Month: July 2025

Abraham Retana

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – With back to school right around the corner, a local law firm is helping boys and girls hit the books in the Yuma community. 

Lerner & Rowe law firm is giving away 1,000 backpacks at the Yuma fairgrounds Wednesday afternoon.

The goal is to help local students reach their academic success.

“To help alleviate at least one of those obstacles or burden that are in their way and that’s providing backpacks and school supplies the tools they need to succeed,” said Kevin Rowe, Lerner & Rowe co-founder.

The Lerner & Rowe backpack giveaway will be at the Yuma fairgrounds on July 23 at 4p.m.

It’s on a first-come first-serve basis.

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Manoah Tuiasosopo

SOMERTON, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – Low-income families in Somerton are receiving some useful assistance this week as the Housing America Corporation (HAC) hosted the First Back To School Giveaway.

At the Del Pueblo Apartments in Somerton, children from low income families were able to receive some fresh new gear ahead of the new school year.

Wendy Ramirez, a local, shares, “This helps us because you know the economic is really high now and families with a lot of kids they don’t have a lot of money, it’s not enough. So, this helps a little.”

As part of the giveaway, the HAC is providing free school supplies to children living in its low-income housing units.

Over 60 young students received learning tools like back packs, notebooks, and reusable water bottles on their first stop.

Five of those students were the lucky winners of a golden ticket, a $60 gift card to the local store Journeys.

“We’re just happy that he was one of the lucky winners. So, now he has his shoes for school,” says Ramirez.

The organizer says aid for low-income families extends far beyond just housing.

Yolanda Galindo, Executive Director for HAC, explains, “So, we have 60 kids within these 56 units that we have and the needs always there, so why not alleviate the burden on these families by providing a simple backpack with the utilities, with all the utensils needed to start your school year? I mean, it always brightens the kid’s face.”

The giveaway includes two more stops at low-income housing complexes, providing supplies to over 70 units.

They’ll also be stopping at Wellton Elementary School.

Galindo says this wouldn’t be possible without her sponsors adding, “Just a simple idea that I had, I reached out to the local contractor that we work with and it was overwhelming the response that they had.”

As to the future of the event, Galindo says, “It’ll get bigger and better. Maybe next time we could partner up with the City of Somerton. Just being the response, we were able to gather 180 backpacks full of all supplies.”

The giveaway will continue Wednesday at the Amistad Apartments in Somerton then the Colorado Street Apartments in Yuma on Thursday.

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Karina Bazarte

CALEXICO, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) – After more than 14 months without a permanent city manager, the City of Calexico has official appointed Ben Martinez as the new city manager.

Ben Martinez was appointed to be the new Calexico City Manager Tuesday morning.

Calexico Mayor Diana Nuricumbo says Martinez has an extensive career, from working with multiple cities in San Diego to L.A. County.

“We wanted to be very careful about who we selected because this city you know it has a reputation of having a high turnover of city managers so we wanted to ensure that this time things were going to be different,” said Mayor Nuricumbo.

However, locals on social media expressed their concerns about Martinez controversial departure from National City.

“Sometimes things don’t work out in other cities. we know this position is a very political position so it all depends on who you have as a council,” said Nuricumbo.

Martinez says he was let go due to political reasons.

Martinez says although he is not from Calexico, He does have strong ties to the community and he’s committed to helping the city grow.

Lizbeth Carbajal, a local, she is excited Calexico finally has a permanent city manager that can help the city bloom like fixing the streets. 

“Homelessness is a big issue and something has to be done to protect them to help them but at the same time to protect our city and make it clean and beautiful,” said Carbajal.

Martinez says beautifying Calexico is in his plans.

“When I look at the appearances of Calexico, our streets, our sidewalks, our parks and other things, I don’t know if the pride is showing, so we need to do that together. We need to work on that together I want to see the image of Calexico improve for the better,” said Martinez.

Martinez says he signed a three-year contract with a possible extension and hopes to retire in the City of Calexico.

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Andrea Turisk

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) remain a growing concern nationwide, but in Yuma County, they’re seeing some of the highest infection rates in the state.

According to the CDC and a recent study by Invigor Medical, Yuma County reported over 700 new STD cases per every 100,000 residents in 2023.

Health experts say those numbers reflect more than just testing, they highlight gaps in care and education.

In Yuma County, the numbers are raising red flags. According to Invigor Medical’s breakdown of CDC data, chlamydia led the list with over one thousand new cases in 2023.

Syphilises followed with 254 reported cases. Gonorrhea and HIV were also reported, though in lower in numbers.

Dr. Karen Melara with Onvida Family Medicine Clinic says these high numbers could be due to lack of education and stigma.

“Efforts for education is definitely something that should be worked on particularly so we can address this stigma you know that surrounds STDs as a whole so that patients can understand this is something that is apart of their healthcare,” Dr. Melara explained.

According to the study, STD rates have risen significantly over the past decade, reporting nearly 2.5 million new infections across the country in 2023, with Arizona being ranked number 11 in highest STD rates.

Melara says STD rates often rise in the summer because of more travel and social activity.

“Whenever we have that shift in population, we do see the numbers in different conditions change, so I would say that would be part of the reason,” Melara shared.

Experts stress personal responsibility plays a big role. If you think you may need testing, contact your local physician.

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