Latest news with #Laredo
Globe and Mail
2 hours ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Raymond James To Welcome New $605 Million Program with Texas Community Bank
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., July 31, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Raymond James Financial Institutions Division (FID) announced today that Texas Community Bank (TCB) has selected the firm's platform to enhance its financial planning and advisory offering, according to Stephen Kruchten, president of FID. With this new alignment, TCB Investments will provide clients with investment and wealth management services through Raymond James Financial Services. Based in Laredo, Texas, TCB Investments includes financial advisors Luis J. Gonzalez, III and Carlos M. Chapa. They manage approximately $605 million in client assets. "Texas Community Bank has a clear vision and profound dedication to delivering exceptional service to its clients. We're pleased to be selected to support this talented group of advisors with the robust resources, advanced technology and investment platform that Raymond James is known for – all tailored specifically to meet the unique needs of our affiliated financial institutions," said Kruchten. "We are excited to work with an industry leader like Raymond James," said Oscar Cisneros, senior vice president at Texas Community Bank. "The wealth of solutions and support Raymond James provides will enable TCB Investments to elevate our offerings, enhance our client service capabilities and strategically grow our investment and wealth management program.' 'By aligning with Raymond James FID, programs like TCB Investments gain access to the sophisticated resources and capabilities needed to effectively meet the distinctive needs of high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients," said Jon DeMayo, vice president of business development at FID. 'Our continued growth in Texas and other key markets underscores the strength and importance of our value proposition for financial institutions targeting this expanding client segment.' About the Financial Institutions Division The Financial Institutions Division was established by Raymond James in 1987 to provide banks and credit unions with an alternative to traditional third-party investment providers. Raymond James provides full-service securities brokerage and advisory services to financial institutions seeking to compete with the largest banks and securities firms in the country. In addition to a full complement of investment products and services, Raymond James has the ability to deliver investment banking, public finance, research, self-clearing capabilities and wealth management services to both individuals and institutions. About Raymond James Financial Services Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. (RJFS), member FINRA/SIPC, is a financial services firm supporting independent financial advisors nationwide. Since 1974, RJFS provides a wide range of investment and wealth planning-related services through its affiliate, Raymond James & Associates, Inc., member New York Stock Exchange/SIPC. Both firms are wholly owned subsidiaries of Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE-RJF), one of the nation's premier diversified financial services companies with financial advisors throughout the United States, Canada and overseas. Total client assets are approximately $1.64 trillion as of Jun. 30, 2025. Additional information is available at About Texas Community Bank Texas Community Bank is a locally owned and operated, community-oriented financial institution with its heart and roots embedded along the South Texas-Mexico border. TCB is a wholly owned subsidiary of Vision Bancshares, Inc., a one-bank holding company that was founded in 2003 by Laredo banker, Douglas G. Macdonald and a group of local investors. Macdonald was familiar with the Laredo market and believed that an opportunity existed for a community bank that emphasizes personal service. Since its inception in 2003, TCB has built a stable core deposit and loan base in not only its primary home of Laredo, but also in San Antonio, Somerset and the border towns of Brownsville, McAllen and Del Rio. TCB has flourished due to hiring exceptional local bankers in each of our markets and has been able to assemble teams of experienced and knowledgeable industry professionals that specialize in all facets of banking including deposit and lending, international, investment, technology and operations. Our extraordinary and rapid growth has been enhanced by offering competitive products and services that meet the financial needs of the communities in which we serve. Securities offered through Raymond James Financial Services, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC, and are not insured by bank insurance, the FDIC or any other government agency, are not deposits or obligations of the bank, are not guaranteed by the bank, and are subject to risks, including the possible loss of principal. Texas Community Bank and TCB Investments are not registered broker/dealers and are independent of Raymond James Financial Services. Investment advisory services offered through Raymond James Financial Services Advisors, Inc.
