by Legislative Media | Jan 21, 2016 | Politics
Featured, from left: Dr. Kelly Cronin,Vice President for Advancement, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley; Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen; Verónica Gonzáles, Vice President for Government and Community Relations, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley; and Dr. Guy Bailey, President, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, at the main campus in Edinburg on Wednesday, January 20, 2016.
Photograph By PAUL CHOUY
From the fields of Peñitas to the jungles of Vietnam to the halls of the Texas Capitol, Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen, says he has created a political legacy he could never have achieved without family, friends and supporters. Now, he is “paying it forward” by helping first-generation college students, like himself, at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. (Paying it forward is an expression for describing the beneficiary of a good deed repaying it to others instead of to the original benefactor.) On Wednesday, January 20, 2016, Hinojosa presented UTRGV a $50,000 gift to support “The Cotton Fields of Peñitas” Senator Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa Endowed Scholarship, an endowment he began in 2013 at The University of Texas-Pan American, a UTRGV legacy institution. “For me, education is the best equalizer we have in our society,” Hinojosa said during a press conference at the UTRGV Performing Arts Complex on the Edinburg Campus. “Education is knowledge and knowledge is power. Education is a way out of poverty.” The scholarship supports first-generation college students pursuing degrees in all majors at UTRGV. UTRGV President Guy Bailey called Hinojosa “a true ambassador for The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley” and “one of the best public servants in the state of Texas. “Sen. Hinojosa exemplifies excellence in giving back to our community, state and our nation, and always supporting education,” Bailey said. “I don’t know where we would be without him. If you look at what he has done for the institution and what he has done in the last Legislature, we all owe him continuous thanks for what he has done.” The longtime legislator/attorney offered himself as an example to others that almost any obstacles can be overcome to reach personal and professional successes. “If I myself, (an American citizen) who was deported (to Reynosa) when I was 5 years old, who couldn’t speak English until I was 7 years old, who grew up the oldest of a family of eight can graduate from Pan American University, become a lawyer, and now be Texas senator, that means any young person can also do the same thing,” he said.
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by Legislative Media | Dec 28, 2015 | Politics
Featured: Mark Iglesias, President of the Board of Directors, Edinburg Economic Development Corporation, prior to leading the EEDC Board of Directors meeting, held on Tuesday, December 15, 2015 at Edinburg City Hall.
Photograph By DIEGO REYNA
Edinburg posted the lowest unemployment rate among the Valley’s major communities for the month of November 2015, coming in at 4.8 percent, which was the best showing for the city for that month since November 2007, the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation has announced. The unemployment rate is a key indicator of the strength of the local economy. The EEDC, of which Agustín García, Jr. is Executive Director, is the jobs-creation arm of the Edinburg Mayor and Edinburg City Council. The EEDC Board of Directors is comprised of Mark Iglesias as President, Harvey Rodríguez as Vice President, Ellie M. Torres as Secretary/Treasurer, and Mayor Richard García and Richard Ruppert as Members. Richard García and Agustín García, Jr. are not related. In addition to Edinburg posting the lowest unemployment rate in the Valley for November 2015, Edinburg and McAllen shared the lowest unemployment rates in October and September (4.9 percent for each month). Also according to the latest data, which was released on Friday, December 18, 2015 by the Texas Workforce Commission, there were 35,674 people employed in Edinburg during the month of November 2015. Edinburg’s latest showing was better than the U.S. unemployment rate for November 2015, which came in at 5 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000). Edinburg’s November 2015 figure of 4.8 percent continues a year-long pattern of positive reports: October (4.9 percent); September (4.9 percent); August (5.1 percent); July (5.4 percent); June (5.1 percent); May (4.8 percent); April (4.6 percent); March (4.8 percent); February (4.8 percent); and January (5.1 percent). EEDC Board President Iglesias said the good news on the city’s workforce came a day before the Valley celebrated the first class of university graduates from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, which has its main campus in Edinburg. “UT Rio Grande Valley, which represents the combination of what formerly were two independent Valley campuses, UT Pan American in Edinburg and UT Brownsville, celebrated yet another landmark first with the December 19 commencement ceremonies under its new and proud name, which went into effect during the Fall 2015 semester,” said