The Brownsville
New businesses draw opposition T his is a rebuttal to Justin Katusak’s recent commentary on the glossy photos and billion‑dollar headlines surrounding SpaceX, Rio Grande LNG and Port Alpha (July 28). The advertising spin hides what the Rio Grande Valley cannot afford to ignore: T...
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket soars past the American flag during the launch of the O3b mPOWER mission for SES. Image: John Pisani/Spaceflight Now SpaceX launched a trio of satellites for its oldest commercial customer, SES, on a Falcon 9 rocket flying Sunday afternoon from Florida. T...
Los Fresnos’ Evan Mcchesney, right, carries the ball against McAllen Memorial’s defenders Rene Solis, left, during a game at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, in McAllen. (Delcia Lopez | dlopez@themonitor.com) Los Fresnos’ Tyler Stachowiak, left, breaks fr...
H ARLINGEN — A developer is launching the $4 billion first phase of a project aimed at building a 1,100-acre data center east of Valley International Airport between Harlingen and Rio Hondo. Earlier this month, Fluidstack offered the city $20 million if commissioners grant ...
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base to begin the USSF-153 mission for the U.S. Space Force on Sept. 10, 2026. Image: SpaceX Update Sept. 10, 12:23 p.m. EDT (1623 UTC): SpaceX landed its first stage booster. SpaceX fle...
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The Hidalgo County Health and Human Services Department has launched accessible Narcan vending machines to help reverse opioid overdoses. An event was held on Tuesday to celebrate the launch of five Narcan vending machines across Hidalgo County....
B ROWNSVILLE — The Brownsville Independent School District and Brownsville-South Padre Island International Airport’s Flight Academy of South Texas are getting ready to launch a CTE aviation pathway for BISD students. On Friday, the aviation academy, FAST for short, played host t...
T he Brownsville Independent School District and Brownsville-South Padre Island International Airport’s Flight Academy of South Texas are getting ready to launch a CTE aviation pathway for BISD students. On Friday, the aviation academy, FAST for short, played host to BISD officia...
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The Texas Department of Public Safety is investigating a fatal auto-pedestrian hit-and-run crash in Brownsville. At approximately 12:02 a.m., DPS troopers responded to a crash near Boca Chica Boulevard, also known as State Highway 4, and west of...
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — McDonald's launched its Texas bundle meal on Sept. 1, featuring collectible cups designed by Texas-based artist Avery Orendorf, with different areas of Texas and the 956 Valley is one of them. The meal includes 10-piece spicy or regular Chicken ...
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base on the Starlink 15-24 mission on Sept. 6, 2026. Image: SpaceX Update Sept. 5, 11:46 a.m. EDT (1546 UTC): SpaceX deployed its 27 Starlink satellites. SpaceX completed a Labor Day wee...
UTRGV Vaqueros shut out the UT Permian Basin Falcons 44-0 in the season opener Saturday at the Robert The post Vaqueros shut out UTPB in season opener appeared first on The Rider Newspaper ....
Today, the City of Brownsville is launching a new Service Management System to improve our Call Center and 546-HELP services.
B ROWNSVILLE — A controversial deal between the city and SpaceX to secure funding for major water infrastructure upgrades includes terms that will refund unused portions of the $220 million if the city fails to meet milestones, along with provisions to restart the flow of money. ...
Falcon 9 first stage B1063 lifts off from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, on the Starlink 15-23 mission. Image: SpaceX. A SpaceX Falcon 9 lifted off from the company’s West Coast launch facility early Wednesday morning to add another batch of satellites to SpaceX’s Starl...
The City of Brownsville Parks and Recreation Department (PARD) has officially launched its Fall/Winter Playbook, giving residents a look at seasonal events, recreational programs, and community activities planned from September through December....
By Berenice Garcia | The Texas Tribune M cALLEN — Home values in Cameron County more than doubled over a six-year period, and property tax bills are going up along with it, according to research from the Texas Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M University. SpaceX’s arrival ...
B ROWNSVILLE — City commissioners voted unanimously late Saturday night to voluntarily disannex more than 444 acres of land at the request of SpaceX after a tense, six-hour special meeting. At stake was a $220 million agreement with the trillion-dollar aerospace company that city...
The Falcon Heavy soars by the rising Sun as it departs Florida’s space coast with the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now. Update: The Roman Space telescope was successfully launched and is on its way to its operating location at L2. Using a don...
