by Legislative Media | Mar 31, 2016 | Politics
Featured: Agustín “Gus” García, Jr., Executive Director, Edinburg Economic Development Corporation, on Friday, September 25, 2015, participates in a panel discussion during the Inno’2015 Transportation Innovation Conference sponsored by South Texas College at its Technology Campus Atrium in McAllen.
Photograph By DIEGO REYNA
The financial statements and practices of the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation meet the highest standards that help ensure citizens and the public that the EEDC is properly managing its programs and services, according to an independent audit released on Tuesday, March 22, 2016. The EEDC, which is led by Executive Director Agustín “Gus” García, Jr., is the jobs-creation arm of the Mayor and Edinburg City Council. The audit, which is required by state law, was conducted by Noel Garza, CPA, who has been under contract with the EEDC for the previous five years to perform the financial review. His detailed work, which is available by requesting a copy from the EEDC, covers the fiscal year 2014-2014 activities of the EEDC.
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by Legislative Media | Mar 25, 2016 | Politics
Featured: Harris County Sheriff Office Deputy David Thomas is pulled by his German Shepherd Boomer as he walks to his vehicle after a training session on Wednesday, May 29, 2013, in Houston.
Photograph By NICK DE LA TORRE/HOUSTON CHRONICLE Via k9s4cops.org
A dual purpose Narcotics K9 officer will soon be helping protect Hidalgo County, says Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, who has announced the invaluable donation made by K9s4COPS, the non-profit, pro-law enforcement foundation from Houston. The prized police dog, known as “Buzbee” is currently undergoing intensive drilling with Lt. Frank Guerrero, the Hidalgo County K9 officer, courtesy of Harris County Sheriff Ron Hickman, at the Harris County Sheriff’s Department Training Academy in Houston, said Roseann Rogers, Executive Director for K9s4COPS. “K9s are essential and indispensable tools in the pursuit of narcotics and illegal contraband in deep South Texas,” said Canales. “The Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Department and I are indebted, and owe a great deal of gratitude, to Kristi Schiller (the Houston philanthropist and founder of K9s4COPS) and to K9s4COPS for their incredible contribution to our local law enforcement community.”
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by Legislative Media | Mar 24, 2016 | Politics
Featured, from left: David P. Higgerson, director of field operations for the Laredo Field Office of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, receives a legislative resolution in his honor from Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, on Tuesday, November 24, 2015.
Photograph Courtesy JULIE BENITEZ SULLIVAN
Better ways to help protect Texans from wrongful convictions for crimes they did not commit, defend women and children from family violence, and improve the system that monitors Texans on probation and parole are among the key justice issues being shaped for 2017 by Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg. The House District 40 lawmaker, who is a lawyer, is focusing on those and related issues as a member of the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence, which held one of its major public hearings for this year in Austin on Monday, March 21, 2016.
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by Legislative Media | Mar 21, 2016 | Politics
Featured: City Councilmember Homer Jasso, Jr. in the Council Chamber of Edinburg City Hall on Monday, February 8, 2016, during a joint work session of the Edinburg City Council and the Hidalgo County Commissioners Court on the proposed $150 million Hidalgo County Courthouse, which will be built in Edinburg.
Photograph By DIEGO REYNA
The results of an annual audit, which help ensure citizens that public entities are properly managing government programs and services, regarding the fiscal year 2014-2015 activities of the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation, will be presented at Edinburg City Hall on Tuesday, March 22, 2016. The audit, along with several other key items, are part of the regular monthly meeting of the EEDC Board of Directors. The session, which will be held in the Council Chamber, begins at noon. It also will be televised live on the Edinburg Cable Network. The EEDC is the jobs-creation arm of the Edinburg Mayor and Edinburg City Council.
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by Legislative Media | Mar 20, 2016 | Politics
Featured: Ellie Torres, Secretary/Treasurer for the Board of Directors of the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation, earlier this year in the Council Chamber of Edinburg City Hall.
Photograph By DIEGO REYNA
Edinburg’s unemployment rate for January 2016 of 4.8 percent kept pace with McAllen and its Valley-leading 4.7 percent showing for the same month, and marked the sixth time since January 2015 that Edinburg’s monthly unemployment rate was under five percent, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has announced. In addition, the annual unemployment rate in Edinburg for 2o15 was 5.1 percent, the best performance for the city since 2007, when the annual figure came in at 4.7 percent. Edinburg’s latest showing was better than the U.S. unemployment rate for January 2016, which was 4.9 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000).
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by Legislative Media | Mar 11, 2016 | Politics
Featured: Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, addressing the Public Affairs Luncheon, sponsored by the Edinburg Chamber of Commerce and the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation on Thursday, January 21, 2016 at the Edinburg Conference Center at Renaissance.
