by Legislative Media | Oct 17, 2007 | Politics |
Robert and Janet Vackar, featured third and fifth from left, are cheered by employees and well-wishers, including Hidalgo County Judge J.D. Salinas, III (next to Mrs. Vackar) on Tuesday, October 9, during the ribbon-cutting ceremony of their car dealership group’s latest addition, Fiesta Chevrolet, located at the intersection of the U.S. North Expressway 281 frontage road and Trenton Road. The new dealership is the latest economic boom in east Edinburg that is being influenced by the Edinburg City Council and its jobs-creation arm, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation. See story later in this posting.
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Edinburg Mayor Joe Ochoa and Mayor Pro Tem Alma Garza on Saturday, October 13, helped welcome Lacks furniture store back into the three-time All-America City during a ribbon-cutting ceremony held in front of the 46,000-square-foot showroom, located in the Fairhaven Subdivision, near the intersection of Canton Road and the U.S. Expressway 281 frontage road. “We have been out of Edinburg since November 2004, and we hated to leave Edinburg – it is a very special city,” said Lee Aaronson, president and chief executive officer of Lacks. “Our business has been in the Valley since 1935, and we had been in Edinburg for most of those years. But at one point, we realized that the store in Edinburg wasn’t as nice as the City of Edinburg, and we had to get another location that would be the kind of store that would befit this beautiful city. We hope that we have brought that to you at this point.” Featured in this photograph are, front row, from left: Garza; Ochoa; Aaronson; Ramón Martínez, store manager; Jackie Moffitt, who designs the layout of the furniture displays; Kris Karr, advertising director; and Cassandra Leal, Miss Edinburg 2008. Second row, from left, are Laura Flores, sales consultant; Michelle Richards, sales consultant; Charles Justis, financial officer; and Al Moffitt, general manager for the 11 Lacks stores and clearance center. See story later in this posting.
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Rep. Aaron Peña, D-Edinburg, has announced his campaign kick-off, which is free and open to the public, for Thursday, November 8, at the ECHO Hotel, 1903 S. Closner Boulevard in Edinburg. The event will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Peña, chairman of the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee, is seeking his fourth two-year term as the representative for House District 40, which includes all but southwest Edinburg, La Joya and Sullivan City in western Hidalgo County, Edcouch, Elsa, La Villa, and San Carlos in eastern Hidalgo County, and northern Hidalgo County. Peña, an Edinburg attorney, is featuring in his campaign his slogan, “The experience to lead, the power to succeed.” He is facing Eddie Sáenz, an Edinburg civil engineer, for the March 4 Democratic Party primary nomination. There are no other announced candidates in that race so far.
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On Thursday, October 25, Winning Mortgage Solutions will host “The ABC’s of Mortgage”, a free home buyers seminar to the general public. Mortgage lending will be explained and experienced loan officers will be on-hand to answer any questions immediately following the presentations. The free seminar will take place at the Edinburg Chamber of Commerce, 602 West University from 5:30-7:00 p.m. Please contact Cynthia Bocanegra, featured here, at 956/341-8538 for additional information.
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South Texas College’s A Night with the Stars event recently celebrated 10 years of academic excellence and honored former Valley Scholars scholarship recipients. From left, front, are Valley Scholar graduates Mario Segura; Christopher O. Park; Shalimar Madrigal; Judith Hernández; Cynthia E. López; Constance A. Salinas; Kyndra Nicole Gatton; and José Tomás Calzadias Jr. Back row, from left, are: Dr. Mike Metke, event presenter; Dr. Ramiro Casso, M.D., event presenter; STC president Dr. Shirley A. Reed; Anahid Petrosian, STC Assistant to the Vice President for Instructional Services; Juan E. Mejia, STC Vice President for Instructional Services; Juan E. Mejia; Marie E. Olivárez, STC Valley Scholars Coordinator; and Dr. Dana Cantú, event presenter. Not featured in this portrait shot are Mary De León, event presenter, and Valley Scholars scholarship recipients Amir Esmaeili and José Luis Caraveo. See story later in this posting.
