by Legislative Media | Nov 27, 2016 | Politics
Featured, from left: Diana Padilla, Mortgage Loan Officer, Lone Star National Bank; Juanita Mendoza, Mortgage Loan Officer, Lone Star National Bank; Anna Casares, Mortgage Operations Manager, Lone Star National Bank; Esther G. Guerra, Mortgage Sales Manager, Lone Star National Bank; Agustín García, Jr., Executive Director, Edinburg Economic Development Corporation; Elva Jackson Garza, Vice President and Marketing Manager, Edwards Abstract and Title Co.; Ma. Elena Guerra, Mortgage Loan Officer, Lone Star National Bank; Norma L. Cano, Mission Marketing Manager, Edwards Abstract and Title Co.; Letty Rodríguez, Sales Representative/Escrow Officer, Edwards Abstract and Title Co.; and Jaime Jackson, Mortgage Loan Originator, International Bank of Commerce. The Edinburg EDC Executive Director was the featured speaker on Thursday, October 20, 2016 before The Women’s Council of Realtors McAllen Network during his presentation in Edinburg at Edwards Abstract and Title Co. in Edinburg. Elva Jackson Garza is a former member of the Board of Directors for the Edinburg EDC.
Photograph By LEE JINKS
With two months left in 2016, construction activities in Edinburg have approached $189 million, compared with almost $115 million during the same 10 months last year, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has announced. Those totals do not include the value of any building-related activities at The University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley and the UTRGV School of Medicine in Edinburg because the state government, not the city, oversees all construction at the Edinburg campus. New single-family homes and multi-family residences (duplexes to apartments) continue to lead the way from January through October 2016, having been issued building permits for a combined total of $114,609,443 in the value of their construction. That figure is more than double the $45,746,390 combined value of single-family homes and multi-family residences approved for construction during the same period last year. Year-to-date (January through October 2016), building permits were issued for 403 single-family residences, valued at $52,402,028, compared with 278 single family residences, valued at $39,781,574 from January through October 2015. Year-to-date (January through October 2016), building permits were issued for 237 multi-family residences, representing 944 units, valued at $62,207,415, compared with 42 multi-family residences, representing 83 units, valued at $5,965,356, from January through October 2015. Also according to the city’s Code Enforcement Department, 46 single-family residences, valued at $5,330,686 were approved for construction in October 2016, compared with 21 single-family residences, valued at $2,678,657, during the same month in 2015. Combined, building permits from January through October 2016 were issued for work valued at $188,725,537 compared with $114,664,341 for the same 10 months in 2015. During October 2016, building permits for work valued at $8,963,349 were issued by the city, compared with $14,618,375 in October 2015. The Edinburg EDC, whose Executive Director is Agustín García, Jr., is the jobs-creation arm of the Edinburg Mayor and Edinburg City Council. The Edinburg EDC Board of Directors is comprised of Mayor Richard García as President, Harvey Rodríguez, Jr. as Vice President, Elías Longoria, Jr., as Secretary/Treasurer, and Richard Ruppert and Dr. Peter Dabrowski as Members.
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by Legislative Media | Oct 25, 2016 | Politics
Featured, from left: Dr. Jonikka Charlton, Assistant Vice President for Student Academic Success, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley; Zaena Zamora, Mathematics Lecturer, UTRGV; and Justin González, Tutor, Learning Center Jumpstart, help help high school students prepare for college through the UTRGV JumpStart program, a five-week summer curriculum meant to help students overcome scholastic challenges. The Mayor, Edinburg City Council and Edinburg Economic Development Corporation lobbies the Texas Legislature and the UT System Board of Regents for advances that help UTRGV and its School of Medicine in Edinburg.