Photograph By MARK MONTEMAYOR
A proposed law that would prevent Texas governments from approving contracts whose payments are secret will be filed in 2017 by Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, who said he is a strong champion of the people’s right to know. Canales said Texas governments – from school districts to state universities and agencies – should not be allowed to keep secret any expenditures paid for with tax funds.
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by Legislative Media | Mar 9, 2016 | Politics
Featured, from left: Precinct 1 Hidalgo County Commissioner A.C. Cuellar, Jr. of Weslaco; Hidalgo County Judge Ramón García; Mayor Richard García; Councilmember J.R. Betancourt; and Mayor Pro Tem Richard Molina. This image was taken on Tuesday, March 8, 2016 in the Council Chamber of Edinburg City Hall.
Photograph By MARK MONTEMAYOR
The Mayor and Edinburg City Council on Tuesday, March 8, 2016, gave their initial approval to provide a maximum of $30 million – to be spread out over up to 30 years and without raising the city property tax rate – to help in the construction of a $150 million Hidalgo County Courthouse, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has announced. If all goes as planned by the county, construction on the courthouse may begin near the end of this year, if weather permits. The county anticipates a completion date of October 2018. The action took place following a 2 p.m. joint work session with the Hidalgo County Judge and Hidalgo County Commissioners Court, held in the Council Chamber of Edinburg City Hall, and sets into motion a plan that will eventually lead to the construction of a state-of-the-art judicial center, which will be located in downtown Edinburg, next to the current county courthouse complex.
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by Legislative Media | Mar 8, 2016 | Politics
Featured: Edinburg attorney Ismael “Kino” Flores, Jr., the newly-appointed Associate Judge of the Title IV-D Master Court 2 in Hidalgo County, and the Honorable Missy Medary of Corpus Christi, who is Presiding Judge of the Fifth Administrative Judicial Region.
Photograph By VANESSA FLORES
Edinburg attorney Ismael “Kino” Flores, Jr., son of former longtime Rep. Ismael “Kino” Flores, D-Palmview, will be sworn in on Tuesday, March 8, 2016, as the new Associate Judge of the Title IV-D Master Court 2 in Hidalgo County, according to the Honorable Missy Medary of Corpus Christi, who is Presiding Judge of the Fifth Administrative Judicial Region. The Title IV-D Court hears cases that the Texas Attorney General has provided services under Part D, Title IV of the Federal Social Security Act. 42 U S.C. § 651 et seq.. which include locating an absent parent, determining parentage or the establishment, modification, or enforcement of child support or medical support. The court has jurisdiction in Hidalgo, Starr and Jim Hogg counties.
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by Legislative Media | Mar 5, 2016 | Politics
Featured, from left: Precinct 4 Hidalgo County Commissioner Joseph Palacios; Hidalgo County Judge Ramón García; Mayor Richard García; and City Councilmember Homer Jasso, Jr. In the background are, from left: Agustín García, Jr., Executive Director, Edinburg Economic Development Corporation, and Noé Hinojosa, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer for Estrada • Hinojosa Investment Bankers of Dallas, which is the city’s financial consultant. This image was taken at Edinburg City Hall during the Monday, February 8, 2016 joint work session on the proposed $150 million Hidalgo County Courthouse, which will be built in Edinburg.
Photograph By DIEGO REYNA
Edinburg and Hidalgo County leaders are set to meet on Tuesday, March 8, 2016 to consider approving a financial agreement that could result in the construction of a $150 million Hidalgo County Courthouse in the city’s historic downtown, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has announced. In addition, the elected leaders and the public will receive an update on the architectural details for the proposed courthouse from ERO Architects of McAllen. If all goes as planned, work could begin on the new courthouse before the end of this year, with a completion date of October 2018, weather permitting. The existing courthouse would continue to function while the new facility is being built. The March 8 joint session, which is open to the public and will begin at 2 p.m., will take place in the Council Chamber of Edinburg City Hall, 415 West University Drive, which is two blocks west of the existing Hidalgo County Courthouse complex.
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by Legislative Media | Mar 4, 2016 | Politics
Featured, from left: son Alejandro Vásquez; Dr. Celina Vásquez; daughter Andrea Vásquez; presumptive Judge of the 398th District Court Librado “Keno” Vásquez; and daughter Olivia Vásquez.
COURTESY PHOTOGRAPH
Edinburg attorney Librado “Keno” Vásquez was the only name on the ballot for the judgeship of the 398th District Court in Hidalgo County, as his professional, business, and personal credentials were strong enough to discourage any opposition for the honor of serving as state district judge. “I am honored and humbled, thanks in large part to the outstanding work of my many supporters from all walks of life, that my candidacy for this very important position resulted in this incredible opportunity to serve our citizens in our judicial system,” said Vásquez, a Democrat whose main law office is in Edinburg. “There are no words to properly express my appreciation, but I plan to work very hard to continue earning the sacred trust that has been placed upon me.”
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