B ROWNSVILLE – The Public Utilities Board of Directors here took no action Thursday on closed meeting agenda items that included a proposed agreement with SpaceX. During the special meeting, board members spent about two hours in a closed session on two issues, one of which was “...
Cameron County is set to benefit from a $192.4 million investment to widen State Highway 4 (Boca Chica Boulevard) between Brownsville and Starbase as part of Texas’ newly approved 10-year transportation plan....
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — SpaceX is one step closer to expanding operations near the Port of Brownsville after the Brownsville City Commission approved a first reading of an ordinance disannexing hundreds of acres of land in Cameron County. SpaceX representatives have to...
A file photo of a stack of Starlink satellites prior to deployment from a Falcon 9 upper stage. Image: SpaceX Update Aug. 26, 6:15 a.m. EDT (1015 UTC): SpaceX landed its first stage booster. SpaceX launched its latest Starlink mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base in the preda...
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Falcon State Park is closed after a gas line explosion inside the park Tuesday morning, according to staff. The explosion happened in one of the oil pad locations. Staff said that everything is under control and no injuries were reported. As a p...
T he Brownsville City Commission has approved the first reading on an ordinance regarding a request by SpaceX seeking additional land for expansion. The ordinance concerns the voluntary disannexation of 444 acres of land in Cameron County located along South Connector Road, just ...
A streak shot of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket as it lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Base on the Starlink 10-49 mission on Aug. 25, 2026. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now Update Aug. 25, 7:18 a.m. EDT (1118 UTC): SpaceX confirms deployment of t...
BROWNSVILLE — Los Fresnos is on fire to start the season. After winning McAllen’s Poundfest, the Falcons won the Brownsville ISD tournament for the third-straight season on Saturday by defeating Brownsville Veterans in two sets. The Chargers had the Falcons on the ropes a couple ...
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Chick-fil-A is expected to launch a limited-time fall menu item starting Monday at Rio Grande Valley locations. The new items include a regular and spicy chicken or waffles sandwich, along with a s’more milkshake and s’mores frosted coffee. Loca...
A Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base on the Starlink 15-20 mission on Aug. 22, 2026. Image: SpaceX Update Aug. 22, 3:51 a.m. EDT (0751 UTC): SpaceX landed the first stage booster on the droneship. SpaceX launched its 100th or...
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) -- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced the launch of four Great Health for America pilot programs nationwide. The city of Brownsville is one of the four cities selected to launch the program aimed at preventing chronic disea...
STARBASE, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The Starbase Police Department is preparing for launch. Starbase began soliciting applications for two police sergeants and six officers in August. They will report to police Chief Glenn Bennett, who accepted the job in June. “I’m confident we’ll...
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The Donna Independent School District has partnered with South Texas College and the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement to launch a new dual credit program for seniors. The Basic County Corrections Academy will provide up to 20 students from Do...
A SpaceX Falcon 9 soars past the clouds above Florida’s Space Coast during the Starlink 10-39 mission on Friday, Aug. 21, 2026. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now Update Aug. 21, 11:54 a.m. EDT (1554 UTC): SpaceX landed its first stage booster Update Aug. 20, 11:58 a.m. EDT (155...
STARBASE, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The city of Starbase plans to approve a 46% property tax hike in September. Mayor Robert “Bobby” Peden and the City Commission discussed the tax hike during a meeting on Wednesday night. “My opinion is that we should move forward with this,” Pede...
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — SpaceX announced Tuesday morning that Starship Flight 13 was successfully guided to a location off the coast of Christmas Island after efforts were made to recover it from the Indian Ocean. According to SpaceX, the recovery team successfully dir...
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base on Aug. 18, 2026. Image: SpaceX Update 2:06 a.m. EDT (0706 UTC): SpaceX confirmed deployment of the satellites. SpaceX sent another batch of Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit w...
M cALLEN — Los Fresnos’ head volleyball coach Anissa Lucio said her team still has opportunities to be better. She said that after the Falcons did something that Lower Valley teams usually do not do, win McAllen’s Poundfest. Lucio has not won the tournament as a coach despite num...
A streak shot of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifting off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Aug. 15, 2026. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now SpaceX launched back-to-back missions for Globalstar and the U.S. Space Force Saturday night, shrinking i...
M cALLEN — The Los Fresnos Falcons defeated the Edinburg Vela Sabercats here on Saturday, marking the Lower Valley team’s first win in the McAllen ISD’s Poundfest tournament in at least 15 years, according to head coach Anissa Lucio. “Super proud of them, we went through some adv...
