Star Special Reports

Future of Gangs in Harlingen

Reaching youths in changing times

By COREY RYAN/Valley Morning Star

Ann McLelland fought tears when she spoke about attending the high school-equivalent graduation ceremony last summer for 15 of her Harlingen Secondary Alternative Center students.Principal for 11 years of this school, which regularly works with... Full story

Life as a Gang Member

A path to violence for Harlingen youths

By COREY RYAN/Valley Morning Star

The 12-year-old took a beating in order to be friends with what would become his first crew.Six teenagers, who were four to six years older than him, took turns bashing him with their fists, each getting one minute.One guy put a soap bar in a tube... Full story

Police Combat Gangs

Taking back the streets

By COREY RYAN/Valley Morning Star

The gunshot rang out like the first crack of thunder in a building thunderstorm.It was a Friday night in October, no different than any other high school football Friday night in the Rio Grande Valley.Police were responding to an earlier gunshot... Full story

Rise of Gang Violence

Birth of the Gang Unit

By COREY RYAN

EDITOR'S NOTE:In June 2008, Officer Carlos Diaz became the first Harlingen police officer shot in the line of duty in this century. The ambush by a local street gang leader - which Diaz miraculously survived - forced the city of Harlingen to... Full story

OCELOT HAVEN

Rancher sets aside 1,300 acres for endangered cats

By CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN/The Associated Press

RAYMONDVILLE — Few things would venture into the dense thorny scrub favored by the endangered ocelot. But with little of south Texas considered suitable habitat for the remaining 50 or fewer rare cats, the ocelots remain vulnerable.The Nature... Full story

Memorable Decade

Valley Morning Star ranks the top events over the past 10 years

Valley Morning Star

1-Hurricane Dolly stormed ashore July 23, 2008, as a Category 1, drenching the Valley with as much as 20 inches of rain, flooding whole neighborhoods across Cameron County. Winds gusting as high as 107 mph flattened billboards and all but blew away... Full story

GANGS ON THE WEB

Thug-themed videos show everything from gang signs to writing about drugs

By COREY RYAN/Valley Morning Star

The image of a young man with a gray baseball cap, large diamond earrings and big black sunglasses appeared on the screen inside a Harlingen police station briefing room last month.Officers of the Gang Eradication Unit listened to the man,... Full story

THE ENFORCERS

There’s no such thing as a typical day at the office

By STEVE SINCLAIR/Valley Morning Star

A hunter spots a buck standing in a pasture along a road in rural Cameron County.It’s not deer season, but even if it was, shooting deer from a vehicle is against the law in Texas. But the buck is just too tempting to pass up.The hunter... Full story

SOLAR-POWERED

TSTC goes GREEN with new energy panels

By DAISY MARTINEZ/Valley Morning Star

HARLINGEN — A flip of the switch and Texas State Technical College made history Friday with its first solar energy panels.The solar panels were activated after a ceremony attended by state representatives and city leaders who commended TSTC... Full story

WHEN EVERY MINUTE COUNTS

Help was on the way, but things started to go wrong

By COREY RYAN and FERNANDO DEL VALLE/Valley Morning Star

Angela Montiel had just finished lunch at El Gallito Mexican Restaurant when she found a man lying on the ground near her car.She thought he was checking under the car, until she noticed his broken glasses.Certified in cardiopulmonary resuscitation,... Full story

Future of Gangs in Harlingen

Reaching youths in changing times

By COREY RYAN/Valley Morning Star

Ann McLelland fought tears when she spoke about attending the high school-equivalent graduation ceremony last summer for 15 of her Harlingen Secondary Alternative Center students.Principal for 11 years of this school, which regularly works with... Full story

'Star Special Reports' Archives