by Legislative Media | Nov 14, 2017 | Politics
UTRGV Civil Engineering Assistant Professor Jongmin Kim on Tuesday, Nov. 08, 2016 at the Academic Services building in Edinburg, Texas.
UTRGV Photo by Paul Chouy
Featured: The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley has been ranked in the top seven colleges in Texas for civil engineering majors by Zippia.com, a career resource website. Shown here is UTRGV Civil Engineering Assistant Professor Jongmin Kim during a class at the Academic Services building on the Edinburg Campus. The Edinburg Mayor and Edinburg City Council, along with the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation and its Board of Directors, lobby the Texas Legislature and the UT System Board of Regents on matters that benefit and protect UTRGV and its School of Medicine, which have major campuses in the city.
Photograph By PAUL CHOUY
As part of its regional and statewide reach, the Mayor and Edinburg City Council on Wednesday, November 15, 2017, are scheduled to appoint members of the city’s top elected officials to three major regional groups – the Lower Rio Grande Valley Development Council, the Hidalgo County Metropolitan Organization, and Amigos del Valle, Inc., the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has announced. The Edinburg EDC, of which Agustín García is Executive Director, is the jobs-creation arm of the Edinburg Mayor and Edinburg City Council. On the agenda for the city council’s regular meeting is a scheduled discussion on deciding who from the five-member City Council, which includes the mayor and four city councilmembers, will represent Edinburg on regional advisory groups which control the flow of millions of dollars a year in state and federal funds to Hidalgo County and deep South Texas. “The city’s top elected leadership has delivered for its constituents through their key participation and roles in Congress and before the Texas Legislature, and in working with the many federal and state agencies that have funds and policies that greatly benefit our community,” said Edinburg EDC’s García. “The work of the mayor and city council on boards and commissions here in deep South Texas is just as important.” The Edinburg EDC Board of Directors is comprised of Mayor-elect Richard Molina as President, Harvey Rodríguez, Jr. as Vice President, Elías Longoria, Jr., as Secretary/Treasurer, and Richard Ruppert and Dr. Peter Dabrowski as Members. Molina, Councilmember-elect Gilbert Enríquez, and Councilmember-elect Jorge “Coach” Salinas, who won their campaigns for their respective positions on Tuesday, November 7, 2017, will be sworn into office beginning at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, September 15, 2017, followed by the city council’s first regular meeting beginning at 6:30 p.m. Both events, which are open to the public, will be held in the Council Chambers of Edinburg City Hall, located at 415 East University Drive.
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by Legislative Media | Nov 8, 2017 | Politics
Featured: Seated, second from right: Newly-elected Edinburg Mayor Richard Molina, during a recent planning session of the Edinburg Chamber of Commerce 2017-2018 Board of Directors, which took place on Wednesday, September 20, 2017 at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in Edinburg. Also in this image with Molina, who was elected the city’s mayor on Tuesday, November 7, 2017, are some of the other members of that business organization’s leadership. Seated from left: Hiren Govind representing Town Place Suites by Marriott; Jacob De León representing Memorial Funeral Home and Past Chairman of the Edinburg Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors; Mayor-elect Richard Molina representing Odyssey Primary Home Care; and Verónica Gonzáles representing The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Standing, from left, are: Michael Williamson representing PlainsCapital Bank; Julio Carranza representing Landmark Mortgage; Kelly Salazar representing Linebarger Goggan Blair and Sampson; Cris Torres representing Greater State Bank; and Elva Jackson Garza representing Edwards Abstract and Title Co.
