HARLINGEN — A 64-year-old woman died early Saturday morning after her SUV struck a Cameron County Sheriff’s deputy patrol car.

The accident occurred at 6:25 a.m. when the deputy was stopped at the intersection of Loop 499 and North Business 77.

Harlingen police Officer Larry Moore said the deputy was in his patrol car facing north at a stop light.

“What happened was a white SUV rear-ended the back end, pushing him into the intersection,” Moore said.

“The deputy was transported to the hospital with minor injuries to the head and face.”

The woman was taken to Valley Baptist Medical Center where she was pronounced dead a short time later, Moore said.

No further details were available yesterday.

The deputy’s status was not available and the name of the woman has not been released.

The accident is still under investigation.

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MERCEDES — A small group of high school students from Weslaco has begun the sophisticated task of designing and building a robot that will clean what’s known as the largest satellite dish in the world.

The Arecibo Observatory, which is more than 1,000 feet in diameter, has since the 1960s been responsible for many scientific discoveries, produced the world’s first direct image of an asteroid, used moon-bouncing transmissions and is perhaps better known for the Arecibo message — the 1974 attempt to communicate with possible extraterrestrial life by transmitting radio signals 25,000 light-years into space.

It was also prominently featured in the 1995 James Bond film, “GoldenEye.”

Still, resting in a sinkhole surrounded by the humid tropical fauna of Puerto Rico, some 40,000 aluminum panels on the famed observatory have collected so much algae and debris that its prompted concerns that the data it collects may not be accurate.

Enter the Weslaco school district.

Students from Weslaco East and Weslaco High schools, under the instruction of self-described roboticist Heriberto Reynoso of Reybotics in Mercedes, have been tasked with creating a complex maintenance system that will clean the observatory’s panels and ensure its uncompromised function.

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HARLINGEN — Luis Saenz and Carlos Masso last squared off for the Democratic nomination for district attorney in a runoff election in 2012.

The two are facing off again and yesterday they went head-to-head for the first time this year in a candidate forum hosted by the Harlingen Rotary Club.

Saenz, the incumbent, and Masso, a veteran prosecutor, are the only candidates in the Democratic primary for Cameron County DA. The winner on March 1 will face Republican Jeremy SoRelle, who has no primary opponent, in November’s general election.

Some of the key issues the candidates were questioned on were corruption, the death penalty and eight-liner game rooms.

Saenz, who defeated Masso in the 2012 runoff and went on to win the general election, said as long as he’s the DA, there will not be eight-liners in Cameron County.

“If you want to keep moving forward, go with me,” Saenz said. “If you want to go back to the old days of closed-door dealings, Masso is for you.”

Masso was asked if he had ever taken campaign contributions from game room operators. He said no and added that if eight-liners are operating illegally, they need to be shut down and the operators prosecuted.

Masso said Saenz is unavailable. “Right now, if you want to see the DA, good luck,” he said.

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RAYMONDVILLE — This city just can’t catch a break.

With an economy still reeling from the closure of the Willacy County Correctional Center last year, Walmart is closing its Raymondville store, laying off about 110 employees.

The store, one of Raymondville’s biggest sources of sales tax revenue since it opened in 2005, will close Jan. 28, Mayor Gilbert Gonzalez said yesterday.

“That’s going to hurt us a lot,” said Catalina Ozuna, executive director of the Raymondville Economic Development Corporation. “For us, it’s a big impact.”

Officials did not have information readily available on the amount of tax revenue the store generates.

But officials projected the store would bank about $400,000 in annual sales tax revenue when it opened.

“It’s going to be a loss in much-needed sales tax dollars,” Gonzalez said.

He said the loss will force city budget cuts.

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BROWNSVILLE — The Walmart Supercenter at 7480 Padre Island Highway in Brownsville is among dozens of locations around the country that will close permanently, according to an announcement from the Bentonville, Arkansas-based retail giant.

The Padre Island Highway location is one of four Walmart locations in Brownsville. The company is closing 29 stores in Texas.

Walmart said it planned to focus on Supercenters (those remaining and those it plans to open), Neighborhood Markets, e-commerce and an expansion of its pickup service.

