HARLINGEN, Texas — As the Rio Grande Valley continues its rapid economic expansion, regional leaders are gathering this week to tackle two of the most critical factors underpinning future growth: infrastructure readiness and human capital development.

The Institute for Leadership in Capital Projects (I-LinCP) RGV Chapter, in partnership with the Harlingen Economic Development Corporation (EDC), will host "Powering Texas and Regional Growth: Infrastructure + Workforce Exchange" on Thursday, Aug. 13, at the Harlingen Convention Center from 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Setting the stage for the event, Carol Warkoczewski, founder of I-LinCP, highlighted the critical timing of the gathering.

"As the South Texas area continues to experience unprecedented growth, the need for strategic infrastructure investment and a skilled workforce has never been greater," Warkoczewski said. "This collaborative event will bring together industry leaders, public sector representatives, educators, and economic development professionals to explore the opportunities and challenges shaping the future of this region."

However, prospective attendees are urged to act immediately: seats are filling up rapidly, with organizers confirming that only a handful of spots remain available.

"We initially were thinking of having 70 attendees, but we had to open it up to 100," said Jose Delgado, I-LinCP co-founder and McAllen-based engineer. "Just a few minutes ago, we had a meeting, and there were only 12 spaces, maybe 15 spaces left. Time is running out."

Editor's Note: Here is an interview with Jose Delgado and Orlando Campos, CEO of Harlingen Economic Development Corporation. To read the full story go to riograndeguardian.com.

Go to www.riograndeguardian.com to read the latest border news stories and watch the latest news videos.

MISSION, Texas - Veteran trial attorney Ricardo “Rick” Salinas officially entered the race for mayor of Mission, Texas, filing his candidacy paperwork and outlining an ambitious campaign platform focused on City Hall transparency, urgent infrastructure repairs, and fiscal accountability ahead of the November election.

Salinas, who has practiced law for 33 years, framed his run not as a career move, but as an “affair of the heart” aimed at addressing core municipal issues that he contends current leadership has neglected.

Salinas gave an interview to the Rio Grande Guardian just before filing his paperwork to run for mayor of Mission. Later that evening he held a Meet & Greet with supporters. The interview started with his thoughts on former foe Ester Salinas (no relation), a community activist from Mission who use to have serious disagreements with Rick Salinas' father, Beto Salinas, when he was mayor of Mission.

Go to www.riograndeguardian.com to read the latest border news stories and watch the latest news videos.

AUSTIN, Texas - Gov. Greg Abbott and Dino Mavrookas, co-founder and CEO of Saronic Technologies, made an announcement about manufacturing investment at the company’s headquarters in Austin.

Saronic was founded in 2022 and specializes in unmanned maritime vehicles. Mavrookas announced a $3.2 billion investment at the Port of Brownsville for the company’s next generation Port Alpha shipyard. The project is focused on the production of autonomous surface vessels for defense and commercial applications.

Here is an audio recording of their remarks.

Editor’s Note: To read the full story go to riograndeguardian.com.

Go to www.riograndeguardian.com to read the latest border news stories and watch the latest news videos.

HARLINGEN, Texas - The City of Harlingen is to name a new park after Arturo Treto Garza, an influential leader in the movement to bring a Veteran's Hospital to the Rio Grande Valley and longtime columnist for the Rio Grande Guardian.

Garza, a decorated U.S. Marine who fought in the Vietnam War, died in November 2012 aged 86. A former co-chair of the Veteran’s Alliance of the Rio Grande Valley, Garza edited the Guardian’s influential Veteran Voice column from 2007 right up until his death.

Garza was a strong-willed and outspoken in the causes he believed in. One of his last columns for the Guardian, in October 2012, was titled: “Veteranos, Wake the F*** Up. It urged Rio Grande Valley veterans not to give up their fight for a VA hospital.

Upon his death, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn passed a resolution in Garza’s honor, saying he was proud to call Sgt. Garza a friend.

“He will be remembered for his honorable service to our country, his fierce devotion to the veteran community in South Texas, and his tireless fight to improve health care services for veterans in the Rio Grande Valley,” Cornyn said. “My staff and I were privileged to have his thoughtful input on veterans’ issues for many years and his leadership in the Valley will be sorely missed.”

Rio Grande Guardian Editor Steve Taylor said Valley veterans owe a great deal of gratitude to Garza for keeping veterans affairs front and center. “Treto was persistent. He knew what the goal was. He came to us in 2007 and asked if he could start writing a column and he never stopped writing. Through his columns he kept the politicians accountable,” Taylor said.

Click here to read one of the Guardian’s tribute stories about Sgt. Garza.

The new park that will be named after Garza is behind the fire station on Stuart Place Road. Plans include a basketball court, walking trail, solar lighting, and parking. The city says it will be the first park for people on the west side of the city. City leaders hope to add a splash pad later.

The city commissioner who pushed to have the park named for Sgt. Garza was Rene Perez. He spoke about how it came about at a city commission meeting on July 1.

Editor's Note: Attached is an audio recording on the discussion about naming the new park in honor of Sgt. Garza.

Go to www.riograndeguardian.com to read the latest border news stories and watch the latest news videos.

