General Interest

The Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville announced the birth of a baby female Western lowland gorilla. This was the first offspring of the 14-year-old mother, Kiazi, and 29-year-old silverback male, Moja. The new mother has not taken a motherly-instinct to her first offspring, and the zookeepers are stepping in to rear their new charge until she is reintroduced to the larger group. She weighed in a four pounds, eight ounces. She can be seen inside the nursery of the Small World exhibit at the zoo.

One of the greatest things that can happen to a child with disabilities, or who has Type I diabetes, is to be able to go to camp and do the things a child without disabilities or diabetes can do. Many camps for children will not accept children with these problems and are not equipped to handle their special needs. But the Texas Lions Camp is different.

To help raise funds for the Texas Lions Camp there will be a benefit concert performed Feb. 15 at Trinity Worship Center in Pharr at 7 p.m. The Rio Grande Valley Concert Band will play, and the Men- of-A-Chord will perform a 45-minute program.

Texas Lions Camp, located in Kerrville, Texas is not your typical summer camp. It is the place where children with all kinds of disabilities, including blindness, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, muscular dystrophy, Type I diabetes and cancer, discover they can do things they never thought they could do.

Read more: Concert to benefit Texas Lions Camp

MISSION – MissionHealth, a clinic affiliated with Mission Regional Medical Center (MRMC), celebrated the opening its second location last week with an open house and ribbon cutting.

Read more: Mission Regional Medical Center celebrates opening of new clinic

As one of Hidalgo County’s newest state representatives, Oscar Longoria (District 35), is already actively engaged in legislative issues important to South Texas.

State Representative District 35 was created last year during the re-districting process. The district covers a broad, mostly rural, area stretching from La Joya in Western Hidalgo County, swinging north around Mission, McAllen and Edinburg, then dipping south and taking in a slice of northern Weslaco and Harlingen. Local cities included in the new district are La Joya, Sullivan, Peñitas and just a small part of far northwest McAllen.

Read more: New State Rep. Oscar Longoria seeks to restore education funding

MISSION – Mission Regional Medical Center invites the residents of Mission and surrounding communities to an open house on Friday, Feb. 1, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., to celebrate the grand opening of MissionHealth, the newest medical clinic in Mission. A short ribbon-cutting ceremony will be at 12 p.m., followed by tours, drawings for door prizes, free first aid kits and refreshments. The clinic is located at 1922 East Griffin Parkway, Suite A.

Read more: MissionHealth open house today

The Magic Valley Men of A-Chord and the Rio Grande Valley Concert Band will perform together in concert at Trinity Worship Center in Pharr on Feb. 15. The concert is a benefit for the Texas Lions Camp for children with physical disabilities and Type I diabetes. The band and the chorus are donating their services for the children.

Read more: Men of A-Chord, Concert Band performing Lions benefit

The University of Texas-Pan American Coastal Studies Lab will offer a two-day professional development teacher workshop Feb. 22 to 23 focused on the Arroyo Colorado. It will be presented in partnership with Sea Grant Texas, the SPI Birding and Nature Center and the Arroyo Colorado Partnership.

Read more: UTPA's Coastal Studies offers teacher workshop

Learn to create an outdoor habitat for birds and butterflies in the "Backyard Habitat Steward" series at Quinta Mazatlan in McAllen. The series runs from Feb 4 to March 19 every Tuesday morning from 9 to 11:30 a.m. The series features experts in the Valley leading walks, giving talks and directing hands-on projects.

Read more: Backyard habitat program begins Feb. 4