BROWNSVILLE — Cameron County Sheriff Omar Lucio headed for victory last night in the race for the Democratic nomination for sheriff, while John Chambers and Victor Cortez appeared headed for a runoff in the Republican primary.

With 89 of 102 precincts reporting, Lucio led challenger Gregorio Puente III with 19,700 votes to Puente’s 7,732.

Noting that he will have an opponent in November, Lucio said he was “extremely pleased” with Tuesday’s result.

“The public has responded that they want us to continue doing the job we have been doing,” he said, adding that his goals now are build up the department and work with county commissioners to get raises for his deputies to reduce attrition to other law enforcement agencies.

With 46 of 102 precincts reporting in the Republican race, Chambers, 46, the former Indian Lake police chief had 1,371 votes for 30.83 percent of the total.

Cortez, 63, a former Drug Enforcement Administration supervisor, U.S. Army veteran and former Brownsville police officer, had 1,769 votes and 26.45 percent of the total.

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McALLEN — Spring break could be a critical time for public health officials, as the migration of people from one country to the other could potentially spread the Zika virus.

Public health experts from the United States and Mexico convened Monday at the McAllen Convention Center to exchange information regarding mosquito-borne illnesses and other public health issues of mutual interest along the border.

“The objective is pretty straightforward: to exchange information of mutual interest,” said Eddie Olivarez, chief administrative officer for Hidalgo County Health and Human Services. “It sounds very simple, but the reality is it’s actually very complicated.”

A slew of doctors, including epidemiologists, veterinarians and entomologists, from both sides of the border took turns discussing potential threats to Northern Mexico, the Rio Grande Valley and the rest of Texas.

Their attention focused on the four viruses most commonly associated with mosquitoes: Dengue, Chikungunya, West Nile and Zika.

“Our enemies are mosquitoes,” Dr. Daniel Carmona Aguirre said in Spanish.

Carmona Aguirre, the Tamaulipas state director of epidemiology, said there is only one case of Zika in his state — a doctor who traveled to South America, became infected there and returned to Tamaulipas. In Mexico there are a total of 93 cases, eight of them pregnant women. One of the eight women recently gave birth to a healthy baby, he added.

“The cases we are worried about are the ones in Monterrey, Mexico,” he said.

Monterrey has four cases of Zika and none of those patients had travelled to Central or South America, he said. They were first tested under suspicion of having the Chikungunya virus, but it turned out to be Zika.

“Lots of people travel to South Padre Island during Semana Santa,” he said about Mexico’s Easter break, “and we could potentially see new cases in less than 15 days.”

Zika is carried by a species of mosquito called the Aedes Aegypti . While that mosquito is present in Texas, it does not currently carry the Zika virus, Olivarez said. Texas residents are more likely to get West Nile, he added.

Nonetheless, public health experts do expect the Zika virus to make its way to Texas by way of the border regions.

“It will be here in Texas, and it will be here sooner than later,” Olivarez said. “It’s going to cross the border and we’re going to have to deal with it.”

There are 13 confirmed cases in Texas, and one more might be added today, said Dr. Tom J. Sidwa, state public health veterinarian at Texas Department of State Health Services. Only one of those cases was sexually transmitted, but none of the 13 confirmed patients are pregnant women.

State Rep. Bobby Guerra, D-McAllen, who sits on the House of Representatives’ Public Health Committee, commended the bi-national leaders for their initiative.

“You’re being proactive and not reactive,” Guerra said. “This issue has not hit the Rio Grande Valley as of yet, but you are on the forefront of making sure that if it does come, we will be ready.”

MISSION — The Santa Rosa Warriors set out this year to get to the regional tournament and, if the opportunity presented itself, get even with the Falfurrias Jerseys after being bounced by them in last year’s postseason.

Now, the Warriors can cross both off their list after tough defense and aggressive play on both ends of the floor guided them to a 76-47 win over the Jerseys in Tuesday night’s Class 3A regional quarterfinals at Sharyland Pioneer High School.

The win sends the Warriors to the Region IV-3A tournament for the first time since 2012 where they’ll face Goliad at 6 p.m. Friday at Seguin High School.

“We felt we were the better team since last year, but (Falfurrias) just beat us last year,” said Santa Rosa head coach Johnny Cipriano. “Our goal was to get to this point and face them again so that we could show who the better team was.”

Full story at RGVSports.com

BISHOP — It was an emotional ending to an historic season for the Lyford Bulldogs basketball team.

After consecutive postseason victories against Santa Gertrudis Academy and Mathis, the Bulldogs came up short against the ninth-ranked Aransas Pass Panthers in a 56-41 third-round loss at the Bishop High School on Tuesday night.

Nevertheless, after the loss Lyford head coach Pete Torres had nothing but praise and optimism for his squad.

