FEATURED: Alberto H. Gutiérrez, MD, Assistant Medical Director, DHR Health Hospice. Gutiérrez, through the use of the live Internet video broadcast known as Zoom, on Tuesday, October 5, 2021, testified from the Valley before the House Committee on Public Health, which was meeting at the Texas Capitol Complex in Austin. ‘We are growing economically, we’re getting there, and all I ask is you keep us in mind when you promote new programs, new ideas, and bring us from the bottom of the list to the top at times, and help us not only in health care issues, but in other things.”
FEATURED: Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo/Starr County, addresses students, staff and facility at Texas A&M International University–Laredo on Friday, December 7, 2018. For her work on transparency in government during the 87th Texas Legislature in 2021, Zaffirini on Tuesday, October 5, 2021, was honored at her Capitol office as a Champion of Transparency by the Texas Press Association.
Photograph Courtesy TEXAS A&M INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY–LAREDO
FEATURED: Maricela De León, a Rio Grande Valley native with almost 20 years of experience in state government at the highest levels, says South Texas’ public, private and nonprofit organizations of all sizes must increase their participation in the Texas Legislature and before the most powerful state boards, commissions and agencies in order to benefit their constituents, clients, and stakeholders. (http://formapublicaffairs.net)
FEATURED, FROM LEFT: San Juan First Lady Heather Garza, San Juan Mayor Mario Garza, and Sen. Eddie Lucio, Jr. D-Brownsville, on Thursday, July 1, 2021, during the swearing-in ceremony of the mayor, held at the Amigos de Valle San Juan Center. Lucio and other Rio Grande Valley state lawmakers in Spring 2021 voted to bring eight state constitutional amendments before Texas voters. Election Day is Tuesday, November 2, 2021. Early voting runs through Friday, October 29, 2021.
Photograph Courtesy CITY OF SAN JUAN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT
FEATURED: Dr. Dahlia Guerra, Assistant Vice President for Public Art and Special Projects, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, has been honored with the Ohtli Award, one of the highest honors given to citizens living outside of Mexico.
Photograph Courtesy UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS RIO GRANDE VALLEY
FEATURED, FROM LEFT: In this image from 1997 taken on the floor of the Senate Chamber in the Texas Capitol, Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo/Starr County, poses with Edith Royal and her husband, legendary University of Texas Longhorns head coach Darrell Royal, during a rehearsal for her Governor for a Day Celebration. “I vividly recall him saying, ‘I know one thing for sure: her blood runs burnt orange.’ Indeed. Hook ‘em, Horns!” said Zaffirini, who has a Bachelor of Science (B.S), a Master’s of Arts (M.A.), and a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) from the University of Texas at Austin.
FEATURED: Rep. Armando “Mando” Martínez, D-Weslaco, successfully carried legislation through the Texas House of Representatives during Spring 2021 to develop a plan that will combine federal and state inspections of commercial vehicle traffic that travels through Texas’ ports of entry.
FEATURED: Gov. Greg Abbott, appearing on Thursday, September 9, 2021, addressing physicians, nurses, other medical professionals, and leaders with DHR Health, emergency medical services personnel from South Texas, and the Valley and state news media at the Edinburg Conference Center at Renaissance.
FEATURED: The annual Lighting of the Letters takes place on Friday, February 15, 2019, on the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley campus in Edinburg outside of the Fieldhouse. The university and its School of Medicine were among the top Rio Grande Valley legislative priorities which received vital funding in the Texas state budget, which went into effect on Wednesday, September 1, 2021, according to Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen.
FEATURED, FROM LEFT: Opal Lee of Ft. Worth, a civil rights champion known as the “Grandmother of Juneteenth”, and Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, pose in the Texas Senate on Thursday, July 22, 2021, after Lee was honored by the Texas Senate for her lifetime of activism. According to the Washington Post, on Thursday, June 17, 2021, President Biden signed legislation establishing a new federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery.
