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 | Nov 15, 2016 | Politics
Featured: University of Texas Rio Grande Valley students Selene Salinas and Jorge Calderón present their research on the effect of economic variables in voting behaviors, during the Border Economic Development and Entrepreneurship Symposium (BEDES) on Wednesday, November 9, 2016, at the Embassy Suites McAllen Convention Center. The symposium was organized by the UTRGV Robert C. Vackar College of Business and Entrepreneurship, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas and the McAllen Chamber of Commerce. The Edinburg Mayor, Edinburg City Council, and Edinburg Economic Development Corporation lobby the Texas Legislature and the UT System Board of Regents for advances at UTRGV and the UTRGV School of Medicine in Edinburg.
Photograph By PAUL CHOY
Edinburg continues to lead major Valley economies with 4.54 percent growth rate from January through September 2016, compared with the same period last year, while statewide, all cities combined showed only a 0.9 percent increase, according to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. For the month of September 2016, Edinburg’s retail economy – as measured by local sales taxes generated from purchases of eligible goods and services – had the second-best showing among the Valley’s largest cities, coming in with a 3.70 percent improvement over the month of September 2015. Those figures are based on sales made in September 2016 by businesses that report tax monthly, and sales made in July, August and September by quarterly filers. The local sales tax data is among the latest economic barometers featured in a detailed summary provided by the state comptroller’s office, which released retail sales figures on Wednesday, November 9, 2016. During the first nine months of 2016, Edinburg’s retail economy produced $19,526,679.52 in local sales taxes, compared with $18,676,992.00 for January through September 2015, representing an improvement of 4.54 percent. For September 2016, Edinburg’s retail economy generated $1,933,808.59 in local sales taxes, compared with $1,864,640.98 during the same period in 2015, representing the improvement of 3.70 percent, also according to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.
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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 | Oct 20, 2016 | Politics
Featured: Dr. Guy Bailey, President, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, on Saturday, July 23, 2016, addressing the inaugural class of the UT Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine, which opened its $54 million Medical Education Building at the Edinburg campus, welcoming 55 students into its charter class. In a related development, the UT System Board of Regents on Monday, September 26, 2016, unanimously approved the leasing of an approximately 85,000-square-foot facility from Doctors Hospital at Renaissance, which is based in Edinburg, to UTRGV for medical research and educational and clinical uses. The Edinburg Mayor, Edinburg City Council, and Edinburg Economic Development Corporation lobby the Texas Legislature and the UT System Board of Regents for advances at UTRGV and the UTRGV School of Medicine in Edinburg.
Photograph By DAVID PIKE
More people continue to move into Edinburg, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has announced, based on the latest year-to-date figures which show that between January and September 2016, more than $108 million in new homes and multi-family residences were approved for construction. For the month of September 2016, total construction activities during that period totaled more than $13.5 million. Also year-to-date, construction and related building activities for all categories have approached the $180 million level, based on information collected by the city’s Code Enforcement Department. The increasing number of residents in Edinburg is reflected in the most recent population estimates by the U.S. Census Department, which show the city has grown more than 13 percent between April 1, 2010 and July 1, 2015. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Edinburg’s estimated population as of July 1, 2015 was 84,497, compared with 74,541 on April 1, 2010, representing a growth of 13.4 percent. Year-to-date (January through September 2016), building permits were issued for 357 single-family residences, valued at $47,071,342, compared with 257 single family residences, valued at $37,102,917 from January through September 2015. Year-to-date (January through September 2016), building permits were issued for 230 multi-family residences, representing 928 units, valued at $61,655,264, compared with 36 multi-family residences, representing 71 units, valued at $5,365,356, from January through September 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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