Photograph By RONNIE LARRALDE
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, which has its largest campus and a School of Medicine in Edinburg, is scheduled to receive a major boost in its academic programs on Wednesday, November 8, and Thursday, November 9, 2017, when the UT System Board of Regents meet in Austin to consider adding a Doctor of Philosophy degree program in Mathematics and Statistics with Interdisciplinary Applications, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has announced. A Doctor of Philosophy is the highest academic degree awarded by universities in most countries (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_of_Philosophy). Also on the agenda affecting the Edinburg campus are plans to lease approximately 6,200 square feet of space located in the University Library building and at athletic venues on the campus at 1201 West University Drive, and to buy, at fair market value, property located at 2802 Fountain Plaza Blvd. to be used for future programmed campus expansion, including medical office and educational use by the institution’s doctorate program in clinical psychology. UTRGV’s College of Liberal Arts is currently in the process of developing a Ph.D. program in clinical psychology. Currently, UTRGV offers four doctoral programs: Business Administration (PhD), Curriculum and Instruction (EdD), Educational Leadership (EdD), and Rehabilitation Counseling (PhD). It also offers two cooperative doctoral programs, Pharmacy (PharmD) and Physics (PhD). The Doctor of Philosophy degree program in Mathematics and Statistics with Interdisciplinary Applications would be designed to meet the needs of UTRGV students interested in a wide range of careers, including those in academia, industry, and government, according to the agenda packet of the regents’ meeting, which will occur on the second floor of the UT System Building, 210 West 7th St., in Austin. An important characteristic of the proposed program is its emphasis on applications of mathematics and statistics that cut across biological, environmental, life, physical and social sciences, engineering, medicine, and finance fields. The Edinburg Mayor, the Edinburg City Council, and the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation and its Board of Directors lobby the Texas Legislature and the UT System Board of Regents on matters that benefit and protect UTRGV and its School of Medicine, which have major campuses in the city. The Edinburg EDC, of which Agustín García 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-elect Richard Molina 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 7, 2017 | Politics
Dr. Gladys Maestre, Professor of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine in Edinburg and Director of the Memory Disorders Center at UTRGV’s Institute for Neurosciences, is conducting research about the high number of Alzheimer’s and dementia cases in the Rio Grande Valley’s Latino population, UTRGV officials announced on Thursday, October 19, 2017. The Edinburg Mayor and Edinburg City Council, along with the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation and its Board of Directors, lobby the Texas Legislature and the UT System Board of Regents on matters that benefit and protect UTRGV and its School of Medicine, which have major campuses in the city.
Photograph By DAVID PIKE
Total construction activities in Edinburg from January through August 2017, including almost $22.5 million for the month of August, reached more than $217 million, compared with more than $166 million during the first eight months of 2016, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has announced. During August 2017, new construction of commercial facilities and new construction of multi-family residences led the way, with the issuance of building permits for investments valued at more than $8.4 million and more than $6.4 million, respectively. Those year-to-date and monthly 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. The building permits do not include the value of the land for the homes and buildings. In general, a building permit is legal permission given by the City of Edinburg, through the Code Enforcement Department, to erect, construct, renovate, maintain, or conduct any other specified activity on any building or structure, or on any installations or facilities therein. The term “building permit” includes but is not limited to building permits, electrical permits, mechanical permits, and plumbing permits. The top construction projects in Edinburg for August 2017, not including the value of the land, are: $4,000,000 – Safil Group LLC, 3131 W. Freddy González Dr., West Meadows Subdivision (Commercial New); $1,500,000 – Aguayo Corona LEP, 3807 S. Veterans Blvd., Kelly-Pharr Subdivision (Multi-Family New/Addition/Remodel); $1,500,000 – CTC Asset Company, LTD, 501 W. Owassa, Kelly Pharr Tract Subdivision (Commercial New); $850,000 – Linebarger, Goggan, Blair & Sampson, 1512 Lone Star Way, Lone Star Plaza Subdivision (Commercial New); $725,000 – Amigo Motel Jay B. Patel, 2721 S. Hwy 281, Kelly-Pharr Subdivision (Commercial New); $600,000 – Doctor’s Hospital at Renaissance, 2603 Michelangelo Dr., Doctors Center Ph. 2 Subdivision (Commercial Additions/Repairs); and $600,000 – Edinburg Consolidated Independent School District, 1023 E. Kuhn St., Edinburg Original Townsite Subdivision (Non-Taxable Addition/Remodel). The Edinburg EDC, of which Agustín García 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 Edinburg EDC Executive Director Agustín García are not related.
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by Legislative Media | Oct 13, 2017 | Politics
Featured: Students make their way to breakout sessions during the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley’s Hispanic Engineering, Science, and Technology (HESTEC) Latina Day on Wednesday, October 4, 2017 at the Fieldhouse in Edinburg. The Edinburg Mayor and Edinburg City Council, along with the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation and its Board of Directors, lobby the Texas Legislature and the UT System Board of Regents on matters that benefit and protect UTRGV and its School of Medicine, which have major campuses in the city. In the background is a portion of the $70 million, 115,000-square-foot, four-story addition to the UTRGV Science Building in Edinburg, which is set to be completed early next year. The expansion is making possible crucial infrastructure, such as classrooms, offices, suites, works stations, laboratories, and equipment, to increase to 873 a year the number of graduates in STEM, which stands for the fields of science, technology, engineering and math. With the addition, the Science Building will be the largest facility on the Edinburg campus, resulting in a 272,000-square foot intensive STEM research and learning center.
