Eighty‑year‑old Arturo Gómez, a retired mechanic in Rio Grande City, says he and his wife must turn off the air‑conditioner after 9 p.m. to afford the $600 electric bill. They use a fan and endure heat that makes their three dogs “follow me around with their tongues out” when the A/C is off. Rising electricity costs and temperatures have forced seniors to choose between paying the bill and buying food.

The piece reports that the Rio Grande Valley is among the first U.S. regions to adopt hemodiafiltration (HDF), an advanced dialysis method that removes larger toxins, and provides statistics on kidney disease prevalence and transplant wait‑lists in Texas.

San Perlita ISD schools were temporarily closed after a rapid spread of COVID‑19 cases, but county health officials said the modest increase in cases is a normal seasonal pattern and not a major concern, noting that the virus is now less likely to cause hospitalizations and mainly threatens high‑risk individuals.

Valley Baptist Medical Center in Brownsville installed bi‑plane imaging equipment to treat stroke patients on site, reducing the need for hour‑long transfers to Harlingen and enabling faster, more precise thrombectomy procedures.

The Weslaco Fire Department and Knapp Medical Center have launched a grant‑funded Community Healthcare Program that offers home visits and follow‑up calls to patients in Weslaco and Progreso who meet specific medical criteria, with the pilot year being fully covered by a $100,000 grant.