WESLACO, Texas - The four county judges in the Rio Grande Valley have asked the Lower Rio Grande Valley Development Council to be part of a new water management plan for the region.

The Lower Rio Grande Valley Water Management Plan aims to advance regional water solutions for the Valley. The plan is being funded by the North American Development Bank with Halff brought in as lead organizer.

“We were recruited to participate in the RGV Water Management Plan advisory committee and the first meeting was held yesterday at the Rio Grande Valley Partnership,” said Manuel Cruz, executive director of LRGVDC, at the group’s July meeting.

“The project is being funded by NADBank. They hired a consultant, Halff Associates to create the plan; to develop a water management plan.”

NADBank has produced a brochure that explains the plan.

“The Water Management Plan for the Lower Rio Grande Valley is a coordinated regional effort to help communities, water providers, irrigation districts, groundwater districts, and elected officials to identify longterm sustainable water solutions,” the brochure states.

“Led by the county commissioners of Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr and Willacy counties, in partnership with the North American Development Bank, the project will create a regional road map to strengthen water reliability, improve drought resistance, and enhance coordination across the four-county region.”

Editor's Note: Go to the Rio Grande Guardian website to read the full story.

Go to www.riograndeguardian.com to read the latest border news stories and watch the latest news videos.

WESLACO, Texas - The four county judges in the Rio Grande Valley have asked the Lower Rio Grande Valley Development Council to be part of a new water management plan for the region.

The Lower Rio Grande Valley Water Management Plan aims to advance regional water solutions for the Valley. The plan is being funded by the North American Development Bank with Halff brought in as lead organizer.

“We were recruited to participate in the RGV Water Management Plan advisory committee and the first meeting was held yesterday at the Rio Grande Valley Partnership,” said Manuel 'Manny' Cruz, executive director of LRGVDC, at the group’s July meeting.

“The project is being funded by NADBank. They hired a consultant, Halff Associates to create the plan; to develop a water management plan.”

NADBank has produced a brochure that explains the plan.

“The Water Management Plan for the Lower Rio Grande Valley is a coordinated regional effort to help communities, water providers, irrigation districts, groundwater districts, and elected officials to identify longterm sustainable water solutions,” the brochure states

“Led by the county commissioners of Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr and Willacy counties, in partnership with the North American Development Bank, the project will create a regional road map to strengthen water reliability, improve drought resistance, and enhance coordination across the four-county region.”

Editor's Note: Go to the Rio Grande Guardian's website to read the full story.

Go to www.riograndeguardian.com to read the latest border news stories and watch the latest news videos.

MCALLEN, Texas - McAllen Economic Development Corporation is being very strategic on the visits it is making to secure new opportunities for the region, the group’s chief operating officer has explained.

Ralph Garcia gave a very brief update on MEDC’s work at their quarterly stakeholders committee meeting on June 18.

“We have some projects on the Mexico side, but the majority are US-side projects,” Garcia said. “We continue to see new leads developing, and then also, as we're doing some of our visits, we're being very strategic on our visits that we're doing with companies that are existing in the market, to identify opportunities, and even particular projects they can be working on internally that we can try and attract to the region. So we're working very aggressively with that.”

This strategy worked well with Valeo. The French high-tech auto parts manufacturer has a plant in Rio Bravo, Tamaulipas. When it developed plans to build a $225 million plant in the United States, MEDC worked hard to ensure they landed the new project.

The two guest speakers at the stakeholders committee meeting were Juan Olaguibel, assistant city manager and superintendent of bridges for the City of McAllen and Jorge Torres, president of Interlink Trade Services. Olaguibel spoke largely about developments at Anzalduas International Bridge and Torres spoke largely about the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Because their presentations went long, with numerous questions asked by stakeholders, Garcia kept his report short.

Here is an audio recording of the report.

Go to www.riograndeguardian.com to read the latest border news stories and watch the latest news videos.

A few months ago, an idea sparked in my heart: to honor Dr. Hector P. Garcia with a street designation in his hometown of Mercedes.

Tonight, I’m happy to share that the initiative has officially been approved.

This effort has been a true community project. What began as a proposal grew into meetings, letters of support, public input, a committee process, and ultimately a community conversation about how we honor one of our hometown heroes.

Dr. Hector P. Garcia was a World War II veteran, physician, civil rights leader, founder of the American GI Forum, Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, and a proud Mercedes High School graduate. His impact reached far beyond South Texas, but his story will always be connected to Mercedes.

I am grateful every member of the City Commission, my fellow sub committee members, the Dr. Hector P. Garcia Foundation, the Mercedes Memorial Library, everyone who participated in the public survey, and all those who supported this effort along the way.

This is a reminder that local government can do meaningful things when communities come together around a common purpose.

Now, we move on to the implementation phase and look forward to the day we officially unveil the designation and celebrate the legacy of Dr. Hector P. Garcia for generations to come.

Editor’s Note: The above guest column was penned by Skyler Howell, a member of the board of the Hector P. Garcia Memorial Foundation. The column first appeared on Howell’s social media pages.

Editor’s Note: Here, attached, is an audio recording of an interview the Rio Grande Guardian secured with Skyler Howell last month about his initiative:

Go to www.riograndeguardian.com to read the latest border news stories and watch the latest news videos.