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — With the start of the school year already in motion, the La Joya Independent School District is prepared to help families get their loved ones to campus and back home safely. The La Joya ISD transportation help desk is the district's newest serv...
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — French sculpture group Atelier Missor has revealed the first look of its 50-foot bronze statue of Prometheus being built in Starbase, Texas. Atelier Missor, a French foundry, is a traditional metal-casting workshop that specializes in titanium s...
C ameron County officials held a ribbon cutting ceremony last Friday to celebrate the completion of phase two of the Olmito Nature Park. The event specially marked the official opening of the park’s kayak launch, with an actual kayak launching courtesy of Aaron Millan of Brownsvi...
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins and U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott visited Edinburg to watch a drone demonstration on how this technology will help detect the New World Screwworm. On Monday morning, Border Patrol agen...
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket pushes past the speed of sound during the Starlink 10-19 mission on Aug. 11, 2026. Image: John Pisani / Spaceflight Now Update Aug. 11, 12:25 p.m. EDT (1625 UTC): SpaceX landed its booster on the droneship. Update Aug. 10, 3:46 p.m. EDT (1946 UTC): Added ...
A 12-foot rocket built in Brownsville by a team from the South Texas Astronomical Society launched Saturday morning to a height of 8,300 feet from a launchpad near College Station. The successful launch marked the culmination of idea born about three years ago and an initiative l...
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Vandenberg Space Force Base on the Starlink 17-38 mission on Aug. 8, 2026. This was SpaceX’s 50th flight from California in 2026. Image: SpaceX Update Aug. 8, 2:31 p.m. EDT (1831 UTC): SpaceX confirms deployment of the 24 satellites. SpaceX...
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The Olmito Nature Park is now making its mark as a kayaking destination in the Rio Grande Valley. Cameron County leaders celebrated the new kayak addition on Friday with a ribbon cutting ceremony. "We're not aware of any other kayak launching li...
Effective immediately, the Brownsville Public Utilities Board (BPUB) has implemented Drought Stage 1 after the combined conservation storage level of the Falcon and Amistad reservoirs improved to 32.9%....
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The Brownsville Public Utilities Board announced on Friday that it has implemented a Stage 1 Drought effective immediately after reservoir conditions have improved. According to a news release, the combined conservation storage level of the Falc...
GRIMES COUNTY, Texas (FOX 44) — Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday announced that SpaceX will construct a vertically integrated semiconductor fabrication plant in Grimes County. According to the Office of the Governor, the first phase of the Terafab project represents a capital investm...
By JAQUI LEYVA-HILL Special to the PARADE A new luxury photography experience is bringing flowing gowns, professional styling and beachside portraits to South Padre Island. SPI Luxury Beach Events by Nadia has launched its South Padre Island Flying Dress Experience, offering clie...
City Commissioner Delia Cavazos-Gamez H ARLINGEN — City Commissioner Delia Cavazos-Gamez’s probe into questions surrounding a dirty political mailer seems to be getting closer to the source. About eight months after launching the probe, her attorneys have tracked the mailer’s pub...
S paceX recently issued its Starbase impact report for the second quarter of 2026, meant to highlight the ways the company is “driving growth in the Rio Grande Valley.” The report leads with scholarships the company has funded, intended to “spark curiosity in science, technology ...
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to deliver three of AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBird Block 2 satellites into low Earth orbit on Aug. 5, 2026. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now Update Aug. 5, 6:09 a.m. EDT (1009 U...
By MARCIA DUNN | AP Aerospace Writer C APE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A drifting SpaceX rocket is on a collision course with the moon after launching a pair of lunar landers more than a year ago. The rocket’s upper stage will unintentionally slam into the moon on Wednesday, carving o...
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A SpaceX rocket that launched a pair of lunar landers slammed into the moon as predicted on Wednesday after drifting off course for the past year, scientists reported. Although no one observed the actual 5,400-mph (8,700-kph) collision, a telescope in ...
NEW YORK (AP) — SpaceX reported a smaller loss than Wall Street expected along with a surge in revenue in its first quarterly report as a public company as it sharply boosted spending, particularly on artificial intelligence. The company run by Elon Musk posted a loss of $541 mil...
File photo of a Falcon 9 fueled for launch at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Image: SpaceX. SpaceX is set to launch its 90th Falcon 9 rocket of the year with a mid-morning flight from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Tuesday. It comes hours before the company’s first qu...
