Author Archives: Eileen Mattei

Freelance writer Eileen Mattei was the editor of Valley Business Report for over 6 years. Her articles have appeared in Texas Highways, Texas Wildlife Association, Texas Parks & Wildlife and Texas Coop Power magazines as well as On Point: The Journal of Army History. The Harlingen resident is the author of five books: Valley Places, Valley Faces; At the Crossroads: Harlingen’s First 100 Years; and Leading the Way: McAllen’s First 100 Years, For the Good of My Patients: The History of Medicine in the Rio Grande Valley, and Quinta Mazatlán: A Visual Journey.

Border Security Has A Bright Side: A Stimulated Economy

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The silver lining in the dark cloud over the border is that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and other Department of Homeland Security agencies infuse millions of dollars into the local economy. Besides enjoying the relative peace resulting from CBP’s protective presence, Valley businesses are increasingly the beneficiaries of spending by the federal agencies as well as by their off-duty employees. In the late 1980s, the Rio Grande sector…

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The Great Escape – Westin La Cantera

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When you need to get away and relax in a big way, the Westin La Cantera Resort in San Antonio works magic that makes the busy world go away.  Perched on a hill overlooking San Antonio, the luxurious resort welcomes guests to a haven with no obligations, no time tables. The Hill Country oasis exudes an atmosphere of welcome and relaxation from its main building, modeled on the King Ranch’s…

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Everybody Drives a Used Car

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Bill Elliff talks with a customer in his office.

At Elliff Motors, great-grandsons of Luther Elliff are now working in the used car dealership he founded in 1944. For over 60 years, the slogan “Everybody drives a used car” has kept an upmarket spin on Elliff’s pre-owned vehicles. Each generation of the Elliffs appears to have the gene that makes them avid car dealers, who seem to have a good time while they’re working. “Some families don’t get along…

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Vista Summit – Economics of Education

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“Economies are like ecosystems. Getting groups together to cooperate on strategies is the smart way to go,” said Bruce Katz of the Brookings Institution at the Vista Summit held at the University of Texas at Brownsville. Katz put the goals of the economic and education-focused Vista Summit in a nutshell:  entities in the region must work together in order to develop its full economic potential. Katz said the Rio Grande…

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Valley Designs: Evolution of a Business & an Industry

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Lew Vassberg

In the midst of Valley Designs’ 14,000 square feet of showroom and office space, Lew Vassberg admitted she was eager to be downsizing in October. Sixteen years ago, interior designers were expected to have a large showroom for customers to choose from numerous items. “The internet has changed all that, not only for the designer but for the client,” Vassberg said. Most of her clients are commercial accounts – hospitals,…

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The Wine Merchant Knows Tempranillos and Tax Laws

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Emilo & Susana Santos

Emilio Santos’ career as a CPA specializing in alcohol and tobacco tax issues was the perfect prelude for his current profession: owner of Exceptional Wines, an importer of fine European wines. Placing a bottle of Chateau Mouton Rothschild on his desk, Santos explained that alcohol –wines and liquors- have long been the object of substantial ‘sin’ taxes. State and federal governments love to impose taxes on adult beverages, because they…

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Lifelong Learning is Good for You

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If you want to take college courses to help you advance professionally, to study a new field to prepare for a career change, to go for a degree or to merely indulge a personal interest, the opportunities for lifelong learning have never been so abundant. This summer’s openings of the University Center at TSTC and South Texas College’s eCampus have made advanced, bachelor’s, and associate degrees easily accessible, sometimes as…

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Q & A on Banking

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Terry Gray, Chief Lending Officer of Rio Bank, with VBR’s editor on the Valley’s financial outlook. Q. Nationally, corporations are holding on to cash. Is that trend seen in RGV? That is happening nationally because there is so much uncertainty about the future of commerce, taxes and Congress. If companies don’t know what is going happen with capital gains or tax relief, they are going to stay in cash. I…

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One Recipe for Building a Destination

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Little by little, Scott Friedman has created a mini-vacation destination in Port Isabel that includes Texas’s longest fishing pier and the state’s only pirate ship. Without fanfare over 20 years, Friedman transformed a tiny restaurant and some weedy Laguna Madre frontage into the Pirate’s Landing complex. Investing his profits, he acquired buildings one by one on the square around the Port Isabel Lighthouse Historic Site and Lighthouse Keeper’s cottage. The…

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Weslaco Jazzes Up City Development

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Weslaco Economic Development Corporation has an ambitious goal of reinventing Weslaco’s downtown in the next 24 months. Getting 100 percent occupancy of the store fronts on Texas Boulevard is the cornerstone of the reinvention plan developed by Hernan Gonzales, EDC executive director. Downtown Weslaco has experienced spurts of revitalization in its central business district in the past. In 1998, Larry and Patti Dittburner resuscitated the Hotel Cortez, a historic landmark.…

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