Category: kyma-local-news

Miriam Ordonez

YUMA COUNTY, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – After pushback from Senator Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), the Yuma Rural Development Office is staying open.

The USDA had planned to close the office as part of a broader lease termination effort, but changed course after Senator Gallego intervened.

Local leaders say the office is important for rural communities, helping secure over $600 million in grants and loans across southern Arizona.

“On behalf of our entire community, I want to extend my deepest gratitude to Senator Ruben Gallego. When the Yuma Rural Development Office was slated for closure as part of the DOGE lease terminations, it was a dire situation for our town and countless families. Senator Gallego understood the profound impact this would have on access to critical resources and economic opportunities here in Southern Arizona. His unwavering advocacy and fierce fight ensured that this essential office will remain open, a true testament to his commitment to our rural communities.”

Gerardo Anaya, Mayor of Somerton

“The City of San Luis is thrilled that the Yuma Rural Development Office will remain open, a decision that secures vital resources for so many here in Southern Arizona. For our community, this office is more than just a government building—it’s a lifeline, a crucial hub that our residents and businesses rely on daily for essential services. When it was inexplicably slated for closure as part of the Trump-Musk DOGE lease terminations, it sent a wave of concern through our town. Thankfully, U.S. Senator Ruben Gallego immediately stepped in, advocating tirelessly on our behalf. We are immensely grateful for Senator Gallego’s unwavering commitment to rural Arizona.”

Nieves Riedel, Mayor of San Luis, Arizona

Gallego says keeping the office open is a win for Arizona farmers and families.

“The Rural Development Office is vital to keeping Yuma the Lettuce Capitol of the World. Shutting it down would have been a gut punch to Arizona farmers. DOGE’s plan to close it showed just how out of touch they are with rural communities. Thanks to our intervention and the intervention of local leaders, we stopped DOGE in its tracks and kept the office open.”

Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.)

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Karina Bazarte

BRAWLEY, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) – A 31-year old man was stabbed multiple times by his 23-year old brother-in-law at an apartment complex in Brawley Monday.

The Brawley Police Department (BPD) says the victim and the suspect got into an altercation after the victim allegedly poured milk on his child.

“They got into an argument over the victim’s son and who the victim was treating his son allegedly pouring milk on his head,” said Commander Juan Morales with BPD.

Police says the victim then asked the suspect to go outside and talk and led to the stabbing.

BPD say when they arrived, the victim was outside of the apartment sitting down on a chair with multiple stabbing wounds to his back and on the side of his armpit.

The suspect had left the scene.

“The suspect took off and was later located by the sheriff’s department approximately 40 minutes later in a community development in Brawley,” said Commander Morales.

The suspect was found on River Drive and Havilland Avenue, 0.5 miles away from where the stabbing happened.

The suspect is currently at the Imperial County Jail and is being charged with attempted murder.

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Dillon Fuhrman

EL CENTRO, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) – The Imperial Irrigation District (IID) Board of Directors approved to contribute $40,000 to support safe water activities during the summer.

“The District is pleased to once again have our esteemed Water Safety Campaign reach thousands of schoolchildren this year,” said IID Board Chairwoman Gina Dockstader. “We are excited to make this financial contribution to our communities so that we can continue spreading the very important water safety message.”

IID says the funds will help “expenses associated with keeping pools open, providing free or discounted swimming lessons, or providing safe water activities for youth and adults, such as water slides.”

According to IID, the funds, which is included in their 2025 Public Affairs Water Safety budget, will be distributed to the following entities:

Brawley

Calexico

Calipatria

El Centro

Holtville

Imperial

Westmorland

Heber Public Utility District

Niland Chamber of Commerce

County of Imperial

The Imperial Valley Desert Museum

To learn more about this, click here.

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Dillon Fuhrman

IMPERIAL COUNTY, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) – Imperial County has issued a PSA regarding the closure for Silliman Road, located east of Brawley.

The PSA says Silliman Road, from Butters and Green Road, will close from June 23 to July 18 due to the concrete lining of the Osage Lateral.

Courtesy: Google Maps

There will be a detour along Ben Hulse Highway (SR-78) or Shank Road, according to the PSA.

To learn more about the PSA, read the press release below.

6-18-25 Sillman RdDownload

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Jalen Fong

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – The couple charged with murdering a two-year-old toddler were formally charged in court and pleaded not guilty to the murder.

20-year-old Angelina Vasquez and 23-year-old Miguel Garcia pled not guilty before Judge Roger Nelson on Monday.

Both are being charged with three felony counts, which are first-degree murder, child abuse per domestic violence and abandonment or concealment of dead body parts.

They were arrested back on May 30 after Yuma police discovered possible human remains of a toddler in a home near 25th Street and Avenue 9E, just south of Arizona Western College.

Vasquez and Garcia remain in custody on a $2 million cash-only bond.

They will be back in court on July 16 for a case management conference.

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Eduardo Morales

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – On Tuesday’s HomeGrown report, we highlighted Sudan grass, one of the popular summer Yuma agricultural products.

While the city is famous for its winter produce, the soil doesn’t rest during the summer months. 

Lettuce in the fields is now replaced with ten-foot-tall fields of sudan grass.

