Month: June 2026

Jessamyn Dodd

EL CENTRO, Calif. (KYMA) – Access To Thrive, an Imperial County non-profit, held a “Shark Tank” style business plan presentation contest Thursday.

Access to Thrive helps individuals living with a disability connect to resources such as health care access. Their S.T.E.P. program helps with business start-ups and job training.

The event was held in cooperation with San Diego’s Village Core.

“It’s a unique experience as we are in collaboration with Village Core from San Diego,” Access To Thrive’s CEO Ashley Contreras said.

Malik Glasgow, Access To Thrive’s program director, explained the contest.

“Today, what we have is we have both participants from our STEP program and from the village core program who are going to be presenting these ideas, who are going to be presenting their business plans to several business owners that  we have accumulated who we have judging their pitches,” he told KYMA.

The attendees were split into four rooms, where their projects were evaluated. A panel of judges handed out prizes to the top contenders.

“We have a business startup package. We will be offering business cards, website design, domain design,” Glasgow said about the prizes being awarded.

“Also, Village Core has a community where they have other participants in many different fields in industry where they’re able to come together and talk to each other with different advantages and different ways, they’re using artificial intelligence to help with their business plan,” he added.

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Jessamyn Dodd

EL CENTRO, Calif. (KYMA) – California State Sen. Steve Padilla, a Democrat who represents California’s 18th District, hosted a town hall forum for the residents of Imperial County to discuss community concerns and lingering questions.

One of the biggest topics of the night was data center accountability.

Sen. Padilla authored Senate Bill (SB) 886 to protect rate payers from the impacts of massive AI data centers.

The senator previously clashed with the Imperial County Board of Supervisors, demanding the data center project halt due to lack of transparency.

“You’re going to tell the truth and be transparent. No secret meetings, no cute little movement. You’re going to be open and honest with the community about what those impacts are,” he warned.

In addition, Padilla spoke about SB 887, which ensures all data centers comply with environmental standards.

Padilla also touched on SB 420 which he amended to prevent nonprofits connected to private immigration detention centers from claiming charitable property tax status.

“I have another bill that will address another situation that I found out about here in Imperial and that is giving tax breaks to supposed non-profits that are used to finance private companies under contract to the federal government to run  an immigration detention facility,” he said.

This comes as a report, released by KPBS, discovered that the Imperial Regional Detention Facility is linked to a nonprofit, as the facility’s real estate is owned by the Brawley Community Foundation, which operates as its landlord.

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Lynette Niebla

EL CENTRO, Calif. (KYMA) – A vibrant celebration of freedom, culture, and community unity returned to the Imperial Valley last Saturday with new interactive experiences for families.

The Imperial Valley Social Justice Committee (IVSJC) hosted its annual Juneteenth Community Celebration on June 13, 2026.

The free event ran from noon to 4 p.m. at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Sports Pavilion, located at 770 Park Avenue in El Centro.

This year’s commemoration placed a fresh emphasis on younger generations, introducing an expanded Kids Corner Arts & Crafts Zone.

The space offered games, prizes, coloring activities, and educational entertainment designed to engage local families.

Organizers also debuted a brand-new feature: the Juneteenth Fashion Walk. The showcase aimed to highlight community pride, intergenerational creativity, and cultural expression through clothing and storytelling.

In addition to the new activities, the event featured live musical and multicultural performances celebrating regional diversity.

The Deep Roots Oral History Project Exhibit was also on display, preserving the legacy of African American families and pioneers in the Imperial Valley.

For community resources, the IVSJC Health Equity Community Outreach Team provided health education, wellness resources, and support services alongside local informational vendors.

Small businesses, including food vendors and regional shops, were on-site showcasing local culinary items and merchandise.

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Jessamyn Dodd

IMPERIAL COUNTY, Calif. (KYMA) – Imperial Valley Computer Manufacturing (IVCM) and its owner, Sebastian Rucci, filed a lawsuit earlier this month against the Imperial Irrigation District (IID).

In the complaint, Rucci alleges that the IID denied his application for industrial water service to supply water to his company’s data center.

The lawsuit seeks about 260 million gallons of Colorado River water per year. IVCM claims that IID owes a duty to provide water service to lands within its boundaries on reasonable, equitable, and nondiscriminatory terms and may not arbitrarily refuse or withhold such service.

Rucci says his company leased roughly 160 acres of farmland, and the water used on that land should be redirected to the data center.

IVCM claims that IID owes a duty to provide water service to lands within its boundaries on reasonable, equitable, and nondiscriminatory terms and may not arbitrarily refuse or withhold such service.

“The data center will buy its water by buying land and fallowing it. And if they don’t want to do that, then we’ll do it by assignment where another landowner assigns his allocation to you. Again, the impact of the Colorado River is zero,” Rucci said in an interview with KYMA.

People opposed to the data center pointed out that Rucci and his company initially said that the data center would use reclaimed wastewater to cool it.

In fact, the claim is still on their website. When asked about this, Rucci said that the deal to use reclaimed water fell through, and his website has not been updated.

Rucci says he offered to swap the land for the proposed data center back to the original site, which is reportedly farther away from homes.

“Last Saturday, I notified them. I said, ‘Look, if you want to move it, let’s switch it back to the old site. You guys do a land swap; we’ll take the land, and we’ll make it a park. They want to stay hold, let’s go to court,” he said.

Currently that land is used for growing alfalfa, according to Rucci.

When asked about online videos, news reports, and studies highlighting concerns about living near large data centers, Rucci dismissed those claims.

A recent study by the World Resources Institute found that large AI data centers can place major demands on local resources, with some facilities using hundreds of thousands to millions of gallons of water for cooling.

AI data centers also require huge amounts of water to keep servers cool, which can be a pressing problem for communities already facing drought or depleting water supplies. In addition, data centers need a constant and reliable power supply, which can result in air pollution and climate impacts.

We reached out to the IID for an interview; however, they said they cannot comment on current legal matters.

To learn more about the lawsuit, see attached file.

imperial-valley-computer-manufacturing-v-imperial-irrigation-districtDownload

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