Key state issues affecting the Rio Grande Valley will be discussed in Edinburg on Wednesday, January 21, 2026, by Sen. Adán “Adam” Hinojosa, R-Corpus Christi, and Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen, during the RGV Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s State of the 956 Legislative Luncheon, Mayor Omar Ochoa has announced.

FEATURED: Sen. Juan Hinojosa, D-McAllen, during his tour of duty as a U.S. Marine combat squad leader in Vietnam from 1966 through 1968, and Col. Frank Plummer, during the Veterans Day event in McAllen on Tuesday, November 11, 2025. Hinojosa and Plummer are...

FEATURED: Rep. Armando “Mando” Martínez, D-Weslaco, poses outside the Texas Capitol in Austin on Friday, April 21, 2023, with the files of three of his legislative measures, known as bills, that had been approved by the Texas Legislature.  Photograph Courtesy...

Personal information of top leaders of public and private higher education systems, universities and colleges –  such as the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, South Texas College, Texas Southmost College, and Texas State Technical Institute – is now shielded from being disclosed as a result of a recent state law, reports South Texas attorney and Edinburg Mayor Omar Ochoa.

Newly-elected Edinburg Mayor Omar Ochoa is calling on the city’s leadership at all levels “to swing for the fences in economic growth, working tirelessly to recruit businesses with high-paying jobs in technology, healthcare, and advanced trades.”

A new state law approved earlier this year by the Texas Legislature – which was supported by the City of McAllen through its lobbyist, Amber Hausenfluck  – is intended to provide local governments  and state agencies, boards and commissions more protection against cybersecurity breaches of their critical infrastructure, such as computer systems that make vital public services run effectively, according to South Texas attorney Omar Ochoa.

Sen. Juan Hinojosa, D-McAllen, Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, and Rep. Bobby Guerra, D-McAllen, on Wednesday, October 8, 2025, praised the grand opening of the $145.7 million UT Health RGV Cancer and Surgery Center, located at 1400 N. Commerce Center Street in McAllen, and hinted at much bigger expansions in the upcoming few years.

Longtime State Rep. R.D. “Bobby” Guerra, D-McAllen, on Thursday, October 2, 2o25, became the most recent member of the 150-member Texas House of Representatives to announce he will not seek reelection – in his case, to an eighth two-year term that would have begun in January 2027.

A new state law shaped by Sen. Juan Hinojosa, D-McAllen, makes “zoombombing” – which is the disruption of virtual government meetings with offensive, sometimes hateful content – now punishable by jail time, fines, or both, reports South Texas attorney Omar Ochoa.

The son of farmworker parents who labored in the crop fields that sustain Rio Grande Valley families, Dr. Leonel Vela grew up with limited resources but deep resilience. That determination carried him through Stanford, Baylor College of Medicine and Harvard, ultimately guiding him back home to South Texas.