BROWNSVILLE — The Cameron County Regional Mobility Authority will begin holding “Industry Outreach Meetings” as part of the next step in making the South Padre Island 2nd Access Project a reality.

The meetings could lead to the issuing of a Request for Qualifications for a Comprehensive Development Agreement, according to a press release.

The project will be done in partnership with the Texas Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration.

The 2nd Access Project contains three components: the mainland roadway, the Laguna Madre crossing bridge and the Island roadway.

The second access is anticipated to benefit the area by improving safety, mobility and economic development.

“The possibility of having another causeway is significant for the region,” said Michelle A. Lopez, RMA director of marketing and communications.

“We’ll definitely see some growth in the Island, and the second access will help with evacuations.”

The project has been in development for years.

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BROWNSVILLE — Today five men, including a U.S. Border Patrol agent, will appear before a judge for their formal arraignment on charges including capital murder.

The five are accused in the beheading of a Honduran man whose body was discovered in the Laguna Madre last March.

Investigators said Honduran native Jose Francisco “Franklin” Rodriguez Palacios Paz’s body was discovered by fisherman on March 16, 2015. Authorities believe he was likely killed in Edinburg .

Charged in his murder are Fernando Luna Rodriguez, 35; Aaron Rodriguez Medellin, 22; Eduardo Luna Rodriguez, 24; and Nestor Manuel Leal, 18, and Border Patrol agent Joel Luna, who was arrested in November.

The five men were charged with capital murder for retaliation, first-degree murder and two counts of engaging in organized criminal activity, a first-degree felony. The group was indicted on the charges in January.

U.S. Customs and Border Patrol released a statement yesterday surrounding Joel Luna’s arrest and his status with the federal agency.

Officials said Joel Luna was assigned to the Hebbronville Station and was arrested on False Claim to United States Citizenship on November 12, 2015.

Luna joined the U.S. Border Patrol in 2007 during a hiring surge that took place between 2006 and 2008.

“At the time of hiring, the agent complied with all the application requirements established, but a recent investigation conducted by CBP revealed several discrepancies in his application package which disqualified this individual from being a Border Patrol agent,” the statement read.

Officials said according to an internal investigation conducted by CBP, this incident is considered an isolated case.

According to the Cameron County District Attorney’s Office Luna has been placed on indefinite leave from the Border Patrol.

The five remain jailed in a Cameron County jail.

HARLINGEN — Bring your pet and join the fun when Rio Grande Valley Therapy Pets hosts its second annual PAWchanga!, a free pet- and family-friendly event.

The pet fun is set for Saturday, Feb. 13, at the Victor Park Pavilion, next to the Harlingen Rotary Bark Park from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

PAWchanga! was rained out in October and rescheduled for Feb. 13 to coincide with Valentine’s Day, so “love is in the air” as we gather humans and pets together in an entertaining atmosphere.

Children, adults and pets can enjoy fun events like a pet costume contest, youth art contest, arts and crafts, a doggie fortune teller and more, all while learning about the benefits of therapy pets and how to become involved as volunteer therapy pet teams.

RGV Therapy Pets is a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness about the charitable benefits of therapy pets, and to encourage and assist people and their pets to become registered as therapy pet teams.

Volunteer therapy pets provide a variety of motivational, educational and recreational benefits to enhance the quality of life of hospital patients, retirement home residents, special needs students and many other segments of the community.

Therapy pet teams will give demonstrations on what is needed to pass an evaluation to become a registered team. Professional dog trainers will be on hand to offer training tips in a special “Can Your Dog Do This?” area, which will be ongoing during the festival.

Individuals who visit all six “Can Your Dog Do This?” stations will be entered into a drawing for prizes to be awarded at the end of the day.

Trainers from the RGV K9 Training Centre will give dog obedience demonstrations and Jenisa Meyers will be on hand to perform tricks with her border collies Dewey and Blaze.

Jenisa and her dogs were invited to audition for the David Letterman show, so you can expect to be amazed.

Get your pet all dressed up and enter the Pet Costume Contest, with prizes for first, second and third place winners.

Judging will be held at noon in the pavilion. Impromptu contests for tallest and shortest dog, longest and shortest tail and more will offer prizes throughout the day.

A “Love of Animals” youth art contest will give young artists a chance to win prizes as they express themselves with a unique piece of art at PAWchanga!

