Area News

The Mission City Council ratified Monday the purchase of a little over $44,000 worth of firewall infrastructure meant to bolster security at city hall and the Mission Police Department in the wake of a debilitating ransomware attack.   City Manager Mike Perez said the city made the purchase based on recommendations from cybersecurity experts and…

The chief staff gave their monthly budget update at the March 12 La Joya ISD school board meeting, and they were clear about what it will take to continue chipping away at the district’s budget deficit — fewer employees. Chief of Human Capital and Talent Development Jaime Miller reminded the board of the 13-year overstaffing…

The Agua SUD Board voted to name Place 4 Director Jose Luis Ochoa Jr. its new president at a meeting last week after Place 7 Director Adriana Villarreal opted to step down from the officer position.     Usually Agua SUD’s board reorganizes its officers in November.   Villarreal said last Monday that health concerns…

Fifth grader Miku Tsusaka begins every school day smiling and waving as she greets those around her. It’s a small act, but she feels like she sets a good example by doing it. “Overall, I just try to communicate with everyone, try to make as much eye contact as I can,” she said. The 10-year-old…

The La Joya ISD Board of Managers voted last Wednesday to make slight but substantive changes to a novel policy implemented by the district last year that prohibits some employees from holding public office.   Perhaps most significantly, that policy will now apply to appointed public officers as well as elected public officers.   The…

The city of Mission expects the fallout from a debilitating ransomware attack last month to have an impact for months.   The city said so in correspondence last Thursday seeking an attorney general’s opinion allowing it to withhold contracts with outside cybersecurity experts and legal council asked for by the Progress Times through an open…

Obesity remains a serious public health concern in the United States. Currently, more than 100 million adults are considered obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and more than 22 million are morbidly obese.     In fact, more than 20% of adults are obese in every U.S. state. In Texas,…

MISSION, TEXAS — The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has awarded the Greater Mission Chamber of Commerce (GMCC) a 3-Star Accreditation for its sound policies, effective procedures, and positive community impact. GMCC is one out of three accredited chambers in the entire Rio Grande Valley, and one out of two in Hidalgo County.     “Chambers…

The Palmview Municipal Development District (PMDD) has a new board member. Palmview Council Member Cesar Pena Jr. was sworn in at the monthly meeting on March 12.     Appointed by the City Council, he joins the seven-member board and will fill the spot previously held by Mayor Ricardo Villarreal whose term expired. The role…

The Texas Education Agency’s Educator Investigations Division began reviewing former La Joya ISD Rut Damaris Kazmierczak’s Texas educator certificate Friday after the Progress Times published a story about allegations that she’d inappropriately messaged a former student in 2023.       The TEA says it had previously investigated Kazmiercak in 2023, though that investigation was…