Former President Ronald Reagan visited the Rio Grande Valley 42 years ago, speaking at Texas Southmost College in Brownsville to a crowd of thousands. About 40 United Farm Workers Union members protested, some of whose signs were torn by Reagan supporters, and activist Juanita Valdez Cox was among them. A Valley resident might note that the protest specifically targeted Reagan’s increase in weapons funding while cutting bilingual‑education programs.

HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) - A young Brownsville woman is accused of hiding her underaged boyfriend at her house. Mikayla Renee Medina, who is 17 years old, is charged with harboring a runaway child - a class A misdemeanor. Brownsville police say she hid her 16-year-old boyfriend at her home, but police aren't certain how many [...]

Texas Appleseed released a report stating that the U.S. Department of Justice’s 2024 findings of unconstitutional conditions persist in all Texas juvenile centers, including Edinburg’s Evins Regional Juvenile Center. The study cites ongoing excessive force, abuse, inadequate mental‑health care, special‑education failures and a 62 % staff turnover rate, prompting continued concern for local families.

Brownsville songwriter and podcaster Lorenzo Lopez is preparing to launch The Lorenzini Show on tour, with about 40 original Tejano/Country songs ready for clubs across the Rio Grande Valley. The podcast, recorded near the Brownsville‑South Padre Island International Airport, has aired 16 episodes and targets a 20‑episode first season, hoping a streaming service will pick it up. He also secured a five‑year royalty deal with the Brownsville Independent School District for his song "Mi Passion".

Brownsville officials enacted a new ordinance on Thursday that requires tire retailers, haulers and generators to obtain an annual license and follow strict storage, identification and disposal rules to stop illegal dumping that creates mosquito‑borne disease risk and contaminates soil and water. The measure, presented by Health Director Arturo “Art” Rodriguez and approved in June, mandates that tires be stored to prevent standing water and pest attraction, a key concern for local residents.

HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Following a groundbreaking ceremony at the Port of Brownsville Wednesday, Vice President JD Vance headlined a rally at the Harlingen Convention Center. The event was billed as a midterm rally, building off the theme of the first-of-its-kind midterm Dallas convention put on by the Republican National Committee in early September. RELATED: [...]

The Brownsville Public Utilities Board is hosting its second annual Big Public Utilities Bash, a free family event Friday from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the BPUB headquarters, 1425 Robinhood Dr. Residents can meet utility employees, view trucks and equipment, enjoy free elotes and tostadas, and participate in hands‑on demonstrations and a raffle.

PossAble Dream Adult High School, operating on seven Rio Grande Valley campuses with offices in Pharr and Brownsville, offers adult learners high‑school diplomas and industry certificates by “grandfathering” prior credits and requiring three STARR end‑of‑course exams. Superintendent Darcia C. Cuellar reported enrollment above 100 and that 216 students graduated in August, including Rosa Angelica Ceballos of Brownsville, who praised the transcript verification process.

Jorge Cardenas, Brownsville’s chief information officer since August 2022, announced he will leave his post at the end of the week after modernizing the city’s technology, including installing the first 100 miles of fiber, a municipal 5G network, park Wi‑Fi and an in‑house artificial‑intelligence platform. The new AI system, which saves the city money, is a key detail a Rio Grande Valley resident would be most interested in.

Brownsville opened applications for the new Brownsville Sports Commission, asking residents to apply by the end of September for a one‑year volunteer role advising on programming and sustainability of the Brownsville Sports Park. The commission, with one city appointee and seven community members, will help Nathan Burkhart of the Convention and Visitors Bureau attract tournaments and events that bring visitors who stay in hotels, shop and dine, increasing sales‑tax revenue.

The Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation now provides an online interactive map and a “Historic Rehab Tax Credit Cheat Sheet” to help property owners identify historic designations and pursue federal or Texas rehabilitation tax credits. The map lists 306 historic sites in Brownsville, showing 278 with potential federal and state credit pathways and 28 with Texas‑only options. Residents can use the tools to verify eligibility before starting any rehab work.

Brownsville city commissioners on Tuesday appointed most members of an Environmental Task Force to develop data‑center policies after a September 1 vote creating a temporary moratorium. The group, with seven voting community members and four non‑voting experts, must issue an initial report by December 2026 and a final one by March 2027. Rio Grande Valley residents will be interested in how the task force’s recommendations could shape local water use and land development.

Downtown Brownsville will host Space Fest 2026 from Thursday through Saturday, expanding the one‑day celebration into a three‑day program. Director Nathan Burkhart said the free event will feature a Maker Faire with live 3D‑printing demos, soldering and coding stations, a robotics competition, three DJs, a live band and an orchestra, plus space presentations. Residents can expect hands‑on activities for kids and adults.

Tacos El Compadre, located at 1703 Southmost Road in Brownsville’s Southmost district, opened its doors on Friday afternoon to serve a sprawling menu that includes caldo de res, pozole, asado de puerco, quesabirria, barbacoa and other regional specialties. The restaurant’s casual setting, with stone tables and attentive staff, attracted locals who will note that it is operating on Friday afternoons, offering a range of familiar and novel Mexican dishes.

City commissioners of Starbase voted unanimously on Monday to annex about 7,133 acres and voluntarily annex 444 acres that Brownsville recently disannexed, and they approved annexing State Highway 4, the road linking the SpaceX launch site to Brownsville. More than half of the landowners in the 7,133‑acre area signed the ordinance, expanding the city’s boundaries and placing the highway under city jurisdiction.

Austin‑based Saronic Technologies, which announced the $3.2 billion Port Alpha shipyard in Brownsville, received a Navy contract on Sept. 17 to build Landing Craft Utility (LCU) vessels, marking the first ships to be produced at the new facility. Production is slated to begin in 2028 with initial deliveries in 2029, and the LCUs will provide 170‑ton payload capacity and a range of about 1,200 nautical miles for amphibious, resupply and disaster‑response missions.

Jose Jaime Baeza Jr., a 33‑year‑old Brownsville man, received a 15‑year federal sentence after CBP officers at the B&M International Bridge found over 2,500 child sexual abuse images on his phone when he attempted entry with a girl he said was his sister on Jan. 14 2024. A records check flagged him as a registered sex offender, prompting a secondary inspection where agents seized the material and confirmed he had exchanged it via Telegram.

Brownsville ultra‑runner Art Hurtado will attempt the 200‑mile Cowboy 200 ultra marathon across Nebraska from Norfolk to Valentine this Friday through Sunday. Known for previous 100‑mile races and a high‑altitude Colorado event, Hurtado also leads the Cameron County Beach Patrol on South Padre Island. The race follows a motor‑free limestone trail and crosses more than 200 bridges.

A Texas judge denied on Monday the Center for Biological Diversity’s injunction to block a land swap between SpaceX and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Lower Rio Grande Valley Refuge. The exchange would give SpaceX 727 acres of refuge land for 683 acres of private land near Laguna Madre Atascosa, and plaintiffs say it could transfer the land to SpaceX within weeks, limiting access to a wildlife area.

Graciela Salinas, planning coordinator for Cameron County, pointed out a crack in the terracotta façade of the 1912 courthouse outside the Dancy Building in Brownsville and noted warped wooden windowsills that could fall. The county will use a $2.87 million Texas Historical Commission grant for a renovation round, focusing on exterior terracotta, brick masonry and windows. Rio Grande Valley residents will note the total cost is about $6.3 million, matched by the county.