Opinion

The normally arcane topic of tariffs has become a major element in the current presidential race. The issue is significant for the Rio Grande Valley, where cross-border trade is a major part of our economy.

When it’s time to take a hard look at our public officials and decide which ones to reelect — or reject — we need information.

Andrés Manuel López Obrador has one week remaining in his term as Mexico’s president. Traditionally, outgoing heads of state spend their final weeks tidying up loose ends and working with their successors to make the transition as seamless as possible.

Facing our mortality is hard for many people. In the Latino community, talking about death is often avoided and may even seem taboo. Having the opportunity to consider the end of our life and make purposeful choices about that inevitable time is an important part of ensuring our death can have substantial meaning.

Letters to the editor published in The Monitor, Valley Morning Star and The Brownsville Herald during the week of Sept. 23-28, 2024.

Farewell to the old Brownsville I grew up in. I returned to my once quaint small town last year and spent a few months there. I was amazed at how much it has changed.

A new study offers further evidence of how much Texas’ economic welfare relies on immigrants. It should remind all of us — especially policy makers — of how much we depend on foreign-born residents, and how pursuing efforts to close our borders and other restrictive policies would hurt our country.

Reports of an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump on Sunday at one of his Florida golf courses highlight the unconscionable and unjustifiable. Even more alarmingly, it’s the second attack against the former president in as many months.

This is a time for advocacy. We are concerned that a recent decision by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, if implemented as announced, will cause substantial changes to how STAR and Children’s Health Insurance Program services are administered. The Rio Grande Valley will lose two vital health plans, Driscoll Health Plan and Superior HealthPlan, which serve more than 260,000 lives in the area, along with the investments they have made in our community through patient programs, grants and provider relations.

“A lady never admits her feet hurt,” Marilyn Monroe said as Lorelei Lee in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. This is just one more line from a list of good ones from a fun movie. I also learned (the hard way) that a comfortable pair of shoes may not solve your day’s problems, but they can make tackling them a little easier.