A Mission man suspected in a homicide, and who told authorities he doesn’t remember how many times he stabbed his victim, was indicted on June 26 and is set to be arraigned by the end of July, according to court records.
Juan Jose Polanco, 54, called the police on himself after fatally stabbing Jose Candelario Moreno Jr. during an altercation, according to a probable cause affidavit.
At 2:43 a.m., Mission police arrived at Polanco’s residence located at 809 Nueces St. and spoke with Polanco and a witness named Roberto Villarreal, the affidavit said.
Officers found Moreno face down on the kitchen floor in a puddle of blood inside Polanco’s residence.
According to the document, Moreno’s body had a puncture wound to his upper left back and a second wound to his left rib area. A kitchen knife was found next to Moreno’s body in the puddle of blood.
Further investigation indicated that Moreno sustained multiple stab wounds.
Villarreal told investigators that Polanco showed up at his residence “in a panic” and was “emotional.” Polanco told Villarreal he had stabbed someone, according to the affidavit.
“Mr. Villarreal told Juan Jose Polanco … that he needed to call the police,” the affidavit stated. “Mr. Villarreal then loaned the defendant his cellular phone to call the Mission police department.”
Polanco agreed to an interview and told investigators that he didn’t remember how many times he stabbed Moreno during the physical altercation, the affidavit said.
He was arrested on Feb. 26 and remains jailed in the Hidalgo County Adult Detention Center on a $1 million bond, according to jail records.
Driscoll Children's Hospital Rio Grande Valley on Friday, Jan. 26, 2024, in Edinburg. (Joel Martinez | [email protected])
Cool off and do a good deed. That’s the idea as Dairy Queens in the Rio Grande Valley and Corpus Christi areas will be donating 50% of all Blizzard sales to Driscoll Children’s Hospital on Thursday.
Dairy Queen in partnership with Children’s Miracle Network Hospital are giving back to local children’s hospitals with every purchase of a Blizzard for its annual Miracle Treat Day, both the eatery and hospital system announced in news releases.
The owner of the Dairy Queens in the Valley and Corpus areas will give the contributions from all Blizzard sales to the Driscoll Children’s Hospital Rio Grande Valley and Driscoll Children’s Hospital in Corpus Christi.
The goal of the event, which will be held all day Thursday, is to provide the hospitals with funds for critical treatments, lifesaving equipment and other essential pediatric healthcare resources.
For Bob Lozano, chief executive officer of Food and People, Miracle Treat Day is “more than just a fundraiser” but rather a way to celebrate community by making a positive impact.
“Miracle Treat Day is a special tradition that allows our DQ family and our Fans to come
together to show our support for the incredible work being done at Children’s Miracle
Network Hospitals,” Lozano said in the release. “We invite everyone to join us on July 25th and make a difference in a child’s life, One Blizzard at a time.”
DQ officials are encouraging community members to support the event by purchasing Blizzard favorites such as the Mint Oreo Blizzard or the Choco Brownie Extreme Blizzard or even the classic Oreo Blizzard.
In their release, Driscoll said the DQ brand has sponsored the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals for 40 years, “benefiting member hospitals across the U.S. and Canada.”
Located in Edinburg, Driscoll Children’s Hospital Rio Grande Valley opened its doors earlier this year in May. The $105 million facility with eight floors brought new medical tech to the region and the opportunity for Valley residents to avoid traveling to Corpus Christi for children’s care.
A 74-year-old man was apprehended Saturday after it was discovered he had two outstanding felony warrants for sex-related offenses involving a child out of Kingsville, according to a press release.
Jose Marroquin Pena was apprehended at the Hidalgo/Pharr/Anzalduas Port of Entry Saturday after Customs and Border Protection officers found he had two arrest warrants out of Kleberg County regarding aggravated sexual assault of a child and indecency with a child.
“The heinous nature of the alleged crime and the dedication of our frontline officers to bringing such alleged perpetrators to justice underscore and exemplify the importance of CBP’s border security mission,” Port Director Carlos Rodriguez said in the release.
He added that this arrest follows two other apprehensions with similar offenses last week.
CBP officers at the Anzalduas International Bridge referred Pena for a secondary inspection and utilized biometric verification and federal law enforcement databases to find that he had the outstanding two arrest warrants.
“CBP officers turned Marroquin Pena over to Kleberg County sheriff’s deputies for adjudication of the warrant,” the release said.