The grass is grown for hay to feed livestock and planting seed production.

“The hay is often grown for the Asian export market where it mimics the fine stemmed rice hay, which is in short supply in Asia, when growing for the export market planting density is critical to produce the desired size and texture,” says Robert Masson, assistant agricultural agent at the local U of A Cooperative Extension.

The grass is typically planted and grown from mid-March to August.

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Eduardo Morales

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – The Yuma Police Department (YPD) gave their 2024 annual report at Tuesday’s Yuma City Council work session.

According to the report, there was an 80% decrease in homicides in 2024, with only two occurring. However, YPD Chief Thomas Garrity says these are hard to control.

“What we’re trying to do is we try and reduce domestic homicides and that’s through education, through productivity, making sure that we arrest people who commit domestic violence,” he says.

Chief Garrity says this also means encouraging victims to speak out and bring the abuse to light.

Meanwhile, Yuma Mayor Doug Nichols says this report helps understand where the city is at in terms of crime.

“Knowing what’s happening with the police department, what they’re struggling with, where they’re succeeding, all that really helps us as we prepare budgets, prepare guidance, look at the growth of our community,” said Mayor Nichols.

Sexual assault saw the biggest increase in percentage at 5.71%.

“I would like to think that that is actually through education and reporting, that people are reporting, they’re not keeping quiet about it anymore and through our partnership with Amberly’s Place, our child and family crimes detectives, they do a very good job of sitting there and trying to get the message out of don’t be silent, report,” Garrity says.

The chief says he is proud of the work his officers have done and hopes to continue to improve the department.

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Karina Bazarte

CALIPATRIA, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) – Two suspects pled not guilty after they were arrested in connection to a robbery and kidnapping in Calipatria.

The District Attorney’s Office says two of the three suspects had their first court appearance last week.

They were arraigned which means they were advised of their charges and they had the option of entering a plea…both of them entered a plea of not guilty at that time,” said District Attorney George Marquez.

The kidnapping and robbery happened last Tuesday, which led to the arrest of 22-year old Daniel Lizarraga and 21-year old Sebastian Torres.

Calipatria Mayor Michael Luellen, who’s also in charge of P.I.O. services, says they worked with border patrol to catch the suspects.

“Calipat knows if you’re heading North you have to hit the border checkpoint and these individuals were driving their car through border patrol caught the information noticed similarities and arrested them,” said Mayor Luellen.

The D.A.’s Office says one suspect is from Los Angeles and two are from Riverside County.

Two of the suspects will be back in court next week.

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Danyelle Burke North

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – Student access to mental health resources will continue to be available throughout the summer!

Yuma Elementary School District One is partnering with Cartwheel, a trusted mental health partner for K-12 schools, to support the mental health of students and families through virtual telehealth. Resources include 1:1 therapy, medication evaluation and management, and parent guidance and family therapy.

“We are a rural community, and we don’t have quite the resources that you would have in a larger area, so the Arizona Department of Education has put us in touch with this grant where we can access these services for therapy for our students,” said Carol Bickford, counselor at Dorothy Hall Elementary School.

The district says supporting the mental health and well being of students helps set them up for success to reach their full potential in school and in life.

“We know that our kids sometimes have experienced things in life that kind of stand in their way of success, so we want to be able to partner and connect them with services that can help remove those barriers so that then they’re able to engage in their learning and be successful in school,” said Leeanne Lagunas, Associate Superintendent of Academic Support Services for District One.

Bickford shares about the referral process and quick turnaround.

“Student can be referred by really anyone at the school, primarily the counselor or the administrator, and then this referral will come through to be approved and then sent off to Cartwheel. And at that point, their response is with usually within 24 hours. They are reaching out to the parent to clarify some things and then also, set up an intake session, and then from there, it goes pretty fast,” Bickford explained.

“So parents have been very pleased. You know they reached back out to the parent within days and then they can get them set up with, with services probably in weeks instead of months,” said Lagunas.

Cartwheel services will continue to be available to families throughout the summer. If you’re interested in signing up, you can find the interest form HERE.

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Abraham Retana

IMPERIAL COUNTY, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) – A new agreement is working on bringing better healthcare to the Imperial Valley.

The Imperial Valley Healthcare District (IVHD) made a five-year agreement with the University of California San Diego Health to develop programs for Pioneers Memorial Hospital and El Centro Regional Medical Center (ECMRC).

“Which focuses in the strategic planning portion of what we are doing, how we are going to deliver that care in the community, increase services and all the things we talked about that UCSD brings to the table, they are going to help us with that process,” said Chris Bjornberg, CEO of IVHD.

ECRMC CEO Pablo Velez says it’ll help improve the services they provide.

“This is going to help us build the infrastructure to provide better services for our community. So our patients don’t have to leave the Imperial Valley and get the necessary care they need here,” Velez shared.

The agreement will bring three key benefits to the Imperial Valley: Increase specialized healthcare, improve healthcare access and enhance operational stability.

“We can increase our quality, they have the blueprint ready for that and we can take advantage of that relationship with them to try to take those things integrate them here in the Imperial Valley and increase quality here for the Imperial Valley residents,” Bjornberg explained.

The collaboration begins on July 1 and it will end in July of 2030.

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