The Brownsville
safety
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A grass fire that broke out Saturday night at South Padre Island near the Margaritaville Beach Resort was caused by sky lanterns, according to South Padre Island Fire Chief Jim Pigg. Witnesses at the scene told officials that sky lanterns with c...
government
C ameron County commissioners approved a 5% salary increase for elected officials, matching across-the-board pay increases for county employees, during their regular meeting last week. The raises are part of the county’s five-year plan to bring its wages closer to those of simila...
Local
Brownsville residents are being urged to take precautions on Monday as a combination of hot temperatures and high humidity is expected to produce dangerous heat index values across Brownsville and the Rio Grande Valley....
border
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — In this week's episode of Inside Valley Politics, host Brian Svendsen breaks down changes to U.S. Navy policies and border wall construction and sits down with U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico for a discussion. The United States Navy announc...
schools
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The Los Fresnos Consolidated Independent School District announced it has officially approved the employment contract of Dr. Joseph Villarreal as Superintendent of Schools. According to a news release from Los Fresnos CISD, the Board of Trustees...
safety
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The Texas Department of Transportation issued a traffic alert as FM 2556 between US Bus. 83 and I-2 in La Feria is expected to close Tuesday through Friday. Crews will be working on emergency repairs to railroad tracks, TxDOT said. Drivers are b...
government
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office invites the community to its Back-to-School Bash happening on Tuesday. An evening filled with fun, food and school-supply giveaways starts at 6 p.m. The event will take place at the Precinct 2 CRC located at 5...
News
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — It is the middle of August and the forecast does not look to stray away from the hot and mostly dry conditions through the extended forecast. Over the next seven days, we are anticipating temperatures to stay near to slightly above normal, with ...
News
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The City of Edinburg held its sixth annual triathlon, where approximately 500 competitors participated. The event kicked off Sunday morning at the Edinburg Municipal Park, located at 714 S Raul Longoria Rd. Competitors participated in numerous a...
business
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The Texas Department of Transportation announced six scheduled road closures at intersections in Brownsville. According to the news release from TxDOT, the six closures are due to road work and will be scheduled along SH 4, between Grant Street ...
safety
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The Texas Rangers are investigating an overnight fatal officer-involved shooting in Mission. According to a news release from the Mission Police Department, at approximately 12:04 a.m. Sunday, authorities responded to a 911 call regarding a pers...
safety
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Five people, including three children, were taken to a hospital following a two-vehicle collision, according to city of Rio Hondo officials. At approximately 5:26pm on Saturday, the Rio Hondo Volunteer Fire Department responded to a crash in the...
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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...
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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...
schools
Los Fresnos Izzy Guerra, right, slams a ball past Edinburg Vela’s Lily Carter, left, during the championship match pound fest at McAllen High school gymnasium Saturday August 15,2026 in McAllen. (Delcia Lopez | dlopez@themonitor.com) Edinburg Vela’s Madeleine Luedeker, left, hit ...
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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...
safety
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A Harlingen actor got the chance of a lifetime by being part of an indie film that was filmed and produced in the Rio Grande Valley. Israel Zallar plays the supporting role of Mateo in the 2026 indie film Borderline, directed by Ryan Jordan and ...
schools
IVAN PALACIOS | STAFF WRITER EDITOR’S NOTE: This story continues our position-by-position look at the top returning high school football players in the Rio Grande Valley. Follow the series in the coming weeks as we count down to the release of our annual Top 30 players list. The ...
safety
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The Texas Department of Public Safety is investigating a deadly two-vehicle crash that took place Friday night. At approximately 9:26 p.m., DPS troopers responded to a fatal two-vehicle crash on Texan Road south of Freedom Avenue north of Palmvi...
News
A s the battle against marijuana legalization as well as efforts to fight Texas’ recent ban on various hemp-derived THC cannabis products continues, there was one Harlingen man who took his commitment for legalization further 33 years ago. Charles Schoonover attended one of Harli...
Local
T he Rio Grande Valley is one of our nation’s most homogeneous, with a population that is 92% Latino, and a majority of that population remain loyal to their Latin roots, with 75% identifying themselves as Roman Catholic. A majority of other residents adhere to various other Chri...
business
STAFF REPORT EDITOR’S NOTE: Coaches, please send corrections or results to ivan@themonitor.com. McAllen Bulldogs Friday Night Lights XC Invitational McAllen Sports Park McAllen, TX BOYS 5K INDIVIDUAL 1. Alexander Nava, Weslaco East, 15:28.5; 2. Trey Llanes, Corpus Christi Veteran...