A large American flag waves in the breeze Wednesday, June 14, 2023, along Expressway 83 in Harlingen. (Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald)
In a little more than a week, Americans have been forced to come to grips with the possibility of losing both major presidential candidates — scarcely more than three months before the election. Republican Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt at a July 13 campaign rally, and eight days later Democrat Joe Biden, the incumbent, ended his reelection campaign in response to mounting concerns about signs of physical, and possible cognitive, deterioration.
Biden is drawing widespread praise for his decision to give up his bid for a second term. At 81 years of age, he’s the oldest president in our nation’s history. He’s always been known for verbal mistakes and other behavioral ticks, but during his term people have noticed a marked increase in apparent cognitive lapses. Concerns aren’t solely about public perceptions and his electability, but about how well he might be able to perform in the second, third and fourth years of a second term if he were reelected.
Trump is just three years Biden’s junior but his energetic delivery doesn’t inspire similar concerns.
Biden’s sudden exit, and Trump’s close call, certainly alarmed most Americans. While their loss surely would be a shock, our nation’s founders designed a government that is built to survive such jolts, and tweaks along the years have made it even better.
Under normal conditions we get a new president every four to eight years anyway, we we are accustomed to change. For the first 150 years of our country’s existence no president served more than two four-year terms. After Franklin Roosevelt won election four times — he died in office during his fourth term, our Constitution was amended to limit our presidents to two terms.
Moreover, nine of our 46 presidents — an average of 1 out of every five — didn’t complete their terms in office; four have been assassinated, four died of natural causes and one resigned. To be sure, following each sudden loss the American people were shocked; they mourned. And then they went on with a new person in the Oval Office.
A list of successors to the president has been compiled to prevent battles over who gets to be in charge. The list begins with the vice president, followed by the speaker of the House, then the president pro tempore of the Senate and then each Cabinet member, ranked according to the age of each position.
Our nation’s continued progress in light of the relative short tenure each head of state serves is testament to many factors, beginning with the resilience of the American people. Another major factor is the relative weakness of the position. Our presidents enjoy significant influence over the public, but that is a factor of tradition rather than design. The Constitution gives lawmaking authority solely to Congress, although lawmakers, and the public and courts, have allowed presidents to issue executive decrees and bureaucratic agencies to impose regulations.
Biden is expected to serve out his term as president. Thus, the inevitable transfer of authority will occur according to tradition. If we had faced a sudden, unexpected change, however, this country would have survived the shock.
In this Friday, May 19, 2017, file photo, job seekers walk into the Opportunity Fair and Forum employment event in Dallas. (LM Otero/AP Photo)
Over the years, there has been no shortage of political bashing of the biopharmaceutical industry. At the national level, the Inflation Reduction Act will impose the first-ever federal price controls on certain drugs, with the current administration pushing for even more draconian measures. We even see it here in Texas, where the state legislature last year passed a measure to import price-controlled prescription drugs from Canada.
What’s important to remember is that none of these actions will actually make prescription medicines more affordable at the pharmacy counter — more on that a little later on. Instead, these legislative punches may win political points but they do even more significant damage when it comes to jobs and economic development in Texas.
The Lone Star State is increasingly one of the nation’s leading life sciences hubs with more than 6,000 biotechnology-related manufacturing and research companies setting up shop here. But that only scrapes the surface of the financial impact these companies have in the state. Every single one of these biotech firms has a network of vendors, companies that manufacture drug packaging, handle distribution, build factories and office buildings, maintain heating and air conditioning systems, provide essential raw materials, offer food and custodial services, and so much more.
These enterprises comprise a powerful economic and job-creating engine that is helping to make the Texas economy one of the most robust in the nation. That helps attract families from across the country, seeking financial opportunities and bright futures, to move here.
New data show that the vendors providing goods and services to biopharmaceutical research companies with operations in Texas are spending more than $2.5 billion per year and supporting nearly 310,000 jobs. In addition, these vendors for the biotech industry are generating $95 billion in economic output within the state’s borders.
As someone who has spent his career looking for ways to promote medical research, development and manufacturing, these new data are encouraging. And, yet, some politicians want to put unnecessary legislative and regulatory shackles on the industry and its vendor affiliates who are bolstering our economy and creating so many jobs in Texas — and across the country. It doesn’t make sense.
It’s especially confusing when the so-called solutions they are offering are already prompting some biopharmaceutical companies to curtail the research and development of new drugs. This will have a negative impact on jobs, and not bring cost relief to consumers.
