juan hinojosa

EDINBURG, Texas - Gov. Greg Abbott was the keynote speaker at the Rio Grande Valley Partnership’s recent 2023 RGV Economic Summit.

The event took place at the Bert Ogden Arena in Edinburg, with hundreds of community, business, and political leaders in attendance. 

Abbott was applauded throughout his 25-minute speech.

He started his speech by thanking state Sen. Juan Hinojosa. The McAllen Democrat had introduced Abbott. Abbott said that as a delegation, the Rio Grande Valley’s state lawmakers are “a force to be reckoned with.”

Abbott also pointed out that he has visited the Rio Grande Valley more than any other Texas governor.

“There is a very powerful, compelling reason why this happened. And that's because the RGV is perhaps the fastest growing region of all regions across the state of Texas. You truly are the epicenter of the booming Texas economy. The Texas of tomorrow is going to be built here in the Rio Grande Valley,” Abbott said, to warm applause.

Abbott said that while the motto of the summit was “One Region, One Voice,” the event could be summed up in one word: unity. “When you all come together as one unit, you are extraordinarily more powerful and more effective than you are working individually,” he said.

Abbott said he agreed with a previous speaker, Adriana Cruz. The executive director of Texas Economic Development & Tourism said, “a win for one, is a win for all.”

By way of an example, Abbott pointed to how the Dallas region works as a unit. He said the numerous municipalities around the perimeter of Dallas all work together with the big city. He said the City of Irving often lands the big deals but every municipality wins in the region wins.

“So my point is, when you all work together as a unit you want to be a magnet for economic opportunity and jobs that will be repeating itself over and over and over again. Your primary goal by working together is to be that collective messenger to the entire globe, that one of the prime real estate locations in the world to do business is the Rio Grande Valley of the great State of Texas.”

Editor's Note: Go to the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service to read the full story.

To read the new stories and watch the news videos of the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service go to www.riograndeguardian.com.

WESLACO, TEXAS - Valley Initiative for Development and Advancement is one of 25 organizations nationwide and the only one in Texas to be awarded a U.S. Department of Labor’s $3 Million Nursing Expansion Grant.

The grant will be used to develop professional pathways to nursing.

On July 27, a check presentation ceremony was held by VIDA at the Knapp Medical Conference Center in Weslaco. In addition to VIDA leaders the event was attended by stakeholders and partners involved in the initiative. 

“This event served as a platform to highlight the positive impact we have collectively made in our community through our collaboration and shared vision of providing our Rio Grande Valley with a highly skilled and highly educated workforce,” VIDA President and CEO Felida Villarreal told the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service.

The audio story below features the analysis and observations of Villarreal, Ana Garcia, the South Texas district director for U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez, state Sens. Juan Hinojosa and Morgan LaMantia, Julian Alvarez, a senior vice president for Lone Star National Bank, and Edward Serna, executive director of the Texas Workforce Commission. 

To read the new stories and watch the news videos of the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service go to www.riograndeguardian.com.

MCALLEN, Texas - Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp and Texas A&M University President M. Katherine Banks visited the Rio Grande Valley on Monday, April 10, to announce updates for the Texas A&M University Higher Education Center at McAllen. 

The top update announced was the appointment of Manny Vela as COO of Texas A&M University Higher Education Center at McAllen. He will start his new post in mid-May. Vela is currently CEO of Valley Baptist Health System.

Elected officials, community leaders, faculty and staff were in attendance for the news conference, which was held at the center.

The address of the Texas A&M University Higher Education Center at McAllen is 6200 Tres Lagos Blvd., McAllen.

Here is an audio highlights package from the news conference. It features Banks, Sharp, Vela, Texas A&M University System Regent Mike Hernandez, and state Sen. Juan Hinojosa of McAllen. 

To read the new stories and watch the news videos of the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service go to www.riograndeguardian.com.

PHARR, Texas - Every other city in the Rio Grande Valley can have high speed internet as fast as that of the City of Pharr. All they need is for their leaders to have the political will to make it happen.

