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Concealed handguns at UTRGV, trademark agreement with Doctors Hospital at Renaissance, and new Ph.D program tied to SpaceX set for action this week by UT System Board of Regents

Photograph By PAUL CHOUY

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Chapter of the American Marketing Association recently earned awards at the AMA shown here with their awards from the AMA annual competition in New Orleans. Featured, from left, are Eric Rodríguez, Saydahli Mejía, Julio Salinas, Óscar Ramos, David Pérez, Fabiola Cortés, Fuad Chagollán, Jolene Arellano, Martín Nievez, Ángela López, Albert Adame and Alexandra García. The AMA Collegiate Case Competition is an annual, international contest open to undergraduate teams at schools that have an affiliated AMA Collegiate Chapter. The purpose of the competition is to provide AMA Collegiate members an opportunity to work together on a problem that illustrates a real marketing situation, and to provide competition sponsors direct contact with marketing students who have possible real-world solutions to a marketing problem.

Photograph By PAUL CHOUY

Where and when concealed handguns may be carried at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, allowing Doctors Hospital at Renaissance to use trademarks of UTRGV’s School of Medicine, and creating a new Ph.D program to take advantage of the coming creation of the SpaceX launch site are among key items that will be taken up on Wednesday, May 11 and Thursday, May 12, 2016, by the UT System Board of Regents, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has announced. The EEDC, along with the City of Edinburg, promote 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.

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Almost $100 million in key funding secured for UT-RGV medical school and RAHC, DPS training facility, Edinburg airport hangar, and STC law enforcement center in final state budget, says Rep. Canales

Photograph By MARK MONTEMAYOR

Featured, from left: Rep. R.D. “Bobby” Guerra, D-McAllen; Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg; Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen; Sen. Eddie Lucio, Jr., D-Brownsville; Alma Ortega-Johnson, Area President South Texas Region for Wells Fargo; and Rep. Sergio Muñoz, Jr., D-Mission, on Tuesday, September 17, 2013, following the State Legislative Session Wrap-Up Luncheon, sponsored by the City of McAllen and the McAllen Chamber of Commerce, at the McAllen Country Club. Photograph By MARK MONTEMAYOR

 

Several key projects vital to the Edinburg region – specifically the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine, the UT-RGV Regional Academic Health Center Medical Research Division, a Texas Department of Public Safety multi-use training facility, a hanger for emergency first responder capabilities at the South Texas International Airport at Edinburg, and the South Texas Regional Center for Public Safety Excellence in Pharr – are included in the $209.4 billion two-year state spending plan that was approved by the Legislature on Friday, May 29, Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, has announced. Those legislative priorities represent almost $100 million in state investments, beginning on September 1, 2015, that will be coming to the Rio Grande Valley in addition to a separate but enormous infusion of other state funding for the major functions of state government in the Rio Grande Valley. “The Valley legislative delegation played our roles in generating the political support from our 172 other colleagues in the Legislature for securing additional state funding for exciting new projects for House District 40 and for the rest of deep South Texas,” said Canales, who represents House District 40. House District 40 includes portions or all of Edinburg, Elsa, Faysville, La Blanca, Linn, Lópezville, McAllen, Pharr, San Carlos and Weslaco. “The special appropriations totaling almost $100 million were secured by Valley legislators, led by Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen, who was the only South Texas lawmaker to serve on a 10-member Senate-House panel that came up with the final version of the state budget,” said Canales. “Having Sen. Hinojosa on the conference committee was invaluable. He deserves congratulations for a job well-done.” Hinojosa, D-McAllen,was one of only five Senate appointees – and the only Democrat – selected on Thursday, April 23, by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, to serve on the Senate/House Conference Committee that came up with a final state budget for the 2016-17 biennium. A conference committee is a special legislative panel appointed by the Lt. Governor and the Speaker of the House when there are differences between a Senate bill and a House bill that deal with the same issue, such as the proposed state budget that has been approved by the Senate and the proposed state budget that has been approved by the House of Representatives. Edinburg, where a major campus of the UT-RGV School of Medicine, now under construction, and the adjacent UT-RGV Regional Academic Health Center Medical Research Division are located, will see those two cutting-edge facilities share in $91.7 million in state funds over the next two years. The UT-RGV School of Medicine also includes a major presence in Harlingen, with the UT-RGV RAHC Medical Education Division, while the UT-RGV School of Medicine in Edinburg will provide the first two years of a medical student’s education, along with the groundbreaking studies at the neighboring UT-RGV RAHC Medical Research Division. From the $91.7 million in state funding, more than $60 million will go towards the School of Medicine, while $31.4 million will be invested in the UT-RGV Regional Academic Health Centers. The leadership of UT-RGV will decide what portions of that money will be invested in each of the facilities and their programs. New money for public safety and law enforcement – not counting hundreds of millions of dollars for border security measures that will come into the Valley – was approved for the Edinburg region. The South Texas International Airport at Edinburg picked up $3 million to help expand its hangar capabilities, which are needed by the Texas Department of Public Safety for emergency and first responders for staging and storage purposes. That money is coming out of a state highway fund that is reserved for public safety efforts at local airports throughout Texas. Also, $2 million has been set aside to build a Department of Public Safety multi-use training facility to be used by DPS, the Texas military forces, county and municipal law enforcement agencies, and any other military or law enforcement agencies, including agencies of the federal government, for training purposes. It is the intent of the Legislature that the governing body of the County of Hidalgo or the City of Edinburg may donate 200 acres of real property to DPS for the training facility. If donated, DPS shall accept 200 acres of donated land from the governing body of the County of Hidalgo or the City of Edinburg for the purpose of constructing the training facility. Edinburg’s neighboring community, the City of Pharr, picked up more than $1.5 million, effective on September 1, 2015, to help in the construction of the South Texas College Regional Center for Public Safety Excellence. That complex, to be built on a 50-to-60 acre tract of land to be donated by the City of Pharr, will “increase necessary access to training opportunities for officers in the Rio Grande Valley region and, in turn, improve public safety and border security,” said Rep. Sergio Muñoz, Jr., D-Mission, whose House District 36 includes most of Pharr. “The training provided at the regional center also would provide officers with college credit toward either an associate’s or a bachelor’s degree, while the four police academies in the area would not.” The state money would be in addition to $4.2 million already set aside by South Texas College for the construction of a 16,000 square-foot facility to include a vehicle driving range, outdoor shooting range, firearms simulator, mobile firearms simulator/live firing range, driving simulator, obstacle course, fitness rooms, classrooms and administrative offices. “The Regional Center for Public Safety Excellent will increase necessary access to training opportunities for officers in the Rio Grande Valley region and, in turn, improve public safety and border security,” Muñoz further explained. “The training provided at the regional center also would provide officers with college credit toward either an associate’s or a bachelor’s degree, while the four police academies in the area would not.” The state funding comes as part of House Bill 1887, which is well on its way to being approved by the Legislature. HB 1887, authored by Muñoz and sponsored by Hinojosa, amends the Education Code to create the Regional Center for Public Safety Excellence to provide education and training for law enforcement personnel in the Rio Grande Valley. “Having such an educational facility for our current and future law enforcement officials will be a tremendous benefit for the delivery of justice and the protection of all of us in deep South Texas,” said Canales, whose House District 40 includes 19 percent of the City of Pharr. “I appreciate Rep. Muñoz allowing me to sign on as joint author of HB 1887, and I appreciated working with him and the leadership of Pharr and South Texas College on this most important legislative effort.” Along with Canales, the other joint authors of HB 1887 are Rep. R.D. “Bobby” Guerra, D-McAllen, Rep. Eddie Lucio, III, D-San Benito, and Rep. Ryan Guillén, D-Rio Grande City.

