According to a recent report from the Associated Press, Mexico’s homicide rate is less than it was 10 years ago. And it is about the same as Los Angeles and 1/3 less than Washington D.C. Mexico City’s rate was about 9 per 100,000 in 2008, while Washington, D.C. was more than 30 that year, according to the rate.
While drug-related violence continues in some Mexican cities, this report does indicate that business and tourism continues throughout the country. To read the full AP report, click here
The McAllen Economic Development Corporation closely works with city officials and clients in Reynosa, Tamaulipas – a border.
Victoria Live, Reynosa, Uncategorized homicide rate, Mexico
To help grow the the Advanced Manufacturing in the Rio Grande Valley, South Texas College has partnered with many of the local manufacturing companies to offer Spanish-English language courses. Each class is customized to the needs of the company. The training is offered through STC’s Institute for Advanced Manufacturing. Click here to learn more about IAM.
Local companies that have operations in McAllen and some in Reynosa already have utilized this program to increase the skills of their binational workforce. Companies such as ALPS Automotive, JVC, AM-MEX, Rio Grande Pak Foods, Corning Cable Systems, Coca-Cola and GE Engine Services already are participating in this training.
In a news release, HR director Maurice Rodriguez for Corning Cable Systems in McAllen said: “We have more than 4,300 employees at our Reynosa plant and an additional 50 U.S.-based employees. We are very appreciative of the offerings, given that 25 percent of our team is working hard to improve their Spanish language skills to help them with day-to-day communications. We have seen great results and have received positive feedback from the employees who have taken the courses at STC. Many of them have commented on how helpful the courses were to them, and now I’m actually receiving some e-mails from them written in Spanish.”
Victoria Education, Work Institute for Advanced Manufacturing, South Texas College
In order to celebrate the uniqueness and cultural advantages of having locations in McAllen and in Reynosa, Motorola is hosting its first Binational Flag Retirement Ceremony at 5 p.m., Monday, Feb. 1, 2010. The event will take place outside its McAllen Distribution Center located at the corner of Shary Road and Military Highway. McAllen Mayor Richard Cortez and Mexican Consul Erasmo Martinez will be joined by Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts from McAllen and Reynosa to formally retire the worn out flags from the United States, Texas and Mexico.
“We wanted to do something that highlighted Motorola’s commitment to both communities,” said Alex Avila, Director of Operations for Motorola in McAllen. “This is also an opportunity to show our employees a unique patriotic ceremony as well as honor the veterans who work at Motorola.”
This event also coincides with the 100th Anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America. Avila said McAllen Motorolans support many civic and community service organizations such as the Boy Scouts and thought this event would highlight the organization and its service to the binational area. The scouting program promotes values, character, citizenship, and personal fitness, Avila said.
Motorola is one of almost 300 companies located in the McAlleb/Reynosa binational metro area.
Please contact Victoria Hirschberg of the McAllen Economic Development Corporation at 956.682.2875 or victoria@medc.org if you have any questions.
The public is welcome to attend.
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Victoria MEDC Events, Work Motorola
To help efficiently more traffic from the south to north, the City of McAllen officially broke ground on the Bicentennial Blvd extension.
This extension will add another north-south thoroughfare to the growing city of McAllen.
Please read the full article by clicking here.
Victoria Live Bicentennial, City of McAllen
Keith Patridge, President/CEO of the McAllen Economic Development Corporation urges all businesses to engage in the 2010 Census.
In a recent interview with the Rio Grande Guardian, Patridge said, “The census will impact the amount of tax revenues that comes into the community. If we do not count all the people in our area, we are just cheating ourselves and our opportunity for growth and revenue from the federal government.”
The Census Bureau is looking to hire about 2,500 temporary workers in Hidalgo County to conduct and promote the count. Click here for more information on census jobs.
Click here to read the full story.
Victoria Live, Work 2010 Census, Hidalgo County, Keith Patridge
In preparation for the upcoming 2010 Census, the bureau needs to hire 2,500 people in Hidalgo County for various jobs. The temporary jobs are starting soon and go through April.
April 1 is Census Day!
For more information about the Census committee in McAllen, click here.
For employment opportunities, click here.
Victoria Live, Work jobs, Learn, Work
High-level officials from Mexico and the United States gathered near the Anzalduas International Bridge on Jan. 11, 2010 to officially inaugurate the newest crossing between the two countries in 10 years. Mexico’s President Felipe Calderon, joined by the Mayor of Reynosa and Governor of Tamaulipas, discussed how this trade will help grow the economy in Mexico and allow free trade to flourish. U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk came down for the ceremony.
With Rep. Kirk in the area, local officials from McAllen and the surrounding cities used the time to push for commercial traffic on Anzalduas. Currently, the presidential permit does not permit truck traffic until 2015 or traffic reaches 15,000 trucks per day on the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge. However, managers are local manufacturing plants in McAllen/Reynosa have indicated that commercial on Anzalduas International Bridge would greatly reduce costs, allow them to operate more efficiently. Kirk promised to take this message to President Barack Obama and see what is possible. Click here to read the story from The Monitor and in in the Rio Grande Guardian.
Here are some links to media coverage from Monday’s event about the Anzalduas International Bridge inauguration:
San Antonio Express News
The Monitor
Rio Grande Guardian
Associated Press
KRGV
ValleyCentral.com
Victoria Anzalduas Bridge, MEDC Events, Reynosa Anzalduas International Bridge, Felipe Calderon, Live, Ron Kirk
Keith Patridge, President/CEO of the McAllen Economic Development Corporation, recently said that despite the decline in 2009, many of the manufacturing plants in McAllen and Reynosa have restarted production, in an interview with Valley Freedom Communications.
Click here to read to full story.
Victoria Reynosa, Work manufacturing, McAllen, production, Reynosa, Tamaulipas
Texas Governor Rick Perry, along with other state officials, announced a $3.4 million state Emerging Technology Grant to the the University of Texas-Pan American. This grant will go toward the recruitment of top researchers and the establishment of a world-class advanced manufacturing center at the university. This initiative is aligned with UTPA’s Rapid Response Manufacturing Center and the North American Advanced Manufacturing Research and Education Initiative (NAAMREI).
The article in The Monitor said “the governor said the investment in UTPA is intended to help accelerate the university’s efforts in developing rapid response manufacturing and help create high-tech jobs via private investment and entrepreneurship, which he called ‘the building blocks of our economy.’”
Click here to read the complete article.
Victoria Education, Work Advanced Manufacturing, Rapid Response, UTPA
A recent report from the Texas Workforce Commission indicates that the McAllen MSA has 9,300 jobs, followed by the Dallas-Plano-Irving area
with 7,200 jobs. The McAllen-Edinburg-Mission MSA posted the highest percentage of over-the-month growth with 1.0 percent.
Overall, the annual growth rate for total nonagricultural employment decreased throughout Texas; however, the McAllen MSA maintained a positive and the highest annual growth rate of 1.2 percent. Recently, numerous outlets have featured the McAllen MSA has one of the top metros for growth in employment and small business opportunities. See all of the recent rankings here.
View the full Texas Workforce Commission Report by clicking here.
Victoria McAllen News Rankings, Work growth rate, jobs, Texas Workforce Commission