Opinion

Discussion about political statements and the accuracy of information dominated this week’s public forum. Other contributions addressed opportunities and compensation for women in the workplace, the importance of history, the unique educational opportunity offered by the upcoming solar eclipse and who deserves credit for social and economic improvements, among other topics.

This may not impact those of you who are living paycheck to paycheck, but I would ask you to continue to read on. I often hear people complain that the economy is worse now than it was four years ago. Do you remember what happened four years ago? We were hit by a worldwide pandemic. Was that the fault of the president? Do you remember almost every business that was not critical was closed down? People stayed home with little income. Few cars were on the road. When people did go to the store they wore masks and plastic gloves, and grocery shelves became more and more barren.

When my father was many years into living with Parkinson’s disease, he had lost his speech, his ability to walk, to write, and so much more. For most of his eight decades of life he was an accomplished world traveler, author, pilot, humanitarian, anthropologist, as well as a loving husband and father. It was shocking to see him lose so much — struggling to communicate verbally and having to be fed and assisted with his most basic needs.

This week’s letters questioned police decisions, pretrial treatment of defendants and opposition to the proposed exchange of land between the state and SpaceX, along with the presentation of political positions.

It’s never been easier to access information; we can simply tap our phones and open uncountable amounts of information through the internet. Of course, it’s just as easy to post information as it is to read it, and people have used the resource to spread information that isn’t true, either by accident or by design.

After more than a half century as one of the Rio Grande Valley’s biggest cash crops, injecting up to $100 million into the region’s economy every year, the South Texas sugar industry has come to a bitter end — unless creative growers opt for alternative sweetening sources such as sugar beets or even stevia.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn has announced his desire to replace the retiring Mitch McConnell as Senate majority leader. We hope his efforts — and tenure as the Senate’s top Republican member — are successful.

Public school districts across the country are dealing with revenue shortfalls, and the Rio Grande Valley is no different. McAllen is looking to end cooperative agreements with the city of McAllen and other entities, and cancel planned construction of theaters at McAllen, Memorial and Rowe high schools.

As your representative in Washington, I am acutely aware of the challenges our farmers and ranchers face in the Lower Rio Grande Valley due to water shortages. A recent report from Texas A&M’s Center for North American Studies highlights the potential for over $993.2 million in lost economic output for 2024, attributed largely to Mexico’s failure to comply with the 1944 water treaty. This issue is not isolated to our agricultural sector; it is a crisis that threatens our community’s livelihood, our economy, and our way of life.

The ability of artificial intelligence models to generate text and images that look like the work of human beings has captured public attention as the latest and possibly greatest revolution in technology — in areas ranging from medical diagnosis to clean energy.