San Antonio, TX

Girl Scouts of Southwest Texas (GSSWT), headquartered in San Antonio, will open a temporary site in Uvalde to aid in the distribution of Girl Scout cookies throughout the council’s western counties.   The Uvalde Girl Scout Cookie Warehouse, located at Reno’s Rental at 974 E. Main Street will be open to Girl Scouting’s adult volunteers as they replenish their cookie inventories for troops in Uvalde, Real, Edwards, Val Verde, Kinney, Maverick, Dimmit and Zavala counties. After being picked up from the cookie warehouse in Uvalde, Girl Scouts will sell cookies to customers in Uvalde and surrounding communities.   The temporary location will be managed by GSSWT staff and will be open Wed., Feb. 6 through March 1. Hours of operation are Wednesday – Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4-6 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon. The site is closed Sunday through Tuesday.   The Girl Scout Cookie Program not only helps girls fulfill their goals, but also helps communities grow. All proceeds from selling Girl Scout cookies stay within the region to provide direct services to girls and adult volunteers and girls get to decide where the money goes. Your purchase of Girl Scout cookies helps girls do great things, such as pay for a fresh change of clothes for an abused victim or cheer up a soldier far from home. Offering eight varieties, each box of Girl Scout cookies is priced at $3.50.

Austin, TX

As the first month of the 83rd legislative session comes to a close, State Representative Poncho Nevárez has been appointed by Speaker of the House, Joe Straus, to three House Committees on Thursday, January 31. These committees include: Culture, Recreation & Tourism; International Trade & Intergovernmental Affairs; and Rules & Resolutions. "Throughout this process, I considered Members’ individual expertise and strengths to address our state's challenges, and to ensure the House committees reflect the geographic and demographic diversity of Texas,” Speaker Straus said. “These appointments will allow every Member of the Texas House to make a meaningful contribution to the serious work of this legislative session.” Nevárez is proud to be one of two freshman to be appointed to the newly created International Trade & Intergovernmental Affairs, which covers issues dealing with trade within the United States as well as internationally. He understands that this appointment can contribute to growth along the border and throughout his rural district. "My committee assignments reflect the vast reach of Texas, not just across our country, but beyond our borders," Nevárez says. "We will continue to lead in tourism and while being the 14th largest economy in the world, we must be firm in our trade mission and priorities."

Uvalde, TX

Uvalde-Kinney-Maverick-Real Counties USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) Executive Director Nancy Condit, reminds foreign persons with an interest in agricultural lands in the United States that they are required to report their holdings and any transactions to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. "Any foreign person who acquires, transfers or holds any interest, other than a security interest, including leaseholds of 10 years or more, in agricultural land in the United States is required by law to report the transaction no later than 90 days after the date of the transaction," said Condit. Foreign investors must file Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA) reports with the FSA county office that maintains reports for the county where the land is located. “Failure to file a report, filing a late report or filing an inaccurate report can result in a penalty with fines up to 25 percent of the fair market value of the agricultural land,” said Condit. For AFIDA purposes, agricultural land is defined as any land used for farming, ranching or timber production, if the tracts total 10 acres or more. Disclosure reports are also required when there are changes in land use. For example, reports are required when land use changes from nonagricultural to agricultural or from agricultural to nonagricultural. Foreign investors must also file a report when there is a change in the status of ownership such as the owner changes from foreign to non-foreign, from non-foreign to foreign or from foreign to foreign. Data gained from these disclosures is used to prepare an annual report to the President and Congress concerning the effect of such holdings upon family farms and rural communities in the United States. For more information regarding AFIDA and FSA programs, contact the Uvalde-Kinney-Maverick-Real Counties FSA office at 830-278-9197 or visit the USDA Web site at http://www.usda.gov.