Area News

On the same day state Gov. Greg Abbott announced bars could reopen for the first time in months, officials with the Hidalgo County Health and Human Services Department reported 21 more deaths related to COVID-19 and 205 new known positive cases of the virus. In a Wednesday news release, Hidalgo County Judge Richard F. Cortez said the…

Hidalgo County, as well as other counties in the Rio Grande Valley, is no longer considered a high hospitalization area. In a Tuesday news release, the county announced a state health official told Hidalgo County Judge Richard F. Cortez the Valley is no longer a high hospitalization area and is now be subject to higher occupancy levels…

The Hidalgo County COVID-19 death toll climbed to 1,766 over the weekend after 26 more deaths were reported Monday. In a news release, the Hidalgo County Health and Human Services Department reported 26 more deaths related to COVID-19 and 224 new positive cases of the virus over the last three days. The county now has 32,630 total…

Hidalgo County Judge Richard F. Cortez announced Friday Hidalgo County reported 22 more COVID-19 related deaths and 208 new positive cases of the disease. Friday’s new numbers bring the total number of deaths in Hidalgo County from this disease to 1,740 and the total number of known positive cases to 32,406. 2,295 of those cases remain…

Starr County announced Friday it would be extending its stay at home emergency order for another month. The order, which officially went into effect at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday, will expire at 11:59 p.m. on Nov. 1. Under the order, all residents are ordered to shelter at home in their place of residence and the…

Two years after the project broke ground, more than 1,200 households in Palmview are now connected to a working sewer line. On Friday, the Agua special Utility District announced  the final stages of the Palmview Sewer Project have neared completion and households are now being connected to sewer service for the first time ever. This…

Cities, organizations commit to last round of census participation As the deadline to complete the 2020 Census keeps bouncing around the calendar, many cities and organizations in western Hidalgo County have joined forces to ensure that the communities and families are accurately counted.  Over the last few days, cities such as Mission, McAllen, Edinburg and…

City employees in Mission will be seeing raises in the upcoming fiscal year. On Mon. Sept. 14, the city of Mission approved the 2020-2021 budget and tax rate. They also discussed how pay increases will be implemented for civilian employees and first responders. Perez presented the item on adopting the 2020-2021 fiscal year budget for…

It’s never too early to speak with one’s child about the complex issues that exist in our society. Hortencia E. Camargo is hoping to encourage those conversations between parents and their children with her authorial debut and series. Camargo, a McAllen native and resident, has recently published a children’s book with WestBow Press. “An Ox…

Actor, producer, playwright, screenwriter and director John Leguizamo participated in an annual event held virtually this year. In its 17th season, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley’s Distinguished Speaker series looked a bit different for 2020 – the event was held virtually, free to UTRGV students, faculty and alumni. Leguizamo joined the conversation via…