The Progress Times’ online readers were most interested in stories dealing with crime, legal controversy and Hidalgo County’s school districts this year — particularly stories about personnel changes at those school districts.     The 10 stories with the most views on the Progress Times’ website almost entirely deal with those subjects.   A story…

The Mission CISD Board of Trustees tapped three new people to serve as assistant superintendents Wednesday, establishing a new cabinet for the district’s new superintendent.     Mission hasn’t had assistant superintendents for a few years.   Last month, however, the district’s board voted to abolish its two deputy superintendent positions and introduced three new…

On Wednesday 45 McAllen elementary school children watched Santa Claus arrive at the Target on Expressway 83 with an escort that included a helicopter, an armored car and a cadre of motorcycles.     Those kids — and all that law enforcement — were at the store for “Heroes and Helpers,” a holiday tradition in…

The McAllen ISD Board of Trustees passed a retention stipend package allocating $600 to each of the district’s full-time employees late Tuesday after initially failing to approve those stipends in a deadlocked vote earlier that evening.   It’ll cost the district a little over $2 million to pay out those stipends to its 3,254 employees.…

Former La Joya ISD Police Chief Raul Gonzalez alleged in a lawsuit filed against the district last Friday that he was effectively terminated last year because he reported a significant amount of corruption-related information to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Texas Education Agency.   Gonzalez, who had served as La Joya ISD’s police…

The McAllen school board named Joel Garcia of Mission CISD as its next CFO Tuesday night.   McAllen ISD’s current CFO, Iris Luna, is set to retire this month.   “She’s been amazing, and we’re very pleased with the work and the years she’s put in with McAllen ISD. And she was part of the…

The city of Palmview is planning on holding a town hall meeting to discuss its long unenforced trucking ordinance after efforts to enforce that ordinance were met by resistance from the town’s trucking community this week.   If any of that sounds familiar it’s because it is.   Basically, the exact same thing happened in…

The McAllen ISD Board of Trustees passed a retention stipend package allocating $600 to each of the district’s full-time employees late Tuesday after initially failing to approve those stipends in a deadlocked vote earlier that evening. It’ll cost the district a little over $2 million to pay out those stipends to its 3,254 employees. The…

The council in Sullivan City named veteran Rio Grande Valley law enforcement officer Richard Ozuna city manager Monday. Sullivan hasn’t had a permanent city manager since council fired Lisa Rivera from the job in August nine months after hiring her. Council picked Ozuna, who stressed his leadership skills learned in law enforcement on his application,…

Mission school board trustees voted earlier this month to table a $2.16 million HVAC overhaul at Rafael Cantu Jr. High until they receive more information on district facilities sometime around February.     The school district is currently in the process of retrofitting HVAC systems at campuses districtwide.   HVAC projects are at different levels…