued more than a year earlier, in August 2014, by Edinburg’s Code Enforcement Department, represents an investment of $14 million for its construction. As a result, the value of Day Surgery at Renaissance is not included in the year-t0-date total construction figures of almost $86 million for January through August 2015. Ellie M. Torres, who serves on the Board of Directors of the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation, and who also is a member of the Edinburg school board, was on hand for the 2 p.m. standing-room only event. “This outstanding facility will have significant economic and quality-of-life benefits for our hometown and our neighboring cities,” said Torres. “Along with our other excellent hospitals, physicians, health care professionals, and our University of Texas medical school that will open in the Fall of 2016, Edinburg continues to build on its deserved reputation as a preferred city in which to live, raise a family, work or own a business, and succeed.” The EEDC, of which Agustín García, Jr. is Executive Director, is the jobs-creation arm of the Edinburg Mayor and Edinburg City Council. The EEDC Board of Directors is comprised of Mark Iglesias as President, Harvey Rodríguez as Vice President, Ellie M. Torres as Secretary/Treasurer, and Mayor Richard García and Richard Ruppert as Members. Richard García and Agustín García, Jr. are not related. Mayor Richard García noted that Edinburg is blessed with nationally-recognized hospital systems. “In mid-July, Doctors Hospital at Renaissance and South Texas Health Systems, which includes Edinburg Regional Medical Center and Edinburg Children’s Hospital, were ranked among the top 20 hospital complexes in Texas, according to U.S. News and World Report,” Mayor García said. “Across-the-board, from education to health care, from entertainment to construction, these and other economic development advances continue to lead to new jobs and stronger businesses.” EEDC Board President Iglesias said the city’s construction activities so far this year also reflect strong growth in new homes. “From January through August 2015, Edinburg has seen 223 new single-family homes, valued at more than $31 million, authorized to be built – including 41 homes approved for construction during the month of August alone,” Iglesias reported. “During the same eight months in 2014, there were 199 homes, valued at more than $23.8 million, issued building permits. Those statistics and more reflect the overall strength and consumer confidence that speak volumes about our city’s economy.” EEDC Executive Director Agustín García, Jr. added that Edinburg also benefits from another DHR complex, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Family Medical Center, literally located across Owassa Road but in the city limits of McAllen, which was part of the September 17 ribbon-cutting ceremony for Day Surgery at Renaissance. “As a direct result of state legislation passed in 2013, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley was given the authority and resources to build a full-fledged School of Medicine, with a major presence in Edinburg,” said the EEDC executive director. “But in helping shape the creation of the School of Medicine, the Edinburg mayor, Edinburg City Council, and EEDC Board of Directors always took a regional approach in order for the Valley to stay united and strong in order to make the medical school a reality. “That is what the UTRGV Family Medical Center symbolizes, and Edinburg also benefits as a result.” The Family Medicine Center will serve as a physician training center for family medicine medical residents. That newly-constructed facility will serve as a base for integrated programs of health care and education that are built around a team approach to cover a spectrum of health services, including prevention and treatment.
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by Legislative Media | Sep 29, 2015 | Politics
Featured, from left: Edinburg City Councilmember J.R. Betancourt and fellow Councilmember David Torres celebrate the ongoing successes of their hometown’s economy following the State of the City Address delivered by Mayor Richard García at the Edinburg Municipal Auditorium State on Wednesday, May 27.
