SAN BENITO — The recent vandalism case may be in the rearview mirror, but Interim Police Chief Michael Galvan is encouraging the community to be more vigilant to help stop future incidents.

Galvan discussed heavily the need for more community policing during the Chamber of Commerce “Coffee With” session Wednesday morning.

Earlier this month, six adults and two juveniles were charged with criminal mischief in connection to the vandalism of more than 60 cars around town.

Police estimated the damage at or around $50,000.

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City residents took a hit when the teens rode around town in a pickup truck late at night randomly spray painting cars and breaking car windows in multiple neighborhoods.

“These were kids who were bored,” Galvan said.

Now, Galvan’s goal is to team up with the school district and other groups to write grants and fund programs for kids.

The aim is to catch kids at an early age deterring them from committing any sort of crime.

“That’s one of the big things we are trying to push. Our little ones are where everything starts. If we don’t reach out to them and try to grab their attention then the people on the street will,” Galvan told members of the San Benito Chamber of Commerce.

“We need them to look at us as their role models. Right now they’re watching TV and these crazy games and that’s what they are living off of.”

With only about five or six police officers patrolling at one time, Galvan said it’s difficult to catch everything.

The interim chief suggested everyone, including parents, business owners and children, be educated and informed.

“We need to start working smart and not hard,” he said. “We need to be proactive.”

There are several ways residents can own their city. Some of those are through neighborhood watch groups, volunteering and registering on the social network Nextdoor.com.

Galvan said Nextdoor is a social network that can be used by everyone in the community.

It’s an easy way for you and your neighbors to talk online and make all of your lives better in the real world.

The use of this social network is free.

According to its website, people are using Nextdoor to quickly get the word out about a break-in, organize a neighborhood watch group, track down a babysitter, find out who does the best paint job in town, staying informed with neighbors and asking for help.

“We need to start owning our own city, neighbor hood and block,” Galvan said. “We need to reach out to our neighbors. A lot of people say that they don’t know their neighbors and that’s a shame.”

With Nextdoor, users can join their neighborhood online and interact with each other.

“The people in that bubble will share information and we will also put out information, too,” Galvan said.

Prior to the vandalism, Galvan said, weeks before, several arrests were made regarding other reports of vandalism.

Those reports were made through Nextdoor.

“They had license plates and names of the kids,” Galvan said. “That’s the kind of help we need.”

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND — He chased Hurricane Patricia and in the process braved 215 mph winds to enter the core of the second-most intense tropical cyclone on record.

One of the world’s expert hurricane chasers, Josh Morgerman, is on the Island attending the National Tropical Weather Conference.

Morgerman is among the more than 50 meteorologists from the Atlantic and Gulf coast in attendance.

They have been here to gather expert information about the 2016 Hurricane season forecast.

Dr. Phil Koltzbach announced his predictions at the conference yesterday. He said this year will be an average season with 12 named storms, five hurricanes and two major hurricanes.

He said Texas has a one-in-three chance of a major hurricane making landfall along its coast.

Koltzbach said luck has been the primary factor for the lack of major hurricanes over the last few years.

“We’ve had 10 years with no major landfalls, and if you look at the tracks of the storms, some have been very close,” Koltzbach said. “Some have hit Cuba and that’s actually not very far from south Florida, so that’s absolutely luck.”

He uses historical data and climate relationships to come up with his forecasts.

Koltzbach is a research scientist in the department of Atmospheric Science at Colorado State University.

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RIO HONDO — United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro will be welcomed with open arms to the Lower Valley Hispanic Chamber of Commerce meeting Saturday, April 23.

Castro, a former mayor of San Antonio and appointed the youngest member of President Barack Obama’s Cabinet, will be the guest speaker at the meeting, which will be held at noon at the Rio Hondo Municipal Center.

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HARLINGEN — Meet Fern.

She’s terrified of leaving her house.

Here’s her friend Arnold, whose wife just left him with their newborn baby. What does he do?

He lets Fern care for the baby.

Although she has agoraphobia, which is the fear of going outside, the townspeople trust her with their children as long as she doesn’t leave the house.

These are just some of the struggles faced by the characters in the comedy “The View From Here” which will open tonight at the Harlingen Performing Arts Theatre at 1209 Fair Park Blvd.

Joel Brotzman-Gonzales, volunteer director of the play, says the work attracted him because it portrays different people dealing with their challenges.

“You have a group of people who have something to deal with, and they all deal with it in various ways,” he said.

Fern’s sister Maple is staying with her, and her friend and eccentric neighbor Carla, creates even more texture in the performance.

At a rehearsal Wednesday, Carol Kent explained how she’s portraying Fern. Kent, 58, was already getting in character by engaging in some sort of idiosyncrasy, grasping each finger nervously and in rapid succession.

Her character, Fern, hasn’t left her house in six years. As is often the challenge of actors, Kent had to put some serious thought into playing someone very different from her.

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HARLINGEN — Seven years after the dogs packed up and left, greyhound racing is returning to Valley Race Park.

Texas Racing Commission officials confirmed yesterday the park has been cleared to resume a full slate of live dog racing. The park has requested and been granted 36 racing days.

