by Legislative Media | Oct 5, 2016 | Politics
Featured: Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, and his wife, Erika Canales, on Friday, August 26, 2016, following a panel discussion that included Rep. Canales, Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen, and Rep. R.D. “Bobby” Guerra, D-McAllen, hosted by the Texas Tribune at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in Edinburg.
Photograph By ALEX RÍOS
With one in three adult women in Texas having been victims of abusive men, Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, says he will continue to support increased state funding for family violence centers, which provide shelter and support services to battered women and their children, while he continues to vote for laws that will punish batterers. “It’s real simple. In Texas, a man should never hit his wife or girlfriend, daughter, mother, grandmother, sister, any family member, or any woman or child,” said Canales, who is a member of the crime-fighting House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence. “I don’t care if such a wretched man is drunk, on drugs, angry, jealous, envious, narrow-minded, or just plain mean. In Texas, we will have a jail cell waiting for you.” Canales’ comments came as the nation was observing October 2016 as Domestic Violence Awareness Month, which included a proclamation from President Obama, who explained the importance of “shining a light on this violation of the basic human right to be free from violence and abuse.” The physical and emotional scars of domestic violence “can cast a long shadow,” Obama added. “Too many individuals, regardless of age, ability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, circumstance, or race, face the pain and fear of domestic violence. During National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, we pledge to ensure every victim of domestic violence knows they are not alone, and foster supportive communities that help survivors seek justice and enjoy full and healthy lives.”
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by Legislative Media | Sep 27, 2016 | Politics
Featured: Dr. Havidán Rodríguez, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, on Friday, August 26, 2016, gave welcoming remarks for the university’s first Project Sin Fronteras banquet, hosted by the UTRGV Office of Sustainability at the Embassy Suites McAllen Convention Center. Rodríguez is a former member of the Board of Directors of the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation, which is the jobs-creation arm of the Edinburg Mayor and Edinburg City Council. The Edinburg EDC, its Board of Directors, the Edinburg Mayor and the Edinburg City Council lobby the Texas Legislature and the UT System Board of Regents 0n behalf of UTRGV and its School of Medicine in Edinburg.
Photograph By PAUL CHOUY
Edinburg and McAllen were the only two Valley cities which posted unemployment rates under 5.5 percent during the month of August 2016, according to the Texas Workforce Commission, which also reported on Friday, September 16, 2016, that Edinburg saw a growth of almost 1,000 jobs when comparing employment in August 2016 with August 2015. Edinburg’s 5.4 percent unemployment rate for August 2016 is the same as the August 2015 level (5.4 percent), and both of those figures were the best for that month since August 2008, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has announced. McAllen’s 5.3 percent unemployment rate for August 2016 was the best showing among all Valley cities for that month. The Texas Workforce Commission reported that there were 36,091 people employed in Edinburg during the month of August 2016. That performance represents an increase of 995 jobs in Edinburg when comparing the employment figures for August 2016 (36,091) and August 2015 (35,096). The Edinburg EDC, of which Agustín García, Jr. is Executive Director, is the jobs-creation arm of the Edinburg Mayor and Edinburg City Council. 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 Ruppert and Dr. Peter Dabrowski as Members. Richard García and Agustín García, Jr. are not related.
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by Legislative Media | Sep 21, 2016 | Politics
Featured: An interior view of a Bob’s Steak & Chop House, the Dallas-based steakhouse system which has a presence in San Francisco, Tuscon, Nashville, and numerous other locations, and soon, in New York City and Edinburg. Bob’s unique atmosphere combines the old world elegance of rich mahogany booths, a polished bar and white, crisp table linens with modern, business casual attire. Celebrated by a loyal, repeat clientele, as well as new customers seeking more than just a restaurant, the highly-rated steakhouse, which will open locally in 2017, received a building permit from Edinburg’s Code Enforcement Department for the most valuable construction project in August 2016, worth $2.5 million.
Image Courtesy BOB’S STEAK & CHOP HOUSE
Construction and related building activities in Edinburg from January through August 2016 have passed the $166 million level, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has reported, with the month of August 2016 accounting for more than $13.8 million of that amount. The top construction projects in Edinburg for August 2016, not including the value of the land, are: $2,500,000 – First Hartford Realty Corp., 613 E. Trenton Road, The Shoppes at Rio Grande Valley Subdivision; $300,000 – Jacob & Jonathan Innovative Construction, 2302 Holland Avenue, Jackson Heights Subdivision; $289,000 – Timoteo Salinas, 4919 June Drive, Summerfield Manor Subdivision; $288,147 – Juan G. Soto, 707 Casa Vieja Street, Tierra Divina Estates Subdivision; and $275,000 – Israel Mata, 1131 N. Monmack Road, Monmack Terrace #2 Subdivision.First Hartford Realty Corp.’s building permit for work value at $2.5 million is for the construction of a 9,000 square-foot Bob’s Steak & Chop House, which will serve as the featured anchor of a 25,000 square-foot restaurants plaza at The Shoppes at Rio Grande Valley. The ground breaking ceremony for First Hartford’s Bob’s Steak & Chop House is tentatively set for Tuesday, October 18, 2016, with the grand opening set for Spring 2017, said Peter Higgins, Vice President/Director of Leasing for Leasing at First Hartford Corporation. The Edinburg EDC, of which Agustín García, Jr. is Executive Director, is the jobs-creation arm of the Edinburg Mayor and Edinburg City Council. 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 Ruppert and Dr. Peter Dabrowski as Members. Mayor Richard García and Agustín García, Jr., are not related.