Texas legislative efforts to import Canadian price controls into this country won’t benefit consumers because Canada’s health authorities have said repeatedly that they don’t have a large enough domestic pharmaceutical supply to fulfill demand in the United States. And ongoing actions to impose price controls on pharmaceuticals ignore the fact that manufacturers don’t determine the prices that we pay at the pharmacy. The supply chain middlemen, specifically pharmacy benefit managers, do that with harmful practices that drive up patient out-of-pocket costs and restrict access to more affordable drugs.
Two vital objectives — maintaining biotech-driven economic growth and achieving more affordable prescription drugs — should never be viewed as incompatible. With the right public policies, we can have both. Texans are benefiting from a vibrant economic environment in which life sciences companies and their vendors are creating tens of thousands of jobs. Looking at the future, we should be keeping our foot on the accelerator and not unnecessarily slamming on the brakes.
Tom Kowalski is the former president and CEO of the Texas Healthcare and Bioscience Institute in Austin.
U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle prepares to testify about the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at a campaign event in Pennsylvania before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, at the Capitol, Monday, July 22, 2024 in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)
By COLLEEN LONG | Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The director of the Secret Service said Tuesday she is resigning following the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump that unleashed intensifying outcry about how the agency tasked with protecting current and former presidents could fail in its core mission.
Kimberly Cheatle, who had served as Secret Service director since August 2022, had been facing growing calls to resign and several investigations into how the shooter was able to get so close to the Republican presidential nominee at an outdoor campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
“I take full responsibility for the security lapse,” she said in an email to staff, obtained by The Associated Press. “In light of recent events, it is with a heavy heart that I have made the difficult decision to step down as your director.”
Cheatle’s departure was unlikely to end the scrutiny of the long-troubled agency after the failures of July 13, and it comes at a critical juncture ahead of the Democratic National Convention and a busy presidential campaign season. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have promised continued investigation, along with an inspector general probe and an independent and bipartisan effort launched at President Joe Biden’s behest that will keep the agency in the spotlight.
“The scrutiny over the last week has been intense and will continue to remain as our operational tempo increases,” Cheatle said in her note to staff.
Cheatle’s resignation comes a day after appeared before a congressional committee and was berated by hours by both Democrats and Republicans for the security failures. She called the attempt on Trump’s life the Secret Service’s “most significant operational failure” in decades and said she took full responsibility for the security lapses, but she angered lawmakers by failing to answer specific questions about the investigation.
At the hearing Monday, Cheatle remained defiant that she was the “right person” to lead the Secret Service, even as she said she took responsibility the security failures. When Republican Rep. Nancy Mace suggested Cheatle begin drafting her resignation letter from the hearing room, Cheatle responded, “No, thank you.”
The 20-year-old shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was able to get within 135 meters (157 yards) of the stage where the former president was speaking when he opened fire. That’s despite a threat on Trump’s life from Iran leading to additional security for the former president in the days before the July 13 rally.
Cheatle acknowledged Monday that the Secret Service was told about a suspicious person two to five times before the shooting at the rally. She also revealed that the roof from which Crooks opened fire had been identified as a potential vulnerability days before the rally. But she failed to answer many questions about what happened, including why there no agents stationed on the roof.
A bloodied Trump was quickly escorted off the stage by Secret Service agents, and agency snipers killed the shooter. Trump said the upper part of his right ear was pierced in the shooting. One rallygoer was killed, and two others were critically wounded.
“The assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump on July 13th is the most significant operational failure at the Secret Service in decades,” Cheatle told members of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee. “As the Director of the United States Secret Service, I take full responsibility for any security lapse.”
Details continue to unfold about signs of trouble that day and what role both the Secret Service and local authorities played in security. The agency routinely relies on local law enforcement to secure the perimeter of events where people it is protecting appear. Former top Secret Service agents said the gunman should never have been allowed to gain access to the roof.
Two days after the shooting, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said he supported Cheatle “100%.”
But there were calls for accountability across the political spectrum, with congressional committees immediately moving to investigate, issuing a subpoena to testify and the top Republican leaders from both the House and the Senate saying she should step down. Biden, a Democrat, ordered an independent review into security at the rally, and the Secret Service’s inspector general opened an investigation. The agency is also reviewing its counter sniper team’s “preparedness and operations.”