Photograph By PAUL CHOUY
Representatives for as many as 30 major employers will gather at the Dustin Michael Sekula Memorial Library, located at 1906 S. Closner Boulevard, from 8 am. to 1 p.m. on Thursday, October 27, 2016 for a job fair, which is free and open to the public, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has announced. The event, coordinated by the Edinburg EDC, Workforce Solutions, the City of Edinburg, and the Dustin Michael Sekula Memorial Library, is part of a partnership between those entities to match qualified persons for jobs being offered in the city, said Leticia Reyes, Director of Business Development and Public Affairs, Edinburg Economic Development Corporation. “Our job fairs are designed to make it easier and more convenient for employers and prospective employees to get together,” said Reyes. “They are for every kind of person, from people who want to get a job for the first time, to individuals who are already employed, but are looking for a better job or a different career.” People looking for employment will be able to learn about the job vacancies from the employers, leave their résumés, and in some cases, employers will conduct a job interview immediately, she added. The Edinburg EDC, of which Agustín García, Jr. is Executive Director, is the jobs-creation arm of the Edinburg Mayor and Edinburg City Council. The Edinburg EDC Board of Directors is comprised of Mayor Richard García as President, Harvey Rodríguez, Jr. as Vice President, Elías Longoria, Jr. as Secretary/Treasurer, and Richard Ruppert and Dr. Peter Dabrowski as Members. Richard García and Agustín García, Jr. are not related. More information is available by contacting Reyes with the Edinburg EDC at 956/383-7124 or José Tamez, Assistant Director, Dustin Michael Sekula Memorial Library, at 956/383-6246.
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by Legislative Media | Oct 24, 2016 | Politics
Featured: Dr. Havidán Rodríguez, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, signs a Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) with Somchai Wongkasem, President of Rajabhat Maha Sarakham University (RMU), on Friday, October 21, 2016, at the International Trade & Technology building on the UTRGV Edinburg Campus. RMU is located in the Muang District in northeastern Thailand. Rodríguez is a former member of the Board of Directors for the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation, which is the jobs-creation arm of the Edinburg Mayor and Edinburg City Council. The Mayor, Edinburg City Council and EEDC lobbies the Texas Legislature and the UT System Board of Regents for advances that help UTRGV and its School of Medicine in Edinburg.
Photo By PAUL CHOUY
Edinburg and McAllen were the only two Valley cities which posted unemployment rates under 5.6 percent during the month of September 2016, according to the Texas Workforce Commission, which also reported on Friday, October 21, 2016, that Edinburg saw a growth of almost 1,000 jobs when comparing employment in September 2016 with September 2015. The Texas Workforce Commission reported that there were 36,302 people employed in Edinburg during the month of September 2016. That performance represents an increase of 975 jobs in Edinburg when comparing the employment figures for September 2016 (36,302) and September 2015 (35,327). That state agency found that McAllen and Edinburg came in with 5.2 percent and 5.5 percent unemployment rates, respectively, for the month of September 2016, according to the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation. The Edinburg EDC, of which Agustín García, Jr. is Executive Director, is the jobs-creation arm of the Edinburg Mayor and Edinburg City Council. The Edinburg EDC Board of Directors is comprised of Mayor Richard García as President, Harvey Rodríguez, Jr. as Vice President, Elías Longoria, Jr. as Secretary/Treasurer, and Richard Ruppert and Dr. Peter Dabrowski as Members. Richard García and Agustín García, Jr. are not related.
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by Legislative Media | Sep 27, 2016 | Politics
Featured: Dr. Havidán Rodríguez, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, on Friday, August 26, 2016, gave welcoming remarks for the university’s first Project Sin Fronteras banquet, hosted by the UTRGV Office of Sustainability at the Embassy Suites McAllen Convention Center. Rodríguez is a former member of the Board of Directors of the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation, which is the jobs-creation arm of the Edinburg Mayor and Edinburg City Council. The Edinburg EDC, its Board of Directors, the Edinburg Mayor and the Edinburg City Council lobby the Texas Legislature and the UT System Board of Regents 0n behalf of UTRGV and its School of Medicine in Edinburg.
