Police suspect foul play in death of local man




A 56-year-old man from Raymondville died early Monday morning from injuries he sustained to the back of his head. Police are not calling it a homicide at this point and are waiting for the result of an autopsy. Daniel Zallar, who lived along the 800 block of West Durham Street, was found on an abandoned lot on Sunset Street at […]

D.A. shoots down judge’s plan to tax eightliner casinos




Willacy County John F. Gonzales Jr. hopes to tax the eightliner casinos to make up for the $1 million shortfall the county is facing, but the district attorney said that is illegal and unenforceable.” Gonzales is planning to go after the lucrative coinoperated casinos, or eightliners, as a prime target and revenue maker for the county’s economic malaise. “ I […]

MTC gearing up for big day — Sept. 13th when Bureau of Prisons moves in




No inmates – whether undocumented aliens or minimum-security inmates – are inside the Raymondville compound run by the Management & Training Corp., or MTC In fact, the last batch of detainees were transported to other detention centers such as at the Immigration & Customs Enforcement facility in Bayview. The complex, known as the Willacy County Processing Center, was built to […]

County has nearly 6,800 food stamp families




Josefina Zamarron, not a real name, approaches the line at a local grocery story, unloads the food and other products and the cashier starts ringing item after item. A couple of minutes later, she pays close to $290 using a Lone Star card and about $15 in cash. The purchases she made include basic staples such as milk, eggs, cheese, […]

15th Birthday



Sales tax ‘holiday’ due Aug. 19-21

Weekend event means more bang for those back-to-school bucks

Texas Comptroller Susan Combs says Texas Families have an opportunity to save money when they shop during the state’s annual “Sales Tax Holiday” Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 19-21. “On that weekend, shoppers will pay no state of local sales tax on many school supplies, backpacks and most children’s and adults’ clothing and shoes,” Combs said. “The tax break helps […]

Harlingen cost of living ranks lowest in U.S.



HARLINGEN – Harlingen, Texas offers the lowest cost of living in the United States, according to the ACCRA Cost of Living Index for the second quarter of 2011. The Cost of Living Index is prepared by the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER). The second quarter 2011 ACCRA Cost of Living Index ranks Harlingen almost 20 percent below the […]

Behind the Badge

Thou shall not throw stones

Has anyone ever took a verbal shot at you personally or your family? Some people feel they have the right to talk about anyone and say whatever they please. However, when it comes around to being on the receiving end of those shots, they don’t feel it’s as much fun as thowing them. Some people get off, so to speak, […]

Gas prices expected to fall in coming weeks



NEW YORK (AP) – This week’s scary stock market plunge has a silver lining: Gasoline is about to get cheaper. That’s because the same fears that forced a sell-off on Wall Street also brought down the price of oil. Gas prices usually fall in late summer as families take fewer road trips. But the recent drop in oil should lower […]

Wild horses to help U.S. Border Patrol on the Mexican border



CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) – About six wild horses from Nevada are headed to the Mexican and Canadian borders to help U.S. Border Patrol agents keep a watch on remote areas. KOLO-TV of Reno and the Nevada Appeal of Carson City report that border patrol agents last week for the first time acquired mustangs that were trained by state prison […]