Local
McALLEN — The Rio Grande Valley will have two volleyball tournaments crown a champion on Saturday. McAllen’s Poundfest and the Donna ISD tournament ring in the volleyball season. Most Valley teams choose between the two annual tournaments, some will go out of town, but the majori...
News
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) -- This weekend is shaping up to be about as close to normal as it gets for mid-August across Deep South Texas. Expect plenty of sunshine, moderate southeast winds, and afternoon temperatures climbing into the upper 90s to near 100 degrees. For co...
business
PHARR, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Avocado inspections in Michoacán, Mexico, have resumed after the U.S. temporarily halted them over security concerns, disrupting operations for importers in the Rio Grande Valley. The U.S. Department of Agriculture paused inspections last week, prev...
safety
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A teen wanted in connection with a 2023 murder case was arrested on Thursday, according to the Brownsville Police Department and the Cameron County District Attorney's Office. According to the Cameron County District Attorney Luis V. Saenz, in F...
business
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Congressman Vicente Gonzalez (TX-34) secured $2 million in federal funding to support upgrades to the Donna Multi-Purpose Sports Complex. Gonzalez presented the $2 million to Donna city leaders outside the sports complex on Friday morning. "I'm ...
schools
Bryan Ramos | Staff Writer EDINBURG — The countdown to Year 2 of UTRGV Vaqueros football continues, as does RGVSports.com ’s fall camp position room breakdowns leading up to Week 0. Today, we’ll dive inside a Vaqueros running back room featuring several returners who ran wild dur...
business
The City of Brownsville Parks and Recreation Department will host Lunar Yoga, a free evening yoga session on Saturday, at 7:30 PM Aug. 29, at the dock at Dean Porter Park, located at 501 E. Ringgold St....
safety
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The Palmview Police Department arrested a wanted man accused of stabbing his friend with a bladed weapon. According to an update from Palmview police Chief Jose Trevino, Heriberto Cazares, 33, was apprehended Friday night by Palmview PD in McAll...
business
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — AEP Texas is reporting that power has been restored in the Harlingen area after hundreds of customers were left without power on Friday. The first wave of power outages was reported at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, with approximately 1,831 Harlingen resi...
government
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) -- Mercedes city manager Alberto Perez has resigned from his position, the city announced. Perez, a Starr County native, started his role as city manager in 2021. The Pan American graduate moved to Houston and Austin before returning home to the R...
safety
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A man was arrested on an animal cruelty charge after McAllen police say he left his chihuahua inside his truck in 100-degree heat while he was inside a Cheddar's restaurant, according to an offense report obtained by ValleyCentral. Jonathan Dani...
Local
E DINBURG — Dr. Sridhar Allam, medical director of the transplant institute at DHR Health, spoke softly as he talked about the impact organ donation can have on a patient’s life. He smiled as he thought of a father and daughter who grew closer together after the daughter donated ...
schools
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — With back-to-school season underway, kids might feel nervous about heading back to class. Bob Cooper, a licensed clinical social worker and the director of Utilization Review at STHS Behavioral, has tips for parents to support their children's m...
Local
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The Ringling Circus Hype Crew stopped by our studios Friday morning to present the "Greatest Show on Earth", which is coming to the Rio Grande Valley next month. The high-energy circus experience is taking place from Sept. 3 through Sept. 6 at t...
safety
A Dallas man was found to be attempting to smuggle more than 20 firearms into Mexico from Brownsville for financial gain while knowing that it’s illegal to do so without a license, according to a criminal complaint. Francisco Hernandez-Herrera is charged with knowingly facilitati...
News
I t started with a cheeky little bird. A great kiskadee, to be precise. Valley artist Ryan Henry decided to paint the yellow-plumed fowl as though it was perched on the doorway of his art gallery in the South Padre Island arts district. South Padre Island artist Ryan Henry sprays...