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by Legislative Media | Oct 9, 2007 | Politics |
Javier Villalobos of McAllen, who is seeking the House District 41 state representative seat currently held by Rep. Verónica Gonzáles, D-McAllen, points to more than 300 friends who showed up on Thursday, October 4 in McAllen for a fundraiser to help power his campaign. “The winds of change are coming,” Villalobos told his supporters. “I think people are interested, and they do want to help. We were hoping to raise about $20,000 or $25,000, but we were able to raise $61,400.” See story later in this posting.
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Ramiro Garza, Jr., executive director for the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation, gestures to a screen containing economic and demographic information about the city during a Thursday, October 4 commercial real estate roundtable hosted by the EEDC at the Edinburg Depot. Leticia Reyes, EEDC project manager featured left, also participate in the presentation. See story later in this posting.
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Sebastian J. Izaguirre, son of José and Mayra Izaguirre from Edinburg, was the first baby born at the newly-opened, $67 million Women’s Hospital at Renaissance. The baby was delivered at 3:14 p.m. on Monday, October 1, weighing seven pounds and measuring 20.5 inches. “This modern state-of-the-art facility is the Valley’s only hospital dedicated exclusively to women’s healthcare needs,” says Marissa Castañeda, DHR Chief Operations Officer. “We are elated to join with over 45 obstetric and gynecological physicians in providing the highest quality care to women in South Texas.” In recognition of being the first baby born at The Women’s Hospital at Renaissance, Baby Izaguirre received a $10,000 savings bond from Lone Star National Bank and Doctors Hospital at Renaissance. HEB Food Stores was present during the formal presentation to the community and will be providing a supply of diapers and wipes for the first year to the Izaguirre family. The Women’s Hospital at Renaissance is scheduled to deliver 8,000 babies in its first year of operation and will revolutionize women’s healthcare in our region. For more information please call the Women’s Hospital at Renaissance at (956) 688-4000.
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by Legislative Media | Sep 19, 2007 | Politics |
Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen, shows off his hat in recognition of the cowboy/vaquero culture that is deeply rooted among many families in his legislative district, which stretches from McAllen/Edinburg/Mission through Corpus Christi. “This is for the people,” Hinojosa told several hundred supporters in McAllen, as he tipped his hat in their honor, during his campaign kick-off, held Thursday, September 13, at the Holidome. See story later in this posting.
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The construction of the first private student housing development to serve the University of Texas-Pan American will give the local economy an estimated $18 million shot in the arm, and send yet another message that both the university and city are growing by leaps and bounds, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has announced. The complex, to be called The Veranda Place, is being built on North Sugar Road.
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Steven J. Escobar, a 1987 Edinburg High School graduate, has sparked Bobcat pride for alma mater and for his hometown with his recent Emmy® Award for Outstanding Picture Editing for Reality Programming at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences 2006-2007 Creative Arts Primetime Emmys in Los Angeles. See story later in this posting.
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by Legislative Media | Sep 5, 2007 | Politics |
Principal participants with Hidalgo County Road Builders are featured in Edinburg on August 9 after being chosen by the Hidalgo County Regional Mobility Authority as the agent to develop a proposed Southern Loop Project in Hidalgo County. The RMA’s next scheduled session has been announced – the governmental entity will hold a public meeting on Wednesday, September 12, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the City Commissioner’s Room, located on the second floor of Pharr City Hall, 118 S. Cage Boulevard. The agenda for that session will be posted three days before the meeting at http://www.lrgvdc.org/RMA/meetings.html. Included in this portrait shot are (center, first row) Gerry E. Pate, P.E., managing partner of Hidalgo County Road Builders and Pate Transportation Partners, and to his right, Jennie N. Taraborelli, a partner with Pate Transportation Partners.