Iglesias. The Edinburg campus of UTRGV hosted two ceremonies for a total of 1,456 graduates at the State Farm Arena in Hidalgo, while the Brownsville campus had its own ceremony that morning for 633 graduates at its Student Union Building, according to UTRGV officials. “Many of these graduates will find jobs here in Edinburg and the Valley, while others will take their talents and skills throughout our nation,” Iglesias continued. “Wherever these outstanding graduates go, they will be incredible ambassadors for Edinburg and the Valley because here is where they earned a world-class education, and they will proudly let everyone know about where they came from and who we are.” Mayor García helped lead the Edinburg City Council in its successful lobbying efforts before the Texas Legislature in 2013 that resulted in the establishment of UTRGV and the creation of a School of Medicine. “Also during this holiday season, we learned that the School of Medicine, which will open a major campus in Edinburg next fall, received a $1,065,510 grant to improve the mental health of hundreds of young people in our region,” the mayor reported. “Such generous contributions, such as this one that comes from the Methodist Health Care Ministries of South Texas, Inc., means people remain employed to deliver these vital services, and that makes for a better and healthier quality-of-life and stronger economy.” The grant will support UTRGV School of Medicine in providing and enhancing integrated care to improve the mental health outcomes of high-risk, high-acuity children and adolescents in the Valley. The November 2015 unemployment rate of 4.8 percent for Edinburg is also better than the annual unemployment rate in Edinburg for 2014, which was 5.8 percent – and that yearly rate was the best 12-month average from January through December since 2008. Edinburg’s annual unemployment rates since 2005, which is the year in which the state government began preparing those figures using a more accurate formula, according to the Texas Workforce Commission, have registered as follows: 2014 (5.8 percent); 2013 (6.9 percent); 2012 (7.5 percent); 2011 (8.4 percent); 2010 (8.2 percent); 2009 (6.8 percent); 2008 (4.9 percent); 2007 (4.7 percent); 2006 (5.2 percent); and 2005 (4.9 percent).
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by Legislative Media | Dec 21, 2015 | Politics
Featured, from left: Caleb Ezra Canales, one of the children of Rep. Terry Canales and his wife, Erika; Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg; and Ramiro Peña, a graduate student at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, showcasing a unique Christmas Tree ornament, produced by Peña, which is now part of the 26-foot Christmas Tree on display at the Texas Capitol.
Photograph By MARK MONTEMAYOR
Thousands of holiday visitors to the House of Representatives chamber at the Texas Capitol are getting a good look at what South Texas has to offer, thanks to a one-of-a-kind ornament now gracing the impressive, 26-foot Christmas Tree set up by state legislative leaders, Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, has announced. As part of the tree’s Texas symbolism, each state representative was invited to commission a constituent to decorate an ornament that reflects the unique character of his or her district. For Canales, whose House District 40 justifiably boasts an abundance of talented artists, Ramiro Peña, a graduate student working towards his Masters of Fine Arts at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, was chosen for the honor. “It was not an easy decision because the impressive list of outstanding artists in my House District and in the Valley is long and proud,” Canales explained. “In the end, Ramiro was a perfect choice because he also represents the creativity, bold vision, originality, skills, and independence that are hallmarks of his profession.” Canales sought from Peña an ornament that would showcase the character of House District 40, which include portions or all of Edinburg, Elsa, Faysville, La Blanca, Linn, Lópezville, McAllen, Pharr, San Carlos and Weslaco. Peña’s skills, as well as his desire to promote his adopted home region (he is originally from Salinas, California, but now calls Donna home for him and his family) are clearly evident in the admirable images on the ornament that Peña crafted for the House District 40 Christmas Tree ornament. “At the heart of District 40, the establishment of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, the home to a School of Medicine which will transform future students in education, research, and healthcare, is depicted on the ornament by the landscape of the UTRGV Admission Building in Edinburg,” Peña described. The House District 40 Christmas Tree ornament “also portrays the agribusiness of the area through the vast fields of cotton and orange trees (along with) the image of the Monarch butterfly, which represents the unique migration from Mexico to Canada,” Peña continued. “The Altamira Oriole sits atop a cotton plant demonstrating one of 500 birds species found in nine birding sites of the World Birding Center, including the one in Edinburg.” UTRGV, whose main campus is in Edinburg, and which next fall will open the School of Medicine, also at the Edinburg campus, are located in