Mission’s city council unanimously approved a meet‑and‑confer agreement with the Mission Firefighters Association, IAFF Local 3609, on Tuesday, setting the fire and EMS contract to begin on Oct. 1 and run through Sept. 30, 2027. The deal changes the term to a one‑year fixed period with two optional one‑year extensions, keeping the Mission Fire Department as the sole provider. Residents should note the contract’s new duration and extension structure.

Vanessa Denise Rico, 48, of Edinburg, was arrested Wednesday and arraigned Thursday on charges of manufacturing or delivering a controlled substance causing serious bodily injury or death and of delivering cocaine. Police say the investigation began April 10 after officers found a 39‑year‑old man unresponsive at Dove Avenue in McAllen; a search of Rico’s Edinburg home seized 1.85 grams of cocaine and she was held on a $10,000 bond.

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.

County arrested Maria Guadalupe Nelson in Los Fresnos on Wednesday, charging her with manufacturing and delivering a controlled substance of one to four grams to an inmate at state jail. She was booked at Carrizales‑Rucker Detention Center after a warrant was executed in 32000 block of Bluejay Circle, aided by Texas Board of Criminal Justice Office of Inspector General. Rio Grande Valley residents will note drug‑trafficking case linked to correctional facility.

Harlingen City Hall announced that City Manager Gabriel Gonzalez is eliminating the deputy city manager post while reshuffling duties after a year of changes. Deputy City Manager Oscar Garcia has been moved back to assistant city manager for external affairs and will not be replaced, and the city is seeking a new downtown manager following Alexis Riojas’s resignation. Residents will note Garcia’s salary was cut by roughly $10,000.

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.

In Cameron County’s 107th state District Court, Judge Arturo Nelson dismissed the third‑degree felony charge against former San Benito Drainage District board secretary Randall McMurray after he paid restitution. The case follows a Texas Rangers probe that also charged former board president Ronaldo Garcia and former general manager Sonia Lambert, who are slated for an Oct. 19 hearing. Residents will note the dismissal came on Aug. 17.

Mission’s city council voted unanimously on Tuesday to set the property‑tax rate for the 2026‑2027 fiscal year at $0.5653 per $100 valuation, a rise of $0.0073 that takes effect on October 1. The ordinance also preserves a $10,000 exemption for elderly and disabled owners, keeping their total ad‑valorem tax bill unchanged. The modest increase reflects valuation changes, not new revenue needs.

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.

A jury was selected for the trial of Brownsville man Rogeilo Martinez, accused of killing San Benito Police Lt. Milton Resendez on Oct. 17 2023 after a chase that started on South Padre Island and ended near the Gateway International Bridge. The case will begin on Oct. 5 at 8:30 a.m.; Martinez has pleaded not guilty, while co‑defendant Rodrigo Axel Espinosa Valdez, who earlier pleaded guilty to a lesser charge, is expected to testify.

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.

The Deportation Data Project, using Freedom of Information Act requests, reported that more than 13,000 undocumented individuals were detained in Rio Grande Valley communities between 2022 and 2026, with 5,087 apprehensions in 2025 alone, averaging 413 detentions per month. The Caminos Institute’s inaugural report notes that 86.3 % of those cases resulted in deportation, equating to roughly one person being detained every two hours.

Belinda Perez, a 32‑year‑old woman from San Benito, pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of injury to a child causing serious bodily injury and received a 15‑year prison sentence. The offense concerns the June 27, 2024 death of a 15‑month‑old identified as R.C., after Perez allegedly blocked the infant’s airway at a Harlingen daycare on Dixieland Road. She is being held at the Cameron County Carrizales‑Rucker Detention Center awaiting transfer.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Ricardo González Jr., 38, and Pedro Ismael García, 24, charged with homicide for the deaths of Mario Morales Jr. and María del Socorro Farias, after an investigation that began on February 3 in Peñitas when a brush fire uncovered two bodies. Co‑defendants Alejandro López and Juan Antonio Alvarado face homicide charges, but the state will not seek the death penalty against them.

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.

McAllen attorney Della Fay Perez was sentenced on Sept. 17 in a Dallas federal court to one month in prison and a year of supervised release for knowingly possessing information about bank fraud and failing to report it. She must surrender by 2 p.m. on Oct. 20, will pay a $100 special assessment, and will not be fined due to lack of assets.

Lucio Moya, a Roma, Texas resident who has spent nine years in the Louisiana oilfield, is a finalist in the 13th H‑E‑B Quest for Texas Best competition with three barbecue rubs—Orange Pepper Piñín, Bruto! and Beef Blend. The contest, running since 2014 and offering up to $100,000 in prizes, highlights small Texas businesses, and Moya’s seasonings are sold online and at stores in the Rio Grande Valley and South Texas.

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.

McAllen Public Utilities is developing a brackish groundwater desalination plant to diversify the city’s water supply amid ongoing South Texas drought conditions, with production wells slated to go to bid in February. City Director Mark Vega said the project’s final cost is still uncertain, but if it exceeds current estimates residents could face a second rate increase after the $14‑per‑month hike that began in October.

Avan Ruben Mendoza, 21, was sentenced to 38 years in prison after pleading guilty to the 2022 murder of 22‑year‑old Ryan Michael Serna outside the No Manches Wuey bar at 211 S. 17th Street in McAllen, where the shooting occurred just before 2 a.m. on Oct. 2, 2022. The case follows earlier convictions of co‑defendants Alejandro Gomez (18 years) and Joel Gonzalez Jr. (38 years), while remaining suspects had their charges dropped for lack of evidence.

Thirty‑year‑old Jose De La Cruz pleaded guilty on Sept. 15 to intoxication manslaughter and intoxication assault after a two‑vehicle collision on Nov. 15, 2024 killed 77‑year‑old Oralia Garza of San Benito. The crash occurred on FM 509 south of FM 800 in Harlingen when De La Cruz’s Chevrolet Tahoe, traveling at high speed, veered into the northbound lane and struck Garza’s Hyundai Kona. He is scheduled for sentencing on Oct. 14.

Man Julio Diaz, 38, was sentenced to life on Monday for July 10, 2023 shooting that killed McAllen lodge member Robert Wise. A jury convicted him of murder and two arson counts after less than an hour of deliberation; surveillance video captured the attack, which he posted online while claiming a “reptilian” conspiracy. The killing occurred at 118 N. 11th St. in McAllen, a concern for Rio Grande Valley residents.