“The decision to close stores is difficult and we care about the associates who will be impacted,” said Walmart President and CEO Doug McMillon.

“We invested considerable time assessing our stores and clubs and don’t take this lightly. We are supporting those impacted with extra pay and support, and we will take all appropriate steps to ensure that they are treated well.”

Despite the closures, Walmart said it planned to open more stores worldwide in the coming year, including 50 to 60 Supercenters and 85 to 95 Neighborhood Markets.

Shoppers at Padre Island Highway store on Friday were surprised to hear about the impending closure.

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HARLINGEN — The latest installment of the Harlingen Cardinals-Harlingen South Hawks boys basketball rivalry was full of physical defense.

While both teams were cold from the field throughout the night, the Hawks got it done from the free-throw line down the stretch and picked up a 45-34 win over the Cardinals on Friday night at the Harlingen South gymnasium.

After three up-and-down quarters, the Cardinals (13-10, 2-3) scored just six points and two field goals in the fourth quarter and went 2 for 5 from the free-throw line, thanks, in large part, to the South (15-5, 3-2) defensive pressure.

“Anytime it’s a rivalry game, Harlingen is going to come and play; they did a great job tonight,” said Harlingen South head coach Brian Molina. “I told the kids that they needed to be tough and make free throws to win this game.

“My hat goes off to them — they knocked them down.”

See full story at RGVSports.com

HARLINGEN — The Harlingen Lady Cardinals used a 19-3 fourth-quarter run to defeat crosstown rival Harlingen South 48-31 on Friday evening at the Lady Hawks gymnasium.

For the third time in four games, the Lady Cardinals survived another close game to extend their win streak to 15, while improving their record to 25-1 overall and 7-0 in District 32-6A.

“I feel that we started off a little bit slow tonight again, but once we kicked it into gear we started playing a lot better,” said Harlingen head coach Ashley Moncivaiz. “Nadia (Flores) played aggressive today, she had been a little off these past couple of games and with Addison (Dickey) being out, she stepped and attacked the basket.”

See more of this story at RGVSports.com

HARLINGEN — Local resident Judy Veach has heard that ploy before.

She wasn’t going for it. But she’s concerned others may.

Recently, she received a phone call in which she was told she won $65 million and a Mercedes Benz.

The trick … the person on the phone said she needed to provide a $50 “good faith” payment to the Internal Revenue Service.

Veach, a former magazine editor on South Padre Island, admits that while she is up there in years, she knows that’s not how things work.

According to the Federal Trade Commission Consumer Information, it is clear.

“If you have to pay, it’s not a prize,” the website states under its information about prize scams.

Veach said she played along with the scammer, stating she didn’t have any cash, as she lives off of Social Security.

He asked how much could she afford and she stated, $6. He told her he needed to check with someone whether that would be OK and hung up the phone. He didn’t call back.

PalmValley Police Chief Alvaro Garcia recently talked about scams and their prevalence. He said with the Internet, scammers can find out information about the people they are calling, such as age ranges. He also said most calls likely are coming on landline phones, but cell phones have been targeted as well.

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HARLINGEN — Grant Burbach stood at the podium defending his position on gun control, insisting there should be more restrictions.

“I think it’s too easy for the wrong people to own guns,” said Grant, 16, a sophomore at HarlingenHigh School. Background checks should include searches for nonviolent crimes such as stalking, which often escalate to violent crimes, he said.

“Do you think this will deter good people from actually getting guns?” fired back Irene Tyler, 15, a member of the school’s Speech, Drama and Debate Team like Grant.

A volley of heavy declarations and stinging challenges shot back and forth in rapid succession for 10 minutes before they concluded their practice session.

Irene and Grant were preparing to compete in the Harvard Invitational Meet next month along with five other students under the direction of their coach and sponsor, Tasha Kneis. Irene is competing in the Lincoln Douglas event, and Grant is competing in Congressional Debate. Others are competing in original oratory, extemporaneous speaking and dramatic performance.

Students are feeling the pressure.

“I am very excited to go to Harvard,” said Irene, a sophomore. “I haven’t gone on a big trip with the debate team. Everyone is working hard and it’s a bit nerve-wracking.”

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