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Edinburg 2008 construction drops $45 million from 2007, with new homes down by more than 50 percent

Edinburg 2008 construction drops $45 million from 2007, with new homes down by more than 50 percent - Concealed handguns - Titans of the Texas Legislature

Rep. Aaron Peña, D-Edinburg, featured second from left, on Wednesday, March 4, presented legislation that would create a medical school in the Rio Grande Valley.  His measure, along with similar, but separate plans by Rep. Armando "Mando" Martínez, D-Weslaco, and Rep. Eddie Lucio, III, D-San Benito, were considered by the House Committee on Higher Education. Peña’s measure, House Bill 110, would transform the Regional Academic Health Center, located in Edinburg and Harlingen, into a stand-alone, four-year medical school and health science center. The key legislative panel, which has no Valley lawmakers, heard testimony in support of the medical school idea, but no vote was taken. Featured during a break during the panel hearing to review the legislation are, from left: Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas, chair of the House Higher Education Committee; Peña; Martínez; and Lucio, III. See story later in this posting. 

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Edinburg 2008 construction drops $45 million from 2007, with new homes down by more than 50 percent - Concealed handguns - Titans of the Texas Legislature

Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., D-Brownsville, presents a Texas flag to Edinburg native Captain Leonel A. Peña after honoring him on Tuesday, March 3, with a Senate resolution on the Senate floor at the Texas Capitol. Peña is the youngest person and first and only Hispanic to become conductor for the United States Army Band program. Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, D-McAllen, not featured in this portrait, also was a co-author of the Senate resolution. See story later in this posting. 

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Edinburg 2008 construction drops $45 million from 2007, with new homes down by more than 50 percent - Concealed handguns - Titans of the Texas Legislature

More than 200 educators from across the Rio Grande Valley, Texas and the nation gathered in early March to discuss methods to accelerate students through the education pipeline and into the workforce. Hosted by South Texas College, 2009 marks the fourth year for the event. During the day-long summit, attendees looked at student access and success through a variety of lenses, including issues related to the Latino student population, issues faced by migrant and impoverished students, and how technology and the global marketplace have changed the education pipeline. Featured, from left: Pricilla Hinojosa, MISD project manager for STC; STC President Shirley A. Reed; and Jessica Ray Rincones, a student in STC’s MCCTI Program with her parents Nancy and Ruben Rincones. See story later in this posting. 

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Edinburg 2008 construction drops $45 million from 2007, with new homes down by more than 50 percent - Concealed handguns - Titans of the Texas Legislature

An intriguing list of presenters, events and activities will delight the community – young and old – at the third annual Festival of International Books and Arts (FESTIBA) scheduled for March 22-28 at The University of Texas-Pan American. FESTIBA is a weeklong celebration of the arts and humanities and promotes literacy and cultural awareness by providing students and the Rio Grande Valley community interactive, hands-on opportunities to experience books, theatre, storytelling, music, art, dance, and performance competitions. Participants in a February 20 press conference to announce FESTIBA 2009 activities were, from left: Dr. Peter Dabrowski, associate director, UTPA Department of Music and Dance; Laura Hinojosa, Hidalgo County Clerk and president of the South Texas Literacy Coalition; Stephen Leach, director of Government Relations and Community Outreach, Reading is Fundamental; Dr. Dahlia Guerra, UTPA dean of the College of Arts and Humanities and FESTIBA coordinator; and Dr. Steven Schneider, UTPA English professor, director of New Programs and Special Projects in the College of Arts and Humanities and Big Read project director. 

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Titans of the Texas Legislature