Photograph By SILVER SALAS
Edinburg posted an unemployment rate of 6.2 percent in August 2017, which is the second-best showing for that month since 2008, with 36,066 people holding down full-time jobs, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has announced. This latest data also showed that Edinburg saw a growth of 254 jobs when comparing the monthly totals of August 2017 (36,066) and August 2016 (35,812), according to the Edinburg EDC, which is the jobs-creation arm of the Edinburg City Council. Edinburg and McAllen, which posted an unemployment rate for August 2017 of 5.5 percent, compared favorably with other large population centers in the Valley, which reported unemployment rates ranging from 6.7 percent (Harlingen) to 9.3 percent (Weslaco). The unemployment rate is a key indicator of the strength of the local economy. The August 2017 numbers are based on preliminary figures released on Friday, September 15, 2017, by the Texas Workforce Commission. The unemployment rate is the number of persons unemployed, expressed as a percentage of the civilian labor force, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. The civilian labor force is that portion of the population age 16 and older employed or unemployed. To be considered unemployed, a person has to be not working but willing and able to work and actively seeking work. Edinburg’s August 2017 unemployment rate of 6.2 percent is part of a consistent pattern of positive reports, including July (5.7 percent), June 2017 (5.9), May 2017 (5.4 percent), April 2017 (5.4 percent), March 2017 (6 percent), February 2017 (6.4 percent) and January 2017 (6.2 percent). Edinburg’s August 2017 unemployment rate of 6.2 percent is part of a consistent pattern of positive reports, including July (5.7 percent), June 2017 (5.9), May 2017 (5.4 percent), April 2017 (5.4 percent), March 2017 (6 percent), February 2017 (6.4 percent) and January 2017 (6.2 percent). The Edinburg EDC, of which Agustín García 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 Edinburg EDC Executive Director Agustín García are not related.
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by Legislative Media | Sep 6, 2017 | Politics
Featured, key leaders and most of the new members of Hive Effect, an entrepreneur development initiative created by the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation, following their orientation session on Wednesday, August 23, 2017, at the offices of Grindstone Coworking, located at 506 West University Drive. From left, front row, are: José Chávez; Gerardo González; Donica Landa; Renee Sánchez; and Dani Marrero. From left, back row: Cooper Thompson; Steven De Los Santos; Agustín García, Executive Director, Edinburg Economic Development Corporation; Daniel Rivera, Founder, Grindstone Coworking and Director of Hive Effect in Edinburg; Elizabeth Martínez; Marco Barrios-Espinoza; Mark Laguñez; Pete Díaz; and Cirano Lagunas. Not shown in this image are Noé Ramos, Mark Harris, and Mauricio Atilano.
Photograph By JENNIFER CABRERA
The Edinburg Economic Development Corporation, in collaboration with Grindstone Coworking, has announced the second cohort (new set of members) of the Hive Effect, which is an innovative entrepreneur development initiative designed to help local businesses, particularly small firms and sole proprietors, to succeed and prosper. According to its website (http://hiveeffect.com/about-us/): Hive Effect uses a three-pronged approach to cultivate the entrepreneurial ecosystem and promote regional collaboration. It utilizes coworking, education, and mentorship to help both startups and existing businesses; Hive Effect conducts a six-month education program called the Hive Effect Learning Program (HELP). Applications for HELP are reviewed for acceptance twice each year to select cohort participants. Hive Effect partners with local and regional entrepreneurial organizations and businesses with programs and events that aim to grow the entrepreneurial ecosystem across the Rio Grande Valley; and Grindstone Coworking, located at 506 West University Drive, is a membership-based office in Edinburg. Designed for mobile workers, freelancers, and startups, the office provides workspace, phone booths, private suites, conference rooms, training rooms, a copy center, mailboxes and other amenities for today’s modern businesses. “The EDC is excited to again partner up with Grindstone Coworking to promote this second, six-month initiative,” said Agustín García, Executive Director, Edinburg Economic Development Corporation. “Hive Effect has become a valuable resource for some of our city’s most exciting new businesses.” Daniel Rivera, founder of Grindstone Coworking and Director of Hive Effect, added: “We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished with Hive Effect since its launch in September 2016. Our coursework, mentorship and implementation of the coworking concept last year helped 10 entrepreneurs achieve great things for their respective businesses, and we’re happy to announce our second cohort (new set of members) of 15 individuals to our growing community.” The Edinburg EDC is the jobs-creation arm of the Edinburg Mayor and Edinburg City Council, which includes Mayor Pro Tem J.R. Betancourt, Councilmember Homer Jasso, Jr. Councilmember Richard Molina, and Councilmember David Torres. The Edinburg EDC Board of Directors is comprised 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. Mayor Richard García and Edinburg EDC Executive Agustín García are not related.
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