Author: KYMA

Lauren Duffel

WINTERHAVEN, Calif. (KYMA) – Theresa Caputo Live! The Experience is happening this weekend, and she spoke with News 11 to talk about the upcoming show.

Caputo, who is known as the “Long Island Medium,” will be at the Quechan Casino Resort’s Pipa Event Center Saturday, August 22, at 8 p.m., with the doors opening at 7 p.m.

During the show, Caputo, according to the resort, will bring an evening “filled with personal stories, humor, and emotional moments as she connects with audience members and delivers messages from loved ones.”

“I come out on stage, I give a little quick speech on how I communicate with spirits, and then once I start sensing and feeling things, I allow the spirits to guide me around the theater,” Caputo explained.

For more than 20 years, she has touched the lives of millions of people, healing fans and comforting supporters when they needed it most.

Caputo said changing people’s lives is the most rewarding part of sharing her gift.

“People that come to the show don’t know how to live after the loss of a loved one, and in some cases, people don’t want to live,” Caputo explained.

Before audiences leave the show, Caputo wants them to know “there is truly an afterlife.”

“There is more to life than in the physical world and that they have the connection within loved ones that have died this is a soul bond that can never be broken. I want people to know that what they sense and feel that remind them of their loved one who has died is truly them,” she added.

To learn more about Caputo, click here. To purchase tickets for the show, click here.

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Abraham Retana

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – A local real estate broker has earned nationwide recognition.

Realty One Group Gateway broker Matias Rosales has been ranked a no. 15 in the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professional’s Top 250 Latino Agents Report, and no. 4 in the Southwest Region.

Rosales said the results are thanks to the commitment to serve the community.

“I love serving people, I love serving them, I love seeing their smiles when they get the keys, the final moment,” Rosales expressed. “I’ve been doing it for 18 years and I wouldn’t stop doing it. It’s a great profession.”

Rosales also said the goal is to continue serving the Yuma community and be a mentor to generations to come.

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Connor Emery

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – The Yuma Union High School District (YUHSD) announced last week that dropout rates for students are at an all-time low.

The seven high schools in the district each have a dropout specialist who reach out to students before considering dropping out.

Dropout specialist Arisbey Ojeda-Garcia says students’ success is their top priority.

“Lower dropout rates show that we’re actually working hard to help our students succeed in school. And at the same time, we’re trying to take away as many barriers as possible so that they can be successful in high school and beyond,” Ojeda-Garcia said.

Each dropout specialist works with the students, whether it be home visits or one-on-one conversations.

Ojeda-Garcia said she loves what she does in helping students in the long run.

“I love what I do because I’m able to support students. I’m able to help them and I’m able to be part of them reaching success. I love what I do every single day. We’re able to verify that students are successful, which makes a very big difference as well,” said Ojeda-Garcia.

The average dropout rate in Arizona is around 4% while Yuma averages around 1%.

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Adrik Vargas

CALEXICO, Calif. (KYMA) – For people held at the Imperial Regional Detention Facility, life can be filled with uncertainty. But for some, support can come in unexpected ways.

Daniel Rosenberg, a former rabbi and volunteer spiritual advisor, has spent more than a decade meeting with people detained at the facility and providing spiritual guidance.

He says sometimes that support is as simple as sitting down and having a conversation.

Recently, women detained at the facility also made and donated 100 handmade blankets to children at the Betty Jo McNeece Receiving Home in El Centro.

Those acts of support are one part of a larger question about what care looks like inside immigration detention.

The facility is operated by Management and Training Corporation, or MTC, under contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. MTC says the facility operates under ICE’s Performance-Based National Detention Standards, which cover areas including medical and mental health care, safety, sanitation, food service and emergency response.

MTC says ICE personnel provide daily, on-site oversight of facility operations and that when a medical emergency occurs, trained staff begin an immediate response. If someone needs a higher level of care, staff coordinate with emergency responders and arrange transportation to a hospital.

For Rosenberg, though, care is about more than policies and procedures. He says human connection can help people maintain hope during some of the most difficult moments of their lives.

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Adrik Vargas

IMPERIAL, Calif. (KYMA) – Imperial Valley College (IVC) and the University of Arizona Yuma are teaming up to give local students more ways to earn a four-year degree without leaving the Valley.

The two schools signed a new partnership Thursday focused on agriculture and STEM programs.

The partnership will help build the “ValleyCats Initiative,” creating transfer pathways from IVC into four-year programs.

College leaders say the goal is to remove some of the barriers that can come with leaving home for college.

IVC says the partnership also fills a gap in the Valley, where students previously did not have local STEM bachelor’s degree options.

The schools say the program will continue to grow as they work to create more opportunities for students locally.

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Lauren Duffel

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – The Yuma Safe Produce Council (YSPC) held its annual food safety refresher training for local agriculture workers.

YSPC said it was founded by food safety professionals to strengthen education in the community and help protect public health through safe, high-quality produce.

Local agriculture workers gathered for training on proper food handling, personal hygiene, preventing the spread of disease, and the recent Cyclospora outbreak.

Valentin Sierra of Amigo Farms said, “To prevent…that’s what we’re doing here. It’s a preventative measure to prevent any type of possible outbreak and keep a refresher for all of our employees.”

