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BROWNSVILLE, Texas - SpaceX is becoming a good corporate citizen of the Rio Grande Valley.

That is the view of Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevi\xf1o, Jr.

By way of example, Trevi\xf1o pointed to the help SpaceX provided when 3,000 endangered Kemp\u2019s Ridley sea turtles were saved during the Big Freeze in February 2021. Another example, he said, was when the City of Los Indios lost power and SpaceX sent a generator.

\u201cThey are becoming, I think, a good member of the community. A lot of that stuff doesn\u2019t get advertised or well-known because the focus, obviously, is on their business operations. But, I think they are committed to being a good corporate citizen,\u201d Trevi\xf1o said.

In response, Helen Ramirez, the City of Brownsville\u2019s interim city manager and the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation\u2019s executive director, pointed out that the Musk Foundation donated $20 million to Cameron County schools and $10 million to revitalization plans for downtown Brownsville.

Ramirez and Trevi\xf1o spoke about SpaceX at a recent conference co-hosted by GBIC and SelectUSA. Their discussion took the form of a Q&A, with Ramirez pitching questions to Trevi\xf1o.

One of the questions posed was: Why did SpaceX choose Brownsville? Another was: What impact has SpaceX had on the Cameron County economy?

Ramirez also asked Trevi\xf1o about the environmental safeguards SpaceX has had to put in place at Boca Chica, and the role of the Spaceport Development Corporation.\xa0

The conference was titled: \u201cThe Future of Aerospace, Defense & Energy.\u201d It was held at the Brownsville Events Center. Select USA is a division of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

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