Canales’ House District 40. Canales was a co-sponsor in 2013 of the historic law, Senate Bill 24 by Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen, and Rep. René Oliveria, D-Brownsville, which combined the resources of UT-Pan American, UT-Brownsvlle, and the UT Regional Academic Health Center in Edinburg and Harlingen into UTRGV and the School of Medicine. “I was so impressed with Ramiro Peña’s creation, which highlighted higher education and agriculture, which are very important aspects – and strengths – of House District 40 and Texas,” said Canales. “But I am equally impressed by Ramiro and his wife, Alma, because they represent the tremendous values of integrity, hard work, courage, and achievement that make up the character of the people of South Texas.”Peña is the epitome of a non-traditional student – married, with children, 45 years old, and with a two-decade career behind him, according to Melissa Vásquez, who is a member of the UTRGV media team. “His wife, Alma, a first-grade teacher in Weslaco, told him it was her turn to help him achieve his dream of earning a degree and pursue his love of art. So he quit his 19-year job at Magic Valley Electric Cooperative and became a college student again, studying 2D art and taking every opportunity offered to enhance his craft – from studying abroad in Italy to working with art professors to perfect his style, which he refers to as ‘realism,’” Vásquez said. Canales, who shares credit with his wife, Erika, a business owner, for his successes, said he was moved by Ramiro Peña acknowledging the powerful roles that a spouse or other loved ones play in a person’s life. “With my wife’s encouragement, I decided to take that leap of faith and come back to school,” Peña said. “It was a difficult decision, because I had my doubts,” Peña told Vásquez. “At the time, Alma (a first-grade teacher in Weslaco) was making more money than I was and told me it was time for me to go off and get my degree. She told me, ‘I will support you.’”
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by Legislative Media | Nov 12, 2015 | Politics
Featured: Ramiro Peña, a graduate student of The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, proudly displays two paintings of Edinburg hometown war hero Alfredo “Freddy” González that will be converted into two large-scale murals at the Edinburg H-E-B on West Freddy González Drive. The 8-foot by 12-1/2-foot murals will be completed by May 2016. Photo By PAUL CHOY
If it weren’t for the insistence of Ramiro Peña’s wife that he go back to school, he would not have earned a bachelor’s degree, and he probably would not be working toward his Master of Fine Arts at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. “At the time, she was making more money than I was and told me it was time for me to go off and get my degree. She told me, ‘I will support you,’” Peña said. Peña is the epitome of a non-traditional student – married, with children, 45 years old, and with a two-decade career behind him. His wife, Alma, a first-grade teacher in Weslaco, told him it was her turn to help him achieve his dream of earning a degree and pursue his love of art. So he quit his 19-year job at Magic Valley Electric Cooperative and became a college student again, studying 2D art and taking every opportunity offered to enhance his craft – from studying abroad in Italy to working with art professors to perfect his style, which he refers to as “realism.” “With my wife’s encouragement, I decided to take that leap of faith and come back to school,” Peña said. “It was a difficult decision, because I had my doubts.” Still, Peña, who lives in Donna, gave it his best and earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2013 from The University of Texas-Pan American, a UTRGV legacy institution. Before graduating with honors, Peña produced an undergraduate art exhibit titled “The Silent Departed Heroes,” which pays tribute to more than a dozen service members who enlisted in the U.S. military to gain U.S. citizenship and were killed in combat in the process. He says the series of portraits allowed him a deeper appreciation for the men and women who serve and protect the United States. “The idea was to keep the humanistic quality behind it. So I had to be very sensitive to that and not lose that in my interpretation of them and their service to our country,” he said. As a graduate student, Peña now continues his salute to veterans through a commission by Edinburg H-E-B at 2700 W. Freddy González Drive, to develop one of the biggest art projects he has ever undertaken – two 8-foot by 12-1/2 foot murals honoring Edinburg hometown war hero Alfredo “Freddy” Gonzalez. A U.S. Marine Corps platoon sergeant, González was killed on February 4, 1968, at the Battle of Hue in Vietnam. He was posthumously bestowed the Medal of Honor, and in 1996, a Navy guided missile destroyer, the USS Gonzalez, was commissioned. The murals will be displayed at the store, and the large-scale artwork will be completed by May 2016. On Veterans Day, November 11, 2015, the store unveiled two small-scale versions of Peña’s mural artwork during a celebration honoring veterans. Dolia González, Freddy’s mother and an H-E-B employee, will be given the smaller versions of the paintings once the larger murals are completed.
