Area News
Former city administrator sentenced to 4 months in La Joya corruption case
A judge sentenced former La Joya City Administrator Mike Alaniz — who sold land to La Joya for an inflated price — to four months in prison Monday. U.S. District Judge Micaela Alvarez sentenced Mike Alaniz, 58, of Palmview to four months in prison during a hearing Monday afternoon. “I know that I did wrong,…
Read MorePalmview’s top two mayoral candidates head to a runoff
The mayor’s race had three candidates, Mayor Ricardo Villarreal, Linda Sarabia and Pamela Flores. Villarreal received 48% of 1,598 votes cast for a total of 767 overall votes but fell short of the majority vote required to win the race. Sarabia came in second with 36.36% and a total of 581 votes, while…
Read MoreMission mayoral race heads to runoff between Mayor O’caña, Councilwoman Gonzalez Garza
The four-way race for mayor of Mission will head to a runoff between City Councilwoman Norie Gonzalez Garza and Mayor Armando “Doc” O’caña. Gonzalez Garza received nearly 37% of 7,576 ballots cast during the mayoral election, according to preliminary results published by the Hidalgo County Elections Department on Saturday night. “I just think that our…
Read MoreMemo explains why Sullivan City fired police chief
Sullivan City released a memo last week that finally explains why the City Council fired police Chief Joseph D. Cordova. Mayor Alma Salinas and the City Council fired Cordova on Dec. 13, when they voted to “accept recommendation of city manager to terminate the employee as directed in executive session.” When the mayor and city…
Read MoreFormer owner of Danny’s Pawn plans to plead guilty in ammunition case
The former owner of Danny’s Pawn and Sporting Goods plans to plead guilty to selling ammunition to a prohibited person. Attorney Crispin “CJ” Quintanilla of McAllen made the announcement Monday during a hearing before U.S. District Judge Ricardo Hinojosa. Quintanilla said his client — Daniel Gallegos, 67, of McAllen — would plead guilty. …
Read MoreAfter being convicted on civil rights charge, Border Patrol agent wants to return to work
A local Border Patrol agent convicted of violating a woman’s civil rights wants a judge to end her probation early. Supervisory Border Patrol Agent Adriana Gandarilla, 46, of San Benito pleaded guilty to deprivation of civil rights, a federal misdemeanor charge, in September 2020. Border Patrol removed her from the field and placed her on…
Read MoreMission CISD elections – Former trustee challenges incumbent
Three seats are up for election on the Mission CISD board of trustees — place 1, place 6 and place 7. In each place, an incumbent goes head-to-head with a challenger looking to unseat them. In the race for place 7, former MCISD trustee Juan Carlos “JC” Avila goes up against two-term seatholder Hermina “Minnie”…
Read MoreNew name to join Mission City Council
With place 3 council member Noralinda “Norie” Garza running for mayor, Mission will elect a brand new member to take her place on Mission City Council. Constituents will have the opportunity to choose from business owner Jose Vargas, retired police officer Javier Ramon and attorney Abiel Flores. Vargas has owned and operated pharmacies in Mission…
Read MoreFootball stadium repairs split into two projects
This article originally ran in the Feb. 18, 2022 issue of Progress Times. The Mission CISD board of trustees and administrators convened for school board meetings nearly every week of 2022 to discuss the progress at Tom Landry Hall of Fame Stadium. Each week representatives from Rick Hinojosa Engineering and G&G Construction presented the change…
Read MoreTrustees talk dress code changes at Sharyland
This article originally ran in the June 18, 2021 issue of the Progress Times. Sharyland’s student dress code was once again up for discussion at Monday’s board of trustees workshop, with tucked-in shirts becoming a point of contention. After previously meeting with the principals and reaching a consensus, administration proposed several revisions to the dress…
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