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.

A new Texas law, coauthored by Rep. Janie López, D-San Benito, will increase transparency in local governments by requiring agendas and proposed annual budgets to be posted in a public place or online three business days before public officials meet to consider or vote on those measures, reports South Texas attorney Omar Ochoa.

With key governments in South Texas for years using taxpayer-funded lobbyists, Sen. Adán “Adam” Hinojosa, R-Corpus Christi, is taking a leadership role to stop use of such a practice by local politicians in Corpus Christi and the Rio Grande Valley.