Amanda Puryear El, a 43‑year‑old poet from Pharr, talks about her turbulent upbringing, gang involvement and three expulsions from PSJA North while teaching at Buell Central High School’s DAEP. She has published 11 books, delivered a TEDx talk and was reappointed as Pharr’s first poet laureate for another year, a point of local pride.

A 61‑year‑old Pharr man, Martin Hernandez Alvarado, was sentenced Monday by State District Judge Bobby Flores after a jury found him guilty of continuous sexual abuse of a 6‑year‑old and a 12‑year‑old. The court imposed a 40‑year term for the continuous abuse and a concurrent 20‑year term for indecency with a child. The case stemmed from allegations received by Pharr police on March 17, 2021.

An 18‑year‑old man was arrested Thursday morning after fatally shooting a 26‑year‑old in the abdomen during a family‑related disturbance in Pharr. Police responded at about 10:15 a.m. to the 1200 block of East Serenidad Drive, found the victim dead at a hospital, and later located the suspect unarmed near East Trenton Road and the expressway. He is scheduled for a first appearance Friday at 11 a.m. in Pharr Municipal Court.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized more than $25 million in methamphetamine concealed inside a shipment of cabbage, tomatillo and cilantro at the Pharr International Bridge on Sept. 8. A tractor‑trailer coming from Reynosa, Mexico, was sent to secondary inspection, where a physical search uncovered 1,164 packages weighing a total of 2,815.30 pounds. The seized narcotics are valued at about $25.2 million.

Connie Nguyen, a Vietnamese immigrant who moved to the Rio Grande Valley after the 2008 financial crisis, opened Café Ngon two months ago at 700 W. Ferguson Avenue in Pharr, offering authentic Vietnamese coffee, food, snacks, sugar‑cane refreshers and ramen. The cafe’s simple menu features pictures for each item, and its location next to the highway makes it easily accessible for Valley residents seeking a new coffee spot.

The article describes the opening of the "Pharr: Packed with History" exhibit at the Pharr Memorial Public Library, where museum director Francisco Guajardo spoke about the city's agricultural and railroad past and guided visitors through crate labels, photographs, and stories illustrating early local development.