Month: April 2025

Marcos Icahuate

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – April’s Rubber Ducky Drop will be in support of a Yuma charity organization.

The Lemon Grove’s rubber ducky events has locals buy ducks for a chance to win up to $10,000. Rubber ducks will be released into an irrigation canal and the first to cross the finish line will be the winner.

April’s charity recipient is the Yuma Childhood Burn Survivors Foundation.

“Surviving a harrowing burn incident is bad enough, but for children, they lose their skin elasticity and therefore need extensive skin grafts to support their growing bodies. Westyn has had 4 surgeries just this year!” wrote the Lemon Grove.

You can buy a rubber ducky here.

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Adrik Vargas

EL CENTRO, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) – The Catholic Charities Day Center in El Centro is receiving just over $1 million in new funding aimed at expanding homeless services across Imperial County.

The money, approved by the Imperial County Board of Supervisors, comes from a state grant and will support efforts like housing assistance, street outreach, and other basic services. But some local advocates say more needs to be done to reach people in rural areas who are often overlooked.

“County-wide means county-wide,” said Diahna Garcia-Ruiz, co-founder of Proyecto Heber, a nonprofit that supports community needs in the town of Heber. “These are county funds, use them all over the county.”

Garcia-Ruiz emphasized the lack of outreach in remote communities, where many unhoused residents aren’t aware of available services.

“No one really goes out there and looks for them,” she said.

Teresa, a local resident who once experienced homelessness, said the Day Center changed her life.

“They helped me find a place to live. Me and my daughter were homeless, but not anymore,” she shared.

She hopes the new funding will help the center reach more people like her, not just those currently on the streets, but those who are at risk.

“They help a lot here,” she said. “If they can help more people, that would be a blessing.”

As the Day Center looks to expand its impact, community leaders are calling for funding to prioritize transportation and rural outreach, to make sure no one is left behind.

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Andrea Turisk

EL CENTRO, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) – Caltrans and the California Highway Patrol (CHP) paused to remember nearly 200 men and women who lost their lives working along California highways.

Caltrans says the job of a highway worker is extremely dangerous. Monday’s ceremony honored those who made the ultimate sacrifice, like Jaime Obeso, and called on driver to make sure no more names are added to the list.

At the Caltrans El Centro maintenance yard, 194 orange cones lined the pavement, each one representing a Caltrans worker killed on the job since 1920.

Caltrans District 11 Director Anne Fox says this ceremony serves as a reminder of the work that still needs to be done.

“It truly hits home on the work we need to do both as Caltrans on adopting and really putting forward a culture of safety,” Fox expressed.

For Caltrans crews, safety isn’t just part of the job, its the top priority the moment the day begins.

Ernesto Almodovar Jr., Caltrans Equipment Operator for District 11 says, “It’s the first thing that we think about when we wake up is that we want to make it right and make it back home at the end of the day and I believe that is essential with my line of duty.”

But staying safe isn’t something they can do alone. Crews rely on drivers to do their part. To stay alert and aware.

“There’s a lot of different obstacles, changes, road conditions that they need to focus on that road and just make it to where they want to go safely,” Almodovar remarked.

Caltrans says drivers can make a difference with one choice. Stay focused. Behind every vest is a person hoping to get home.

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Karina Bazarte

CALEXICO, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) – The Calexico Police Department (CPD) says the incident started with an argument then turning physical while children were present during the attack.

CPD says a 26-year old man allegedly attempted to smother his 27-year-old wife during an argument Sunday afternoon.

The women was able to flee the scene with her children, but police say her attacker followed them.

“The victim reported to the officers that when she tried to flee with her children the suspect followed her into the street,” said Chief Armando Orozco with CPD.

The man was arrested and booked into the Imperial County Jail, and is facing three felony charges including attempted murder and child endangerment.

“Criminal threats are when someone makes a threat to cause physical harm or death to a person, like the victim in this case,” said Chief Orozco.

CPD could not give out more details as this case is still under investigation.

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