Life & Arts
- Water fees for RV parks still debated
- By ALLEN ESSEX/The Brownsville Herald
- SAN BENITO — Members of the San Benito Utility Board will recommend that the city modify a controversial $10 monthly base water service fee imposed on RV parks for each lot, board members said Thursday.
But board chairman Pete Claudio declined... Full story
- Down memory lane in old Brownsville, Part 2
- By Lino Garcia Jr./Special to The Herald
- The 1940s and ’50s in Old Brownsville witnessed a community life of still unforgettable people and establishments.
Toward the north was the Vermillion Restaurant, established in 1934 by Mr. Vermillion. In his diner, unruly behavior was... Full story
- Donald Trump takes a haircut in sale of mansion
- By Lauren Beale, Los Angeles Times
- Master brander Donald Trump has sold his custom estate in Rancho Palos Verdes for $7.15 million.
Located at Trump National Golf Course, which he owns and operates, the 11,000-square-foot Mediterranean mansion features a game room with a bar that is ... Full story
- Viva Las Vegas chapel offers Halloween weddings
- By Ashley Powers, Los Angeles Times
- LAS VEGAS — The groom wore a blood-red tie, the bride a strapless blood-red gown.
The officiant emerged from a coffin.
The vampires skulked in the back of the chapel.
The guests were dumbfounded.
When Jacqueline Seidel and her boyfriend of ... Full story
- Macy's to open at midnight Thanksgiving Day
- ANNE D'INNOCENZIO, AP Retail Writer
- NEW YORK (AP) — Macy's Inc. says it will open all of its namesake stores at midnight following Thanksgiving for the first time, becoming the latest retailer to extend hours on the traditional kickoff to the holiday season.
The opening is fou... Full story
- Halloween doesn't have to be gorge-fest to be fun
- LINDSEY TANNER, AP Medical Writer
- CHICAGO (AP) — Offer apples to trick-or-treaters and risk having your house get egged — maybe even by your own kids.
But dentists and dietitians say you can still make Halloween reasonably healthy for little devils and witches without re... Full story
- Stephanie Izard turns "Top Chef" into big break
- MICHELE KAYAL, For The Associated Press
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In the beginning there was Scylla, a cozy, quiet neighborhood restaurant where Stephanie Izard turned out reliable Mediterranean seafood in a living room atmosphere. Her dad made the hostess stand. Her then-boyfriend's mom made the drapes. Sh... Full story
- ‘Harry Potter’ finale, part 1, leads holiday films
- By DAVID GERMAIN
- LOS ANGELES — Of all the old acquaintances coming to movie screens for the holidays — Rooster Cogburn, Gulliver, Yogi Bear, the Focker family, the Narnia crew — one kid with glasses stands above them all.
"Harry Potter and the Deat... Full story
- 8-year-old painting prodigy is new art world star
- By JILL LAWLESS
- HOLT, England — He’s Britain’s most talked-about young artist. His paintings fetch hefty sums and there’s a long waiting list for his eagerly anticipated new works.
It has all happened so quickly — he’s still gett... Full story
- Agave looks sharp in the garden
- By CINDY MCNATT, Freedom News Services
- Oh sure, there is the thorny century plant in so many gardens, Agave americana, misnamed because it actually blooms in about 10 years.
Softer Agave attenuata is another easy and popular pick. You just pop a piece off in a friend’s garden and p... Full story
- Cabo San Lucas: Baja California offers a variety of fine dining with local restaurants
- By TRAVIS WHITEHEAD, The Brownsville Herald
- CABO SAN LUCAS — A stream of liquid blue flame lit the night as the cook poured burning Tequila and Kahlua into glasses for Mexican coffee.
We had just enjoyed meals of Baja shrimp, fillet mignon, and lobster tail beneath the Saturday night st... Full story
- Cabo San Lucas: Baja California draws in adventurous souls with plenty of outdoor activities
- By TRAVIS WHITEHEAD, The Brownsville Herald
- CABO SAN LUCAS — Frigate birds circled the rocks of Land’s End at the southern tip of Baja Calfornia, the smell of wet stone and sea spray filling the air as the birds’ forked wings sailed black against a spotless sky.
Sea lions lo... Full story
- Wind farm off South Padre Island is a great idea
- THE MONITOR
- As Bob Dylan would say, "The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind."
Baryonyx Corp., of Houston, wants to put several 500-foot tall turbines 10 miles off of the South Padre Island shore, as was first reported in the July 19 editions of Val... Full story
- BISD employees perform as Grupo Rondalla Voces y Guitarras
- By TRAVIS WHITEHEAD, The Brownsville Herald
- Their voices resonate with a musical eloquence that quickly captivates the listener.
Grupo Rondalla Voces y Guitarras rendition of "Piel Canela," with its upbeat and playful guitar licks skipping joyfully into a chorus of rich vocals, introduces the... Full story
- Valley man turns love for guitar into a successful business
- By Travis Whitehead, The Brownsville Herald
- MCALLEN - When Clifford Muir's parents gave him a guitar as a child, they initiated a lifelong love affair with the instrument that continued through a career in banking and finally evolved into a successful business.
