Area News

A series spotlighting locally-owned businesses adjusting to the pandemic With everything in flux in the current state of the global coronavirus pandemic, banks have had to remain a steady resource for people and businesses. Texas Regional Bank, founded in 2008 by four businessmen who saw a need for a local bank in the Rio Grande…

Starr County confirmed its first COVID-19 related death Saturday. “It is with a heavy heart that [Starr County Health Authority Dr. Jose Vazquez] and I report the first COVID-19 related fatality case in Starr County. I offer my deepest condolences and privacy to the family,” Starr County Judge Eloy Vera said in a statement. “Please…

A 60-year-old Alamo man with underlying medical conditions died Friday after testing positive for the COVID-19 strain of coronavirus, Hidalgo county announced in a news release. The unidentified man is the 12th person in Hidalgo County to die after testing positive for the disease. “It’s hard as we confront the tragic news of another death…

The Agua Special Utility District is closer to finishing their multimillion-dollar project to bring a wastewater and sewer system to their customers in Palmview. During a press conference held Saturday, May 30, Agua SUD officials, along with officials from the city of Palmview and U.S. Congressman Henry Cuellar, announced that a key component of the…

All Maria Chapa wanted was for her son to graduate high school. Chapa is the mother of Veterans Memorial High School senior Fernando Chapa and was devastated when she learned that the Mission school district would be closing all their campuses last March in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. “He’s my only son, I looked…

County, cities reach compromise on $151M in COVID-19 relief When Palmhurst Mayor Ramiro Rodriguez was invited to dine at Tony Roma’s with the mayors of several cities in Hidalgo County and county Judge Richard F. Cortez, he knew exactly what the conversation would be dominated by. Last month, the county allotted $63 million out of…

Mary Lou Gomez, a bus monitor with the Mission CISD Transportation Department, wanted to show her son and his fellow graduates that the community is standing behind them as they move forward. Last week, the Mission Consolidated Independent School District held their graduation ceremonies for Mission High School, Veterans Memorial High School and Mission Collegiate…

This week, the city of Mission held a meeting focusing on the current state of the much-discussed Madero Bridge Project. The meeting included a proposed schedule of events for the construction of the project, which has been in contention because the presidential permit to build a rail bridge in Mission is set to expire in…

Senior graduations at LJISD have looked a bit different this year. The Palmview High School Class of 2020, along with all the other high schools in the district, celebrated their commencement at the La Joya Independent School District Stadium. The outdoor graduation was allowed in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic, as per guidelines from the…

Thursday saw the total amount of COVID-19 cases increase by 45, the largest single day increase, the county said. That brings the total number of known cases in the county to 679 people. “We have been saying for days that we knew an increase in positive cases was coming,” Hidalgo County Judge Richard F. Cortez…