In an interview with ABC News two days after the shooting, Cheatle said she wasn’t resigning. She called the shooting “unacceptable” and something that no Secret Service agent wants to happen. She said her agency is responsible for the former president’s protection: “The buck stops with me. I am the director of the Secret Service.”
Cheatle served in the Secret Service for 27 years. She left in 2021 for a job as a security executive at PepsiCo before Biden asked her to return in 2022 to head the agency with a workforce of 7,800 special agents, uniformed officers and other staff.
She took over amid a controversy over missing text messages from around the time thousands of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, following his 2020 election loss to Biden.
During her time in the agency, Cheatle was the first woman to be named assistant director of protective operations, the division that provides protection to the president and other dignitaries, where she oversaw a $133.5 million budget. She is the second woman to lead the agency.
When Biden announced Cheatle’s appointment, he said she had served on his detail when he was vice president and he and his wife “came to trust her judgment and counsel.”
Associated Press writers Zeke Miller and Alanna Durkin Richer contributed to this report.
University of Texas Rio Grande Valley head football coach Travis Bush answers questions along with UTRGV football players Brennan Carroll, left, and Jaxson Maynard during a question and answer session at the Southland Conference Football Media Day at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center on Monday, July 22, 2024, in San Antonio. (Joel Martinez | [email protected])
SANANTONIO—UTRGV’s first football game is a little over a year away, buttheVaquerostookcenterstageMondayatSouthlandConference Football MediaDayattheHenryB.GonzalezConventionCenterinSanAntonio.
University of Texas Rio Grande Valley head football coach Travis Bush answers questions posed by the press during the Southland Conference Football Media Day at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center on Monday, July 22, 2024, in San Antonio. (Joel Martinez | [email protected])
University of Texas Rio Grande Valley football player Brennan Carroll answers questions during a question and answer session during the Southland Conference Football Media Day at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center on Monday, July 22, 2024, in San Antonio. (Joel Martinez | [email protected])
University of Texas Rio Grande Valley football player Jaxson Maynard answers questions during a question and answer session during the Southland Conference Football Media Day at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center on Monday, July 22, 2024, in San Antonio. (Joel Martinez | [email protected])
TheUTRGVfootballteamwillarriveoncampusonAug.18andbeginstrengthandconditioningtwodayslater.TheVaqueroswon’tholdtheirfirstofficialfootballpracticeuntilafterLaborDay in early September. TheVaqueroswillthenspendtheentire2024seasonpreparingfortheirDivisionIFootballChampionshipSeriesdebutonAug.30,2025 at Robert and Janet Vackar Stadium in Edinburg.
A patient goes through an eye exam as part of the free vision services during Operation Border Health Preparedness at PSJA Early College High School on Monday, July 22, 2024, in San Juan. (Omar Zapata | The Monitor)
SAN JUAN — For 25 years, Operation Border Health Preparedness has provided Valley residents much needed free medical services from immunizations for all ages to dental services to vision exams with a mobile lab to make prescription glasses at location.
Operation Border Health Preparedness is an exercise to help the community get ready for disasters.
The annual event is made possible by local counties, city health departments, medical schools, human services organizations, Texas military forces, universities, Remote Area Medical (RAM) and other volunteer groups.
Kicking off its 25th anniversary at PSJA Early College High School Monday morning, Sulema Solis, director of Health Services at PSJA ISD, has worked in the program for more than two decades in different capacities and is currently the incident commander for PSJA ISD for the event.
The event at PSJA has about 400 volunteers.
The event offers:
>> Immunizations for all ages;
>> Medical exams;
>> Blood pressure checks;
>> Diabetes screenings;
>> Hearing and vision exams;
>> Sports physicals;
>> Dental Services from cleanings, fillings to extractions; and
>> Vision exams and mobile lab to make prescription glasses.
A patient tries on the different frames offered as part of the free vision services during Operation Border Health Preparedness at PSJA Early College High School on Monday, July 22, 2024, in San Juan. (Omar Zapata | The Monitor)
Solis said last year’s event served around 500 to 600 people a day and did not require any kind of identification to receive the free medical services.
“We don’t put a limit on the number that can come in,” she said. “We will see as many patients that walk through the door. Yes, we do close the door at 3 pm. But we stay as late as we need to to see all the patients.”
Some of the specific medical services offered range from providing prescriptions, mental health practitioners to a dental filling.