The 56-year-old owner of Muir G... Full story
- Mexican artisan reveals the skill of his life
- By Travis Whitehead, The Brownsville Herald
- IHUATZIO, MEXICO - Pale green reeds dove beneath rays of yellow fiber as Santiago Marcelino Morales wove them into a basket. The courses of chuspata (a type of reed), harvested from nearby Lake Patzcuaro, zigzagged in eager arpeggios toward the top o... Full story
- Pan American Roundtable 1 models costumes
- By Laura Tillman, The Brownsville Herald
- Even before she joined Brownsville's Pan American Roundtable I in 1964, Carmen Lita Pashos was enchanted by Native American costumes.
"I've always been fascinated by the handiwork. Then, when you start researching the history of people who stick to ... Full story
- Set in Stone: Artist Don Breeden looks to city’s religious icons for inspiration
- By Travis Whitehead, The Brownsville Herald
- BROWNSVILLE - The steeple, surrounded by a shroud of blue, rises pristinely into the white sky, a three-pronged lamp standing near the bottom.
A few feet away, another watercolor painting by Don Breeden titled "With a Broken Wing" depicts a young st... Full story
- Area musician mixes cumbia and reggaeton
- By Travis Whitehead, The Brownsville Herald
- The carnivalesque percussion rolled into the air as hot guitar roared through the festival of electrifying music, soon joined by feverish horn that endowed the piece with a passionate tropical embrace.
"Cumbiaton," written and recorded by Pedro Cast... Full story
- Alzheimer's patients try art therapy
- By Sara Perkins, The Monitor
- MISSION - Tina Menchaca wasn't sure what to expect from the residents of The Bridges.
The owner of Made By U in McAllen, Menchaca has hosted numerous parties for rowdy elementary-schoolers since she bought the paint-your-own pottery store last month... Full story
- All About the Family!
- Tu Salud ¡Si Cuenta! Welcomes Beverly Zavaleta, MD
The desire to be closer to family is what influenced Dr. Beverly Zavaleta, her husband and their two children to relocate to Brownsville from San Antonio. She and her husband, a Brownsvi... Full story
- Skaters, bikers and bladers unite for new skate park
- By Zack Quaintance, The Monitor
- Skate boarders don't like rollerbladers.
Rollerbladers put wax on obstacles so their skates will slide faster and smoother. That wax makes skateboarders slip. And the rollerbladers don't like most skateboarders. Their wooden boards, not attached to ... Full story
- Rollerblading: The forgotten extreme sport
- By Zack Quaintance, The Monitor
- Ray Soto has built a skate park in his McAllen backyard.
He covered the ground with ply wood so he could roll around. He nailed boards together to make ramps so he could launch into the air, and he fastened piping to boxes so he could grind across t... Full story
- McAllen school board names lone finalist for superintendent
- By Jennifer L. Berghom, The Monitor
- McALLEN - After months of grilling numerous candidates and deliberating among each other, the McAllen school board has named James J. Ponce its lone finalist for superintendent.
Ponce currently serves as deputy chief of staff for the Dallas school d... Full story
- Winter Texans proud of bougainvillea
- By Travis Whitehead, The Brownsville Herald
- MERCEDES - Barbara Hager and her husband Gale planted six bougainvillea only two years go, and those six small bushes have now covered their shed with bright showers of magenta blooms glistening in the sun.
"We have gotten a lot of compliments on th... Full story
- Shhhhh! Premature babies exposed to the classics at Mission hospital
- By Sara Perkins, The Monitor
- MISSION - Eddie Longoria's first 13 days of life - difficult days for the premature infant - were set to a soft, soothing soundtrack of jazz and classical music.
Above his warming table/crib at Mission Regional Medical Center's neo-natal intensive c... Full story
- Art Show judge teaches abstract painting workshop
- By Travis Whitehead, The Brownsville Herald
- Marilyn Brown dabbed her brush into the yellow acrylic paint and then swabbed the glowing pigment onto a nebulous field of orange.
Brown and other painters were participating in Emilio Abugarade's workshop "Abstract Expressions" at the Brownsville M... Full story
- Creative Imagery: Brownsville museum displays variety of work
- By Travis Whitehead, The Brownsville Herald
- Jocelyn plays with her building blocks, the energy of innocence powering the metallic heart where she sits within the painting of her father.
The man in the painting "The Wellspring" at the Brownsville Museum of Fine Art looks sternly from the work,... Full story
- Paws & Effect: A variety of options is available for pet lovers with allergies
- By Travis Whitehead, The Brownsville Herald
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BROWNSVILLE - Animal lovers of the world, take heart: Your allergies don't have to exile your pets.
Tammy Vergel de Dios, a trained nurse and owner of the Dr. Dolittle's Rescue Ranch in Alamo, says people often find themselves compelled to give aw... Full story
- Grupo Fantasma brings Latin sound to Brownsville
- By Travis Whitehead, The Brownsville Herald
- The strobe lights bounced off the slide trombones as they released fiery bursts of sound into the room, accented by lusty exuberant percussion dancing through the music of Grupo Fantasma.
The music seductively beckoned the small group of admirers to... Full story