by Legislative Media | Feb 12, 2017 | Politics
Featured: The Center for Border Economic Studies (CBEST) of The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley on Friday, January 27, 2017, hosted its Economic Forecast Luncheon at the McAllen Public Library Conference Center. Visitors heard about the research and predicted outcomes of economic development in the area from speakers that included Francisco García Cabeza de Vaca, Governor of Tamaulipas, Mexico; Dr. Salvador Contreras, Director of CBEST; Dr. Dennis Jansen, Professor of Economics, Texas A&M University; María D. Juárez-Serna, Director of the UTRGV Small Business Development Center; and Dr. Keith R. Phillips, Assistant Vice President and Senior Economist, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, San Antonio Branch. Contreras addressed current and future regional economic activity, including the new, large retailers building in the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission area that place the MSA among some of the top metros in Texas, including San Antonio and Austin. The luncheon concluded with Gov. García Cabeza de Vaca, who told the crowd, “We can grow juntos (together) more than we can as two,” and encouraged our country to “build bridges, not walls.”
Photograph By SILVER SALAS
While the combined average of cities statewide in December 2016 showed a 0.9 percent decrease, Edinburg recorded a 1.33 percent increase in its retail economy, according to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. For the month of December 2016, Edinburg’s retail economy – as measured by local sales taxes generated from purchases of eligible goods and services – had the third-best showing among the Valley’s largest cities. That figure is based on sales made in December 2016 by businesses that report tax monthly; October, November and December sales by quarterly filers; and 2016 sales by businesses that report tax annually. The local sales tax is used in Edinburg to help pay for many city services, while the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation uses its one-half cent local sales tax to help generate economic development in the city. For December 2016, Edinburg’s retail economy generated $2,248,780.54 in local sales taxes, compared with $2,219,178.85 during the same period in 2015, representing the improvement of 1.33 percent, also according to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.
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by Legislative Media | Feb 6, 2017 | Politics
Featured: Rep. Eddie Lucio, III, D-Brownsville, with former Rep. Verónica Gonzáles, D-McAllen, observing, on Thursday, January 26, 2017, addressed lawmakers and their staffs from upstate, renowned Valley health professionals, and area leaders at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine in Harlingen as part of the Rio Grande Valley Partnership tour for state legislators to answer questions about the state of medicine in the Valley.
Photograph By DAVID PIKE
The Mayor and City Council will part of a delegation that will be meeting with state lawmakers in Austin on Tuesday, February 7, 2017, helping promote the community’s and region’s top priorities for the ongoing 85th Regular Session of the Texas Legislature at the Capitol, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has announced. Since the mid-1990’s, the mayor, city council, and Edinburg EDC leadership have played active and successful roles in promoting the legislative priorities for their community at the State Capitol. Their efforts have resulted in passing state laws and policies that have had a huge beneficial economic impact on the city. From lobbying on behalf of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and its School of Medicine in Edinburg, to helping secure funding that has converted U.S. Expressway 281 into Interstate Highway 69, the mayor, city council, Edinburg EDC Board of Directors, and their respective staffs, have worked with the city’s state legislative delegation on behalf of their constituents. The Edinburg EDC, of which Agustín García, Jr. is Executive Director, is the jobs-creation arm of the Mayor and 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 Rupert and Dr. Peter Dabrowski as Members. Edinburg EDC Board Vice President Rodríguez, Edinburg EDC Executive Director García, and Letty Reyes, Director of Business Development & Public Affairs for the Edinburg EDC, are scheduled to be in Austin as part of Rio Grande Valley Day. Mayor Richard García and Edinburg EDC Executive Director Agustín García, Jr. are not related.
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by Legislative Media | Feb 3, 2017 | Politics
Featured: Mayor Richard García makes a point to the audience during his State of the City Address on Thursday, April 24, 2014 at the Edinburg Conference Center at Renaissance.
