Area News

The La Joya Independent School District placed a teacher on paid administrative leave in August, when allegations surfaced that he sexually assaulted a high school student more than eight years ago. Administrators removed Julian M. Moron, 50, of Edinburg — a teacher at Cesar E. Chavez Middle School — from the classroom on Aug. 12.…

A federal judge on Wednesday sentenced former state District Judge Rudy Delgado to five years in prison for bribery and obstruction of justice. U.S. District Judge Alfred H. Bennett sentenced Delgado to five years in prison during a hearing Wednesday afternoon in McAllen. “What you stand accused of tears at the very fabric of our…

Before he sentenced Noe Perez, the Rio Grande Valley attorney who confessed to bribing a local judge with cash and beer, U.S. District Judge Alfred H. Bennett paused. Perez had just spent part of Wednesday morning talking about what he called “Valley law,” a system of barely concealed corruption that permeated the Hidalgo County Courthouse.…

A former Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office narcotics investigator who provided federal agents with information about the Panama Unit plans to run for Precinct 3 constable. Miguel Flores, 38, of Mission resigned from the Sheriff’s Office to campaign for constable in the March 2020 Democratic Party primary. He’s running against longtime Constable Lazaro “Larry” Gallardo Jr.…

Friday the 13th proved unlucky for a closed bar and grill in Mission. Last Friday, a large fire broke out at the old Pepe’s on the River location at 2601 S. Conway. According to Assistant Fire Chief Rene Alvarez, it took the department a few hours to extinguish the flames. “We received a call at…

Members of the council and the city manager went back and forth on Tuesday, but could not come to a consensus on the property tax rate or the budget for the next fiscal year. This Tues. Sept. 17, the Edinburg City Council held a regular called meeting at city hall. All council members and the…

Thanks to a new program at the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley, more than half of its undergraduate students will attend the university without having to pay for tuition in the next school year. On Monday, UTRGV announced the most expansive free-tuition program among public institutions in the state of Texas that targets students with…

A federal task force on Monday arrested a former Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office commander accused of forgery and credit card abuse. The Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Fugitive Task Force arrested former Sheriff’s Office Cmdr. Jose A. Padilla, 59, of Weslaco on Monday morning, said Juan Lara, a spokesman for the U.S. Marshals Service. Padilla —…

After appearing on the agenda for a second time, commissioners at the Mission Housing Authority voted Wednesday to once again not let a local senior center allow members of the public to enter, effectively preventing them from receiving more funding for employees. The senior center at Mission’s Palm Plaza Development had $40,000 in funds to…

Rather than building walls, the Mission Historical Museum, along with the city and CamCoin, are building bridges to connect Mexican and American culture. This past weekend, the museum hosted their first Mercado Mexicano at the Mission Event Center, bringing over 20 local and international vendors to sell artisanal goods, clothing and decor in the community.…