“The dentist evaluates and determines what’s their most critical need,” Solis said. “Then they’ll provide that service … sometimes we’ll do anywhere from 100 to 200 (a day) for dental and then also for vision anywhere from 100 to 200.”
RAM, a group from Tennessee, provides pop-up medical clinics around the United States with no cost to patients.
RAM is essential in providing free pop-up clinics for dental services, such as the ones mentioned and dental X-rays.
The non-profit organization also includes providing people with free eyeglass prescriptions and frames for on-site fabrication in a mobile vision lab.
Given a tour of the process, RAM volunteers first receive information on the prescription and selected frame and will look through their assortment of donated lenses on-site to see if they can be made.
If not, glasses with the correct prescription will be mailed to patients.
The donated lenses will be resized and reshaped by a group of four volunteers through various machines in the mobile vision site.
A volunteer inside Remote Area Medical’s mobile vision lab marks the lens with a machine that will then be reshaped with the information on the patient’s prescription and selected frame during Operation Border Health Preparedness at PSJA Early College High School on Monday, July 22, 2024, in San Juan. (Omar Zapata | The Monitor)
Asked how it feels to see the program continuing strong after being involved for over 20 years, Solis replied, “It feels very rewarding and very good. And it really helped us during the COVID pandemic. Practicing this event is what is preparing us for real life emergencies … We were one of the first districts to start inoculating and we were vaccinating about 3,000 patients a day here at PSJA.”
Eduardo Olivarez, Hidalgo County Health & Human Services chief administrative officer, also talked about how the annual event helped the county during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We used the models, the procedures, the methods we do during Operation border health. You set up clinics, we set up interventions, we set up systems. It was seamless … It prepared us and who knows what the future holds in public health. There’s a lot of other illnesses out there that we’re watching that hopefully they never come to the level that COVID did,” he said.
Olivarez said in his more than two decades being involved in the event, he has noticed that a lot of working class poor in the community come to the clinics due to a lack of insurance.
“You’ll see people here wearing nice outfits, suits and everything,” he said. “And they’re getting dental services or vision services or getting women’s healthcare services because they have no insurance. So this is a fantastic opportunity for all of our community.”
Olivarez also wanted to make note that the services do not require any type of identification.
“Medical complications don’t understand international citizenship, they don’t understand international boundaries,” he said. “If you need help with your vision, dental, or diabetes … there is nothing asked of you. There is no requirement of residency … There’s no police here. No one asking anybody about where you’re from … I know that the tensions are high in dealing with that but the reality is if you have a healthy individual and community, that’s a good thing.”
The event is located at PSJA Early College High School at 805 Ridge Road in San Juan. The program is in operation on Tuesday-Thursday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and on Friday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Edinburg City Hall is seen in this undated photo. (Courtesy: City of Edinburg/Facebook)
Edinburg City Hall is seen in this undated photo. (Courtesy: City of Edinburg/Facebook)
EDINBURG — Staunch public outcry prompted the city council here to kill a proposal that would have allowed voters to choose whether they wanted to extend term limits for elected officials by an additional four years.
Currently, members of the council are limited to serving a total of eight years over the course of two four-year terms.
However, a councilmember who has termed out can serve an additional two-term tenure as mayor, or vice-versa — a termed out mayor who has not previously served as a councilmember may run for and serve on of those four seats for two terms.
But a new proposal — one of 13 suggested updates to the Edinburg City Charter — would have given officials the opportunity to run for a third term.
The proposal, dubbed “Proposition A,” would have also added clarifying language that a candidate may not attempt to jump from at-large council seat to at-large council seat in an effort to circumvent the term limits.
But some residents balked at Prop A, saying the amendment would be a slap in the face to voters who already made their intentions clear in 2018.
“The president of the United States only gets eight years. If they can’t take care of it … then you should not have any more time,” Edinburg resident Fern McClaugherty said during the public comments portion of last week’s council meeting.
A member of the citizen watchdog group, the OWLS, or Objective Watchers of the Legal System, McClaugherty reminded the council that the city had already put the issue to a vote six years ago.
And if her assertions didn’t jog their memories, then the several residents McCLaugherty had brought to the meeting with her just might.
“I have people … that are here, took off from their time that they should be at home, to come and tell y’all they do not want you to put an election up. They already voted twice,” McCalugherty said.
“So, if you do this, I’m hoping that each one (of them) in this room will contact their friends, relatives and loved ones to vote you out of office,” she added a moment later.
