The former mayor of a south Texas town is facing nearly four years in prison for his role in a nine-person cocaine trafficking ring — which was operating out of a local middle school. The cinematic conspiracy involved now-disgraced former Progreso Mayor Gerardo “Jerry” Alanis, who was sentenced last week alongside his brother, former Progreso […]
Tag: Rio Grande Valley
Posted inNews
The Feds Are Quizzing Mexican Truck Drivers on English Literacy — and Banning Dozens from U.S. Highways
Just what Texas’ sprawling, harrowing, and permanently-under-construction roadways needed — more English literacy quizzes. Truck drivers in the Rio Grande Valley are being questioned about their English literacy, just a week after an executive order took effect that reinforces English proficiency requirements for truckers. Forty drivers in Southern states — Texas, Mississippi, and Arkansas — […]
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Well, Elon Musk Got What He Wanted. Starbase Is Texas’ Newest City
Elon Musk set his sights on making Starbase a city for years. The tech billionaire made that a reality on Saturday. Residents of Starbase went to the polls to vote on a measure incorporating the area as an official city. More than two-thirds of eligible voters worked for SpaceX, Musk’s rocket-making company, or expressed their […]
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Sorry, South Texas. Maybe Lawmakers Do Want More SpaceX Rockets on Our Beaches
UPDATE: May 2, 2025 Maybe Elon Musk can’t be stopped after all. Late Wednesday night, the Texas House State Affairs Committee revived a Senate version of House Bill 4660, which gives SpaceX control of the South Texas Beach it’s currently set up on. PREVIOUS STORY: After months of lobbying from Rio Grande Valley environmental activists […]
Posted inCulture
She Lost Her Job, Then Her Husband Cheated and Left. ‘Chasing Camilla’ Saved Her.
In 2009, 27-year-old Melissa Rojas left Texas. She moved from Dallas to California to pursue a dream career in fashion. At first, she worked as an unpaid intern, then she landed jobs as a stylist for Gina Rodriguez and a personal assistant for Lindsey Lohan. One year later, she was employed by fashion house Thomas […]
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Locals Say SpaceX Is Polluting Sacred Land. This Project Aims to Preserve It.
Among the Carrizo Comecrudo people of Texas, it is said that the state’s rivers are like ancestors. As they flow toward the sea, they bring their abundance, their beauty, and their knowledge with them. In South Texas, the place where these rivers meet and empty into the Gulf of Mexico is a sacred life source […]
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A Texas Official Realizes We’re ‘Out of Water’
Apparently ignoring climate change has consequences because even Texas state officials now admit that we’re running out of water. In a true Leopards Ate My Face moment, Agriculture Commissioner (and sentient cowboy hat) Sid Miller rang a warning bell this weekend, telling WFAA: “The limiting factor is water. We’re out of water, especially in the […]
Posted inCulture
The Taco Wars Forgot the Most Important Player: The Rio Grande Valley
This summer, Texas restaurateurs waited with bated breath to hear if the state’s long standing “curse” at the James Beard Awards would finally come to an end. Texas has lagged behind other states at the annual awards (known as the Oscars of the food world), winning just three national titles over the last 34 years. […]