Category: kyma-local-news

Dillon Fuhrman

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – The Strong Beginnings Project and Strong Beginnings, LLC have teamed up to host Walk 4 Autism 2026 Saturday morning.

The event took place at Gateway Park at 9 a.m., with check-in starting at 8 a.m., and was to raise awareness and support for autism as April is Autism Acceptance Month.

Yuma City Councilmember Carol Smith and Yuma Police Department (YPD) Chief Thomas Garrity also participated in the walk.

Mandie Gilmor, Operations and Communication Manager for the Strong Beginnings Project, shared how the event benefits Yuma County.

“It helps to promote awareness of autism in the community and it helps for the families of children with autism to feel supported, seen, and to have a place to connect and come together with the community…and so it just really helps with that engagement and to feel support and to have a community that comes together,” Gilmor explained.

During the event, YPD was handing out Autism Awareness Month patches and stickers, as well as attendees participating in a variety of activities and raffles.

Onvida Health and Rural Metro also served as community partners and sponsors for the event.

According to the Strong Beginnings Project, the expected attendance for those participating in the walk was over 1,400.

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Paul Vozzella

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – Yuma is preparing for an event 250 years in the making, as it gears up to honor America’s upcoming milestone anniversary with a Star-Spangled Celebration.

Festivities will take place at Desert Sun Stadium, where locals can expect an evening filled with entertainment, music, and patriotic displays.

“It brings Yuma together and brings the community together for a once-in-a-generation celebration,” said Christian Magana, Public Information Officer for the City of Yuma.

The event will feature activities for all ages, including a patriotic drone show and live performances from both national and local artists. Headlining the celebration is country music artist Randy Houser, joined by Parmalee and Yuma native Bobby McClendon.

“It’s all about making memorable experiences here in Yuma while still celebrating and honoring a milestone in our nation’s history,” Magana said.

The Star-Spangled Celebration is scheduled for Saturday, April 18, from 3-11 p.m. at Desert Sun Stadium. Ticket prices are $25 plus taxes and fees and children 12 and under are free. You can purchase tickets here.

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Paul Vozzella

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – The Selective Service System is proposing a change to the registration of military requirements.

The agency is pushing for American men ages 18-26 to automatically register for a military draft.

The current system requires men in the same age group to register themselves through voluntary compliance. Failure to comply would be considered a felony.

This proposal gets rid of voluntary compliance and automatically registers eligible American men within 30 days of turning 18.

“I agree with it because back in the 60s and 70s, during my time, it was mandatory, and if you didn’t do it, you were under violation of federal law,” said Veteran Kyle Shaw.

“Of course, I had to sign up when I was 18 and it didn’t bother me any at all,” said veteran Herschel Patterson.

Despite the potential for a felony, the Selective Service System stated that only 81% of men voluntarily complied in 2024, a 3% decrease from the year before. Veterans believe letting the young men know the benefits of joining would raise the percentage.

“I don’t believe they’re getting the correct education they should get,” said Patterson.

“I think that the military is not getting out the word of what the benefits are,” Shaw added.

Although President Donald Trump hasn’t made a formal statement on a draft happening in the future, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that the possibility is on the table.

For Shaw, whether the proposal is implemented or not, he doesn’t see a draft taking place anytime soon.

“I don’t see U.S. going into anything at the moment, at all,” he said. “Not in the next 5-10 years.”

If implemented as part of the National Defense Authorization Act, the proposal will take effect in December.

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Moses Femino

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – April marks Autism Acceptance Month across the country. In Yuma, local organizations and first responders are working together to build a more inclusive and understanding community.

For many, that effort begins with closing the gap between families affected by autism and the community around them.

“Autism Acceptance Month is very close to my heart. I have been working with children with special needs for over 20 years,” Berenice Diaz, founder of the Strong Beginnings Project, said. “Starting off as a teacher. And I have always seen, kind of a disconnect, you know, between, between the families and community.”

