Fernando Del Valle
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Past articles by Fernando:
Cameron County holds first community vaccination clinic
HARLINGEN — For nearly 11 months, the coronavirus has turned Juan Cobos and his family into prisoners who’ve rarely left their home for fear of catching the potentially deadly disease. At 71, the retired schoolteacher who suffers hypertension has been “sheltering-in-place” with wife Esther, 66, a diabetic, and their 35-year-old son Rafael, who has Down … → Read More
Harlingen eyeing $5M grant for transit center
HARLINGEN — Officials are close to landing a $5 million federal grant to help fund the city’s public transit center. The Lower Rio Grande Valley Development Council is awaiting the Federal Transit Administration’s response to its application for a $5 million grant to build the transit center, Tom Logan, Valley Metro bus line’s director, said … → Read More
Glider crash kills two men in Bayview
BAYVIEW — Two men were killed after the sports plane in which they were flying crashed as it approached landing at a remote air strip Tuesday, family members said today. Grover Abel and Kai Uwe Wulff were killed after the plane crashed as it tried to land, Lt. Christopher Olivarez, a trooper with the Texas … → Read More
House fire kills Combes man
COMBES — State fire marshals today are investigating an overnight house fire in which a 33-year-old man died. Mark Anthony Silva, 33, a security guard, was killed after fire ripped through his home at 203 Holland at about 11:15 p.m. Tuesday night, Combes officials said today. “It appears it was accidental, either from a heater … → Read More
Harlingen calls for $2.6 million for improvements at Tony Butler
HARLINGEN — It could take as much as $2.6 million to pull the Tony Butler Golf Course out of the hole. Now, members of the Harlingen Community Improvement Board are considering whether to dip into the agency’s $4.7 million budget to try to revive the 90-year-old icon that’s lost about $1 million in the last … → Read More
Harlingen launching bike sharing program
HARLINGEN — Residents here are getting ready to grab a bike for a new kind of trip. Across much of the world, bike sharing offers millions a healthy way to get around. After about four years of planning, the city is launching its new bike-sharing program as part of the Lower Rio Grande Valley Development … → Read More
COVID-19 shuts down part of sheriff's office
A coronavirus outbreak has led officials to close part of the Willacy County Sheriff’s Department and the county tax office. At the Raymondville school district, COVID-19 cases led officials to cancel last Friday’s Bearkats football game along with this Friday’s game while requesting about 65 players, trainers and coaches quarantine. Meanwhile, Raymondville Mayor Gilbert Gonzales and… → Read More
Harlingen, McAllen facilities to remain equipped for now
HARLINGEN — After two months of operation, the state is shutting down its second-largest COVID-19 recovery center at Casa de Amistad after few patients filled its 96 beds. However, officials are keeping the center’s medical equipment in place in case a spike in new cases sparks a surge of hospitalizations, Josh Ramirez, the city’s public … → Read More
San Benito gets 1st commercial resaca development
SAN BENITO — After years of planning, the city’s first resaca-side commercial development is opening for business. As part of Resaca Village’s first phase, a strip center along the resaca banks features a Tropical Smoothies Café restaurant along with about six open store fronts off Business 77. Across a parking lot, a Texas Regional Bank … → Read More
Leaders mull cutting operations at virus centers
HARLINGEN — The state project that turned Casa de Amistad into a temporary COVID-19 recovery center might be cutting its operations amid low patient numbers. Since it opened in mid August, the recovery center housed in the 13,000-square-foot conference hall renovated to treat as many as 96 patients has cared for no more than 19 … → Read More
Harlingen plans $1.5M hike, bike trail
HARLINGEN — City officials are planning a $1.5 million project to develop a 1.6-mile stretch of trail winding along the Arroyo Colorado from McKelvey Park to Dixieland Park. Two years ago, the Valley Baptist Legacy Foundation awarded the city a $1.2 million grant to help fund the project. After the city spent more than $200,000 … → Read More
Officials warn a Labor Day COVID-19 spike could linger
HARLINGEN — Officials are warning residents to take precautions during the Labor Day weekend to avoid spiking COVID-19 case levels that took months to stabilize. They are cautioning a surge could linger into expected school classroom re-openings late this month that could further stoke case numbers. Another concern is a spike could help ignite an … → Read More
Police: Cams confirm man had pistol
SAN BENITO — A police officer shot at an armed 21-year-old San Benito man four times, striking him twice, city officials said late Friday afternoon. Officer Oscar Lara’s body cam footage confirmed Samuel Mata was armed with a pistol when he was fatally shot in front of his home at 531 East Powers St. at … → Read More
Police say officer shot man after he pointed pistol
SAN BENITO — Nora Lugo says she didn’t see her son with a gun when a police officer fatally shot him. At City Hall, officials say Officer Oscar Lara shot Samuel Mata, 21, after he pointed a revolver at Lugo before turning it toward the officer on the front yard of Mata’s East Powers Street … → Read More
San Benito to fund $9 million sewer system upgrade
SAN BENITO — A $9 million state-mandated sewer system overhaul won’t drive up property taxes this year, officials said. But some of the Rio Grande Valley’s highest water rates might be climbing as early as next year. Earlier this week, city commissioners unanimously voted to borrow $9 million through the sale of certificates of obligation … → Read More
Texas Rangers investigating San Benito incident
SAN BENITO — The Texas Rangers are investigating a case in which a police officer fatally shot a 21-year-old San Benito man after city officials said he pointed a pistol at his mother before turning it toward the officer. Officer Oscar Lara shot Samuel Mata in his front yard near the intersection of South Bonham … → Read More
Hospitalizations down in area med centers
HARLINGEN — Hospitalizations are dropping at Rio Grande Valley hospitals, which remain near capacity with what a public health official called the region with the highest COVID-19 patient rate in Texas. In late July, the Valley’s hospitals reached peak hospitalization rates amid a surge of COVID-19 cases in the area whose population suffers underlying medical … → Read More
Rio Grande Valley becomes Texas site for COVID-19 recovery centers
HARLINGEN — The Rio Grande Valley is Texas’ only region in which state officials are setting up COVID-19 recovery centers in such facilities as the McAllen Convention Center as part of a plan to help free patient beds in hospitals that have reached capacity, a state official said Friday. State emergency management officials are also … → Read More
Harlingen looks to sell part of municipal golf course
A decades-old document might be standing in the way of the city’s proposed land sale at the struggling Tony Butler Golf Course. City commissioners were set to meet behind closed doors this week with City Attorney Ricardo Navarro’s law firm “to receive legal advice regarding the city’s legal responsibilities, obligations and options for the disposition of the Tony Butler Golf Course property,”… → Read More
Hoarders back stripping store shelves
They’re back for more. Hoarders are back for toilet paper and other paper products weeks after they sparked a national shortage of items such as rubbing alcohol and hand sanitizer. In Harlingen, the second wave of hoarding started shortly after 6 p.m. Wednesday, when Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño Jr. issued an order mandating employees and customers at businesses wear facial coverings to… → Read More