Starbase could shut down Boca Chica Beach more frequently under Texas legislation
The Texas Senate agreed Friday to make it easier for the new city, home to Elon Musk’s SpaceX, to shutter the beach during rocket launches. Full Story
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Berenice Garcia is a regional reporter covering the Rio Grande Valley. She works at the Tribune as a corps members with Report for America. She previously covered local government, crime, healthcare and general assignments for The Monitor in McAllen where she was born. Though she's spent the majority of her life in the Valley, she traveled east to attend New York University where she studied journalism and politics. While there, she interned at the New York Daily News, the Daily Beast and NBC News. When she’s not working, she enjoys fighting for her life at the gym. Berenice is based in McAllen.
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![A boy builds a sandcastle on the beach as SpaceX's Starship spacecraft atop its powerful Super Heavy rocket is prepared for a third launch from the company's Boca Chica launchpad on an uncrewed test flight, at Starbase, Texas, on March 13, 2024.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Cheney Orr -
It’s “Texas Time”: Legislature OKs permanent daylight saving time, but Congress must also act
Federal action would be needed to make the change legal. Lawmakers at both the state and federal levels have debated the question for decades. Full Story
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![Sunrise over the historic Alamo in San Antonio.]()
Credit: Robin Jerstad for The Texas Tribune -
Texas braces for an imminent screwworm infestation, a threat to the state’s cattle industry
U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz hope to fund an operation to kill the parasitic fly before too much damage is done. Full Story
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![Cattle are brought across the U.S.-Mexico border at the livestock import/export facility in Santa Teresa, New Mexico on January 22, 2021.]()
Credit: Justin Hamel for The Texas Tribune -
SpaceX wins federal approval to launch more rockets in South Texas
The federal approval comes after vote from residents — mostly SpaceX employees — to form a new city at the Rio Grande Valley beach. Full Story
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![SpaceX's Starship lifts off from the company's Boca Chica launchpad on an uncrewed test flight before exploding, near Brownsville on April 20, 2023.]()
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As the Rio Grande runs dry, South Texas leaders look to new water supplies to sustain growth
Leaders hope to treat groundwater and capture more rain as the water from one of the nation’s most iconic rivers becomes less reliable. Full Story
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![An aerial view of the Tres Lagos neighborhood development in McAllen on May 12, 2025. Thousands of homes span the development which includes restaurants and a food truck park.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribune -
SpaceX workers in South Texas vote yes to create City of Starbase
Critics of Elon Musk and SpaceX say that a new city will give more power to a company they believe is harming the environment. Full Story
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![SpaceX Starbase, situated off of State Highway 4, is framed in a windshield on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024, in Brownsville, Texas.]()
Credit: Angela Piazza/USA TODAY NETWORK via REUTERS -
Everything we know about the 3 people who want to run Starbase, Texas’ next city
All three — running unopposed — have longstanding connections with SpaceX, Elon Musk’s company headquartered in South Texas. Full Story
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![People take photos in front of a Starbase sign at SpaceX Starbase near Brownsville, Texas, on April 16, 2023.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Go Nakamura -
U.S., Mexico agree to new deal that sends water to South Texas
The latest development in a years-long push by South Texas farmers and officials to get Mexico to fulfill a 1944 treaty would still fall short of what is owed. Full Story
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![The Lake Falcon Dam International Crossing, seen from Starr County, on May 15, 2024.]()
Credit: Carlos Kosienski/Sipa USA via REUTERS -
Starbase, the SpaceX site, is likely Texas’ next city. What happens next?
City leaders, who will be elected in May, will have just a short window to decide what services to provide, like police or fire, and how to tax residents. Full Story
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![A row of homes located on SpaceX owned property near Starbase on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, in Brownsville, Texas.]()
Credit: Angela Piazza/USA TODAY NETWORK via REUTERS -
“A global loss”: Millions of Texans mourn the death of Pope Francis
Some churchgoers in the Rio Grande Valley remembered the leader of the Catholic Church as a forward-thinking figure who cared for everyone. Full Story
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![Jeanie Piña, 67, pays her respects in front of the image of Pope Francis at the Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle in San Juan, Texas on Monday April 21, 2025.
Gabriel V. Cárdenas for The Texas Tribune]()
Credit: Gabriel V. Cárdenas for The Texas Tribune