Area News

Grant to provide funding for first responders, frontline workers and PPE Hidalgo County has received a quarter of one million dollars to support first responders and frontline workers and to purchase PPE. As Hidalgo County continues to weather the negative impacts from both the pandemic and Hurricane Hanna, the Moody Foundation reached out to help…

A dozen more Hidalgo County residents have died from complications related to COVID-19 on the same day an additional 347 more people tested positive for the virus, Hidalgo County Judge Richard F. Cortez said Sunday. “Unfortunately, the death toll continues to mount but I remain hopeful that August will be a better month for Hidalgo County…

Citing damage caused by Hurricane Hanna nearly one week ago, AEP Texas requested its customers throughout the Rio Grande Valley to conserve their power for the next two weeks. This is due to the hurricane damaging a two-mile stretch of a 138-kV transmission line that is currently being rebuilt according to a news release the…

The Hidalgo County COVID-19 death count increased by 28 Friday on the same day the county reported 360 new cases of the disease. The total death count now stands at 644  as the total number of known positive cases to now stands at 17,006. “I extend my deepest sympathy to the friends and families who have…

New details released in fatal police standoff in Mission In what’s being called an “unfortunate incident” by the Mission police chief, a Sullivan City commissioner was found dead in his home early Friday morning following a standoff with multiple law enforcement agencies that lasted for hours. Gabriel Salinas, 39, was found dead after exchanging gunfire…

Weeks after a visiting judge dismissed a lawsuit requesting a new election for the Democratic nominee for Hidalgo County Precinct 3, outgoing commissioner Jose “Joe” Flores continues to appeal the judge’s decision. On Wednesday, an attorney representing Everardo “Ever” Villarreal, filed a motion to dismiss Flores’ latest appeal in the 13th Court of Appeals, citing…

As the Rio Grande Valley continues to recover from the devastation left behind by Hurricane Hanna over the weekend, state Gov. Greg Abbott promised more aid to an area that is also facing a pandemic. During a Tuesday press conference at the Texas DPS Headquarters in Weslaco, Abbott announced more state support to the entire…

The state of Texas has billions of dollars that are not currently being distributed to regions in dire need. Last week, Congressman Henry Cuellar held a telephone conference to discuss how emergency funding for COVID-19 expenditures is needed for local governments and public schools. Cuellar spoke about several pieces of legislation he worked on to…

The Sharyland school district is preparing to distribute Chromebooks to each of their students just in time for the upcoming school year. On Wednesday, district Chief Technology Officer David Culberson confirmed that the district received a “massive shipment” of the 4,330 Chromebooks the district ordered last May as part of a $1.1 million plan to…

Among the destruction seen in the wake of Hurricane Hanna over the weekend, more erosion was spotted along the riverbank where a three-mile stretch of a privately constructed border wall near Mission sits. Construction of the border wall started along the riverbank of the Rio Grande River last December, causing the federal government and the…