GUARDIAN EDUCATION: In a letter sent Friday, state Sen. José Rodríguez has praised Texas Education Agency Commissioner Robert Scott for his "courageous remarks" about the need for more funding for Texas public schools. The letter also thanked Scott, a close ally of Gov. Rick Perry, for pointing out that standardized testing has become a "perversion of its original intent."

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YO CUENTO: The Republican Party of Texas says its RPT Defense Fund has been exhausted due to ongoing legal bills associated with the various redistricting trials. In an e-mail alert sent Thursday to party members and supporters, RPT spokesman Chris Elam says the party has had to resort to using funds from its main party account. Elam urges party members to give a donation of $100, $75, $50 or even $25 in order to keep up the fight for Republican districts.

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GUARDIAN HEALTH: Dr. Jorge Vanegas, dean of the college of architecture at Texas A&M University, is trying to find a corporate partner who can help with the purchase of dozens of i-Pads for promotoras. The Texas A&M University Colonias Program helps recruit and train promotoras to work in colonias along the Texas-Mexico border. "We need to provide our promotoras with the tools they need," Vanegas said.

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BORDER BUSINESS: The state director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture says no region of the country is more innovative than the Rio Grande Valley. However, the Valley has still to reach its full potential, said Paco Valentin, at a Stronger Economies Together meeting in Hidalgo on Wednesday. Valentin hails from Brownsville, Texas. He came out of retirement at President Obama’s request to run the USDA in Texas.

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YO CUENTO: Hidalgo County Commissioner Joel Quintanilla made a promise to voters at a campaign event in Donna on Wednesday evening: re-elect him and Precinct 1’s flooding problems will be a thing of the past. “Give me those four more years you will not have any more flooding in Precinct 1 ever again. Guaranteed,” Quintanilla said, to loud applause. More than 400 voters attended the event.

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