Area News

Another person allegedly connected to a widespread public corruption scandal in western Hidalgo County pled guilty this week to charges that he tampered with a witness as federal officers attempted to uncover the conspiracy in 2022.   Court documents show Jorge O’Caña faces up to 20 years in prison after he accepted a deal on April…

An ordinance recently approved by the Mission city council temporarily prohibiting new car wash facilities may not be compliant with current state law.     The council will discuss possible litigation at its next meeting on April 14 in connection with a temporary moratorium on new car washes that it unanimously approved. The new car…

A lawsuit seeking over a million dollars in damages originally filed in December against the Catholic Diocese of Brownsville claims an Edinburg priest’s longtime affair with one of his parishioners caused her divorce and led her to neglect her children so much that one of them began calling the priest “El Diablo.”   In the…

A proposed agreement between the City of Mission, Mission EDC (MEDC) and the Texas Citrus Fiesta (TCF) could turn a longstanding handshake deal into a formal agreement of support for the annual citrus celebration.   A draft contract obtained by the Progress Times would commit the city and MEDC to provide up to $170,000 in…

Texas state law now requires districts to equip all their school buses with three-point seatbelts. But without additional funding, some districts have had to postpone full compliance. State lawmakers passed Senate Bill 546 last year, updating safety requirements for student transportation across Texas. The bill states that all school buses must have three-point seatbelts for…

The Mission Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) officially launched its new workforce initiative, Mission Ready, during a press conference held on April 1 at the Center for Education and Economic Development (CEED).     Mission Ready is a six-week paid summer internship program designed to connect local students with Mission-based businesses, providing hands-on experience in high-demand…

[email protected] The Mission city council approved changes on Tuesday to the MEDC bylaws and now provide city management the authority to supervise its CEO Teclo Garcia and oversight over its spending. “The bylaws have been drawn to re-establish, in short, a separation between the president of the board and the CEO,” said co-interim city manager…

An investigation into alleged workplace bullying and harassment of Mission fire department employee Joseph Fisher is now in the hands of an external third party, according to fire chief Mike Silva. Silva was recently cleared of wrong doing by an internal city investigation. When asked about the status of the inquiry into the remaining personnel,…

Sullivan City Council named a new city secretary earlier this month.     On March 2 council appointed Maria Castillo, who had been doing code enforcement for Sullivan, as city secretary.   “Man, she stepped up to the plate,” City Manager Richard Ozuna said. “Very familiar with excel, powerpoint. We’re really getting our bang for…