This is the view of Pharr Mayor Ambrosio Hernandez. Speaking at a groundbreaking ceremony for the city’s new high-speed, new fiber optic internet project, Hernandez said the new service, with a speed of one gigabyte, will be ready citywide within the next 12 months.  

“Every resident in the city of Pharr, every business, will have access to this. It is their choice. We do not impose it on anybody. It will be your choice. But, I can assure you that from a quality perspective, there will be nothing like it in the Rio Grande Valley or even, I challenge, the state,” Hernandez said, at the Pharr Development and Research Center. 

“We will be the only city, 100 percent, that will have fiber optic cable for all its residents and all businesses, irrespective of income. We are going to make it happen for you.”

In his remarks, Hernandez said there is no reason the entire Rio Grande Valley cannot have high speed internet as fast as Pharr’s will be. 

“It is our hope that, as we move forward and forge what we need to do, that the other cities would come along. We are more than happy to share data. We are more than happy to partner with the neighboring cities,” Hernandez said.

"This (digital) divide is really worse in the Rio Grande Valley. We (can) all come together and say, you know what, we are a region, let’s take care of our entire region once and for all and put everybody’s banners aside and let’s just do it and make sure everybody wins.”

Hernandez added: “I think we can do it, with the help of the county, legislators, and of course all the city commissions from all the different cities. We can do it. All we have to do is say yes, let’s get it done.”

Interviewed after the ceremony by the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service, Hernandez said Pharr City Commission is spending $40 million on the project. Asked if he really thought the whole Valley could be “wired” as well as Pharr will be, Hernandez said: “Of course it can.”

Editor's Note: To read the full story go to the Rio Grande Guardian website.

To read the new stories and watch the news videos of the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service go to www.riograndeguardian.com.

PHARR, Texas - The City of Pharr, the Texas Department of Transportation, and Dragados-Pulice Joint Venture (DPJV) held a groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday, September 21, 2021, to celebrate the ongoing construction of the I-2/I-69C Interchange Project in Pharr.

The $303 million dollar project, which has been years in the making, will be eight miles long, consist of new connectors to expand the interchange and its capacity (four lanes in each direction), and will provide for enhanced safety and traffic flow. The three-year project is slated to be completed in the Fall of 2023.

Notable guests and dignitaries included Texas Transportation Commission Chairman J. Bruce Bugg, Pharr Mayor and Rio Grande Valley Metropolitan Planning Organization Chairman Ambrosio Hernandez, M.D., state Senator and Senate Transportation Committee Member Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, state Representative and Chairman of the House Transportation Committee Terry Canales, and state Representative Sergio Muñoz, Jr.

Here is a podcast featuring all the remarks made from the podium at the groundbreaking ceremony.

To read the new stories and watch the news videos of the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service go to www.riograndeguardian.com.

AUSTIN, Texas - A recent Senate Special Committee on Redistricting hearing designed to hear testimony from Rio Grande Valley residents only heard from two.

The two were Harlingen Mayor Chris Boswell and Brownsville community leader Michael Seifert. Their testimony has been covered by the Rio Grande Guardian. Click here to read about Boswell’s remarks. Click here to read what Seifert said.

The rest of the one-hour hearing was dominated by the remarks of State Demographer Lloyd Potter and questions of Potter by state Sens. Eddie Lucio of Brownsville, Juan Hinojosa of McAllen, and Carol Alvarado of Houston. 

The Senate Special Committee on Redistricting is gathering testimony from around the state of Texas in advance of the redrawing of congressional and legislative boundaries. These have to be done every ten years, soon after new census data is published. The data collated under Census 2020 will be published later this spring. 

Potter said in the hearing that he expects the 2020 Census to undercount the number of residents in the Valley. If left unchallenged this will mean less federal funding for the Valley than should be apportioned.

Potter said Texas has grown enough over the last ten years to probably mean three additional U.S. House seats will be awarded to the Lone Star State.

Valley residents can still tune in and speak at other Senate Special Committee on Redistricting hearings. They can also submit written testimony. 

