The Monitor

Amid a shift on 17th Street, Heart of the City flat-lines

Heart of the City's downtown McAllen offices on 17th Street are seen closed Wednesday, May 23, 2012.

McALLEN — The nonprofit charged with revitalizing McAllen’s sleepy downtown could use a defibrillator. With locked doors and a disconnected phone, Heart of the City Improvement Corp.’s empty 17th Street office now epitomizes the...... Full story

Avoiding marriage's No. 1 pitfall: money troubles

Bulgarian model Rumyana Marinova, Miss Universe-2004, displays a wedding dress decorated with numerous original diamonds at the Wedding Party show in Moscow, Friday, Feb. 16, 2007. According to the show's organizers the dress is the most expensive gown in Europe costing a million Euros. (AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel)

LOS ANGELES — Newlyweds and couples moving toward marriage, take note. Love, as it turns out, is not all you need. Not if your goal is to avoid the No. 1 reason marriages end in divorce: Money problems. Everyone knows, or should know, this....... Full story

Overzealous license rules can deter entrepreneurs

In this April 15, 2011, file photo, Jestina Clayton braids the hair of her daughter, Esther Clayton, 5, at her home in Centerville, Utah. Clayton and the Institute for Justice have filed a federal lawsuit seeking changes to Utah's hair braiding regulations. Clayton wanted to start a hair braiding business in her home near Salt Lake City. She checked with the state to be sure that she didn't need a license, and was told several times she didn't, that braiding wasn't one of the services covered by a license in cosmetology. So she went ahead and in 2009, placed an ad online about her business. She got an e-mail threatening to report her to the state for working without a license if she didn't remove the ad. It turned out that the law had changed, and she could not do braiding without a license. Clayton explored training as a cosmetologist, and found that no school taught braiding. So she would need 2,000 hours of training in other skills she didn't need, simply to have a legal braiding business.

NEW YORK — Many people dream of opening their own business. But some would-be entrepreneurs are finding that state licensing requirements are so arduous that it would take years and thousands of dollars before they ever would be able to hang...... Full story

Hurdles to homeownership defy good mortgage rates, expert says

Inside of a new a home by Affordable Homes of South Texas near McAllen

McALLEN — A troubled economy has caused the percent of U.S. residents who own homes to drop to its lowest point since 1997. A U.S. Census Bureau report released April 30 shows that in the first quarter of 2012, 65.4 percent of U.S. residents...... Full story

Edinburg sales-tax revenues top RGV in recession era

PETCO holds its grand opening Friday, April 27, 2012, at the Shoppes at Rio Grande Valley, off Trenton at U.S. 281 in Edinburg.

The latest tenant in the Shoppes at Rio Grande Valley has opened its doors, providing another boost for Edinburg’s economy from its premier retail development. Petco celebrated a grand opening last week in the 90,000-square-foot expansion for...... Full story

Review: Using files made easy with 3 online storage services

This screenshot provided by Google demonstrates the new Google Drive service using an Android device.

NEW YORK — Moving digital files between your work and home computers can be a pain. Add smartphones and tablet computers to the mix, and you’ve got yourself a giant headache. Google Inc. unveiled its solution to the problem last week,...... Full story

Mission metal processing company to get statewide honor

McALLEN — Metal Processing International of Mission will receive the Texas Manufacturing Star Award from the Texas Workforce Commission at a business conference Friday. The business, formerly of McAllen, will receive the award during the...... Full story

Courting culture: Edinburg arts district taking shape

Local artist Ruben Diaz displays his art work at Jardin del Arte on Friday, April 13, 2012, in the courtyard of Edinburg City Hall.

EDINBURG — Ruben Rios is glad he doesn’t have to satisfy his urge to create art too far away from home. Rios, a 31-year-old Edinburg native, moved to San Antonio after high school where he was immersed in the local art scene, selling...... Full story

Procrastinating taxpayers get more time to delay

Taxpayers have two extra days to finish their dreaded federal income taxes this year. Just don’t expect the April 17 deadline to affect anyone who was expecting a refund. Like anything else, the procrastinators typically had a reason to put...... Full story

8 tax-filing errors to avoid

CHICAGO — Getting an extra two days to file taxes beyond the usual April 15 tax filing deadline isn’t likely to cure a nation of procrastinators this year. Tens of millions of us routinely wait until just before the deadline to file...... Full story

'Crazy out there': Hailstorm brings 'storm chaser' repairmen

Workers repair a roof of a house on Harvey Avenue on Wednesday, April 11, 2012, in McAllen.

Ruben Celedon summed it up succinctly: “It’s crazy out there right now.” The owner of the Cel-Ana Roofing in Edinburg, Celedon can draw few comparisons to last month’s hailstorm that pelted homes and businesses in the...... Full story

Global shipping: McAllen metro shows growth as exports market

Jose Villanueva prepares scrubs to be sent out to hospitals in the Netherlands on Wednesday, April 4, 2012, in McAllen.

When a surgical company in the Netherlands sought a way to keep patients’ body temperatures warm after undergoing anesthesia, they turned to a McAllen-based company located in a stretch of industrial developments off Military Highway. TSCI...... Full story

'Pre-approved' credit offers may pose risk

McALLEN — A piece of mail informs you that you’ve been “pre-approved” for a credit offer that will lower the monthly payment for your existing car loan. Or maybe you’ve been “pre-approved” for a way to lower...... Full story

Review: Wi-Fi bunny improves, still seeks purpose

This undated photo shows a white plastic rabbit connected to a Wi-Fi network in Atlanta, Ga. Under new owners, Aldebaran Robotics, the smart rabbit is back. Dubbed Karotz, the rabbit has new features. Karotz connects to Wi-Fi networks as it has done before. But some of the new features don't quite keep pace with other smart devices namely phones.

ATLANTA — Six years ago, a white plastic rabbit that was connected to my home Wi-Fi network read some news headlines and played a few songs. Colored lights on his belly lit up a few times throughout the day, reminding me that he was alive. It...... Full story

Annual event unites U.S., Mexican manufacturers

McALLEN — The invitation list to Saturday’s spring picnic for U.S-Mexico manufacturing managers bears no comparison to the first occurrence organized by the McAllen Economic Development Corp. A few dozen people attended the first picnic...... Full story

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