Associated Press
16-07-2025
- Health
- Associated Press
Rio Grande Valley's biggest free health clinic event of the year is canceled due to federal cuts
MCALLEN, Texas (AP) — Every year since 1999, the Rio Grande Valley has hosted a massive five-day event to offer free health services across several counties. More than 6,600 people received services from the event last year. People lined up as early as 4 a.m. to access physician check-ups, immunizations, sports physicals, screenings for diabetes, dental services, eye exams and prescription glasses. The event, called Operation Border Health, was scheduled to take place next week at five locations across the Rio Grande Valley and Laredo. But health officials abruptly announced the event's cancellation last week, marking the first time the event will not be held in 26 years. Local county health departments said the event was canceled because of cuts to the Texas Department of State Health Services' federal funding. This fiscal year, which started on July 1, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention only gave Texas about 72% of the base funding the state received last year for its Public Health Emergency Preparedness program, Imelda Garcia, the state health agency's chief deputy commissioner, told county leaders earlier this month. The program helps communities prepare for infectious diseases, natural disasters and other health threats. The notice came after Garcia warned local public health departments in June of potential federal cuts. CDC officials could not immediately be reached for comment. In Cameron County, funding was cut by about $100,000, which meant losing two employees on the health department's preparedness team, said Esmeralda Guajardo, the county health administrator. That was in addition to 10 health department employees — including two on the preparedness team — she lost in March after the federal government told Texas officials it was cutting back $700 million in COVID-19 pandemic relief funding. The cuts brought Guajardo's preparedness team down to six employees, which she said made running Operation Border Health this year unmanageable. The preparedness team, which is comprised of several epidemiologists, is usually responsible for conducting contact investigations for diseases in the community. Guajardo said the workload is heavy — especially for a short-staffed team — and she couldn't afford to leave those responsibilities unattended while her staff handled Operation Border Health. 'I have a real hard time asking my employees, that I've lost 40% of, to go out and oversee Operation Border Health, knowing that when they come back, they're going to have this workload to attend to,' Guajardo said. Meanwhile, the federal cuts meant Hidalgo County lost more than $165,000 in emergency preparedness funds, prompting the county to terminate a vacant emergency preparedness coordinator position. The county said the cuts impacted temporary and permanent staff involved in the event, but declined to provide specifics on the impact of those cuts. Losing Operation Border Health is a blow to a region that consistently ranks among the highest in the state without health insurance. In 2023, the rate of Rio Grande Valley residents who were uninsured was between 27% and 31%. Ivan Melendez, the Hidalgo County health authority — who is independent of the county health department — said he's concerned about the elimination of health efforts meant to benefit a community that ranks high in poverty, obesity, hypertension, diabetes, end-stage renal disease and hemodialysis. 'Then you throw into it the closure of such safety nets, it becomes a very, very big issue for us,' Melendez said. A handful of clinics in the county offer health services at free or reduced cost, but their resources are strained, Melendez said. Operation Border Health, a bilingual program, offered a way for people to access those services during the summer, which could be especially useful for students in need of new glasses or sports physicals ahead of the school year. Melendez said he and the county hope to create new resources to fill the void by partnering with school districts and universities to host clinics. However, he would prefer Operation Border Health to resume. 'We're deeply disappointed that we can't do it,' he said. 'Our hope is that this is short-lived and that we can return back to this program as soon as possible.' ___ This story was originally published by The Texas Tribune and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.
CNN
05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CNN
Lainey Wilson on what a July 4th looks like in her hometown
CNN's Boris Sanchez interviewed singer-songwriter Lainey Wilson at Summerfest about her July 4th memories, her new single 'Somewhere Over Laredo' and her upcoming performance on CNN's Fourth in America. Watch CNN's special celebrating the 249th anniversary of the United States' independence from 7pm ET to 1am ET.
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Lainey Wilson Talks ‘Laredo,' the Kind of Familiar New Song That Comes Along ‘Once in a Lullaby'
'Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore.' Indeed, Lainey Wilson is flying high above Texas in her current single, 'Somewhere Over Laredo,' playing off the most iconic melodic interval in the best-known song from The Wizard of Oz, the Judy Garland movie that spawned the 'Kansas' dialogue. That melodic hook is a one-octave jump that launches the chorus of 'Over the Rainbow'; that element makes its way into the opening of Lainey's 'Laredo' chorus, which also rhymes with the original. More from Billboard Debbie Harry on Image Expectations in Music: 'I Wanted to Work' Wallows Recall Morrissey Walking Out of Their Show: 'That's the Perfect Morrissey Story' Bob Vylan Axed From Radar, Kave Fest After Glastonbury Backlash 'If you say 'somewhere over the rainbow' fast 10 times, it kind of sounds like 'somewhere over Laredo,' ' Lainey notes. 'That struck me as a perfect fit.' Songwriter Andy Albert ('Thinking 'Bout You,' 'Good Girl') had a similar thought when the idea appeared seemingly out of nowhere in 2024. 'I loved how hard the rhyme was and how perfect it was with the original,' Albert recalls. 