Local
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Every week, CBS 4 works to find a forever home for a Rio Grande Valley foster child as part of our “4Ever Family” partnership with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. Meet Jada, a 16-year-old girl with a great sense of humor ...
border
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized approximately 47 pounds of cocaine at the Pharr International Bridge last week. On Aug. 7, CBP officers stationed at the Pharr bridge came across a tractor-trailer traveling from Reynosa, Mexico...
schools
Students at Texas Southmost College (TSC) and The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) can ride BMetro free of charge by simply showing a valid school identification card to the bus driver....
government
A view of City Hall in the city of San Benito on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. (Miguel Roberts/The Brownsville Herald) S AN BENITO — City commissioners are set to meet Tuesday to discuss City Charter issues including “forfeiture of office, qualifications of elected officers” and “stan...
schools
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — As Rio Grande Valley school districts begin a brand new year, students are not just going back to the classroom — they're also resuming their sports activities. While student athletes across the Valley practice hard to have a successful season, ...
business
The City of Brownsville Department of Engineering and Public Works Traffic Division is advising motorists of upcoming intersection closures along International Boulevard as the Texas Department of Transportation continues roadway construction in the area....
Local
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Following the disappearance and death of Brownsville native sailor Angelina Resendiz, the Navy is working to update personnel and process policies and will create a new status for missing sailors, according to Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung C...
News
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Our frenemy, Saharan dust, will be making for a bit of haze in our skies Friday and much of the weekend. While the plume is not expected to be really thick, the haze may be noticeable. The other big noticeable thing today will be the heat, combi...
schools
EDWARD SEVERN | STAFF WRITER EDITOR’S NOTE: This story continues our position-by-position look at the top returning high school football players in the Rio Grande Valley. Follow the series in the coming weeks as we count down to the release of our annual Top 30 players list. The ...
schools
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Students heading back to school Friday morning will be greeted by warm temperatures and clear skies, with readings expected to range from 80 to 83 degrees across the Valley. Conditions will remain quiet early, but southeast winds will gradually ...
safety
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) -- The Brownsville Police Department safely located a missing man, police announced Thursday night. At approximately 7:13 p.m., police announced Mario Alberto Soto, 76, was last seen at his home located at the 1800 block of Palm Blvd. in Brownsvil...
Local
ALAMO, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Farmers across the Rio Grande Valley are feeling the impact of a shrinking agricultural workforce. Steven Obst, owner of Obst Family Farm, says finding reliable workers can be especially difficult for smaller farms. “It's hard to find people who are...
News
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — San Benito residents may notice changes in the taste or smell of their water as the city makes changes to its water treatment process. The changes will be made now through the end of August, the city said in a notice Thursday afternoon. "This is...
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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...
schools
Bryan Ramos | Staff Writer Every single team across the Rio Grande Valley is officially back on the practice field this week as the countdown to kick off of the 2026 Texas high school football season continues. With Week 1 of the regular season less than two weeks away, the RGVSp...
business
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling visited Texas Southmost College on Thursday to see how some education programs are getting local workers into the workforce. Sonderling said it was important to view how the workforce policies ...
business
T he Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign led to a 5% quarterly drop in construction jobs in the Rio Grande Valley during the third quarter of last year — the highest construction jobs decline on record for the region — while the cost of housing and services across th...
News
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The city of Mercedes is one step closer to finalizing a major project aimed at improving its stormwater system to reduce flooding in the area. Local and state leaders gathered on Thursday to break ground on the third phase of the South Mercedes ...
government
By DIANTÉ MARIGNY editor@portisabelsouthpadre.com With a former mayor now seeking his seat, South Padre Island Mayor Patrick McNulty says voters will have a choice in November between changing course or continuing the investments and projects his administration has put in motion....
News
By JACQI LEYVA-HILL Special to the PRESS Barry Patel, owner of the Hilton Garden Inn on South Padre Island, is sponsoring a free community mat pilates class with the goal of encouraging both residents and hotel guests to move more, feel better and make wellness part of their ever...
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M ONTE ALTO — Rio Grande Valley farmers are seeking solutions to the loss of labor they are facing after their farms have been repeatedly targeted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. That was the topic of discussion during a roundtable at Rio Farms Inc. with U.S. ...
government
By JACQI LEYVA-HILL Special to the PRESS The Port Isabel City Commission reviewed an early draft of the city’s FYE 2027 budget (Fiscal Year Ending 2027) Tuesday, Aug. 11, as officials discussed employee pay, department expenses, equipment needs and the city’s 2026 property tax ra...