McClaugherty was referring to a charter amendment election the city held in 2018.
During that election, Edinburg voters overwhelmingly voted to reduce elected officials’ terms from three to two.
Proposition B passed by a 2-to-1 margin, with 11,376 votes in favor and 6,410 against, according to Hidalgo County elections records.
“I want y’all to do the right thing. Can you not answer to the public? And which one of y’all decided this was such a wonderful deal?” McClaugherty asked the council last Tuesday.
Edinburg Mayor Ramiro Garza Jr. responded.
Ramiro Garza Jr.
The mayor has long since gone on record opposing any extensions to the city’s eight-year limit.
Garza said that it wasn’t the five men on the city council that came up with the 13-odd charter amendment proposals. Rather, it was a five-member ad hoc committee of everyday Edinburg residents who came up with the list of propositions.
“None of these were put in by the council. The charter review committee reviewed all the charter with our city attorney, city secretary. And they came up with these suggested changes that they wanted to bring us,” Garza said.
The mayor also reminded McClaugherty and other residents that even if the council approved of leaving Prop A in the charter amendment election, the voters would be the ones deciding its ultimate fate.
All five councilmen spoke against extending term limits, though one expressed concern over killing Prop A outright.
“Right now, the current charter says you can flip from one (seat) to another,” Place 3 Councilman David Salazar Jr. said.
Edinburg City Attorney Omar Ochoa said such a reading of the charter language is a matter of interpretation.
Ultimately, when Garza called for a motion on the matter, the vote was unanimous: Prop A was dead.
But the council wasn’t done there. A few moments later, they voted to kill another suggested amendment: Proposition K.
That proposition would have allowed voters to decide whether they wanted to give the city council the authority to appoint “associate” municipal judges that could serve in conjunction with the elected municipal judge, or in his absence.
Currently, the city can make use of “visiting” judges, which may only serve in the elected municipal judge’s absence from the court, Ochoa said.
Place 4 Councilman David White motioned to approve including Prop K on the November ballot, but his motion died due to a lack of a second.
White was critical of the current judge, Hector Bustos Jr., whom the council originally appointed to serve in the position after former municipal judge Toribio “Terry” Palacios stepped down to run for district attorney.
Voters subsequently reaffirmed that appointment when they chose him over challenger Armando Guerra in the November 2023 election.
But since then, Bustos’ attendance at the municipal court has been unreliable, forcing the city to rely on the services of judges from other cities.
“Right now, you’re paying a guy $90,000 a year and we’ve appointed a bunch of visiting judges to come do the work,” White said, with an audible note of frustration.
Taking a more measured tone, Place 1 Councilman Dan Diaz noted that the city’s growing population could benefit from being able to have more than one judge at a time on the clock.
“We’re over 100,000. We do need another judge. We need coverage in the morning and afternoon, not just in the afternoon,” Diaz said.
White continued to press, saying Bustos’ absences have affected the police department, as well as residents who are unable to plead their cases before him.
“I’ve tried to sit down with the judge,” White said, explaining he had hoped to help troubleshoot any issues.
“And he’s stood me up three times,” he said.
At the conclusion of the lengthy discussion, the council — save White — voted to kill Prop K, meaning the city will continue to only be able to use volunteer judges when Bustos is not present.
The remaining 11 propositions head to the ballot in November.
Shown are two of the many stray animals brought to the Brownsville Animal Regulation and Care Center in July. (Courtesy: Brownsville Animal Regulation and Care Center/BARCC)
Shown is a stray dog of the many stray animals brought to the Brownsville Animal Regulation and Care Center in July. (Courtesy: Brownsville Animal Regulation and Care Center/BARCC)
There’s still time to take advantage of free or discounted pet adoptions at the Brownsville Animal Regulation and Care Center (BARCC).
Through the month of July, there is no cost to adopt a dog from the shelter, and cats can be adopted for $20 each. It’s being made possible by assistance from the BISSELL Pet Foundation’s national summer “Empty the Shelters” pet-adoption event.
According to BARCC, the event is aimed at finding more “loving homes for deserving pets.”
Arturo Rodriguez, the city’s public health director, said “adopting a pet not only saves a life but also enriches your own.”
“Each adoption creates a ripple effect, giving more animals the chance to find loving homes and reminding us all of the importance of compassion and responsibility,” he said.
Empty the Shelters is the largest funded adoption event in the United States, having helped more than 253,000 pets find homes in this country and Canada since 2016.