The training also featured guest speakers from the Yuma County Health Department and researchers from the University of Arizona.

Lupe Camarena of NatureFresh Farms said, “Cyclospora is a topic, and there’s a lot of interest in what’s going on in the industry. So we have the Yuma County Public Health Department here, and they specialize in that, to explain in detail what Cyclospora is, including some other pathogens, to educate our community.”

The leafy vegetable growing season begins in mid-October and runs through May.

Amigo Farms Director of Food Safety Valentin Sierra says Cyclospora won’t be a major concern during the growing season because it is typically more common in the summer months.

Instead, workers are more concerned about other pathogens like E. coli 157, salmonella, and listeria, which were also covered during the training.

To learn more about YSPC and the work they do, you can check out their website here.

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Madeline Murray

YUMA COUNTY, Ariz. (KYMA) – Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), the Republican candidate for Arizona governor, is facing criticism over decisions he made while in office involving child protection and the Colorado City Marshal’s Office.

The Copper State War Room held a press conference Thursday with several speakers, including a former state legislator, a domestic violence survivor and victim advocate, a school board member and an attorney.

The group accused Rep. Biggs of failing to do enough to protect children and said Arizona voters deserve an explanation for his decisions.

“A vote for governor is very important and both candidates have records, very clear records,” said Debbie McCune Davis, a former state legislator. “They served in public office for a number of years and the contrast is very clear as to who stands up for women and children.”

Lauren Easter, a domestic violence survivor and victim advocate, said Biggs should address the concerns raised by survivors and families.

“And I believe Andy Biggs owes survivors and families across Arizona an explanation for the decision he made,” Easter said.

The group also criticized Biggs over a bipartisan bill involving the Colorado City Marshal’s Office. The legislation would have removed the marshal’s law enforcement authority following allegations of abuse and religious discrimination.

The Arizona House passed the bill, but it never received a vote in the Senate. The group accused Biggs, who was Senate president at the time, of preventing the bill from moving forward.

Stephanie Miller, a Tucson social worker and school board member, said Biggs should have taken action.

“That is why what Andy Biggs did in Colorado City is so utterly reprehensible to me,” Miller said. “Andy Biggs knew what was happening to those children.”

Clint Smith, an attorney and independent voter, said the issue should be considered by voters ahead of the governor’s race.

“I do believe that he is not in favor of a pure democracy where we let things come to a vote,” Smith said. “I think this is an important issue for Arizona voters before we go into this Arizona governor’s race any further.”

The Biggs campaign responded by criticizing Gov. Katie Hobbs (D-Ariz.), who is running for reelection, and pointing to legislation she has vetoed.

“Katie Hobbs has a disturbing record of protecting predators and pornographers through misguided vetoes,” the campaign said in a statement. “Hobbs is being held accountable for vetoes on bipartisan bills, passed by both chambers of the State Legislature, throughout her tenure that would have kept women and children safer in Arizona.”

Biggs and Gov. Hobbs are expected to face each other in the November general election. Hobbs has said she does not plan to debate Biggs.

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Connor Emery

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – The City of Yuma Parks and Recreation is hosting the annual Father Daughter Ball.

The event, taking place at the Pivot Point Conference Center Saturday, September 12, from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., is a semi-formal event filled with a dinner, dancing and to celebrate special moments between fathers and daughters in Yuma.

Each daughter will receive a flower and enjoy some music from the DJ.

“We wanted to have an opportunity to celebrate the special relationship that girls have with their dads. And so the event is just focused on having time together setting aside a special night that the girls can get dressed up,” said Marilyn Lammel, Program Supervisor for the City of Yuma Parks and Recreation. “Their dad’s also tend to get really dressed up and then they go out for a night of dinner and dancing and it’s a really good time.”

Tickets are $60 for each father/daughter couple, plus $20 for an additional daughter.

To purchase tickets, click here.

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Andrea Turisk

SALTON CITY, Calif. (KYMA) – Two schools in Salton City went on lockdown Thursday following reports of a man walking with a gun near the area.

The Imperial County Sheriff’s Office (ICSO) received a report of a man walking with a firearm near Dalton and S. Marina Drive before 7 a.m.

ICSO asked administration from both Sea View Elementary School and West Shores High School to go on lockdown while the report was investigated.

The U.S. Border Patrol helped in the search.

During the investigation, ICSO said there wasn’t any current threat to either school or the surrounding community.

The investigation is ongoing. If anyone has information regarding the case, call ICSO.

News Release – Salton City Report of Man with GunDownload

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Andrea Turisk

IMPERIAL COUNTY, Calif. (KYMA) – A local emergency was called throughout Imperial County due to storm damage.

A severe storm that happened earlier this month caused significant damage to transmission lines and poles, causing widespread power outages across the county.

Flooding also damaged roads and homes.

The County said the proclamation allows them to activate emergency organization, coordinate resources, and pursue available state and federal assistance to support recovery.

To learn more about this, and to read the proclamation, see attached files.

Imperial County Fire Department – Media Advisory August 12 Storm Damages PRDownload

Emergency Proclamation 26.08.19-August 12 StormDownload

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