Opinion

The 5-year farm bill that governs billions of dollars worth of programs ranging from crop subsidies to school lunches and food programs is running on borrowed time. The last bill expired in 2023 and its provisions have been extended while partisan bickering holds up new legislation in Congress.

I was 7 when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor and destroyed most of the U.S. Navy. I was 9 when the invasion of Europe happened, probably one of the most complicated in history. Those years of growing up and events birthed a question in me that became a lifelong one: How can good people do bad things? As a near-lifelong student of World War II and its history, my research actually found a book by that name, that question. Why does that matter now?

We’re barely three weeks into the hurricane season and the Rio Grande Valley already could be facing its first weather-related challenges of the year. Sitting on the edge of the Gulf of Mexico and the mouth of the Rio Grande, the Valley has grown accustomed to such threats. In severe cases, local officials routinely issue disaster declarations that enable residents to seek government assistance with covering the cost of property losses and damage.

On March 30, McAllen police stopped by a nondescript house in north McAllen to investigate a report of a serious stench. Turns out it was live dogs, living in their own excrement, room after room full of them, 90 in all. The one cat on the property was the only one capable of grooming itself.

The GOP candidate for president is a convicted felon. He was convicted of sexual assault and more than 20 women have accused him of sexual misconduct. He stole national top secret documents and tried to hide them from the U.S. government.

Letters to the editor published in The Monitor, Valley Morning Star and The Brownsville Herald during the week of June 17-22, 2024.

As we celebrate Father’s Day this weekend, it’s a poignant time to reflect on the pivotal role we, as men, play not only as fathers but as guardians of our family’s health.

Donald Trump spent much of his first term as president supporting America’s coal industry and fighting against the growth of renewable energy options. In his current campaign to retake the White House, Trump has vowed to end offshore wind power generation “on day one” of his term if he is elected.

The Biden administration on May 10 filed a motion asking that court supervision of its detention centers for immigrant children be terminated. The need for such supervision has been proven countless times. Even if it hadn’t been, the possibility that Donald Trump, and his known hostility toward immigrants, will return to the White House makes such a move premature.

The exclusion of Driscoll Health Plan from Texas Medicaid contracts is a disheartening development that threatens the healthcare safety net for some of the state’s most vulnerable populations. As a physician in Brownsville, I have seen firsthand the positive impact Driscoll Health Plan has had on our community, providing essential services to low-income children and pregnant women.