Area Breaking News

The Mercedes Independent School District Board of Trustees voted Tuesday to approve stipend pay for its acting superintendent and refrained from taking any action on the employment status of the district’s permanent superintendent, who appears to still be on leave. The Mercedes board voted a little over three weeks ago to place Superintendent Maria Chavez…

The city of Mission hired Vidal Roman as its new finance director this week. The city’s been without a finance director since April 9 when Angie Vela resigned from the position “in lieu of termination” so she could keep her unemployment benefits. Roman, an Elsa resident, said he interviewed for the job Monday and received…

The city of Mission expects the cost of its EMS program to run about $3.63 million during its first year and rise for the next eight years, though it’s not clear how much money the city will lose on providing the service. Revenue comes down to collections, and collections aren’t entirely certain. Mission axed its…

Sullivan City City Attorney Frank Garza resigned Wednesday afternoon after serving in the role for a little more than two and a half years. Garza declined to comment and a copy of his resignation letter obtained by the Progress Times doesn’t elaborate on what prompted him to quit. “My law firm has had the opportunity…

The habitually-troubled La Joya Housing Authority is once again under new management. La Joya Housing Authority commissioners approved a management and operations agreement with the Mission Housing Authority in April, which means that organization and its staff are going to run the show in La Joya. The La Joya Housing Authority had been operating under…

At least two candidates running for a seat on the Hidalgo County Appraisal District Board of Directors failed last week to file a required campaign finance report. Candidates who fail to file campaign finance reports are sometimes punished by the Texas Ethics Commission. Elected seats on the appraisal district board are new, the result of…

The La Joya Independent School District Police Department is investigating a Peñitas flower shop that swindled thousands of dollars from the school system through unauthorized credit card charges last fall, fraudulent charges the district’s previous administration never had law enforcement investigate even though administrators were aware of it. According to a statement from the district,…

The city of McAllen may soon tighten regulations on political advertising and it’s looking to start that process with one of the most popular spots in town to prop up a campaign sign: Bicentennial Boulevard. Doing so could be complicated. Just to further regulate political signage on Bicentennial, city commission will have to weigh the…

  The Agua Special Utility District Board of Directors decided not to terminate General Manager Roberto Salinas last Monday. The board discussed firing Salinas and finding a replacement for him during a lengthy closed door executive session discussion before voting to not do so. The board did, however, vote to establish a three-director committee to…

This article originally ran in the April 26 edition of the Progress Times. Not only did the city of Mission launch its new in-house EMS program with absolutely no financial plan for it, but it did so without enough personnel to provide adequate service without overworking its employees. Leadership from the city and representatives from…