Sergio Muñoz, Jr., who has made job creation, more health care, better  access to education, and improved public safety – including cracking down of sexual predators – the foundation of his campaign, on Thursday, January 28, was endorsed for State Representative, House District 36, by the mayor and city council of his hometown of Mission. ”Mission and House District 36 have been leaders in economic  development, international trade, and business growth for many years, not only in South Texas, but in the entire state,” said Mayor Norberto Salinas. ”Sergio Muñoz, Jr. will deliver on his vision, which will result in the  creation of thousands of direct and indirect jobs for our entire region.” Featured, from left: Councilmember  Rubén Plata; Councilmember María Elena Ramírez, Sergio Muñoz, Jr.; Mayor Norberto Salinas; Councilmember Nori González Garza; and Mayor Pro Tem Leo Olivarez, Sr. See story later in this posting.

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A kick-off of the strategic planning process for the Hidalgo County Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) was held recently at The University of Texas-Pan American. CEDS, being developed through input from both public and private sectors, will incorporate results of an asset map of the region identifying its human, intellectual, financial, physical and institutional capital strengths, to help provide a roadmap to ensure the future economic vitality of the region locally and nationwide. The CEDS project – locally titled “IGNITE Hidalgo County” – and the asset map development was made possible by a grant received by the county from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration in 2007. Hidalgo County Judge René A. Ramírez said it was important to have current data for the area in order to solicit companies to relocate or expand here or to successfully gain financial support from the state or other government agencies for projects to enhance area economic development. Featured at the Thursday, January 14 session, from left: Mike Blum, partner and managing broker with NAI Rio Grande Valley; Steve Ahlenius, president/CEO of McAllen Chamber of Commerce; Mayte Garrett, market director for Verde Corporate Realty Services; Ramiro Garza, Edinburg city manager; Dr. Daniel King, PSJA ISD superintendent; James Langabeer, UTPA vice president for Business Affairs; Dr. Fausto Meza, physician administrator with Doctors Hospital at Renaissance; Judge Ramírez; and Mike Willis, vice president of Office of Business Partnerships with Texas Workforce Division. See story later in this posting.

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Hernán De La Rosa, a bus driver with the Edinburg school district, featured second from left, was recently recognized by the local school board for being a hero by saving students from a burning school bus.  At 7 a.m. on December 17, De La Rosa called 911 for emergency help when he noticed that his bus was on fire as he drove into the unloading zone at Cavazos Elementary. His bravery included trying to extinguish the blaze with his fire extinguisher, but he quickly realized that the fire had spread. He then evacuated the students from the burning bus in a timely manner, preventing any children from being injured. The school board recognized De La Rosa for his brave and steadfast actions in saving the children and for his quick thinking in stopping the burning bus far enough away from the school, where it could have created more problems for the school campus. De La Rosa is a five-year veteran bus driver for the ECISD. Featured, from left, are: Omar Palacios, board president; De la Rosa; Rudy Zamora, Director of Transportation; and Dr. René Gutiérrez, the superintendent of schools.

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Members of a newly-created organization, United Brownsville, participate in a major ceremony held on Thursday, January 21 at Brownsville City Hall to commemorate the launching of their organization and its efforts to promote their region of the Rio Grande Valley. The wheels of change kept their momentum as The University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College and six other entities launched United Brownsville with a signing ceremony at Brownsville City Hall. Starting where Imagine Brownsville left off, the newly formed United Brownsville will have an organizational structure designed to provide a sustainable mechanism for cooperation to leverage institutional resources for the implementation and tracking of the initiatives in the Imagine Brownsville plan. “We must again come together,” said UTB/TSC President and a United Brownsville Board Co-chair Dr. Juliet V. García. “Any one of us alone can achieve small things, but it takes a community to come together to achieve bigger things.” See story later in this posting.

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President George W. Bush in September 2008 signs into law a measure that expanded the definition of a disabled person to individuals who have cancer and diabetes, along with several other major illnesses. As a result, Sergio Muñoz, Jr., a Democratic candidate for House District 36 in South Texas, says he would file legislation in 2011 in Austin that would allow Texas voters to extend the existing property tax freezes to homeowners with cancer, diabetes, and the other major illnesses now considered as physical disabilities by federal law. Under the property tax freeze currently in effect in all Texas school districts and among many cities, counties and community colleges in the state, qualified homeowners still have to pay their taxes, but those taxes – under most circumstances – would never increase. “In light of the changes at the federal level, I believe that the current state property tax freeze protections should be extended to homeowners with cancer, diabetes and the other illnesses identified as disabilities by the ADA Amendments Act of 2008,” said Muñoz. See lead story in this posting.