Organizations, like Strong Beginnings, are helping bridge that gap through both services and community events.

They provide Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA), a therapy that focuses on improving social and behavioral skills for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

As part of Autism Acceptance Month, Strong Beginnings will host its annual Walk for Autism Saturday at Gateway Park.

Check-in begins at 8 a.m., and the walk is set to start at 9 a.m. The event aims to raise funds to help families access specialized care, including services that may not be readily available in Yuma.

The Yuma Police Department (YPD) is also joining the effort to promote awareness and inclusion. The department is hosting its first Autism Awareness Community Event on April 25, creating an opportunity for families to connect with officers in a supportig environment.

“This event is really important for us. Myself and Lt. Pino have children who are on the autism spectrum,” Sgt. Christina Fernandez with YPD said. “With speaking about our personal experiences, we learned that a lot of our officers and personnel also have children and loved ones who are on the spectrum as well. So it’s really important for us to be able to bring this awareness to the community, and know the importance behind it.”

Organizers say these efforts go beyond awareness and focus on building trust, expanding resources and strengthening connections.

With more ABA and speech therapy providers now available in Yuma, advocates say the community is making progress, but there is work to be done.

“I hope this is the beginning to that inclusion. Because I think we’re past that awareness,” Diaz said. “We all know it exists right, now we have to really accept so that we can create that inclusion within our community.”

Local groups say events like these are just beginning, as they continue working year-round to ensure families feel supported and connected.

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Marcos Icahuate

IMPERIAL COUNTY (KYMA) – The Imperial County Sheriff’s Office confirms Alexandra Meza was found in Mexicali Wednesday.

She was originally booked at the Imperial County Jail on March 24.

Then a couple days later, she was taken to El Centro Regional Medical center after reporting a medical complaint.

Deputies say she escaped from the hospital on March 27.

After being on the run for 12 days, Mexicali police found her Wednesday morning.

She is now in custody at the Imperial County Jail.

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Marcos Icahuate

IMPERIAL COUNTY, Calif. (KYMA) – Two people died in a car crash on State Route 98, west of Mount Signal Road, according to California Highway Patrol (CHP).

On April 9, 2026, at about 5:32 a.m., at 34-year-old man was driving a Hyundai Elantra eastbound on State Route 98.

The Hyundai had a front seat passenger, a 34-year-old woman.

A 25-year-old man in a Toyota Camry was driving westbound on SR 98, when both vehicles collided.

The driver of the Hyundai and Toyota both died in the crash and the passenger had major injuries.

The woman was taken to Desert Regional Medical Center.

CHP says the people in the Hyundai were properly restrained at the time of the crash, but the driver of the Toyota was not.

CHP is reminding drivers to focus on driving defensively.

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Jessamyn Dodd

IMPERIAL COUNTY, Calif. (KYMA) – Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) made a major step in helping restore the Salton Sea.

The Salton Sea Conservancy was signed into law to support the area’s habitat and increase public access.

Gov. Newson has been in support of the Salton Sea since 2019, and has accelerated plans to restore the area by securing over half a billion dollars for restoration projects.

“The Salton Sea Conservancy’s creation is a historic moment for this region,” said Gina Dockstader, Imperial Irrigation District Director. “Imperial Irrigation District is proud of its collaboration with state and federal officials to support hundreds of millions of dollars for projects that are restoring habitat and suppressing dust at the Salton Sea, and looks forward to working with the Conservancy’s members to ensure the long-term benefits of these projects for Salton Sea communities.”

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Madeline Murray

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – “When the Orions Capsule is reentering the Earth’s atmosphere, it’s going something like 20,000 miles per hour…now to be slowed down quite a bit by friction as it reenters Earth’s atmosphere, but for it’s final decent when it touches down in the ocean the parachutes need to decelerate that capsule by 20 miles per hour,” says Mark Schauer, Yuma Proving Ground (YPG) Public Affairs Officer.