Photograph By PAUL CHOUY
Edinburg and McAllen were the only two Valley cities which posted unemployment rates under 5.5 percent during the month of August 2016, according to the Texas Workforce Commission, which also reported on Friday, September 16, 2016, that Edinburg saw a growth of almost 1,000 jobs when comparing employment in August 2016 with August 2015. Edinburg’s 5.4 percent unemployment rate for August 2016 is the same as the August 2015 level (5.4 percent), and both of those figures were the best for that month since August 2008, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has announced. McAllen’s 5.3 percent unemployment rate for August 2016 was the best showing among all Valley cities for that month. The Texas Workforce Commission reported that there were 36,091 people employed in Edinburg during the month of August 2016. That performance represents an increase of 995 jobs in Edinburg when comparing the employment figures for August 2016 (36,091) and August 2015 (35,096). The Edinburg EDC, of which Agustín García, Jr. is Executive Director, is the jobs-creation arm of the Edinburg Mayor and Edinburg City Council. The Edinburg EDC Board of Directors is comprised of Mayor Richard García as President, Harvey Rodríguez, Jr. as Vice President, Elías Longoria, Jr. as Secretary/Treasurer, and Richard Ruppert and Dr. Peter Dabrowski as Members. Richard García and Agustín García, Jr. are not related.
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by Legislative Media | Sep 21, 2016 | Politics
Featured: An interior view of a Bob’s Steak & Chop House, the Dallas-based steakhouse system which has a presence in San Francisco, Tuscon, Nashville, and numerous other locations, and soon, in New York City and Edinburg. Bob’s unique atmosphere combines the old world elegance of rich mahogany booths, a polished bar and white, crisp table linens with modern, business casual attire. Celebrated by a loyal, repeat clientele, as well as new customers seeking more than just a restaurant, the highly-rated steakhouse, which will open locally in 2017, received a building permit from Edinburg’s Code Enforcement Department for the most valuable construction project in August 2016, worth $2.5 million.
Image Courtesy BOB’S STEAK & CHOP HOUSE
Construction and related building activities in Edinburg from January through August 2016 have passed the $166 million level, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has reported, with the month of August 2016 accounting for more than $13.8 million of that amount. The top construction projects in Edinburg for August 2016, not including the value of the land, are: $2,500,000 – First Hartford Realty Corp., 613 E. Trenton Road, The Shoppes at Rio Grande Valley Subdivision; $300,000 – Jacob & Jonathan Innovative Construction, 2302 Holland Avenue, Jackson Heights Subdivision; $289,000 – Timoteo Salinas, 4919 June Drive, Summerfield Manor Subdivision; $288,147 – Juan G. Soto, 707 Casa Vieja Street, Tierra Divina Estates Subdivision; and $275,000 – Israel Mata, 1131 N. Monmack Road, Monmack Terrace #2 Subdivision.First Hartford Realty Corp.’s building permit for work value at $2.5 million is for the construction of a 9,000 square-foot Bob’s Steak & Chop House, which will serve as the featured anchor of a 25,000 square-foot restaurants plaza at The Shoppes at Rio Grande Valley. The ground breaking ceremony for First Hartford’s Bob’s Steak & Chop House is tentatively set for Tuesday, October 18, 2016, with the grand opening set for Spring 2017, said Peter Higgins, Vice President/Director of Leasing for Leasing at First Hartford Corporation. The Edinburg EDC, of which Agustín García, Jr. is Executive Director, is the jobs-creation arm of the Edinburg Mayor and Edinburg City Council. The Edinburg EDC Board of Directors is comprised of Mayor Richard García as President, Harvey Rodríguez, Jr. as Vice President, Elías Longoria, Jr., as Secretary/Treasurer, and Richard Ruppert and Dr. Peter Dabrowski as Members. Mayor Richard García and Agustín García, Jr., are not related.
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