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Hidalgo County Judge René A. Ramírez, featured left, visits with Gabriel  Sánchez, director of the U.S. Census Bureau’s Dallas Regional Office, during the December 21 official grand opening of the Census Bureau’s local office, which is located at the Wells Fargo Building on the corner of Trenton and McColl roads in Edinburg. The federal agency wants to hire up to 2,000 employees through the Edinburg office, and another 2,000 employees out of its La Feria office, to help get the best possible census count in the four-county Rio Grande Valley. A more accurate Census count can translate into hundreds of millions of dollars in additional federal and state funding for area programs. Census Day is April 1. Census workers are needed both in advance of that date – and especially for the field work that will occur after April 1 to follow up on residents who did not submit their Census questionnaires. The types of jobs available include census takers, crew leaders, crew leader assistants, recruiting assistants, and census clerks. "Once every 10 years, local residents who work for the Census have the opportunity to directly improve the quality of life for all of us in the Valley, because every person they count for the Census means more money comes down from Washington, D.C. for every federal program that helps us in South Texas," said Ramírez. "Local census workers are tremendously important for all of our futures." Interested residents may contact the Edinburg office at 956/587-3370 to schedule an appointment for a job interview. Details about the jobs, the application process, and testing sites for qualify for those Census jobs are available toll-free at 1-866-861-2010, for the hearing-impaired at 1-800-877-8339, or by logging on to www.2010CensusJobs.gov. 

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Former Houston Mayor Bill White, center, featured here in Edinburg on Tuesday, January 5, has endorsed a plan proposed by Rep. Armando "Mando" Martínez, D-Weslaco, which calls for tapping into two major state funds controlled by the Texas governor to help build a long sought-after Veterans Affairs Hospital in the Valley. White, who is seeking the March 2 Democratic Party nomination for Texas governor, is featured with Hidalgo County District Clerk Laura Hinojosa and former Hidalgo County Judge Ramón García during White’s late morning visit with elected leaders and staff members at the Hidalgo County Courthouse. White agrees with Martínez’ proposal to use money from the Texas Enterprise Fund and the Texas Emerging Technology Fund, which together have several hundred million dollars in available revenue for the purposes of funding major projects which can result in jobs creation and economic development. 

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Former Hidalgo County Judge Eloy Pulido, featured here being interviewed in McAllen following his late December campaign kick-off to regain his former seat, and former Hidalgo County Judge Ramón García (not shown in this image), his Democratic rival for the March 2 party primary nomination, are both featured in exclusive interviews on the Internet at www.RGV-Life.com. Shaine Mata, the publisher of the highly-regarded regional news site, said he is providing the interviews as a public service. "Whenever I do these interviews, the question always comes up, ‘How do you make money?’ I don’t," explained Mata. "There are Google Ads on my websites, but they don’t even come close to paying me for my time and effort. At first, I wanted to ask for advertising from candidates. Then, I realized that it might influence or appear to influence my work. I’ll post a video soon explaining why I do what I do." Mata, whose political expertise also includes serving in the Texas Legislature with Rep. Aaron Peña, Jr., D-Edinburg, added: "Please watch both interviews. Make an informed decision at the primaries. Spread the word." 

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After serving a collective 28 years on the McAllen Medical Center Board of Governors and later South Texas Health System, John Schrock, Sr., a former McAllen city commissioner, celebrates a legacy of successes as he settles into retirement. On Monday, December 21, the STHS Board of Governors, administration and staff proudly provided Schrock with an honorary proclamation highlighting his nearly 30-year volunteer career providing health care opportunities for the people in the Rio Grande Valley. Among the STHS leadership featured in this photograph are, from left: Douglas Matney, STHS vice president/acute care and group director; Lorenzo Olivarez, STHS chief financial officer; John Schrock, Sr.; Joe Riley, chief executive officer for McAllen Medical Center; Linda Reséndez, chief executive officer for Edinburg Regional Medical Center and Edinburg Children’s Hospital; and Mike Adams, chief operating officer for McAllen Heart Hospital. See story later in this posting. 