“I can’t even describe how proud I am of my kids,” said Torres. “Not only did they play their butts off but they showed what they were capable of, especially against a team like Aransas Pass.

“I think we executed well in the first half, we had some turnovers and maybe we could have had the lead going into halftime. But no matter what happened, these kids left it all out on the floor tonight.”

Full story at RGVSports.com

HARLINGEN — The cat is out of the bag. Look for her at the zoo.

Saturday is “Ocelot Conservation Day” at the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, and a Cincinnati Zoo ocelot named Sihil (pronounced “C-L”) is going to be the star attraction.

Sihil is an ocelot ambassador to the human world, her handlers say, and zoo-goers will have an opportunity to see one of the cats the early Texans called “little leopards.”

Ocelot Day will be held at the zoo from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the SouthTexasDiscoveryCenter. Sihil will be putting on her “shows” at 10:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.

While the event is free, zoo admission charges still apply. Admission for adults 14 to 64 is $11, while kids 2 to 13 pay $8. Here’s a tip, though: The zoo’s website says if you say the word “ocelot” when you’re buying a ticket Saturday, you “get a 20 percent discount off an adult or child admission.”

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HARLINGEN — The moment Ashley Martinez received her voter’s card, she knew she’d acquired a powerful tool for self-determination.

That voter’s card gave Ashley, 18, the power to make her voice heard in yesterday’s election for district judge, district attorney, Cameron County sheriff and county judge.

In fact, the Harlingen High School South senior actually voted early when her mother and grandmother urged her to accompany them to the polls.

“They wanted to make sure I voted,” said Ashley, 18, a senior. They emphasized the same message teachers and administrators had repeated all year long: You can make a difference by voting.”

Students as well as older residents passed in and out of the school’s InformationLiteracyCenter yesterday to cast their vote.

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Gus Ruiz wins the early vote for the Cameron County Commissioner Pct. 4 seat.

If the old adage is correct, he who wins the early vote wins the race that will make Gus Ruiz, 35, of Harlingen, the newest Cameron County Commissioner for Pct. 4.

He won the early vote with a total of 2,206 votes to opponent Chino Sanchez’s 999 votes according to the Cameron County Elections Department.

Ruiz said he was vary confident going into Super Tuesday because of all the thumbs up he received from voters who voted early.

The winner replaces Dan Sanchez who is running for Cameron County Judge.

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

¼ cup loosely packed light brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

8 slices thick-cut bacon

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and place a nonstick wire rack on top. Spray the rack with nonstick spray.

2. Combine the brown sugar and cinnamon on a plate and stir to combine. Dredge each slice of bacon through the sugar and press gently so the sugar sticks. Lay the bacon slices on the wire rack. Bake the bacon for 30 to 35 minutes, flipping it once during the cooking time.

3. Remove the pan from the oven and place the bacon on a plate. Let cool slightly before serving.

Yield: 8 servings

Add 1/4 cup of chopped green onion to the filling to add a splash of green.

Ingredients

Crust: Cooking spray

½ cup cornmeal

½ cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 egg

2 tablespoons butter

2 to 4tablespoons ice water

Filling:

1 tablespoon butter

3 medium Vidalia or sweet onions, slivered

2 eggs

½ cup half-and-half

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for top

1 cup (4-ounces) shredded white Cheddar cheese

½ cup corn kernels, fresh or frozen

4 slices thick, smoky-style bacon, cooked and chopped

Instructions

1. To prepare crust, coat a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate with cooking spray.

2. Place cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a pastry cutter blade; pulse to combine. Add egg and butter; pulse until mixed. Add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until a dough ball forms. This will form a sticky mass of dough. Press into pan. If the dough is too sticky, add a little cornmeal.

3. Preheat oven to 350F.

4. To prepare filling, melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and sauté 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Drain if necessary.

5. Combine eggs, half-and-half, salt and pepper in a bowl. Whisk well. On bottom of pie, sprinkle half the shredded cheese. Top with corn kernels, onions and bacon. Pour egg mixture over top. Top with remaining cheese and freshly ground black pepper.

6. Bake 40 minutes, until top is set and browned.

Yield: 6 servings

Prep: 10 mins

Cook: 10 mins

Ingredients

12— Medjool dates, pitted

1pinch red chili flakes

12— walnut halves, toasted

4slices lean bacon, cut crosswise into three equal pieces

Instructions

1. Preheat broiler. Line a plate with paper towels; set aside.

2. Carefully make a lengthwise slit in each date , open gently and sprinkle with chili flakes; fill with a walnut half and reform the date around the walnut. Wrap the bacon around the date and secure with a toothpick. Arrange on a baking sheet.

3. Broil, turning until crispy, about 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer paper towels and pat dry. Serve immediately.