Rick Kelley
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Past articles by Rick:
Acciona bringing new La Chalupa wind farm online in Lower Valley
Acciona Energy is busy plugging its new wind farm into the Texas power grid after completing construction of its La Chalupa site in Cameron County, officials said Thursday. The 63 wind turbines, Nordex AWP 3150s, have a rotor diameter of more than 400 feet and are mounted on steel towers with a hub height of … → Read More
New major employer headed to Harlingen
HARLINGEN — A leading tech-enabled business services company is coming to Harlingen, and it could mean the creation of a significant number of new jobs, city officials say. TaskUs is a New Braunfels-based company which offers a broad range of business services, such as fraud prevention, content moderation, application verification, claims processing, digital transcription, photo … → Read More
Rural Military Highway Water Supply raising rates in 2021
HARLINGEN — Residents and commercial interests served by the Military Highway Water Supply Corp. along the border will see increases in their water and sewer rates on Jan. 1, 2021. The nonprofit water supply district serves around 11,000 water customers and some 5,000 sewer customers in a vast area in southern Cameron and Hidalgo counties. … → Read More
Corps commanders tour Harlingen facility in show of support
HARLINGEN — The new commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers district for Texas recently visited the Port of Harlingen, a demonstration of support for smaller ports which in the past have felt neglected by Corps’ priorities. Southwestern Division Commander Brig. Gen. Christopher G. Beck and Galveston District Commander Col. Timothy R. Vail with … → Read More
Despite complications this year, area Christmas bird project is a go
HARLINGEN — The birds are still out there, but enumerating them this year during the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count is a bit more complicated. The Audubon Harlingen event will be held Jan. 2, and organizer Norma Friedrich has some additional work to do to make this year’s count safe for all participants due to … → Read More
Laguna Atascosa’s Bahia Grande Unit handed $5.6M restoration grant
HARLINGEN — Federal and state officials have announced a major windfall of $5.6 million for restoration of wetlands and protection of bird nesting sites at the Bahia Grande Unit of Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge. The funds, part of the settlement from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, will help restore normal tidal flows … → Read More
RadioShack has new life, but never left Raymondville
RAYMONDVILLE — Two years ago, it seemed like there was a RadioShack every few blocks in cities across the nation. But that changed in bankruptcy, and the more than 5,000 RadioShack stores across the United States at the company’s peak has dwindled to around 400 franchisee-owned stores which still operate today. The number of brick-and-mortar … → Read More
TPWD to stock trout at Harlingen sports complex
HARLINGEN — Ready the rods and bust out the bobbers, because rainbow trout will be on the menu for some lucky anglers this February. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is beginning its winter tradition of trout stocking in municipal ponds and lakes this week. The Harlingen Sports Complex on Wilson Road will be stocked with … → Read More
FAA OKs troubled Boeing passenger jet for U.S. flights
HARLINGEN — The Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday cleared the Boeing 737 Max aircraft to return to flying after nearly two years of being grounded after a pair of deadly crashes. The Max could be in the air by the end of the year. And while the Max doesn’t routinely fly into Valley International Airport, … → Read More
Harlingen Chamber taps TSTC administrator for top job
HARLINGEN — After more than three decades with Texas State Technical College, executive vice president Javier De Leon will take on a new challenge in January as chief executive officer and president of the Harlingen Area Chamber of Commerce. De Leon was hired to replace Chris Gonzalez, who resigned to take a position with the … → Read More
With production down, Thanksgiving feast may cost more
HARLINGEN — The coronavirus pandemic is being held responsible for impacting the availability and price of Thanksgiving turkeys. Wholesale turkey prices are up and production has been lower than usual, the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service reports. Some 240 million turkeys are raised annually on about 2,500 farms in the United States, according to the … → Read More
IBWC hosts forum on Delta project, water treaty
HARLINGEN — The International Boundary and Water Commission will hold an online webinar this month to plumb public opinion about IBWC projects, including the Delta Water Region Management Project designed to reduce flood damage in Hidalgo County. The Delta project will provide increased flood control for the most populated areas of Hidalgo County and establish … → Read More
TPWD experts see big year for South Texas white-tails
HARLINGEN — Rain brought by Hurricane Hanna and other storm systems caused trouble earlier in the year, but Texas deer hunters will reap the benefits of the unusually wet summer. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department experts predict an above-average deer season this fall and winter, with South Texas and the Rio Grande Valley specifically singled … → Read More
Iconic Harlingen building wins state honors for renovation project
HARLINGEN — It’s been the Rio Grande National Life Insurance Building, Blaschka Tower and the Baxter Building at different points in its 92-year existence. Now, the nine-story Baxter Building can be called an award-winner. The Texas Downtown Association announced that the $4.5 million renovation project, which turned the abandoned eyesore into the 24-unit Baxter Lofts, … → Read More
Work-search requirements for jobless return Nov. 1
HARLINGEN —Work-search requirements for Texas workers receiving jobless benefits will be reinstated Nov. 1. The job search requirement was suspended in March as thousands of state workers grappled with the effects of the COVID-19 lockdowns and business closures. All individuals receiving unemployment benefits will need to complete the designated number of work searches, beginning on … → Read More
Nonprofit offers outdoor dream to disabled
HARLINGEN — After the millionth kid goes through your program, just what more do you have to prove? For Shane Wilson and the nonprofit he founded in 2007, Fishing’s Future, quite a bit, actually. Wilson, a former educator who remains chair of Fishing’s Future, has embarked on a new parallel course for his nonprofit, which … → Read More
As 2020 census nears end, self-response rate craters
As the 2020 census lurches to a counting finale this month, Texas has dropped back to No. 39 in the national rankings of households which have self-reported. All told, the state’s self-response rate of 62.6% when added to its enumerated rate — where census workers go door-to-door — totals an impressive 99.9%. The problem is, … → Read More
Harlingen mall’s Sears space sold
HARLINGEN — The former Sears space at Valle Vista Mall, all 90,000 square feet of it, has been sold, real estate brokers say. Daniel Galvan, broker/owner of Coldwell Banker Commercial Rio Grande Valley in McAllen, said Thursday the buyer is a Dallas-based company which has been purchasing abandoned Sears stores at malls across the state. … → Read More
Canine cleanup becoming problem in downtown Harlingen
HARLINGEN — When they’ve got to go, a dog will find a way. Members of the Downtown Improvement District Board discussed the unsavory problem of pet owners letting their dogs defecate in the city’s flower beds, and now the board intends to do something about it. The discussion arose at a Tuesday meeting via Zoom … → Read More
Major dredging project kicks off at Port Mansfield
PORT MANSFIELD — With the channel silting up at times to just three feet, there were times offshore fishing boats, commercial trawlers and sailboats here were pretty much trapped in harbor, unable to float over sandbars to reach the Gulf of Mexico. Although Hurricane Harvey passed to the north in 2017, the powerful storm caused … → Read More