Photograph By MARK MONTEMAYOR
In the most recent showing of jobs in the city, Edinburg’s unemployment rate for August 2015 was 5.1 percent, the best performance for that month for the city since August 2007 (five percent), the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has announced, noting that almost 35,000 people were employed in the city. The EEDC, of which Agustín García, Jr. is Executive Director, is the jobs-creation arm of the Edinburg Mayor and Edinburg City Council. The EEDC Board of Directors is comprised of Mark Iglesias as President, Harvey Rodríguez as Vice President, Ellie M. Torres as Secretary/Treasurer, and Mayor Richard García and Richard Ruppert as Members. The unemployment rate is a key indicator of the strength of the local economy. Edinburg was edged out by McAllen, which posted a five percent unemployment rate, for the top spot in August among the Valley’s major economies. The city’s latest unemployment rate was the same as than the U.S. unemployment rate for August 2015, which also came in at 5.1 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000). Edinburg’s August 2015 figure of 5.1 percent continues a year-long pattern of positive reports: July (5.4 percent); June (5.1 percent); May 2015 (4.8 percent); April 2015 (4.6 percent); March 2015 (4.8 percent); February 2015 (4.8 percent); and January 2015 (5.1 percent). Edinburg’s August 2015 unemployment rate of 5.1 percent remained close to the Texas statewide average, which was 4.4 percent in August, 4.6 percent in July, 4.4 percent in June, 4.1 percent for May 2015, four percent for April 2015, 4.2 percent for March 2015, 4.3 percent for February 2015, and 4.6 percent for January 2015, according to Texas Workforce Commission figures. The data represents an increase of 217 jobs in Edinburg when comparing the employment figures for August 2015 and August 2014. In August 2015, there were 34,908 persons employed in Edinburg, compared with 34,691 in August 2014. The August 2015 unemployment rate of 5.1 percent for Edinburg is also better than the annual unemployment rate in Edinburg for 2014, which was 5.8 percent – and that yearly rate was the best 12-month average from January through December since 2008. The Texas Workforce Commission data on all entities in the state, including cities and counties, is available online at: http://www.tracer2.com/cgi/dataanalysis/AreaSelection.asp?tableName=Labforce. In a related development, individuals interested in a job with the City of Edinburg have several options available in order to submit an electronic job application beginning on Monday, October 5. Effective as of that date, The City of Edinburg Human Resources Department will no longer accept paper job applications. Applicants will now have the convenience of online access and will no longer need to stop by City Hall for an application. This new policy will also minimize paper waste and streamline service for more expedited processing. Find the online link to apply on the City of Edinburg homepage at http://www.cityofedinburg.com. Applicants are also able to use mobile devices to access the online job form. Spanish speakers may select the option to utilize the Google translate function. Applicants without Internet access are advised to use computers available at the Dustin Sekula Memorial Library, 1906 S. Closner, or the Human Resources Department in City Hall at 415 W. University Drive. City Hall is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The library is open Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Fridays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. The Edinburg city government is a significant economic force in the community, with a 700-member staff and a $100 million operational budget. Potential applicants may call the City of Edinburg Human Resources Department at 956/388-1873 with questions or for more information.
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by Legislative Media | Sep 27, 2015 | Politics
Featured, from left: Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, greets constituents at the McAllen Chamber of Commerce’s 84th Legislative Session Wrap-Up Luncheon, held on Thursday, July 9, 2015, at the DoubleTree Hilton Hotel in McAllen as Alex Ri?os, the District Director for Canales’ legislative office in Edinburg, looks on.
Photograph By MARK MONTEMAYOR
Efforts to improve the identification process of undocumented immigrants who die while crossing from Mexico into Texas will take center stage in the Rio Grande Valley on Monday, September 28, when the Texas Forensic Science Commission hosts a public meeting at the Edinburg Conference Center at Renaissance, Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, has announced. The meeting will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the facility, which is located at 118 Paseo Del Prado, near the intersection of McColl Road and Dove Avenue in southwest Edinburg. The gathering in Edinburg, which is the result of a last- minute amendment on May 26, 2015 by Canales to Senate Bill 1287, will focus on what is known as the Rio Grande Identification Project. The Edinburg lawmaker’s amendment created the Rio Grande Identification Project and requires the Texas Forensic Science Commission – a state agency – “to develop a method for collecting forensic evidence related to the unidentified bodies located less than 120 miles from the Rio Grande River,” Leigh M. Tomlin, with the Texas Forensic Science Commission, stated in an advisory about the Edinburg meeting. “In accordance with its legislative mandate, the commission is working with stakeholders to develop a systematic plan for proper forensic evidence collection of biological material that may help identify human remains found along the border. The goal for the session is to establish best practices in Texas for subsequent publication and dissemination,” Tomlin explained. Canales said an estimated 1,000 immigrants without any identification have died in the Rio Grande Valley during the past 10 years. In the summer of 2014, international attention was focused in deep South Texas with the discovery that mass graves of hundreds of suspected unidentified immigrants were buried haphazardly in a cemetery in Brooks County. In addition, hundreds of immigrants’ bodies have been recovered on the ranches in Brooks County in recent years. Smugglers guide immigrants through the brush trying to circumvent a Border Patrol highway checkpoint an hour’s drive north of the border. There is little water and the walk can take two or three days in punishing temperatures. The House District 4o lawmaker recalled how the Legislature late last spring took action to bring compassion and closure to thousands of families who never know what happened to their love ones who crossed into Texas seeking a better life. “It was spontaneous. I just noticed the subject of the bill and it got me out of my chair,” Canales told reporter Kristian Herna?ndez with the Monitor newspaper in McAllen. “I ran to the front of the House of Representatives and said, ‘I have an amendment to this bill, hold on.’” The passage of his amendment was even more remarkable given the political climate in the Legislature, he noted. “I think it was one of my most exciting moments in the Legislature,” Canales said. “I was a little overjubilant that it passed, especially with the anti-immigrant sentiment that exists in the Texas legislature. I think it’s a great victory.” Canales’ amendment forced the Texas Forensic Science Commission to create a manual for the postmortem examination and identification process of unidentified border crossers, Herna?ndez added. “I think that it’s unquestionable what role immigrants play in our daily lives in our economy,” Canales said. “Not only do we need to respect what they do for our country but we need to respect human life in death.”