Although their journey is not over, their hard work has paid off.

Victor Glover, Artemis ll pilot, says, “Thank you to all of you for allowing us this immense privilege to be on this journey together, it’s quite amazing and as we go on this journey together thinking about the NASA mission to explore the unknown and air and space, to innovate for the benefit of humanity and to inspire the world through discovery, and as you’ve gone along on this journey with us, hopefully we’re doing just those things.”

With YPG testing they are able to do those things and get home safely.

When people think of space travel, they think of the extreme speeds astronauts have to travel to get to space, but slowing down the spacecraft is just as important for the astronauts.

“The United States hasn’t sent folks in the vicinity of the moon since the early 1970s, now thanks in part to testing done at Yuma Proving Ground the United States and Canada has folks flying around the moon and theres man missions to the moon scheduled,” says Schauer.

Artemis ll is the first crewed flight to the moon since 1972.

Between 2011 and 2018, the parachutes in the Orion Space Capsule that will bring the astronauts back safely underwent developmental testing at YPG.

Glover was actually able to witness multiple developmental tests at YPG.

“The Orion Capsule is where the astronauts are during the mission, so during the developmental testing of the parachutes for it we used a mock capsule, that was almost life-size to conduct all of the test parachute drops,” explains Schauer.

Safely landing under the extreme conditions a spacecraft experiences on its mission to and from space is a tremendous undertaking, and a prime example of why YPG plays such in important role in developmental testing for NASA.

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Lauren Duffel

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – A fire ripped through a Yuma home, leaving a single mother of five and one on the way left her and other family members displaced and asking for help.

“We lost everything, all of our clothes, important documents, and I’m a single mom of five so it was hard, especially on Easter,” the mother said.

The fire happened this past Saturday on First Street and 19th Avenue. It displaced two adults and five children.

The mother, Xenia Hirales, is now working to rebuild her home and support her growing family.

“It wrecked me. It’s already hard as it is being a single mom with four kids and I take care of my niece, so five, and they’re all so little and everything’s changing,” Hirales said.

A GoFundMe has been set up for the family, and they are asking for donations to help during this time of rebuilding and grief.

“She doesn’t have nothing no more. She’s going to have to re-get everything and even buying birth certificates cost money, IDs cost money, everything costs. It would be amazing to have the community help in every way possible,” friend Summer Rain Martinez said.

The cost to rebuild from the ground up is very costly for a growing family of six.

“Anybody that can help donate, help with clothes, help with basically just anything would be just a great help to her and the children. They need anything that they can get right now,” Martinez added.

A GoFundMe page has been created to support the Hirales family. To donate or learn more about how to help visit their GoFundMe page.

Any contribution will help this family during this difficult time.

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Adrik Vargas

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – The United States and Iran have agreed to a two-week ceasefire, and reactions in Yuma are mixed as people wait to see what happens next.

With attention on the Strait of Hormuz, some are wondering how the situation could affect gas prices. While some hope for relief, others aren’t convinced the U.S. will benefit.

Nicole Piccolo said, “The 20% gas that flows from there goes to other countries, mainly China. So I don’t know if it helps.”

Some also say the U.S. should rely more on domestic oil production. Local Veteran Reynaldo Gastelum voiced support for the president’s approach.

“The president is not playing, you know, and there’s a lot of us there behind the president. I’m a veteran, you know. So, I understand what we have to do, you know, and he doesn’t have an easy job, but somebody has to do it. I think we got the right president to keep us all safe. And not only the United States, the whole world,” Gastelum said.

The ceasefire came just hours before a deadline from President Donald Trump tied to the Strait of Hormuz, a key global oil route.

Still, some remain skeptical the agreement will hold.

“I think, the ceasefire is a good thing. But from what I’ve heard lately…Iran is still shooting missiles. So the cease fire is not really a ceasefire,” said Barry Johnson, another local.

Many say they’re watching closely to see what comes next.

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