Area News

Melo Ochoa remembered for his love of family, faith and unity Special to the Progress Times Velma Ochoa remembers her father and his profound calling to be there for others. Former Justice of the Peace Jose Ismael “Melo” Ochoa passed away on Fri. Jan. 22, 2021 at the age of 74. Ochoa was a judge…

The Mission city council approved resolution #1711, which authorized the publication of a Notice of Intention to issue certificates of obligation for the design, acquisition, construction and improvement of “certain public works.” City Manager Randy Perez presented this item to the council during this week’s regular called meeting on Mon. Jan. 25, stating this was…

By this time next week, the La Joya Housing authority could be done with their largest capital improvement project in the history of the housing agency. On Wednesday, La Joya Housing Authority Executive Director Ruben Villarreal announced that the housing authority began a roof replacement project last week for 17 housing units. These upgrades arrived…

Former Executive Director Juan Jose “J.J.” Garza filed a lawsuit against the La Joya Housing Authority last month, attempting to collect more than $90,000. The housing authority fired Garza in December 2016, three months after a grand jury indicted him on wire fraud charges. Garza pleaded guilty and served nearly two years in federal prison.…

The Sharyland school board has until Friday, Feb. 12 to decide if last year’s failed $40M bond election will be back on the ballot in May. During their regular board meeting held Monday, Sharyland trustees called the Saturday, May 1 election to order where the seats occupied by school board members Melissa Smith and Jose…

In June, when Hidalgo County allocated millions to cities for COVID-19 expenses, the cash came with a catch. Hidalgo County provided cities with a 20% advance but kept the remainder of the money — and required cities to submit coronavirus-related expenses for reimbursement. The city of Mission, which received an allocation of about $11.1 million,…

A Mission firefighter will appear in court again next month as he continues his fight to receive worker’s compensation. Lt. Homer Salinas, a veteran of the Mission Fire Department since 2002, was diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma in 2017 and successfully fought in court to receive workers’ compensation from the city’s health insurance carrier to…

The COVID-19 death toll in Hidalgo County rose by 14 Thursday as county health officials revealed the new COVID-19 daily report. With the new deaths, split between eight females and six males from the cities of Alamo, Alton, Donna, Edinburg, Hidalgo, McAllen, Mission, Pharr, San Juan and four from an undisclosed location, the county COVID-19…

The Palmhurst Police Department arrested an off-duty Mission Police Department lieutenant Tuesday on drunken driving charges. Officers arrested Mission police Lt. David Michael Garcia, 43, of Mission on Tuesday night. Garcia is charged with driving while intoxicated, a Class B misdemeanor, and unlawfully carrying a weapon, a Class A misdemeanor. He couldn’t be reached for…

Hidalgo County health officials reported 18 more deaths from COVID-19 related complications Wednesday, bringing the total amount of county residents who have succumbed to the disease to 2,404. The new deaths come from 10 males and eight females from the cities of Alamo, Donna, Edinburg, McAllen, Mercedes, Mission and San Juan. Their ages range from…