FEATURED: Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, seated at his desk on the floor of the Texas House of Representatives in the Texas Capitol in the spring of 2025. On Tuesday, November 3, 2026, the Edinburg attorney was reelected to an eighth two-year term, securing more than 32,000 votes (75 percent of the total) in his bid for House District 40. House District 40 features most of Edinburg, and all or portions of northern rural Hidalgo County, the cities of Pharr, San Juan, Murillo, Elsa, Doolittle (CDP), San Carlos (CDP), Lópezville (CDP), La Blanca (CDP), César Chávez (CDP), McAllen, Linn (CDP), and La Coma Heights (CDP).
FEATURED: Village in the Valley (ViVa), a McAllen-based organization whose stated mission is elevating and uniting the Black community while connecting cultures in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV), recently announced its 2026-2027 Executive Board. “ViVa has always been about creating connections, celebrating our history and culture, and building opportunities for our community,” said Co-Presidents Marsha Terry and Dr. Theresa Gatling. “We are grateful for the leaders who have stepped forward to serve and excited about what we can accomplish together in the year ahead.”
FEATURED, CENTER: Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, appears at a press conference regarding Trump Accounts on Monday, August 31, 2026 at the AT&T Hotel in Austin. On Wednesday, September 16, 2026, Cruz celebrated the passage of the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act by the U.S. House of Representatives. The measure would require auto makers to include AM broadcast radio in their new vehicles at no additional charge, reports Edinburg Mayor Omar Ochoa.
FEATURED: At the age of 21, Marine Sergeant Alfredo ‘Freddy’ González of Edinburg was killed during the Tet Offensive in Hue City, Vietnam. For his actions defending his platoon that day, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. Later, in 1996, in tribute to his actions a U.S. Navy warship, the USS González, was named after him. In early November 2025, U.S. Rep. Mónica De La Cruz, R-Edinburg, filed a measure in Congress, the Sgt. Alfredo ‘Freddy’ González Memorial Veterans Hospital Act, calling on the federal government to create a full-service U.S. veterans hospital in the Rio Grande Valley that would carry his name.
FEATURED FROM LEFT: Edinburg Mayor Omar Ochoa, Academy Award-nominated actor, recording artist, and entrepreneur Terrence Howard, and Edinburg First Lady Leah Wise. Howard, who is involved in several publicized business ventures, including entertainment technology, alternative science, and aerospace sectors [1], paid visits to deep South Texas, including Edinburg City Hall and the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, beginning on Monday, July 27, 2026.
FEATURED, FROM LEFT: Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, and Rep. Ryan Guillén, R-Rio Grande City. In this image, Canales addresses fellow state lawmakers from the fixed microphone on the floor of the Texas House of Representatives chamber in the Texas Capitol during the 89th regular session in 2025.
FEATURED: Dr. Jessica Guajardo Martin, Designated Institutional Officer (DIO), General Medical Education (GME), DHR Health, addresses medical residents, fellows, and pharmacy residents during the recent 2026 Resident and Fellow Graduation Ceremony by DHR Health held at the Edinburg Conference Center at Renaissance. “To our graduates: you leave here more than physicians, you leave as clinicians, scholars, educators and leaders – prepared not only to practice medicine, but to shape it,” she said. “You carry forward the mission and values of DHR Health and the responsibility to serve with compassion, integrity, and excellence.”
FEATURED: Christmas 2025 memories came flashing back in late May 2026 when South Texans learned that the Edinburg Cable Network was named a 2026 Silver Telly Winner by the Telly Awards, a premier international awards programs that honors excellence in video and television across all screens, reports Mayor Omar Ochoa.
FEATURED: Robert Peña, Jr., 58, a former Edinburg Democratic state legislative candidate, longtime school board trustee, economic development leader, and veteran of Operation Desert Storm, on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, passed away. He was a 2012 Democratic candidate for District 40 of the Texas House of Representatives, which was won by current Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg. Peña is also known for serving as a member of the Edinburg Consolidated Independent School District (ECISD) from 2008 to 2020, including holding the positions of president and vice president of that governing board.
Photograph Courtesy RGV DETACHMENT OF THE MARINE CORPS LEAGUE
FEATURED, FROM LEFT: Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, Sen. Juan Hinojosa, D-McAllen, and Sen. Adán “Adam” Hinojosa, R-Corpus Christi, on Thursday, March 24, 2026, at the McAllen Performing Arts Center. The three Rio Grande Valley leaders were on hand for the announcement by Valeo, a French multinational automotive supplier, that the company is going to build in McAllen a $225 million project involving a 337,000-square-foot facility focused on advanced automotive technology. It is reported to be the largest single industrial investment in Hidalgo County history.
