by Legislative Media | Jun 28, 2016 | Politics
Featured, from left: Mayor Richard García, Councilmember Homer Jasso, Jr., and Mayor Pro Tem Richard Molina on Thursday, February 27, 2015, during groundbreaking ceremonies for the Bert Ogden Arena, the future home of the Rio Grande Valley Vipers professional basketball team, which is part of the NBA Development League. In May 2016, the first building permit, for work valued at $3.5 million, was issued by the city for construction of the 189,000 square-foot multi-events complex, whose total value will approach $90 million. The Bert Ogden Arena is located at the corner of Interstate 69-Central and Alberta Road in Edinburg.
Photograph By DIEGO REYNA
Construction and related building activities in Edinburg from January through May 2016 have passed the $100 million level, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has reported, with the month of May 2016 accounting for almost $18 million of that amount. The most valuable projects, not including the value of the lots, which led the way in May 2016, were: $3,500,000 –Cantú Construction, 429 S. I-69C, Edinburg Arena Subdivision; $3,481,532 – Edinburg Regional Medical Center, 1102 W. Trenton Rd., Trenton St. Subdivision; $1,560,000 – Jeff Knits, 1010 E. Chapin, Tex-Mex Survey Subdivision; $633,559 – R&E Villarreal & Sons, 2945 Regency Drive, The Boardwalk Subdivision; and $510,000 – Chris Ryan Homes & Investments, LLC, 2502 Hampton Avenue, Bentley Estates Subdivision.
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by Legislative Media | Jun 23, 2016 | Politics
Featured: Edinburg Mayor Richard García, who also serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation, speaking with journalists after delivering his State of the City Address at the Edinburg Conference Center at Renaissance on Thursday, May 19, 2016.
Photograph By ROBERTO GONZÁLEZ/Texas Border Business/Mega Doctor News
Edinburg’s unemployment rate for May 2016 of 4.5 percent marked the eighth consecutive month that the city posted a figure lower than five percent, with McAllen, with a 4.4 percent unemployment rate for May 2016, being the only other Valley city under five percent, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has announced. The May 2016 figure of 4.5 percent is the best showing for that month since May 2007, when the city posted a 4.3 percent unemployment rate. In addition, Edinburg’s unemployment rate has been under five percent during 10 months out of 17 months since January 2015. According to the latest data, which was released on Friday, June 17, 2016 by the Texas Workforce Commission, there were 36,727 people employed in Edinburg during the month of May 2016. That performance represents an increase of 615 jobs in Edinburg when comparing the employment figures for May 2016 (36,727) and May 2015 (36,112).
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by Legislative Media | Jun 17, 2016 | Politics
Featured: Artist’s rendition of a segment of Legends Edinburg, a 310,680 square-foot upscale student residential complex, the latest multi-family community that is coming to the city as a result of the continuing growth of both Edinburg and The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, including its new medical school. The School of Medicine will open for the Fall 2016 semester.
Rendition Courtesy DOMUS DEVELOPMENT, LLC
Construction has begun on a $29.1 million luxury, off-campus community designed to serve The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in Edinburg, and which will bring 588 beds to the market, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has announced. Legends Edinburg is located near the corner of Chapin Street and Sugar Road, just 1/10 mile from the Edinburg campus. Legends Edinburg will be ready for move in for Fall 2017, according to Domus Development, LLC, the owner of the complex, which will feature one-, two- and four-bedroom units.
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by Legislative Media | Jun 14, 2016 | Politics
Featured: Jesús “Jesse” M. Ozuna of Edinburg, and his girlfriend, Rep. Ana Hernández, D-Houston, appearing before the Hidalgo County Commissioners Court in Edinburg on Tuesday, June 7, 2016. Ozuna, the Chief Administrator for Hidalgo County Commissioner Precinct 4 Joseph Palacios, was honored for his distinguished service to the region and received well-wishes for his new position, effective in July, as Assistant Director of Governmental Affairs for Mayor Sylvester Turner in the City of Houston.
Photograph By LORENA BALLI
Another local man has made good, helping further promote the image and reality that South Texans always have what it takes to excel in any profession, including in the highly-skilled world of legislative affairs for Houston, which is the nation’s fourth largest city. “We want to make sure you understand we really want to wish you well, we really enjoyed the work you have done for us,” Hidalgo County Judge Ramón García told Ozuna, who since 2012 worked himself up the proverbial ladder of success from being a right-of-way agent to helping lead the 115-member staff for Hidalgo County Commissioner Precinct 4 Joseph Palacios of Edinburg.
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by Legislative Media | Jun 10, 2016 | Politics
Featured, from left: William H. McRaven, Chancellor of The University of Texas System; Janet Ogden Vackar and Robert “Bob” C. Vackar, owners of the Bert Ogden Auto Group, which began in Edinburg and spread Valleywide; and Dr. Guy Bailey, President, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, on Wednesday, May 18, 2016. The UT System and UTRGV were celebrating a donation of $15 million by the Vackars to UTRGV by naming its business college the Robert C. Vackar College of Business and Entrepreneurship. The Edinburg Economic Development Corporation, along with the City of Edinburg, also promotes the best interests of UTRGV and the UTRGV School of Medicine through its extensive legislative lobbying efforts before the UT System Board of Regents, the Texas Legislature, and Congress.