To read the new stories and watch the news videos of the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service go to www.riograndeguardian.com.

EDINBURG, Texas - What can the Rio Grande Valley expect from the 87th Legislative Session that starts in Austin, Texas, on Jan. 12, 2021?

State Sen. Juan Hinojosa and state Reps. Terry Canales and R.D. ‘Bobby’ Guerra gave their best guesses during a webinar hosted by the Edinburg Chamber of Commerce on Dec. 3. The event was moderated by former state Rep. Veronica Gonzales, who is now a vice president at UT-Rio Grande Valley.

Among the topics discussed were the budget deficit, transportation funding, expanding Medicaid, a new speaker for the Texas House of Representatives, additional monies for UTRGV, tuition revenue bonds, the digital divide, and whether the general public will be allowed into the state Capitol, given the coronavirus pandemic. 

Sponsors of the webinar included AT&T, DHR Health, UTRGV, Texas Gas Service, City of Edinburg, City of Pharr, Texas National Bank, Carranza Development , Superior Properties, South Texas Health System, Oscar Gonzalez CPA & Associates, and CJE Construction LLC.

Dr. Guy Bailey, president of UTRGV, phoned in to the webinar and asked the legislators about tuition revenue bonds.

Bailey said: “Do you know, our medical school and, in fact, all of our health programs are growing very rapidly. We have a new doctorate in podiatric medicine that will be starting soon. To really implement all the new programs that we do, we need space and I wondered if there are any opportunity for tuition revenue bonds this spring? TRBs would help us build the facilities we need as we bring these new programs online.”

Sen. Hinojosa responded to Bailey’s question. He said: “From discussions that have taken place on the Senate side, because of interest rates being so low right now and because of the deficit we are facing with our budget, it would be a good time to pass revenue bonds, TRBs, so, I think it has support. I think right now you will see much more intense discussion. We just need also for the universities and colleges throughout the state to put a little bit of pressure, if you will, on their legislators and state senators that represent them in the legislature. So, I think it is very doable.”

To read the new stories and watch the news videos of the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service go to www.riograndeguardian.com.

EDINBURG, Texas - If Rio Grande Valley parents cannot pay their light bill, how are their children going to be able to access the Internet to do the remote learning expected of them?

This was one of the questions posed by Dr. Rodney H. Rodriguez, senior director for RGV Focus, during a recent webinar hosted by Teach for America-Rio Grande Valley.

The webinar was titled, “How can education and workforce development lead to a strong RGV post-COVID-19?” One of the topics that came up was the digital divide. 

Rodriguez said his nonprofit has applied to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for funds to pay for computer equipment and wifi in underserved areas.

“Can our families pay the light, can they pay the rent, are they able to put food on the table?” Rodriguez said. “It is great and dandy that we are going to have this high-tech equipment but if people cannot pay their light, how are you going to access this equipment? Keep in mind, that is going to be a huge challenge moving forward.

Other speakers on the webinar included Julian Alvarez III, the Texas Workforce Commission’s commissioner for labor, and state Sen. Juan Hinojosa. Veronica Gonzales, vice president for governmental and community relations at UT-Rio Grande Valley, was the moderator. There were also appearances by Jonathan Stevens, managing director of Teach for America-RGV, Ana Gonzalez, the nonprofit’s executive director, and attorney Deborah Cordova, a member of Teach for America-RGV’s advisory panel.

In addition to the digital divide, the topics discussed included the impact the coronavirus pandemic has had on the world of education, strengthening the pipeline between high schools and colleges, mental health, and the proactive nature of the Valley’s educational institutions. 

“It is so unfortunate the pandemic hit when it did because we were on a very good trajectory with all the opportunities that are here now in the Rio Grande Valley. We cannot allow this to slow us down,” said Gonzales.

Sen. Hinojosa said Valley students can compete against those from other parts of the country, pointing out that the region’s best and brightest are accepted by Harvard, Yale, and Georgetown. 

“This is where the action is and for us, we are switching over from an agriculture-based economy to one of healthcare professions, education, advanced manufacturing,” Hinojosa said, pointing out that the Valley’s average age is younger than other regions in the country. He said this is a big plus.