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Lucy Canales (featured left) and Lilia Ledesma, partners with the Edinburg law office of Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson, LLP, met with Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, D-McAllen, following a major presentation by Gov. Rick Perry in Edinburg on Tuesday, January 5. The three area leaders were part of a select group who met with the governor at the University of Texas-Pan American – a session which included discussions regarding the use of available state funds to help build a U.S. Veterans Affairs Hospital in the Valley. Both Perry, a Republican, and former Houston Mayor Bill White, a Democratic gubernatorial candidate who was visiting county leaders earlier that day at the Hidalgo County Courthouse, pledged support to push for the construction of a full-service VA Hospital for the four-county Rio Grande Valley. Hinojosa was the Senate sponsor of a constitutional amendment, overwhelmingly passed by Texas voters last November, which authorizes the use of state financial resources to pay for the construction and maintenance of VA Hospitals throughout the state. Rep. Armando "Mando" Martínez, D-Weslaco, has proposed tapping into the Texas Enterprise Fund and the Texas Emerging Technology Fund in order to pay for the construction of a Valley VA Hospital.  Additional details about the leadership roles and community participation by the Edinburg law office of Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson, LLP, which is part of a nationally recognized law firm, are available online at www.publicans.com/press_room.htm.

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Gov. Rick Perry was joined at the podium on Tuesday, January 5 at the University of Texas-Pan American by (from left) Rep. Armando "Mando" Martínez, D-Weslaco, Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, D-McAllen, and  UTPA’s President Dr. Robert S. Nelsen as he announced the awarding of a $3.25 million Texas Emerging Technology Fund (TETF) Research Superiority Acquisition Award that will go toward helping the university hire top-notch researchers who will enhance the establishment of a world-class advanced manufacturing center. This monetary award is part of a larger pool of funding allocated by the state legislature this past year as part of the state’s efforts to invest in emerging technology and boost the economy with new jobs. The emerging technology funds will be matched by the university and private companies bringing the total UTPA investment to more than $9 million. The TETF awards, which were created to develop and diversify the Texas economy by expediting innovation and commercialization of research and bringing world-class researchers to the state, will go toward expanding the endeavors of UTPA’s Rapid Response Manufacturing Center (RRMC). The RRMC is a university center devoted to the research and talent development in rapid response manufacturing and has assisted more than 20 companies since April 2008. See stories later in this posting. 

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Area businesses and their local employees will have the opportunity to network with other firms during the Corporate Super Bowl, sponsored by the McAllen Hispanic Chamber, which will be held on Wednesday, February 3 at the Flamingo Bowl, 3301 North 23rd in McAllen. Each team of five members will play two games, with the top six teams competing for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place team trophies. A Top Female and Male Bowler trophy will also be awarded. The $250 registration fee will get team members a company t-shirt, team picture, food, beverages and bowling shoes. “We encourage business owners to invest in a team or two and give your employees an opportunity to bond while representing your company," said Cynthia Moya Sakulenzki, MHCC president and chief executive officer. Featured practicing for the Corporate Super Bowl are, from left: Ronnie Díaz; Cynthia M. Sakulenzki; Chuy Negrete; Rep. Verónica Gonzáles, D-McAllen; Dr. John Thomas; and Rick Rivas. For more information call the MHCC at 928-0060. Teams are still available.   

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Emphasizing the importance of public education, state representative candidate Sergio Muñoz, Jr., D-Mission, featured right, on Friday, January 9, promised to file legislation to seek a $5,000 across-the-board annual state pay raise for the state’s public school classroom teachers. The average teacher salary in Texas continues to rank in the bottom half in the nation, more than $5,000 below the national average, according to state legislative findings. Muñoz, a Palmview Municipal Court Judge who credits his teachers for helping him earn his dream of a college education and law degree, also said he would fight hard in the Texas Legislature to protect the pensions and health insurance protections for retired educators and their spouses. He added he would work on making higher education more accessible and affordable and would assist and support more parental involvement with their children’s education. "One of the first bills I would file as a state lawmaker would be legislation that would boost teacher salaries by $2,500 per year beginning September 1, 2011, and then adding another $2,500 annual pay raise for teachers beginning September 1, 2012," said Muñoz. "Everything that is good for a person is made possible by the education they receive, and that means we must invest in keeping and attracting the best teachers." Muñoz said that the best interests of retired teachers also would be high on his priorities when the Texas Legislature returns to work in Austin in mid-January 2011. Muñoz is shown here being interviewed by Victor Castillo, an anchor and reporter for the local Univision Channel 48 television station. See lead story in this posting. 

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