Former longtime Rep. Roberto Gutiérrez, D-McAllen, 83, who passed away on Saturday, December 28, 2019, was the first lawmaker to file legislation that eventually resulted in the creation of the Regional Academic Health Center for deep South Texas – the key step needed to make possible the formation of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine. Gutiérrez, during his 14 years in the Texas Legislature, passed dozens of laws and policies that continue to benefit the state and South Texas, a decade-and-a-half after he finished his final two-year term on January 11, 2005. One of his most notable endeavors ...