TITLE: Recognizing March 6, 2013, as Harlingen Day at the State Capitol.

SUMMARY: Recognizing March 6, 2013, as Harlingen Day at the State Capitol.

FULL TEXT:
WHEREAS, Residents of Harlingen are gathering in Austin on March 6, 2013, to celebrate Harlingen Day at the State Capitol; and WHEREAS, From the time in 1904 when Lon C. Hill chose a site alongside the St. Louis, Brownsville, and Mexico Railway as the location for a new town, Harlingen was destined to become a crossroads of commerce; the first train passed through the rugged settlement that railroad workers called "Rattlesnake Junction" on July 4, 1904; tales of Texas Rangers and customs patrol agents taking target practice next to the rail depot soon gave Harlingen its next nickname of "Six-Shooter Junction"; and WHEREAS, Between the 1910s and 1930s, trains brought thousands of Midwestern farmers to Harlingen to set up operations in the fertile Magic Valley, where they found they could grow at least two crops a year, and the city at one point had the largest ice plant in Texas, which worked to keep countless railcars of produce cold as they headed north; the city has also been a state and national center for cotton farming for 60 years, and since 1953, the Harlingen Cotton Committee has ceremonially auctioned the first bale of cotton grown each year in the United States; and WHEREAS, During World War II, the city was home to Harlingen Army Airfield, a facility that grew and evolved into Harlingen Air Force Base; the base eventually became Valley International Airport, the Rio Grande Valley's busiest cargo and passenger commercial airport, which, together with the city's bridge to Mexico and the port that connects it to the Intracoastal Waterway, serves to further underscore the community's importance as a center for trade; and WHEREAS, Also important to Harlingen is the United Launch Alliance plant, which supplies components to the Atlas Vrocket and is the second largest taxpayer in the city; employing 200 residents, it recently celebrated its 25th anniversary in the community; and WHEREAS, Since 1999, Harlingen has been home to the Regional Academic Health Center, a branch campus of The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio; Valley Baptist Medical Center serves as the RAHC's primary teaching hospital while Su Clinica has been the center's main ambulatory teaching site since 2002; altogether more than 1,000 medical students and 60 internal medicine residents have trained there, many of whom now practice in hospitals and clinics across the Rio Grande Valley; there is strong support for expanding the RAHC into the South Texas School of Medicine, and already the center has benefited from investments of more than $200 million from UT and an additional $50 million from the City of Harlingen, VBMC, and Su Clinica; and WHEREAS, Harlingen is also headquarters to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Valley Coastal Bend Health Care System, which provides for the health care needs of veterans in the region; the VA has been one of the RAHC's primary teaching partners, sponsoring internal medical residents and committing to the sponsorship of 25 residents for the proposed medical school; in addition, the VA moved its outpatient clinic and 160,000-square-foot ambulatory and surgical facility to Harlingen in order to be close the RAHC; and WHEREAS, Area residents have long understood the importance of education, and the city is home to two outstanding educational institutions, Texas State Technical College and the Marine Military Academy; on the academy's campus, visitors may view Dr. Felix W. de Weldon's full-size plaster model of his famous Iwo Jima memorial in Washington, D.C.; and WHEREAS, In 2013, Harlingen is hosting its 20th annual Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival, one of the premier such festivals in the nation, bringing visitors from around the world; the area's semitropical climate, natural resources, and friendly people make it a destination for travelers, including "winter" Texans and other outdoor enthusiasts; the community's attractions include the mural and heritage trails in the historic downtown district and numerous sports fields and parks, and shoppers from across the state and over the border come to the Harlingen Bass Pro Shop, with its wide array of supplies for hunting, fishing, boating, camping, and other outdoor activities; and WHEREAS, This thriving city of 70,000 is led by mayor Chris Boswell and city commissioners Danny Castillo, Robert A. Leftwich, Michael Mezmar, Basilio "Chino" Sanchez, and Victor Leal, and under their guidance the city's crime rate has dropped consistently from 2008 to 2013, including a 20 percent drop in violent and property crimes, making it a safe place to live, work, and play; and WHEREAS, Harlingen is a dynamic community that draws on its rich history even as it works to build an exciting future, and its residents may indeed take great pride in the city they call home; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 83rd Texas Legislature hereby recognize March 6, 2013, as Harlingen Day at the State Capitol and extend to the visiting delegation sincere best wishes for an enjoyable and memorable visit. Lucio III Speaker of the House I certify that H.R. No. 716 was adopted by the House on March 6, 2013, by a non-record vote. Chief Clerk of the House