by Legislative Media | Apr 21, 2017 | Politics
Featured: Students and faculty from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in February 2017 won numerous awards for creative excellence at the American Advertising Federation (AAF)-Rio Grande Valley ADDY awards competition. Shown, front row, from left, are: Ping Xu, UTRGV Assistant Professor of Graphic Design; and UTRGV students Richard Guzmán; Alexandra González; Jacqueline Maldonado; and Arael Meza. Back row, from left: Samuel Hernández; UTRGV Art Lecturer Erika Balogh; Mónica Lugo; Julio Aranda; Mariana Zapata; and Robert Gilbert, Associate Professor of Graphic Design. The Edinburg Mayor and Edinburg City Council, along with the Board of Directors of the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation, lobby the Texas Legislature and the UT System Board of Regents on behalf of UTRGV in Edinburg and the UTRGV School of Medicine in Edinburg.
Photograph Courtesy of MARCI CALTABIANO
Between November 2016 and February 2017, Edinburg’s retail economy remained ahead of the same period the year before, up 0.63 percent, based on local sales taxes generated, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has announced. For the month of February 2017, the city’s retail economy was slightly behind the pace set during the month of February 2016 – registering a slight drop of 1.08 percent – with almost all of the other Valley communities also reporting decreases in local sales taxes generated from the same month the prior year. From November 2016 through February 2017, Edinburg’s retail economy produced $6,888,933.94 in local sales taxes, compared with $6,845,130.80 for November 2015 through February 2016, an increase of 0.63 percent. For February 2017, Edinburg’s retail economy produced $1,543,532.91 in local sales taxes, compared with $1,560,406.24 in February 2016, representing a decrease of 1.08 percent. 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 Rupert and Dr. Peter Dabrowski as Members. Mayor Richard García and Edinburg EDC Executive Director Agustín García, Jr. are not related.
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by Legislative Media | Mar 12, 2017 | Politics
Featured, from left: Elva Jackson Garza, Vice President & Marketing Manager, Edwards Abstract and Title Co.; Byron Jay Lewis, President & CEO, Edwards Abstract and Title Co.; Guy S. Huddleston, III, Senior Vice President & Corporate Ambassador, Edwards Abstract and Title Co.; Mike Overly, Executive Vice President/COO/CFO, Edwards Abstract and Title Co.; Edinburg Mayor Richard García; Dr. Ted C. Jones, Ph.D., Chief Economist and Senior Vice President, Stewart Title Guaranty Co.; D.D. Hoffman, Senior Vice President & Corporate Ambassador, Edwards Abstract & Title Co., and Brandon Linscomb, Vice President/Agency Services Manager, Stewart Title Guaranty Company. This portrait shot was taken on Thursday, March 2, 2017 at the Edinburg Conference Center at Renaissance during the 13th Annual Real Estate Forum, which drew almost 300 real estate professionals and business leaders, and which was hosted by Edwards Abstract and Title Co., whose headquarters is in Edinburg. Garza is a former member of the Board of Directors for the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation. García is the President of the Edinburg EDC Board of Directors.
A group photo during the H-E-B Distinguished Chair in Diabetes and Genomics for the South Texas Diabetes and Obesity Institute luncheon on Wednesday, Mar. 8, 2017 at the McAllen Country Club in McAllen, Texas. From L to R: Dr. Havidan Rodriguez, Winell Herron, Dr. Sarah Wililams-Blangero, Linda Tovar, Kelly Scrivner-Cronin.
UTRGV Photo by Paul Chouy
Photograph By ROBERTO GONZÁLEZ
Featured, from left: Dr. Havidán Rodríguez, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley; Winell Herron, Vice President of Public Affairs, Diversity & Environmental Affairs, H-E-B Grocery Company LP; Dr. Sarah Williams-Blangero (seated), Director, South Texas Diabetes and Obesity Institute (STDOI); Linda Tovar, H-E-B Manager of Public Affairs, Border Region; and Dr. Kelly Scrivner-Cronin, Vice President for Advancement, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Williams-Blangero, a genetics and infectious diseases expert, is Director of STDOI. UTRGV leaders on Thursday, March 9, 2017, named Williams-Blangero as the Endowed Chair of the H-E-B Distinguished Chair in Diabetes and Genomics for the South Texas Diabetes and Obesity Institute. Rodríguez is a former member of the Board of Directors of the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation.