Young readers can take a turn reading to a therapy pet at the Paws to Read tent and receive a free book.

And if you wonder what’s in store for your pet, a doggie fortune teller will be on hand to gaze into the crystal ball and peek into the future.

“We invite everyone to join us at PAWchanga!, have some fun and learn more about therapy pets and the wonderful contributions these pets and their humans make to the community,” said Katherine Brookbank, president of RGV Therapy Pets.

There will be a variety of informational and vendor booths hosted by PAWchanga! sponsors, and food and drink will be available from R.C. Concessions and music performed by Omar Flores.

PAWchanga! is sponsored by several area businesses, many of which have donated gift certificates for prizes.

LAGUNA VISTA — The town has a new police vehicle to add to its fleet.

The new 2016 Ford Explorer police unit for the Laguna Vista Police Department arrived Monday morning.

It’s fully loaded, and it’s ready to hit the streets, said City Manager Rolando Vela.

During the budget process, the Town Council approved the purchase of the unit in this year’s budget.

The cost of the new vehicle was $33,376.

This new unit is part of the town’s ongoing efforts to continue to hold public safety as a high priority in the community, Vela said.

Every police officer in Laguna Vista wears a body camera and carries a Surface Pro tablet.

All interactions are recorded with these body cameras, and officers use these tablets to take statements, take photos and videotape.

“The town remains committed to ensuring that its officers are equipped with the best equipment and with the best vehicle fleet possible,” Vela said.

SAN BENITO — The man who spurred a manhunt Monday afternoon has been identified and formally charged.

Roel Rodriguez Rivera, 22, of Alamo was found in a sugar cane field hours after a hit-and-run crash and arrested.

He had signs of being intoxicated and consented to a breath test, which he blew well over the legal limit of 0.08 blood-alcohol concentration, police said.

Rivera was arraigned by Judge David Garza on two third-degree felonies for intoxication assault and accident involving injury. Bond was set at $20,000.

Around 1:19 p.m., officers were called to the intersection of FM 509 and FM 800 where a beige-colored van had collided with an 18-wheeler.

Rivera then fled the scene, police said.

“The driver of the beige van fled on foot and into a canal bank leaving his passenger inside the vehicle. Several witnesses saw the male get out of the van and gave a description to officers,” police said.

San Benito Assistant Police Chief Michael Galvan said the van ran a stop sign and collided with the 18-wheeler.

The van slid under the tractor-trailer rig and hit the last axle, “clobbering” the van, Galvan said.

He said the man continued driving after being hit. Police said he eventually stopped the vehicle and ran away from the scene on foot, staggering and possibly injured.

Their primary concern at the time was finding Rivera and giving him medical attention.

Shortly after the accident, San Benito and Harlingen police, along with U.S. Border Patrol officers and Texas Department of Public Safety troopers, spent several hours looking for Rivera.

A female passenger was taken to Valley Baptist Medical Center. Her injuries were not immediately known. The driver of the 18-wheeler is fine.

At around 3:30 p.m., Rivera was located inside a nearby sugar cane field by a Border Patrol dog unit He had minor injuries and refused medical attention.

An immigration detainer was placed on him pending investigation by the Department of Homeland Security.

HARLINGEN — Two senior assisted living communities here have been purchased by a Fort Worth company that plans to renovate the facilities.

Civitas Senior Living announced it has acquired Brookdale Harlingen, formerly known as Canterbury Court, located at 900 Camelot Drive. It also purchased Brookdale Plaza Harlingen, located at 1002 King Arthur Court.

Both facilities will be known as Valley View Independent Living.

Company officials said the renovations will commence this year, with plans to improve the common areas and create new living spaces for residents. The assisted and independent living communities include 58 apartments, 65 assisted living units and 36 units for memory care.

The entry by fast-growing Civitas into the Harlingen health care market is yet another indication of the city’s growing influence as a regional health care destination.

“Civitas saw in these communities an opportunity to build upon the existing options available to seniors in the Harlingen community,” Wayne Powell, president of Civitas, said in a statement.

Civitas specializes in senior housing, including assisted living, retirement centers and memory care. It has 10 facilities in Texas — 12 with the new Harlingen locations — and plans to open two more in Jefferson and Fort Worth.