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by Legislative Media | Nov 10, 2015 | Politics
Featured: Arnold De La Paz, Founder and President, The DLP Group, Inc., Corpus Christi; Gloria Pérez, President, Asiel Enterprises, Inc., Corpus Christi; Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg; and Roland Barrera, Owner, Roland Barrera Insurance, Corpus Christi, and Past Chair of Texas Association of Mexican American Chambers of Commerce, during the 39th Annual Texas Association of Mexican American Chambers of Commerce State Convention on Saturday, August 2, 2014, at the former Embassy Suites by Hilton Hotel in McAllen.
Photograph By MARK MONTEMAYOR
The state’s public universities, especially the flagship campuses of The University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University at College Station, must continue to increase the enrollment of Hispanic and other racial and ethnic minorities in order to best prepare all Texans for a bright future, says Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg. “Texas, which is the best state in the nation, has seen the Hispanic population become almost as large as the Anglo population, but we do not see Hispanics and other minority groups properly represented in the classrooms at UT-Austin and Texas A&M-College Station, which are among wealthiest public universities in the world,” said Canales. “We still have a ways to go, but we are moving in the right direction.” As part of his efforts to open more doors to all Texans at the mammoth UT and Texas A&M campuses, Canales has become one of 53 state lawmakers who have signed a legal document, known as an amicus brief, asking the U.S. Supreme Court to support efforts that allow UT to consider race and ethnicity, among other factors, in order to promote diversity in its student population. In the Fall of 2014, 19.2 percent of the student enrollment at UT-Austin was Hispanic, while at Texas A&M during the same semester, 21.9 percent of the student enrollment was Hispanic. By comparison, the Hispanic population in 2014, as estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau, is 38.6 percent of the state’s almost 27 million residents. That figure approaches the number of Anglos in Texas, who make up almost 44 percent of the state’s population. African Americans represent the third largest population group in the state, totaling 12.5 percent of all Texans. Canales said since UT-Austin and Texas A&M-College Station were created by the Texas Legislature to serve all of Texas, it is incumbent upon the Legislature to improve what he called “dismal” student enrollment rates at those two campuses of Hispanic and other minority groups. Although the amicus brief focuses on increasing the number of racial and ethnic minorities at UT-Austin, Canales said first and foremost he remains focused on ongoing efforts to transform The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley into the next UT-Austin and Texas A&M-College Station. “Let’s make one thing perfectly clear. The students, faculty, and administrators at UT-Austin, Texas A&M-College Station, or anywhere else are not better or more intelligent than at UT Rio Grande Valley,” Canales emphasized. “What they do have, that we don’t, are more opportunities and more resources than the rest of the state’s public universities, and those are some of the reasons I support increasing minority student enrollments at those two rich campuses.” Canales said constituents ask him what his vision is for UTRGV, and the state lawmaker said he shares the hopes and dreams of all South Texans. “It’s no secret. We in South Texas will not rest, we will not be discouraged, we will not be stopped in our monumental effort to transform UTRGV into a world-class institution,” Canales said. “We are going to have a law school and other professional schools, just like UT and Texas A&M, we are going to expand our School of Medicine in Edinburg and throughout the Valley, and much more. Just look how far we have come in just the past few years.”
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