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Featured, from left: Rep. Eddie Lucio, III, D-San Benito; Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg; and Claudia and Matthew Martínez of McAllen, on Thursday, August 18, 2016, at the Legislative Report Card luncheon, hosted by the Rio Grande Valley Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, at the Embassy Suites in McAllen.

Photograph By MARK MONTEMAYOR

The Texas Tribune will host a free, open-to-the-public lunchtime event — A Conversation with Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa and State Reps. Terry Canales and Bobby Guerra — from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday, August 26, at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley – Edinburg campus. The event will be held in the Community Engagement and Student Success (CESS) Building, located at 407 E. Freddy Gonzalez Drive, near the UTRGV campus in Edinburg. Parking will be available in front of the building (parking pass required; map).  General registration is open at texastribune.org/events. Doors open at 11:30 a.m. Conversation begins promptly at 12 p.m. The discussion will be followed by an audience Q&A session. A light lunch will be provided. This session is presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, supported by Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas and hosted by the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Additional support is provided by the Hatton W. Sumners Foundation. This series of conversations is generously sponsored by AT&T, BP, PepsiCo, Walmart and Southwest Airlines, the official airline of Texas Tribune Events. The conversation will be live streamed at texastribune.org/livestream, and the video will be available for viewing afterward. Evan Smith, the Texas Tribune’s co-founder and CEO, will serve as the moderator for the event.

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Texas Tribune hosting free ‘Conversation’ with Sen. Hinojosa, Rep. Canales and Rep. Guerra at UTRGV in Edinburg on Friday, August 26 from 11:30 a.m to 1 p.m.

By MARCI CALTABIANO

The Texas Tribune will host a free, open-to-the-public lunchtime event — A Conversation with Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa and State Reps. Terry Canales and Bobby Guerra — from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday, August 26, at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley – Edinburg campus.

The event will be held in the Community Engagement and Student Success (CESS) Building, located at 407 E. Freddy Gonzalez Drive, near the UTRGV campus in Edinburg. Parking will be available in front of the building (parking pass required; map).

General registration is open at texastribune.org/events.

Doors open at 11:30 a.m. Conversation begins promptly at 12 p.m.

The discussion will be followed by an audience Q&A session.

A light lunch will be provided.

This session is presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, supported by Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas and hosted by the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Additional support is provided by the Hatton W. Sumners Foundation. This series of conversations is generously sponsored by AT&T, BP, PepsiCo, Walmart and Southwest Airlines, the official airline of Texas Tribune Events.

The conversation will be live streamed at texastribune.org/livestream, and the video will be available for viewing afterward.

Evan Smith, the Texas Tribune’s co-founder and CEO, will serve as the moderator for the event.

Previously, Smith spent nearly 18 years at Texas Monthly, stepping down in August 2009 as the magazine’s president and editor in chief. He previously served as editor for more than eight years—only the third person to hold that title. On his watch, Texas Monthly was nominated for 16 National Magazine Awards, the magazine industry’s equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize, and twice was awarded the National Magazine Award for General Excellence. For eight years, he hosted the Lone Star Emmy Award-winning weekly interview program Texas Monthly Talks,which aired on PBS stations statewide. He currently hosts Overheard With Evan Smith, airing on PBS stations nationally. A New York native, he has a bachelor’s degree in public policy from Hamilton College and a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University.

Hinojosa, D-McAllen, has represented Senate District 20 since 2003. He serves as vice chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and sits on the Criminal Justice; Natural Resources & Economic Development; and Agriculture, Water & Rural Affairs committees. Previously, Hinojosa served in the Texas House and in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Vietnam War. He is an attorney based in McAllen.

Canales, D-Edinburg, has represented House District 40 since 2013. He sits on the House Criminal Jurisprudence and Energy Resources committees. Canales owns an Edinburg-based law practice and specializes in oil and gas litigation, criminal defense, personal injury, family law, real estate and municipal law.

Guerra, D-Mission, has represented House District 41 since 2013. He sits on the House Insurance; Public Health; and Local & Consent Calendars committees. He is a founding member and managing partner of the Guerra, Leeds, Sabo & Hernández, P.L.L.C. law firm. Previously, Guerra served as chairman of the Hidalgo County Democratic Party.

THE TEXAS TRIBUNE: A BRIEF ORGANIZATIONAL OVERVIEW

The Texas Tribune is the only member-supported, digital-first, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.

The Tribune was founded in 2009 by John Thornton (a venture capitalist in Austin for nearly 20 years and passionate believer in public media), Evan Smith (the veteran editor-in-chief ofTexas Monthly and host of a weekly interview program on PBS stations), and Ross Ramsey (the owner and editor of Texas Weekly, the state’s premier newsletter on politics and government).

The Texas Tribune and its destination website were launched in November 2009, thanks to $4 million in private contributions as seed funding, a small band of talented computer programmers and some of the most accomplished journalists in the state.

Now with a staff of nearly 50 dedicated reporters, editors, technologists, designers and business leaders, the Tribune has continued to advance its mission of bringing greater transparency and accountability to public policy, politics and government through news, data and events.

LOCATION

The Tribune is located at 823 Congress Avenue, Suite 1400, Austin, Texas 78701. Our main phone number is (512) 716-8600.

NEWS

The Tribune, which has the largest statehouse news bureau in the United States, covers a full range of topics including public and higher education, health care, immigration, criminal justice, energy, poverty, the environment, water, transportation — pretty much every line in the state budget.

The online-only news media outlet also cover the major candidates and campaigns for office, though its leadership states that it trains its sights less on the candidates than the issues. They further facilitate a statewide conversation about these topics on its op-ed site, TribTalk.

To further its pursuit of statewide engagement, the Texas Tribune provides all of its content, for free, to print, radio and television news organizations throughout the state, and nationally in partnership with The Washington Post.  The Texas Tribune also produce a series of specialized Trib+ newsletters — on topics like health, education and water issues — for those who want a deeper dive on the issues. They feature interactive maps, data tools, research and articles from the Tribune and elsewhere.

DATA

The Texas Tribune states that is has become an authoritative source for providing user-friendly data interactives of public information in Texas. It’s reporters and software engineers collaborate to present a full picture for readers, giving them the tools to be more thoughtful, productive and engaged citizens. Examples include its government salaries database, Texashospitals explorer, and a guide to financial interests of elected officials.

EVENTS

Each year, the Texas Tribune hosts 50-plus on-the-record, open-to-the-public live events — on college campuses, in community centers and everywhere in between — at which public officials, policy wonks and newsmakers answer for the work they’re doing and how they’re spending the public’s tax dollars.

Events are often available via live stream video, for those who can’t attend in person, and following the conversation, they publish and archive video online. It’s signature annual event, The Texas Tribune Festival, attracts thousands of attendees to the UT-Austin campus to learn about Texas’ biggest challenges and to engage in thoughtful discussion about their respective solutions. Decision-makers, industry leaders and community activists from near and far come to take part in this three-day event.

As a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, The Texas Tribune is supported by individual contributions and membership (click here to join), major gifts, corporate sponsorships, events and foundation grants. A complete list of the Tribune donors and sponsors can be viewed here.

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David A. Díaz contributed to this article.

Titans of the Texas Legislature

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