The two Harlingen facilities are the company’s first properties in the Rio Grande Valley.

“We are looking forward to starting the renovations and market repositioning of these two properties, with a goal to bring even better senior living options to the Harlingen community,” Powell said.

Civitas Senior Living specializes in development, acquisitions, operational management and consulting for senior housing properties, including assisted living, retirement centers and independent senior living properties.

Brookdale Plaza Harlingen residents can opt for a variety of floor plans, which include kitchenettes with private baths. Residents can choose from one- and two-bedroom apartments to penthouse suites.

Meals are served via restaurant-style dining, according to the facility’s website.

HARLINGEN — City officials stand behind a developer’s plans to offer affordable housing units as part of a project to renovate the city’s tallest building.

In a meeting tomorrow, city commissioners are expected to approve a resolution supporting MRE Capital’s plans to apply for affordable housing credits to help fund its $4.5 million project to renovate the BaxterBuilding, or Baxter Lofts, as the development would be known.

The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs requires the developer to provide the City Commission’s resolution as part of its application for financing, Daniel Sailler, MRE’s co-founder, said yesterday.

Mayor Chris Boswell said commissioners support the developer’s plans to offer affordable housing.

“If they need it, we’re going to give it to them because we support it,” Boswell said.

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SAN BENITO — If you haven’t met new City Manager Manuel De La Rosa, you will get that chance tonight.

During the regular meeting of the City Commission, commissioners will break for a mini-reception to welcome De La Rosa into the fold and introduce him to the community.

The community is encouraged to attend the meeting, which is open to the public.

Since his start in the position a couple of weeks ago, De La Rosa has been making the rounds around town in an effort to familiarize himself and show the people who he is.

Last week, he met with members of the Chamber of Commerce to discuss his background, management style and plans for the future of the city.

With more than 29 years of experience in city government, De La Rosa said he has worked for mostly small communities about the same size as San Benito and smaller.

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Reference: Concurrence with Jim Taylor’s opinion Kudos to Jim Taylor and his assessment of who our U.S. President really is. I, too, have been of the opinion that he was before his election and still is a “closet Muslim.”

In the news clips this Sunday, President Obama is visiting Mosque. Perhaps to receive a blessing from the Moola for shredding our Constitution and America.

Be aware Mr. Taylor, in my opinion, the IRS Gestapo (alias Black Panther goons) will be coming after both of us with audits, drones, communication spying and with the ladies of the night to tempt us with sex stings.

Do not worry Mr. Taylor, at our age, the last mentioned activity will certainly be a waste of taxpayer monies, which could be better used by our former Slick Willy on loose women.

But, wait Jim, a sex sting attempt could turn into a new career opportunity for us on the prime time garbage TV. Sorry, I was just dreaming, thinking I was still 18.

I, too, am of the opinion that there are many who believe as we do. That our Constitution is under assault by ideologies with intent to replace with a socialist agenda or worse, Sharia Muslim Law. All our beautiful women of our nation should pray that this scourge of Sharia Law never takes hold on our land.

If that day ever comes, their beauty will be sent to the kitchen stove in Black Burka jammies, never to see the light of day. No complaining or your pretty head is chopped of as happens in the Muslim world now. A world from which Hillary receives campaign funds.

There are those who lack the fortitude or courage to support their Judeo Christian faith to oppose this assault on the Constitution and soul of our nation. Perhaps they never really had it. They also may be too hooked on the elite white linen, black tie banquets on one side of the tracks and the fajita and beer pachanga on the other side that keeps them in the corrals like sheep. Not to worry, our Vets with their hearts of gold and backbone of steel with defend that right regardless of which corral you’re going in circles in, being readied for the slaughter.

Please try to see beyond the deception of being played on us through the media. The Presidency of the U.S. is not the only office where we are seeking new leadership. The media and political parties would have you think that. There are many offices from our local levels that directly affect us that are in play.

Case in point, our own mess in the County Tax office. Our state legislators and U.S. Congress are also critical to our nation’s well being.

As we have learned in the last seven years of this administration, our Congress has been so spineless to oppose the trashing of our Constitution. We must discard those who have failed us and encourage and support those that stand and defend our Constitution in whatever party they belong.

Read the party platforms and see if they are your views.

Respectfully

Elias Torres, Harlingen