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by Legislative Media | Sep 16, 2016 | Politics
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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by Legislative Media | Sep 10, 2016 | Politics
Board members, students, teachers, and staff with the Edinburg Consolidated Independent School District, along with other community leaders, including Mayor Pro Tem Richard Molina, recognized Sgt. Francisco Barrientes on Wednesday, September 7, 2016, during a public celebration of the 10th anniversary of naming Barrientes Middle School in his honor. Featured, from left: ECISD Superintendent Dr. René Gutiérrez; ECISD School Board Member Carmen González; Alex Ríos, District Director for State Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg; Sgt. Francisco Barrientes; Edinburg Mayor Pro Tem Richard Molina; Robert López, Principal, Barrientes Middle School; Eva T. Torres, ECISD Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum & Instruction; and ECISD School Board Member Ellie M. Torres, the immediate past Secretary/Treasurer of the Board of Directors for the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation. The Edinburg EDC is the jobs-creation arm of the Edinburg Mayor and Edinburg City Council. Mayor Pro Tem Molina is one of two veterans who serve on City Council. Mayor Richard H. García is also a U.S. Army veteran.
Photograph By MARK MONTEMAYOR
Edinburg’s retail economy during July 2016 showed a more than 3.4 percent improvement over July 2015, which was the second-best showing among all major Valley cities – and much better than the statewide average for all cities in Texas, which was down 1.6 percent from the same month last year, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has announced. For the first seven months of 2016, Edinburg’s retail economy – as measured by local sales taxes generated from purchases of eligible goods and services – also remained healthy, showing an almost five percent improvement over January through July 2015. During the first seven months of 2016, Edinburg’s retail economy produced $15,890,309.11 in local sales taxes, compared with $15,140,562.15 for January through July 2016, representing an improvement of 4.95 percent.For July 2016, Edinburg’s retail economy generated $1,601,962.79 in local sales taxes, compared with $1,549,113.91 during the same period in 2015, representing the improvement of 3.41 percent, also according to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. The local sales tax is used in Edinburg to help pay for many city services, while the Edinburg EDC uses its one-half cent local sales tax to help generate economic development in the city. The Edinburg EDC Board of Directors is comprised of Mayor Richard García as President, Elías Longoria, Jr., Harvey Rodríguez, Jr., Richard Rupert, and Dr. Peter Dabrowski.
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by Legislative Media | Sep 6, 2016 | Politics
Featured: Second from left, Dr. Guy Bailey, President, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, meets with students at the Edinburg campus on Wednesday, August 31, 2016, as part of celebrations marking the first anniversary of UTRGV, which was the result of state legislation in 2013 that brought together the resources of UT Pan American in Edinburg, UT-Brownsville, and the UT Regional Academic Health Centers in Edinburg and Harlingen. The Edinburg Mayor and Edinburg City Council, along with the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation, helped lobby the Texas Legislature and the UT System Board of Regents for the creation of UTRGV, which also includes a School of Medicine with a major campus in Edinburg.
Photograph By PAUL CHOUY
About a week before The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in Edinburg celebrated its first anniversary, the UT System Board of Regents approved a major plan that will lead to the construction of the latest state-of-the-art facility on the local campus – the $35.6 million Interdisciplinary Engineering and Academics Studies Building. Meeting in Austin on Wednesday, August 24 and Thursday, August 25, 2016, the nine-member governing board, which includes Ernest Aliseda of McAllen, unanimously gave the go-ahead to the design development of the 53,400 gross square foot facility, which is being built to increase the number of engineering students, said Edinburg Mayor Richard García. The timeline for the project includes issuing the Notice to Proceed in March 2017, with substantial completion anticipated by November 2018. “According to the UT System Board of Regents agenda, this new facility will include six engineering teaching labs, two discipline-specific computer labs, eight 60-seat general classrooms, offices for faculty and staff, and support spaces for graduate and doctoral students,” said the mayor. According to UT System and UTRGV leaders, among the key goals of the Interdisciplinary Engineering and Academics Studies Building are: Increase engineering enrollment by 48% from 3,076 to 4,553 by 2028; Increase number of laboratory seats by 40% from 2,771 to 3,879 by 2028; and Reduce teaching space deficit by 32,233 assignable square feet (ASF). Additionally, the project will include an outdoor area to be used as a gathering and study space to relieve pressure on more expensive indoor space and also to support academic events. The $35.6 million Interdisciplinary Engineering and Academics Studies Building will located just adjacent to the west Physical Science Building, which will be abandoned and demolished.
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