Explore McAllen Invites You to Share 4th of July

Texas Business Technology Expo - June 30, 2011 - Mercedes, Texas

Friends

Please join us Thursday, June 30, 2011 at the Frances Cooper Event
Center, located within the Rio Grande Valley Livestock Show Grounds.

Doors open at 10:00am.

Speakers:

1 - IBM - Director of the Cloud Platform Project Office - Paula H. Richards
2 - AT&T- External Affairs - Sergio Contreras
3 - Stoneware Inc. - Co-Founder - Ken Quinton
4 - Attendee Management - President - Jeff Rasco
5 - The Social Being - President - Veronica Morales

30 Exhibitors

www.tbtexpo.com

Thank you!

Ernie Arredondo

Cuellar: Update on economic improvement, more jobs added

Dear Friends and Neighbors in the 28th District,

I wanted to share our country's economic situation, which continues to
improve as more optimistic data persists in every corner of the
country. I hope you will find this information useful.

According to the Labor Department, Texas was one of 25 states to have
lower unemployment rates than the national average in May. Over the
year, Texas added over 200,000 jobs – the largest nationwide. There is
also promising news for areas in the district as hiring continues.
Unemployment fell in more than 90 percent of the nation's largest
cities in April, including Laredo, McAllen, Edinburg and Mission.

Various business and service sectors also experience a boost in job
creation. Health care employment continued to grow in May, adding
17,000 jobs and business services sectors also experience job gains by
adding more than 44,000 employees to the workforce, according to the
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In considering our economic improvement since recovery began, Texas
leads the nation in percentage of jobs created nationwide – 37% of all
American jobs were created in Texas, according to the Federal Reserve
Bank of Dallas study.

Earlier this month, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas reported that
our regional district's economy, which includes all of Texas, expanded
at an accelerated rate over the prior six weeks, particularly in the
energy sector. Also, consumer credit nationwide increased by $6.25
billion, which marks the 7th consecutive monthly increase.

Nationally, manufacturing grew in most parts of the country and
consumer spending was steady or modestly higher than in previous
months as the job market continued to gradually improve, according to
a report released by the Federal Reserve on June 8. Exports also rose
to $175.6 billion, the most on record. Goods and services exported
increased since March according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis,
thereby shrinking the trade deficit. Further, the U.S. continues to be
a home for foreign investment – from 2009 to 2010, direct foreign
investment jumped 49%. National openness to investors from Mexico and
internationally plays a vital role for the 5.7 million worker it
supports and our growing business environment.

Our economic conditions affect families and the nation every day, so I
will continue to ensure that Americans stay employed and families fair
steadily as our nation moves to economic prosperity.

As always, it is my honor to represent you in Congress. If I can be of
assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact our offices
throughout the 28th District of Texas or in Washington, D.C.

Sincerely,

Congressman Henry Cuellar

Follow Congressman Henry Cuellar on Facebook:
http://cuellar.house.gov/Components/Redirect/r.aspx?ID=149838-1293634

Follow Congressman Henry Cuellar on Twitter:
http://cuellar.house.gov/Components/Redirect/r.aspx?ID=149839-1293634

Congressman Henry Cuellar is a member of the U.S. House Homeland
Security and Agriculture Committees in the 112th Congress.
Accessibility to constituents, education, health care, economic
development, and national security are his priorities. Congressman
Cuellar is also a Senior Whip and member of the Blue Dog Coalition.

Smashburger to Introduce a Nutter Butter Shake for July

Image via WikipediaSmashburger will be introducing a Nutter Butter shake for the month of July. For those of you joining the City of McAllen's 4th of July Celebrations, this just might be the perfect compliment to a hot summer evening with the family. The shakes will combine Häagen-­Dazs ice cream with Nabisco's Nutter Butter Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies.

McAllen is currently the only city in the Rio Grande Valley to have a Smashburger, so it's only natural to tie the two together for your July 4th experience. Who knows, maybe it will be the start of a family tradition.

The shakes are not available yet; but just imagining the peanut butter flavor with creamy ice cream makes my brain salivate. We'll be counting down the days.

Of course, if you feel inclined to have a Smashburger while you are there, don't hold back. As you know, Smashburger uses 1/3 to 1/2 pound of fresh, never frozen beef that gets smashed on the grill and seared to seal in the flavor. To make things even better, they offer some very distinct toppings and sides for your burger. If you've been there before, you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't, find out NOW.