Photograph By PAUL CHOUY
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by Legislative Media | Feb 26, 2017 | Politics
Featured: CBS News correspondent Mireya Villarreal, a 2001 graduate of the University of Texas-Pan American and a Valley native, will be sharing her inspiring story with more than 800 GEAR-UP students at 9 a.m. on Wednesday and Thursday, March 1 and 2, 2017, in the Library Media Theater on the Edinburg campus of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Her appearance is part of FESTIBA 2017, which is UTRGV’s annual Festival of International Books & Arts, an educational, entertaining week-long gathering that promotes literacy and appreciation of reading for all ages. FESTIBA lasts from Monday, February 27, 2017 to Sunday, March 5, 2017 on both the Edinburg and Brownsville campuses of UTRGV. The Edinburg Economic Development Corporation is a sponsor of FESTIBA 2017.
Photograph Courtesy of CBS NEWS
Possible agreements with nine business prospects, a pending lease renewal involving the District Office of State Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, a real estate purchase under consideration, and a presentation from the Capable Kids Foundation highlight the agenda for noon on Tuesday, February 28, 2017 for the Board of Directors of the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation. The session, which is open to the public, will be held in the City Council Chamber of Edinburg City Hall, located at 415 West University Drive. The meeting also will be broadcast live on the Edinburg Cable Network, as well as made available in an archived version on the city’s website at:http://www.cityofedinburg.com/ecnlivestreaming.php. The Edinburg EDC Board of Director meeting will take place during the same week as FESTIBA 2017, which is the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley’s annual Festival of International Books & Arts, an educational, entertaining event that promotes literacy and appreciation of reading for all ages. FESTIBA begins on Monday, February 27, and continues through Sunday, March 5, 2017 on both the Edinburg and Brownsville campuses. The Edinburg EDC is a sponsor of FESTIBA 2017. 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. is Executive Director for the Edinburg EDC, which is the jobs-creation arm of the Edinburg Mayor and Edinburg City Council. Agustín García, Jr. and Mayor Richard García are not related.
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by Legislative Media | Jan 31, 2017 | Politics
Featured, from left: Richard Sánchez, Associate Vice President for Governmental Relations, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, and Verónica Gonzáles, Vice President for Governmental and Community Relations, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, on Wednesday, December 7, 2016, presented a portrait of the inaugural class of students at the School of Medicine in Edinburg to Hidalgo County Judge Ramón García and the Hidalgo County Commissioners Court in appreciation for the financial help from the county. The county has pledged to support the medical school with annual contributions of $1 million for 10 years, beginning in 2014. To date, the county has provided $3 million to the medical school. On Monday, December 12, 2016, Mayor Richard García (no relation to the county judge) presented UTRGV leaders a check for $1 million from the City of Edinburg as part of Edinburg’s agreement to also help support the School of Medicine in Edinburg.
Photograph By EVANA VLECK
In December 2016, Edinburg reached the largest number of full-time employees for the year – 36,850 – according to the Texas Workforce Commission, and the city registered the second-best unemployment rate in the Valley for that month, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has announced. Edinburg’s unemployment rate for December 2016 came in at 5.1 percent, edged only by McAllen’s 4.9 percent unemployment rate, and ahead of Harlingen, which posted a 5.8 percent unemployment rate for that period. Those three cities were the only Valley communities with December 2016 figures under six percent unemployment. Also according to the Texas Workforce Commission, which on Friday, January 20, 2017 released the latest data on jobs in the state, Edinburg saw a growth of more than 1,000 jobs when comparing employment in December 2016 with December 2015. The Texas Workforce Commission reported there were 36,850 people employed in Edinburg during the month of December 2016. That performance represents an increase of 1,072 jobs in Edinburg when comparing the employment figures for December 2016 (36,850) and December 2015 (35,778). 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 | 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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