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Mikal Watts, featured right, a probably Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, was in Edinburg recently, flanked by area mayors, including, from left, Salvador Vela of Alton, Gumaro Flores of Sullivan City, and Jorge Garcia of Palmview. The Labor Day weekend represents the traditional kick-off for major political campaigns, such as Watts’ hopes to unseat incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, in November 2008. But first, Watts may face Rep. Rick Noriega, D-Houston, who is also considering a run for the March 2008 Democratic Party nomination to challenge Cornyn. Watts has picked up key endorsements in Edinburg, including support from: Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen; Hidalgo County Judge J.D. Salinas, III; Rep. Aaron Peña, D-Edinburg; and Mayor Joe Ochoa. Recently, Noriega announced endorsements from two former Democratic Party icons – Gov. Dolph Briscoe and Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby. See story later in this posting.
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The amount of bank deposits in Edinburg has passed $1 billion, a new record, while new construction activities continued strong, approaching $123 million between January and July 2007, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has announced. “Edinburg’s economy is growing rapidly and the bank deposits reaching the billion dollar mark shows the level of investment interest in Edinburg and strong business activity taking place,” said Ramiro Garza, Jr., executive director of the EEDC. The EEDC, which is the jobs-creation arm of the Edinburg City Council, is governed by a five-person board of directors, which includes Mayor Joe Ochoa, former mayor Richard García, who is the EEDC board president, and Fred Palacios, Mike Govind, and Dr. Glenn A. Martínez, Ph.D. Included in this photograph that featured local business leaders announcing the milestone is City Councilmember Gene Espinoza, featured right. See story later in this posting.
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by Legislative Media | Aug 28, 2007 | Politics |
Rep. Verónica Gonzáles, D-McAllen, thanks several hundred supporters on Friday, August 24, as she participates as a model for her unique fund raiser, which featured her and other lawmakers in a fashion style show at the Embassy Suites in McAllen. She picked up almost $50,000 for her campaign war chest, along with endorsements from key political figures. She is facing at least one opponent in 2008: Republican Javier Villalobos. Both of them are McAllen-based attorneys. See story later in this posting.
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Estella Treviño, longtime executive director for the Edinburg Housing Authority, beamed with pride on Monday, August 20, as she posed with the Edinburg City Council, which presented her a proclamation chronicling many of her achievements on behalf of the community. Among her accomplishments are helping provide affordable housing to thousands of residents, creating opportunities for property owners to rent homes to qualified families, and fighting the negative image of public housing. “Ms. Treviño and the agency have received a host of awards for her diligent efforts including the Outstanding Services Award in 1975; the Specific Activity Award for outstanding programs offered through the Drug Elimination Program in 1994; the Award for Excellence in Youth Sports in 1995; the Family Self-Sufficiency Program Award in 1996; the Texas NAHRO Member of the Year Award in 1998; and the 2005 Texas NAHRO Hall of Fame Award,” said Mayor Pro Tem Alma Garza. “Widely known as an advocate of public housing and the elderly Ms. Treviño has changed the agency from merely providing assisted housing to helping residents achieve self-sufficiency and marketable skills enabling many of them to move beyond subsidized housing to homeownership.”
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South Texas College’s Valley Scholars Program is celebrating its 10th anniversary at its annual Night with the Stars this October. The special event is designed to celebrate 10 years of academic excellence and pay tribute to ten outstanding Valley Scholar students, who have continued on to successful careers and have made positive changes in their communities. The celebration will take place on Thursday, October 4, 2007 at the Cimarron Country Club and will be an evening of celebration, recognition and entertainment. All proceeds from the event will benefit future South Texas College Valley Scholars Program students. As a result of the 2006 event, more than $40,000 was raised for the program. The coordinating team for the event includes, from left, seated: Sora Yañez, graphic designer; Marie Olivárez, STC Valley Scholars coordinator, Anahid Petrosian STC Assistant to the Vice President for Instructional Services , and Sylvia Bernal, administrative assistant. From left, standing, are: Roberto Gutiérrez, STC Fundraising Development Associate; George McCaleb, STC Director of Operations; and Ginna Gutiérrez, secretary.
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