by Legislative Media | Aug 7, 2016 | Politics
Featured: Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, on Tuesday, July 5, 2016 at the Medical Education Building in Edinburg, which is a major component of the School of Medicine for the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Canales was a cosponsor in 2013 of Senate Bill 24, authored by Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen, and sponsored by Rep. René Oliveira, D-Brownsville, which created a full-fledged medical school for deep South Texas.
Photograph By ALEX RÍOS
Under a measure being proposed by the Texas Department of Agriculture, which is being opposed by Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, small business citrus and rose nurseries throughout Texas would pay dramatically higher fees to the state for exporting their products to the rest of the nation. Canales is the only Valley lawmaker among the 28 state legislators calling on TDA Commissioner Sid Miller, a Republican, to eliminate a proposed fee increase by the state agency for the issuance of phytosanitary certificates, which helps guarantee that plants and plant products exported by Texans are pest-free. The proposed fee increase would especially hurt small business owners, the House District 40 lawmaker noted.
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by Legislative Media | Jul 31, 2016 | Politics
Featured, on Wednesday, July 27, 2016, at the ECHO Hotel and Conference Center in Edinburg following the Public Affairs Luncheon, which was organized by the Edinburg Chamber of Commerce, front row, from left: City Councilmember David Torres; Elva Jackson Garza (Vice President, Edwards Abstract and Title Co.); Cris Torres (Vice President, Greater State Bank); David Salinas (President/CEO, Greater State Bank); Mayor Richard García; Guy Bailey, Ph.D. (President, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley); Robert Lozano (Chairman of the Board, Greater State Bank); Agustín Lozano, Jr. (Bert Ogden Dealer Group); and Marty Martin (Rio Valley Realty). Back row, from left: Johnny Rodríguez (Bert Ogden Dealer Group); Mario Lizcano (Doctors Hospital at Renaissance); Jacob De León (Memorial Funeral Home); Sergio González (Rosie’s Flower Shop); Ricardo Hinojosa (Chief Financial Officer, Greater State Bank); Víctor Barbosa (Vice President, Greater State Bank); Claudia Alvarado (Officer, Greater State Bank); James Cano (Senior Vice President, Greater State Bank); Mark Hernández (Senior Vice President, Greater State Bank); and Michael Williamson (PlainsCapital Bank). Greater State Bank was the sponsor of the quarterly event.
Photograph By RONNIE LARRALDE
College football, which is currently being considered for the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, could have positive results far beyond the gridiron, according to Guy Bailey, Ph.D., the President of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Bailey, whose extensive professional credentials include serving as president of The University of Alabama and Texas Tech University, which have high-profile football programs, brought up the possible addition of the nation’s most popular college sport to UTRGV during his presentation on Wednesday, July 27, 2016 before a full house in the Hidalgo Banquet Room of the ECHO Hotel and Conference Center in Edinburg. “As we look to grow as a university, we look at the possibility of football, too,” said Bailey, who was the featured speaker for the quarterly Public Affairs Luncheon organized by the Edinburg Chamber of Commerce. “There are a number of reasons for having football. If you have been at places with football, you understand it is a galvanizing force for students and for your communities as well. If that happens, you will all understand what impact it will have.”
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by Legislative Media | Jul 27, 2016 | Politics
Featured, from left: Agustín García, Jr., Executive Director of the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation; City Councilmember Homer Jasso, Jr., Mayor Richard García; Mayor Pro Tem Richard Molina; Councilmember David Torres; Ellie M. Torres, Secretary/Treasurer, Board of Directors, Edinburg Economic Development Corporation; and City Manager Richard Hinojosa on Thursday, July 21, 2016, immediately following the ribbon-cutting for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility at the South Texas International Airport in Edinburg.
Photograph By RONNIE LARRALDE
Construction and related building activities in Edinburg from January through June 2016 have passed the $131 million level, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has reported, with the month of June 2016 accounting for almost $32 million of that amount. Combined, building permits from January through June 2016 were issued for work valued at $131,744,588, compared with $65,224,544 for the same six months in 2015. During June 2016, building permits for work valued at $31,699,427 were issued by the city, compared with $6,212,165 in June 2015. The most valuable projects, not including the value of the lots, which led the way in June 2016, were: $22,500,000 – Edinburg Legends LTD, 1815 W. Chapin St, Tex-Mex Railway Co. Survey Subdivision; $500,000 – The Shoppes at Rio Grande Valley LLC, 609 Trenton Rd., The Shoppes at RGV Subdivision; $450,000 – Kamel Investments LLC, 3020 W. Trenton Rd., Marvel Plaza Subdivision; and $400,000 – Edinburg Independent Consolidated School District, 310 E. Palm Drive, Tex-Mex Subdivision.
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by Legislative Media | Jul 5, 2016 | Politics
Featured: Eric Soza, the first quarterback for the University of Texas at San Antonio, which set a record for the highest-attended game, with an attendance of 56,743, for an NCAA Division 1 FSC start-up program on September 3, 2011 at the Alamodome.
Photograph by JEFF HUEHN, UTSA ATHLETICS
Fresh from announcing the selection of a football feasibility consultant group, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley is set on Wednesday, July 13, 2016, to hold the second meeting of a 22-member, blue-panel committee that will help determine the possibility of a college football team being created for UTRGV, which is the state’s largest public university south of San Antonio. The location and time of the meeting, which will be closed to the public, and the agenda for UTRGV’s football feasibility study committee will be announced at a later date by university officials. But the selection of College Sports Solutions, LLC, to conduct the university’s football feasibility study is sure to be among the top items to be discussed when the special UTRGV advisory panel meets later this month.
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by Legislative Media | Jun 28, 2016 | Politics
Featured, from left: Mayor Richard García, Councilmember Homer Jasso, Jr., and Mayor Pro Tem Richard Molina on Thursday, February 27, 2015, during groundbreaking ceremonies for the Bert Ogden Arena, the future home of the Rio Grande Valley Vipers professional basketball team, which is part of the NBA Development League. In May 2016, the first building permit, for work valued at $3.5 million, was issued by the city for construction of the 189,000 square-foot multi-events complex, whose total value will approach $90 million. The Bert Ogden Arena is located at the corner of Interstate 69-Central and Alberta Road in Edinburg.
Photograph By DIEGO REYNA
Construction and related building activities in Edinburg from January through May 2016 have passed the $100 million level, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has reported, with the month of May 2016 accounting for almost $18 million of that amount. The most valuable projects, not including the value of the lots, which led the way in May 2016, were: $3,500,000 –Cantú Construction, 429 S. I-69C, Edinburg Arena Subdivision; $3,481,532 – Edinburg Regional Medical Center, 1102 W. Trenton Rd., Trenton St. Subdivision; $1,560,000 – Jeff Knits, 1010 E. Chapin, Tex-Mex Survey Subdivision; $633,559 – R&E Villarreal & Sons, 2945 Regency Drive, The Boardwalk Subdivision; and $510,000 – Chris Ryan Homes & Investments, LLC, 2502 Hampton Avenue, Bentley Estates Subdivision.
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