Related articles

• If you want to eat a juicy burger just smash it (thestar.com)

Habitat for Humanity ReStore Purse Drive

Habitat for Humanity ReStore is looking for lightly used purses. You can drop yours off at 412 W Ash Ave or, call 956-686-7455 to have your purses picked up.

Mcallen gets HSPA+ from T-Mobile

T-Mobile boosts bunch of cities to faster HSPA+ | Android Central

Catch RGV Life on Google Maps

RGV Life is posting events on the calendar on Google Maps.

If you own an Android phone, you can click on the Layers menu, the middle button on the top right of the map. You can select the Buzz layer to activate it. You'll then see conversation bubbles appear on the map. You can tap on those bubbles to read public conversations and view public photos posted by other users, including RGV Life. At the bottom right of Google Maps, you'll see the multi-colored Buzz button that you can use to create your own posts.

If you do not have an Android phone, you can still use a browser to look around your area using the Nearby tab in your phone's browser. Visit the mobile version of Buzz and log in using your Google account.

We are experimenting with Google Buzz as a way to announce local events and distribute blog posts visually. We think that as more people buy smartphones, location-based messaging will become more popular. Our hope is to provide something to read at as many establishments as possible.

Dog Days of Summer - Day at the Park

Saturday, July 9 · 6:00pm - 9:00pm
McAllen Dog Park, Tamarack & 5th Street

Hosted by the RGV Low Cost Spay/Neuter Clinic and the City of McAllen Parks and Recreation Department!! There will be doggie contests (registration required), pet related vendors, AND adoptable pets availabe from local rescue organizations and the Palm Valley Animal Center. Come out and see what's it all about! Don't miss the "Dunk the Doc" booth!! Contact the Clinic for more information at 956-687-7728 or email RGVclinic_manager@yahoo.com

STC Pecan Campus Presents: Ron English "The Other Side Of Madison Avenue"

Visual Arts & Music and Library Art Gallery Presents…
Art Exhibition by Ron English
"The Other Side of Madison Avenue"
March 28 - April 15, 2011

Leadership Mid-Valley Graduates Class VI

Contact: Laura Espinoza or Martha Noell at

956-968-2102

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Leadership Mid-Valley Graduates Class VI

WESLACO – Leadership Mid-Valley held a graduation ceremony for Class VI on Friday, May 27 at the Business Visitors Center.

Leadership Mid Valley, sponsored by the Weslaco Chamber of Commerce, is a nine-month program which seeks to identify and motivate emerging leaders and develop their potential for community leadership by exposing them to the realities, opportunities and problems of the community.  Monthly field trips were taken by the students which allowed them to see firsthand how Mid-Valley businesses, agencies and government impact the community.  Agriculture, healthcare, and local media are among the areas visited by the LMV class.  This year's class was able to visit the state capitol as part of their government lesson where they heard from several speakers from our state government and had the opportunity to visit the Texas congressional session.  The program began in October and ended in May.

The class, along with the steering committee, selected Rick Guerra as the recipient of the 2011 Torch Award for his exceptional leadership in the class project.  The Class VI project involved landscaping and electrical work for the Aurora House, a home for the terminally ill in Weslaco.  Rick Guerra stepped into the leadership role, and really kept up with the project, making sure every detail was taken care of.  He also invested a lot of extra time which proved his commitment and drive.  Guerra was presented with the award at the ceremony, where Martin Stenhouse was selected by his peers to deliver the class speech.

Leadership Mid Valley will be accepting applications for the 2011 - 2012 year in August.  For more information, call the Weslaco Area Chamber of Commerce at 968-2102.

Pictured: Leadership Mid Valley Class VI Graduates (L-R) : Ashley Dickerson, Nadia Angelica Ochoa, Rick Guerra, Ruby Torres, Amanda Silva, Daniel Jason Valadez, Martin Stenhouse, Tricia Givilancz-Cisneros, Alfredo Aguilera, Gilbert Lopez.  Not pictured: Alicia Aguilar and Daniel Ramirez.

Laura Espinoza, Marketing Director

Weslaco Area Chamber of Commerce
956.968.2102 office

956.968.6451 fax

www.weslaco.com

Pharr renovates its Convention Center

South Texas College - Explore Your Future

If Monterrey Falls, Mexico Falls

FEMA: Hurricane Season 2011