“You can tell the growth is here. The action is here, the leadership is here. And we have the students that want to learn and be educated. We have to put all that together and we are doing that,” Hinojosa said.

In his closing remarks, Alvarez urged educators to listen to industry. 

“How about training these high school kids, as we are going to be doing at DHR; were are going to be busing high school kids to learn how to repair and maintain equipment at the hospital with COVID relief funding that we received from the federal government. The only condition is after they go through the training, that DHR hire them. That is a win-win,” Alvarez said.

To read the new stories and watch the news videos of the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service go to www.riograndeguardian.com.

MCALLEN, RGV - Texas A&M University celebrated the first anniversary of its Higher Education Center in McAllen last week with an event titled Founders Day.

In his remarks, Texas A&M Chancellor John Sharp explained the rationale for A&M’s investment in South Texas.

“Many of realized a long time ago that South Texas and particularly the Rio Grande Valley is really what the future of Texas is about. The reason it is is every business that moves into Texas right now doesn’t ask, how much can we get out of the county, how much can we get out of the state. They still try to do it but what they really base their decision on is how many 18-25 year olds live in that county and what is the education level of those kids,” Sharp explained.

“South Texas, everything from San Antonio south, answers that first question better than almost any place in the nation. The second question, that is the important one. What is the education level of those young men and women.”

Sharp said this second question hit home when his good friend, state Sen. Juan Hinojosa asked if he would meet a student who was about to graduate from Texas A&M, and her mother.

He said the story about the student and her mother “was the real genesis” for the Higher Education Center in McAllen.

“We met, and the mother, who spoke very little English, was crying the second she walked in and she was crying the second she left. I asked the student, what’s the matter with your mother and she said, she is a little bit overwhelmed. Why is that? I told her I wanted to go to A&M, and she asked where is it, and when I showed her and she saw it was at the other end of the world, she said that is not going to happen. You go to Kingsville,” Sharp recalled.

The above podcast provides the raw audio from Founders Day. Among the VIPs to speak at the event were Chancellor Sharp, state Sen. Juan Hinojosa, former Congressman Rubén Hinojosa, and businessman Alonzo Cantu. 

And Chad Wootton, associate vice president for external affairs at Texas A&M University, explained some of the new projects underway that will be of particular interest to South Texas.

To read the new stories and watch the news videos of the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service go to www.riograndeguardian.com.

PHARR, RGV - The start of the 2019-2020 fresh produce season has been celebrated at Pharr International Bridge, which is now in its 25th year of operation.

Pharr International Bridge is the No. 1 port of entry in the nation for the importation of fresh produce. It is also the fourth largest gateway on the U.S.-Mexico border and the 7th fastest growing port in the United States. 

The celebration included speeches by Pharr Mayor Ambrosio Hernandez, Pharr City Commissioner Daniel Chavez, Pharr Bridge Director Luis Bazan, state Sen. Juan Hinojosa, state Rep. Sergio Muñoz, Jr., and Texas International Produce Association President & CEO Dante Galeazzi.

Pharr Chamber of Commerce executive director Rebecca Arizmendi emceed the event. 

The above podcast includes the speeches of the VIPs listed above. 

To read the new stories and watch the news videos of the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service go to www.riograndeguardian.com.

On Sunday, June 9, 2019, Auxiliary Bishop Mario A. Avilès blessed a new location for McAllen's Humanitarian Respite Center. The center, just across the street from the downtown bus station, has been acquired by the City of McAllen. It will host asylum seekers dropped off by Border Patrol. The asylum seekers will be provided free food and clothing and a place to stay overnight, before they head out to other parts of the country. Among the speakers at the event were Sister Norma Pimentel, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, McAllen Mayor Jim Darling, and state Sen. Juan Hinojosa. All three were asked to respond to the claims of some McAllen residents that the City of McAllen's involvement showed McAllen is a Sanctuary City.

To read the new stories and watch the news videos of the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service go to www.riograndeguardian.com.