Photograph By MARK MONTEMAYOR
Mayor Richard García has joined 28 other border leaders in asking Congress to oppose President Trump’s “reckless policies regarding our U.S. Border and Mexico, our neighbor and trading partner,” according to a letter dated Tuesday, January 31, 2017. The Edinburg Mayor, along with Hidalgo County Judge Ramón García (no relation), Brownsville Mayor Antonio “Tony” Martínez, and Rio Grande City Mayor Joel Villarreal were among the elected and appointed officials who signed the correspondence. The group’s concerns revolve around the public statements and actions, through presidential executive orders, issued by Trump about the Border Wall, immigration policies, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and “border tax” on imports to the U.S. from Mexico. “The President’s recent executive actions and rhetoric threaten not only lasting damage to our country’s relationship with Mexico but severe economic consequences to Border communities and the United States as a whole,” contend the Edinburg Mayor and the other leaders. “We have much to lose as a nation with the approach that the President is taking and we urge you to stand up for our communities and economy in the face of this divisive and dangerous antagonism toward the Border and Mexico.” Executive Orders (EOs) are legally binding orders given by the President, acting as the head of the Executive Branch, to Federal Administrative Agencies. Executive Orders are generally used to direct federal agencies and officials in their execution of congressionally established laws or policies, according to ThisNation.com. Trumps’ executive orders are available online at:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_executive_actions_by_Donald_Trump
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by Legislative Media | Jan 27, 2017 | Politics
Featured, from left: Alex Farías, Miss Teen Edinburg 2017; Jacob De León of Memorial Funeral Home, and Chairman of the Board, Edinburg Chamber of Commerce; Letty González, President, Edinburg Chamber of Commerce; J.J. Flores of Chorizo De San Manuel, and Vice Chair, Edinburg Chamber of Commerce; Johnny Rodríguez, Public Relations, Bert Ogden Dealer Group; Bert García, President, Rio Grande Valley FC Toros Football; Edinburg City Councilmember Richard Molina; Robert Lucio, Executive Manager, Bert Ogden Dealer Group; Richard Hinojosa, Edinburg City Manager; Alex Ríos of Kids College Learning Center and District Office Manager for Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, and who is Chairman-elect of the Edinburg Chamber of Commerce; Lee Castro of Legacy Funeral Home, and Member, Board of Directors, Edinburg Chamber of Commerce; Agustín Lozano, Jr., Public Relations, Bert Ogden Dealer Group; Mario Lizcano, Administrator of Community Engagement and Corporate Affairs; and
Lexi Esparza, Miss Edinburg 2017.
Photograph By RONNIE LARRALDE
Local leaders are making final preparations for the 49th Annual Fiesta Edinburg, presented by the Edinburg Chamber of Commerce, which will also serve to showcase H-E-B Park, which is the latest in a growing number of impressive entertainment venues in the city, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has announced. H-E-B Park is a $16.8+ million sports and entertainment outdoor complex that features a 9,700 seat capacity soccer-specific stadium, a park with a playground, an amphitheater with a capacity of 2,000 individuals, and lighted parking. On Tuesday, December 20, 2016, Fiesta Edinburg officials announced the four-day event – set for Thursday, February 23, 2017 through Sunday, February 26, 2017 – would be moving to a new location, the H-E-B Park, located at 1616 S. Raul Longoria Rd. in Edinburg. In previous years, the popular fiesta was held at the Edinburg Municipal Park. “We are excited about the new venue and we know our festival fans are going to love it as well,” said Letty González, President of the Edinburg Chamber of Commerce. “The facilities are state-of-the-art and this is going to create a statement environment like no other. The amphitheater is going to be electric.” The Edinburg EDC is one of the major sponsors for Fiesta Edinburg 2017. 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 | Jan 24, 2017 | Politics
Featured: Janiece Longoria of Houston, a renowned attorney who was born in McAllen and grew up in Pharr, was one of three Texans appointed on Monday, January 23, 2017 by Gov. Greg Abbott to the University of Texas System Board of Regents, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has announced. If approved by the Texas Senate, she would serve on one of the most powerful state boards, which controls tens of billions of dollars for the UT System, including money for the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and the School of Medicine campuses in Edinburg. Her term would begin on February 1, 2017 and end on February 1, 2023.
Photograph by: Scott Dalton
Janiece Longoria may soon be joining fellow attorney Ernest Aliseda of McAllen as a current UT System regent with deep roots in the Rio Grande Valley. Aliseda was appointed to a six-year term on the nine-member UT System Board of Regents by Gov. Rick Perry in February 2013. Longoria is a daughter of the late Sen. Raúl Longoria, D-Pharr, who was a civil rights activist in the Texas Legislature, both in the House of Representatives and then in the Senate, where he represented Hidalgo County. The Edinburg Mayor and the Edinburg City Council, along with the Edinburg EDC Board of Directors, lobby the Texas Legislature and the UT System Board of Regents on behalf of the UTRGV and School of Medicine campuses in Edinburg. Agustín García, Jr. is Executive Director for the Edinburg EDC, which 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 Rupert and Dr. Peter Dabrowski as Members. Agustín García, Jr. and Mayor Richard García are not related.
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