The financial crisis that has left Wall Street on the brink of the worst economic disaster since the Great Depression has trickled down to the Valley's Main Streets, forcing all of us to deal with a new set of personal fiscal realities. Over the next...
ALAMO - Sixteen years after leaving the migrant fields of Montana and Wisconsin behind, Juan Esparza must once again look north for work. The 40-year-old father built a successful career painting residential and commercial buildings over nearly two decades,...
Fifth Day of the 15 day seriesWhen Albert Sosa drove his first truck across the United States in 1975, he knew he had found his calling."It was exciting," he said. "Gas was cheap, the money was good and trucking was the backbone of America."Thirty years...
Fourth Day of the 15 day seriesGraciela and Jose Gutierrez baptized their children in Urbana, Ohio. They've worked the fields there for 20 years. And over time they've created a bond with the Ohio community.This year, though, as the economy...
Vanessa Samano is finding out what it's like to raise three children on a single salary in a worsening national economy.Not easy."When I started living on my own with my children, I discovered you cannot survive on a teacher's salary alone," said Samano,...
The signs certainly existed: skyrocketing gas prices, overextended banks faltering on exotic loans, unemployment inching steadily upward.Still, few would have predicted the spectacular collapse of such Wall Street heavies as A.I.G., Lehman Brothers and...
As a survival experiment, ethnobotanist Benito Treviño wanted to see if he could live off the land.Growing up near Rio Grande City, he and his family often relied on local plants for survival during rough times."I tried to see how long I could...
Game Warden Will Plumas expected to see extensive damage from Hurricane Ike, but admits he was stunned by how bad things were."It was more than what I expected," he said. "There were places that looked like they had been bulldozed. It's funny; there would...
The Rio Grande Valley's ocelot population could be getting some new blood.An idea is being floated to bring ocelots from Tamaulipas, Mexico, to diversify a shallow gene pool.Cameron County ocelots are related to each other because their population is...
Years ago, Harlingen physician Rick Bassett sold his property on South Padre Island and created the home of his dreams in Treasure Hills.With a cracked foundation in the two houses he purchased on a cul-de-sac, Bassett decided to combine the two lots...
The financial crisis that has left Wall Street on the brink of the worst economic disaster since the Great Depression has trickled down to the Valley's Main Streets, forcing all of us to deal with a new set of personal fiscal realities. Over the next...