Employees at Valley Race Park say it isn’t known which dates the greyhounds will run.

But when they do, races will be held four days a week, with 10 races planned each day.

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HOUSTON – A Harlingen man is being held without bond after he was arrested near Houston on charges he tried to smuggle crystal methamphetamine.

Ricardo Lozano, 40, was arrested on Tuesday when the Fort Bend County narcotics task force stopped him for a traffic violation on U.S. 59 north near Rosenberg.

According to a news release from the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Department, during the roadside stop a detective and his canine discovered 17.7 pounds of meth hidden in the headliner of the Ford Explorer Lozano was driving.

Lozano is charged with manufacturing/delivery of a controlled substance and unlawful use of a criminal instrument. Both charges are felonies. He is being held in the Fort Bend County Jail without bond.

Officials say the methamphetamine has a street value of $123,900.

RAYMONDVILLE — A big dream needs lots of green.

So Willacy County is applying for federal money to try to fund a proposed $25 million sports and entertainment center.

Today’s the deadline to apply for a grant under the Restore Act to fund the phased development of the Willacy County Natural Resource and Heritage Center on 100 acres of county-owned land off State Highway 186 near Interstate 69.

The Restore Act was funded through penalties paid by oil companies found responsible for the April 2010 wellhead explosion off the Louisiana coast that led to the biggest oil spill in U.S. history.

In a recent meeting, Oralia Cardenas, a grant writer with Austin-based GrantWorks, urged county commissioners not to apply for the entire $25 million it would cost to develop the entertainment complex.

Instead, she said, commissioners should apply for smaller amounts to fund the project in phases.

If their request is rejected in the upcoming round of funding, commissioners can apply again, Cardenas said.

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LAGUNA VISTA — Every few months, Laguna Vista officials share the results of their financial quarter with the public.

In an effort to be more transparent with the community, City Manager Rolando Vela said he encourages all resident to take a look.

“The town strives to keep the town council and its citizens fully informed of the town’s finances. It’s important to be transparent and to provide them a ‘snapshot’ of the town’s revenues and expenditures,” he said.

Earlier this week, Vela presented the second quarter financial performance report for the three-month period ending March 31.

These quarterly reports are routinely presented to the town council and are posted on the town’s website for the public to view.

Vela’s presentation touched on the revenues and expenditures of the town’s operating budget and other funds.

According to the report, the town received 85 percent of the amount budgeted for revenues with the largest portion coming from property taxes.

“The town has collected 96 percent of the $875,000 budgeted for property tax revenues,” Vela said.

“We still have more money to collect before the end of the fiscal year. In that regard, I feel that we will exceed the $875,000 that we budgeted.”

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I urge you to support S. 2712, the “Combat-Injured Veterans Tax Fairness Act of 2016,” introduced by Sen. John Boozman (R-AR) and co-sponsored by Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA). Service members who have been separated from the armed forces due to combat-related injuries sustained while serving are to receive a tax-exempt, one-time lump sum disability severance payment.

However, the DoD has been taxing this payment and must be held accountable to stop this action and identify and notify those who have been affected allowing the Veterans to reclaim that which was improperly withheld.

The Air Force Sergeants Association represents all current and former Air Force members and, as a member, I see this as a priority for this Congress to take action on. Please do all you can to help pass this piece of legislation. Those who serve this nation and are impacted by that arduous service, deserve no less. I respectfully request a response so I can know where you stand on this matter.

Sincerely, Jaime Garcia-Cruz Raymondville

RIO HONDO – United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro will be welcomed with open arms to the Lower Valley Hispanic Chamber of Commerce meeting on Saturday, April 23.

Castro, a former mayor of San Antonio and appointed the youngest member of President Barack Obama’s Cabinet, will be th guest speaker at the meeting, which will be held at noon at the Rio Hondo Municipal Center.

“We are privileged he is going to give us his time,” said Tony Gutierrez, board chairman of the Lower Valley Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. “He’s our friend and he’s coming for us.”

Gutierrez, who announced the guest earlier today, said Castro will be on hand for about an hour and will speak. The possible topics include growing small cities, potential water shortages or anything that pertains to the communities in the lower Valley.

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“This will be tremendous for us,” Gutierrez said.

Castro, who was born in San Antonio, was a two-term mayor of San Antonio until he was asked to serve in 2014 on the president’s cabinet. he is considered a fast-rising Latino politician and the Washington Post wrote a recent story about him suggesting he could be on the short list as a potential vice presidential running mate for Hillary Clinton.

He gained national attention in 2012 when he delivered the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention.

The Lower Valley Hispanic Chamber of Commerce includes Lyford, Raymondville, Los Indios, Combes, Santa Rosa, Los Fresnos, Rio Hondo and Primera. The organization has about 60 to 70 members right now and it is growing all the time, just in its second year in existence. Its goal is to help the smaller cities that likely don’t have Chamber of Commerce organizations.

“We haven’t even reached two years yet,” Gutierrez said.

The cost will be $20 per ticket or $160 for a table of eight. Call (956) 536-1448 to obtain seats to attend the event.