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by Legislative Media | Sep 18, 2015 | Politics
From left: Agustín García, Jr., Executive Director, Edinburg Economic Development Corporation; Edinburg City Manager Ramiro Garza, Jr; City Councilmember J.R. Bentancourt; Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg; Councilmember Richard Molina; Víctor G. Guerra, General Counsel, Pathfinder Public Affairs; Rep. R.D. “Bobby” Guerra, D-McAllen; and Jesse Ozuna, Chief Administrator, Precinct 4 County Commissioner Joseph Palacios. These South Texas leaders met in advance of a legislative reception recognizing Tuesday, February 10, 2015 as Rio Grande Valley Day at the Texas Capitol.
Photograph By DIEGO REYNA
The recent announcement by longtime Edinburg city manager Ramiro Garza, Jr. that he will end his public career with the City of Edinburg at the end of December 2015 may have caught area residents by surprise. After all, during what will wind up being an almost 16-year tenure as one of the city’s top appointed leaders, Garza, 41, has been a key and visible figure in the social and economic development of Edinburg. The Port Isabel native, with academic pedigrees that include a Bachelor of Business Administration, Finance and a Master of Business Administration, Business Administration and Management, General, both from the University of Texas at Brownsville, first came to Edinburg in September 2000 to take the reigns as executive director for the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation. The EEDC, of which Agustín García, Jr., is Executive Director, is the jobs-creation arm of the Edinburg City Council. The EEDC Board of Directors is comprised of Mark Iglesias as President, Harvey Rodríguez as Vice President, Ellie M. Torres as Secretary/Treasurer, and Mayor Richard García and Richard Ruppert as Members. Following a successful nine years, three months on the job with the EEDC, Garza, now married with children, was tapped as the city manager for Edinburg in November 2009. With the exception of a six-month leave-of-absence from December 2011 to May 2012 for his first entry into seeking elected office (for Congress, no less), Garza has been the leader of the 700-member city staff, which helps him manage the city’s $100 million annual operational budget. Garza said he was humbled and appreciative for the show of confidence over the years from the mayor and city council. “I am very, very grateful. It has been such an honor and a privilege to serve on the EEDC and then as city manager. When you have that kind of support, it is incomparable. It allows you to go out there and do all you can to help improve the city,” Garza said. “I or any of our staffs would not be able to do what we do without their unwavering support. They set the policies, they have high expectations. Throughout the different administrations, they have been great leaders.” Ever the diplomat, Garza saved high praise for the city and its residents who have helped him succeed. “Edinburg is a very welcoming community. I was made to feel like I was part of the families here, and it allowed me to work with some fine individuals over the course of the past 15 years,” Garza said. “The same open arms that I received, that is how other people are received in Edinburg. You see that with new residents, new businesses, they are made to feel part of the community. Those are some of the reflections I have of Edinburg.” Garza hopes that his successor will enjoy the same blessings that have highlighted Garza’s role as one of the longest-serving city manager’s in Edinburg history. “There is this hunger in Edinburg to bring new opportunities, more shopping, more restaurants, industrial development. It shows in what has happened in the past two years. Over the past 10 years, our assessed values have grown over the last decade. There has been been more than one million square feet of new retail in Edinburg, hundreds of new homes where people can have choices on where to live,” Garzas said. “I was very lucky to have been part of that.” As for offering any advice to his successor, Garza said the best is yet to come. “Edinburg is at the cusp of undergoing another period of important growth, with the new university and the new medical school. There are still challenges of not being able to improve the community in every way we would like to. It’s about building on the strong momentum that we have,” Garza said. “Whoever is going to come in, have an open mind, and roll up their sleeves and work hard with the elected leadership, and anything can be done.”
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