Antonio Caldwell, BARCC deputy director of Health, Wellness and Animal Services, said adoptions are crucial because they reduce the burden on overcrowded shelters while saving lives animals’ lives and getting them into homes where they’re cared for properly.
“Adopting a pet not only gives an animal a second chance at a happy life, but also enriches the lives of the adopters, fostering a bond that bring joy, companionship and emotional support,” he said.
Shown is a stray cat of the many stray animals brought to the Brownsville Animal Regulation and Care Center in July. (Courtesy: Brownsville Animal Regulation and Care Center/BARCC)
Cathy Bissell, founder of BISSELL Pet Foundation, said many shelters around the nation are struggling with a variety of challenges, including having to evacuate pets because of wildfires, tornadoes and even loss of air conditioning during extreme heat.
“Others are overcrowded and having to euthanize highly adoptable pets to make space — a tragic situation,” she said.
Empty the Shelters is an opportunity for people to “make a real difference in their community through adoption,” Bissell said.
“Every single adoption saves a life and creates space to save another,” she said. “Please adopt and give a pet a chance it might not otherwise have.”
For people who aren’t in a position to adopt, fostering pets is another way to save animals’ lives when shelters are full, she said.
“Deserving pets across the country are counting on all of us,” Bissell said.
BARCC is located at 416 FM 511 in Olmito. It’s open 1-6 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 1-5 p.m. Friday, and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturday. It is closed Sunday. Call (956) 544-7351 for more information.
Commentary: Texas jobs are dependent on smart prescription drug policymaking
Over the years, there has been no shortage of political bashing of the biopharmaceutical industry. At the national level, the Inflation Reduction Act will impose the first-ever federal price controls on certain drugs, with the current administration pushing for even more draconian measures. We even see it here in Texas, where the state legislature last year passed a measure to import price-controlled prescription drugs from Canada.
What’s important to remember is that none of these actions will actually make prescription medicines more affordable at the pharmacy counter — more on that a little later on. Instead, these legislative punches may win political points but they do even more significant damage when it comes to jobs and economic development in Texas.
The Lone Star State is increasingly one of the nation’s leading life sciences hubs with more than 6,000 biotechnology-related manufacturing and research companies setting up shop here. But that only scrapes the surface of the financial impact these companies have in the state. Every single one of these biotech firms has a network of vendors, companies that manufacture drug packaging, handle distribution, build factories and office buildings, maintain heating and air conditioning systems, provide essential raw materials, offer food and custodial services, and so much more.
These enterprises comprise a powerful economic and job-creating engine that is helping to make the Texas economy one of the most robust in the nation. That helps attract families from across the country, seeking financial opportunities and bright futures, to move here.
New data show that the vendors providing goods and services to biopharmaceutical research companies with operations in Texas are spending more than $2.5 billion per year and supporting nearly 310,000 jobs. In addition, these vendors for the biotech industry are generating $95 billion in economic output within the state’s borders.
As someone who has spent his career looking for ways to promote medical research, development and manufacturing, these new data are encouraging. And, yet, some politicians want to put unnecessary legislative and regulatory shackles on the industry and its vendor affiliates who are bolstering our economy and creating so many jobs in Texas — and across the country. It doesn’t make sense.
It’s especially confusing when the so-called solutions they are offering are already prompting some biopharmaceutical companies to curtail the research and development of new drugs. This will have a negative impact on jobs, and not bring cost relief to consumers.
Texas legislative efforts to import Canadian price controls into this country won’t benefit consumers because Canada’s health authorities have said repeatedly that they don’t have a large enough domestic pharmaceutical supply to fulfill demand in the United States. And ongoing actions to impose price controls on pharmaceuticals ignore the fact that manufacturers don’t determine the prices that we pay at the pharmacy. The supply chain middlemen, specifically pharmacy benefit managers, do that with harmful practices that drive up patient out-of-pocket costs and restrict access to more affordable drugs.
Two vital objectives — maintaining biotech-driven economic growth and achieving more affordable prescription drugs — should never be viewed as incompatible. With the right public policies, we can have both. Texans are benefiting from a vibrant economic environment in which life sciences companies and their vendors are creating tens of thousands of jobs. Looking at the future, we should be keeping our foot on the accelerator and not unnecessarily slamming on the brakes.
Tom Kowalski is the former president and CEO of the Texas Healthcare and Bioscience Institute in Austin.