'I was just like, 'There could be something really cool here if we unpack this story.' ' Albert sat on 'Laredo' for a bit, waiting for the right situation to present itself. Oddly enough, that moment came while in line for the VelociCoaster at Universal Orlando. Albert and songwriter Trannie Anderson ('Heart Like a Truck,' 'It Won't Be Long') visited the theme park on Aug. 24 when they had a morning to kill between performances during a two-night songwriter show booked at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, and they threw out song ideas during the long wait for the ride. Albert pitched the 'Laredo' concept, and they decided to work on it when they returned to Nashville, with Lainey in mind as a potential suitor. Anderson sat at the piano when they started, playing a melancholy progression that established the tone. They mapped out the essential parts of the chorus melody, carefully diverting from the original after mimicking the 'Some-where' octave jump. 'We were really intentional about trying to make sure we were off the melody the rest of the song,' Albert says. An essential change from 'Rainbow' came with the 'Laredo' chorus' second chord — Anderson moved from the tonic to a flatted seventh instead of the familiar minor third — and it forced the melody down a different path. With the basics of the chorus set, they shifted to the opening verse, using a plane to put the protagonist in the clouds above Laredo. Originally, they planned for her to travel from Dallas to California, but a quick search of Google Maps suggested that flight path wouldn't go near the Texas border. So they started the flight in Houston for realism. Traveling over Laredo stirred memories of a rodeo cowboy from the character's past — the writers cast the couple as 'Lone Star-crossed lovers' — and the chorus embraced the woman's honky-tonk path in the setup line, deftly referencing Alan Jackson in her 'chasin' this neon rainbow' wordplay. In short order, Lainey brought the 'Heart Wranglers' — her term for her writing partnership with Anderson and (no relation) Dallas Wilson ('Heart Like a Truck,' 'Can't Have Mine') — on the road during the Country's Cool Again Tour. After writing a couple of songs earlier in the trip, they found themselves sitting outside Lainey's bus at the Adams Center in Missoula, Mont., on Sept. 15, staring at the mountains and the wild Montana skies. 'I just knew I needed to show her this idea in that moment,' Anderson remembers. 'I didn't have an instrument on me, so I just sang the beginnings of this song a cappella and kept a beat on the side of my folding chair.' Lainey was sold. They tweaked the first two stanzas and wrote a second verse that captures the loneliness that accompanies life while traveling, a scenario that was central to Dorothy's character in Oz. ''Laredo' isn't just a place — it is a feeling,' Lainey explains. 'It speaks to anyone who has ever looked back or remembered something and let that memory shape who they are. It also connects to all of those [small American] towns and people who are just trying to find their way home.' For the bridge, Lainey wanted to slide in a few more 'Rainbow' references — the bluebirds that fly in that song were transformed into blackbirds in 'Laredo,' and they repurposed the 'once in a lullaby' line from the original. 'She loved the thought of using the 'once in a lullaby,' ' Anderson says. 'And I really wanted to use the 'blackbirds' line because that just felt so spot-on with Texas. I grew up in Texas, and there are blackbirds freaking everywhere.' Dallas sang on the piano/vocal work tape, which Lainey, Anderson and tour mate Zach Top first heard on a private plane somewhere over Idaho. Lainey tried recording 'Laredo' several times with producer Jay Joyce (Eric Church, Miranda Lambert), but had trouble getting the vibe right. 'It took the scenic route,' she says. 'I'm talking about back roads and all. It kicked off its boots and stayed awhile. We cut it a few times, we rearranged it, we lived with it, but just kept chasing the feeling that we knew that we needed to have.' Over the ensuing months, Anderson's publisher — Sony Music Publishing, which controls the 'Rainbow' copyright — gave its blessing to the new use of the classic, with original composers Harold Arlen and E.Y. 'Yip' Harburg credited as 'Laredo' co-writers. Meanwhile, while rehearsing in Copenhagen on March 12, Lainey and her band found the right direction and nailed it when they returned to Nashville. Fiddler Sav Madigan slipped in another 'Rainbow' reference in the studio, applying the two-note verse melody as an instrumental enhancement to the 'Laredo' bridge. Clever as the octave jump may be, that twist is also difficult — the original is so iconic that it's tough not to break into the 'Rainbow' melody in the chorus. 'It's not easy,' Albert says. 'It took me a lot of practicing before I was confident singing it at a writers round.' 'When I get to that 'some-where' note,' Lainey adds, 'I catch myself thinking again — just like I've done with [the long note in] 'Heart Like a Truck' — 'Why in the world do I keep doing this to myself?' But honestly, that note is just part of what makes the song what it is, vocally. It wasn't about the technical side of things. It was all about putting myself into that emotional place of the song.' 'Laredo' is one of five new tracks planned for the deluxe version of her Whirlwind album, due Aug. 22, and Broken Bow released it to radio via PlayMPE on May 22, employing subtle scarecrow imagery in the accompany artwork. Whether it reminds listeners of Dorothy — or of the recent Oz-derived movie, Wicked, or simply connects to fan experiences with distance and loneliness — 'Laredo' tugs effectively at some difficult emotions. It's already at No. 24 after five weeks on the Country Airplay chart dated July 5. 'It is my job as a storyteller to write music for everybody,' Lainey says. 'And I feel like this song has something to offer everybody.' Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
CNN
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CNN
Lainey Wilson on what a July 4th looks like in her hometown
CNN's Boris Sanchez interviewed singer-songwriter Lainey Wilson at Summerfest about her July 4th memories, her new single 'Somewhere Over Laredo' and her upcoming performance on CNN's Fourth in America. Watch CNN's special celebrating the 249th anniversary of the United States' independence from 7pm ET to 1am ET.