Photograph By PAUL CHOUY
Edinburg’s retail economy during April 2016 had the best rate of improvement – 3.05 percent – over the same month last year among the Valley’s major cities, while by comparison, cities statewide reported a combined average decrease of 1.2 percent in April 2016 compared with April 2015, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has announced. A growing economy in the city is influenced by the hard work ethic of the community and by the generosity of business success stories in the city, such as the Vackar family, whose last name on wife Janet’s side of her family, is set to grace the Bert Ogden Arena currently under construction in southeast Edinburg, and which will be the largest entertainment venue in South Texas.The Vackars – owners and principal dealers of the Bert Ogden Auto Group, which includes 13 dealership locations housing 16 individual franchise lines across the Valley – both grew up in the Valley, the children of entrepreneurs who owned Edinburg-based businesses and inspired dedication to hard work and community service.
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by Legislative Media | Jun 8, 2016 | Politics
Featured, from left: Harvey Rodríguez, Jr., Vice-President, Board of Directors, Edinburg Economic Development Corporation, and Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, at Canales’ District Office in Edinburg on Monday, December 14, 2015.
Photograph By MARK MONTEMAYOR
An Open Government seminar, offered by the Office of the Texas Attorney General and the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, will take place on Thursday, June 9, 2016 at the McAllen Chamber of Commerce, 1200 Ash Avenue, Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, has announced. “Access to public records gives our citizens the opportunity to participate in public life, help set priorities, and hold their governments accountable. A free flow of information can be an important tool for building trust between a government and its citizens. Public access to our government’s work is a fundamental human right,” said Canales. “Democracies die behind closed doors. The First Amendment, through a free press, protects the people’s right to know that their government acts fairly, lawfully, and accurately.”
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by Legislative Media | Jun 6, 2016 | Politics
Featured: Dr. Havidán Rodríguez, a former member of the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors, has been selected by the American Association for Access, Equity and Diversity (AAAED) to receive its distinguished 2016 Cesar Estrada Chavez Award, the Edinburg EDC and The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley have announced.
Photograph By PAUL CHOUY
Dr. Havidán Rodríguez, who served on the Edinburg EDC Board of Directors from 2013 to 2015, is founding Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs at UTRGV. Mayor Richard García said Rodríguez’ efforts on behalf of Edinburg and UTRGV have been impressive. From working with the Edinburg EDC and the Edinburg City Council on its joint efforts that have brought hundreds of millions of dollars in economic growth to the community, to helping the city’s leadership on its pro-business and high quality-of-life strategies that have resulted, for years, in one of the lowest unemployment rates in deep South Texas, Havidán Rodríguez has made his presence felt in these and many other ways.
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by Legislative Media | Jun 2, 2016 | Politics
Featured: Korean War veteran Antonio “Tony” Muñiz of Falfurrias accepts the Congressional Gold Medal on behalf of a grateful nation from Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, during ceremonies held on Monday, May 30, 2016 – Memorial Day – at the Brooks County Courthouse in Falfurrias.
Photograph By ALEX RÍOS
Antonio “Tony” Muñiz was with the 3rd Recon Company, which was attached to the 65th Infantry Regiment – known as The Borinqueneers – during the Korean War. The 65th Infantry Regiment is the first Hispanic Unit and the sole Unit from the Korean War to receive the Congressional Gold Medal. The regiment is also credited with the last battalion-sized bayonet assault in army history. “This award has been bestowed to a very few men, so I am very honored,” said Mr. Muñiz, who served as an Army combat medic. “But I must say the ones who should be honored the most are the ones who died for our freedoms, who made the ultimate sacrifice.” Mr. Muñiz has deep ties to Hidalgo County with three adult children and five grandchildren in Edinburg and McAllen.
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by Legislative Media | May 31, 2016 | Politics
Featured, from left: Mack Brown, former football Head Coach of the Texas Longhorns, and Oliver Luck, Executive Vice President of Regulatory Affairs for the NCAA, accompanied by Manny Mantrana, Head Coach of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley baseball team, on Thursday, May 19, 2016. Brown and Luck participated in throwing out the ceremonial first pitches at UTRGV Baseball Stadium in Edinburg.
Photograph By JÉSICA GONZÁLEZ
Mack Brown and Oliver Luck, two national college and professional sports figures, are helping guide a special football feasibility study committee, organized by Dr. Guy Bailey, UTRGV President, and Chris King, UTRGV Director of Athletics, which held their first session, behind closed doors, to meet with and hear from the UTRGV leadership and the blue-ribbon group that will have a major say on the prospects for a NCAA college football team for the university.
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by Legislative Media | May 26, 2016 | Politics
Featured: The Congressional Gold Medal, which is one of the nation’s highest civilian honors, will be bestowed to Korean War veteran Antonio “Tony” Muñiz of Falfurrias, who has deep ties to Edinburg, announced Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg. Canales will present the Congressional Gold Medal during a public ceremony on Monday, May 30 – Memorial Day – in the Brooks County Courthouse, 100 E. Miller Street in Falfurrias, beginning at 2 p.m.
Image Courtesy Coinworld.com
Antonio “Tony” Muñiz was with the 3rd Recon Company, which was attached to the 65th Infantry Regiment – known as The Borinqueneers – during the Korean War. The 65th Infantry Regiment is the first Hispanic Unit and the sole Unit from the Korean War to receive the Congressional Gold Medal. The regiment is also credited with the last battalion-sized bayonet assault in army history.
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