Category: kyma-local-news

Jessamyn Dodd

BRAWLEY, Calif. (KYMA) – Started in September of 2007, Hunger Action Month aims to raise awareness about food insecurity, and to remind people to take action by donating to local food banks or volunteering.

Volunteers from the Imperial Valley Food Bank were at the Cattle Call Arena in Brawley Thursday, September 24, for a community food distribution.

“Hunger Action Month is just a rallying cry to help the public understand that this problem still exists in this country in a growing demanding way due to some cuts in programs including SNAP, where people are falling off of assistance and really needing more help getting through the month,” Sara Griffen, Imperial Valley Food Bank Director, told News 11.

Assemblyman Jeff Gonzalez was on hand with his team volunteering and handing out information on state resources for assistance.

“Right now, Imperial Valley Food Bank in this line is gonna be able to feed 500 families for 1 week, but that’s only 1 week out of the year. One thing that the community can do is they can get involved at the Imperial Valley Food Bank by donating either food or resources, money, so that way they can buy protein. That’s one of the things that the food bank is missing is protein to help feed people,” the assemblyman said.

Federal data shows that general grocery inflation over the last year is hovering around 3% due to tariffs and higher fuel costs.

Specific items like tomatoes have risen 40% due to tariffs on Mexico, and the cost of beef has risen roughly 18% due to tighter cattle supply.

“Definitely we are seeing an increase with the cuts to SNAP benefits on the federal level,” Cari Augusta, Distribution Manager at the Imperial Valley Food Bank, explained.

“It has really come down to our level, and we don’t have as many big corporate donors as a lot of other food banks have, so we have to rely on our local donors, search for grants to help supplement what we’re receiving, and also we’re receiving less food in the warehouse from the USDA,” she said.

In addition to over 30 food distribution sites, the food bank also participates in the weekend backpack program for students, sending home meals for children over the weekend.

“The best way to help us is with monetary donations because we do buy all our food in bulk. You can kind of see here, some of this is pre-packed, but everything comes on a pallet. Food drives are not an effective way to feed 30,000 people. We really need to have everything palletized and purchase wholesale so that we’re able to make that dollar stretch further,” Griffen stated.

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Dillon Fuhrman

IMPERIAL, Calif. (KYMA) – The Imperial Police Department (IPD) said they arrested a suspect after receiving information regarding a possible threat involving Frank Wright Middle School Thursday morning.

IPD said officers immediately began investigating the reported threat, leading them to identify and arrest a teen responsible for making the threat.

The teen, according to IPD, was taken into custody, with the matter being referred to the Imperial County Probation Department, and is facing a charge under California Penal Code 422.3, “which addresses threats involving a school or place of worship.”

IPD said there is no continuing threat to the school, and said they take any threat involving schools, students or staff “extremely seriously.”

“The safety of our students, school staff, and community remains a top priority of the Imperial Police Department. We appreciate the cooperation of Frank Wright Middle School staff and the Imperial Unified School District,” IPD said.

If anyone becomes aware of an immediate threat or emergency, call 911.

For Immediate Release_ IMPERIAL POLICE DEPARTMENT ARRESTS SUSPECT FOLLOWING SCHOOL THREATSDownload

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Connor Emery

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – A local couple is asking for your support for their newborn daughter in the National Baby of the Year competition.

Melissa and Andre Nunez’s daughter Gianna was born prematurely at 32 weeks and spent her first 38 days at the NICU.

Fast forward to today, Gianna is a happy, healthy baby. Her parents would love for Yuma to rally behind their daughter as she’s in the final rounds.

Melissa and Andre say Gianna has been a blessing to their life and can’t thank the community enough for the support over the last few months.

“So the support beyond the price is actually a very amazing experience for Gianna. It would give her foot in the door. She would be featured in a baby magazine with honest company and she would be featured on a billboard as well,” Melissa Nunez said.

“We just wanted to thank everybody for the support. My wife has been amazing with this. She’s literally just been rock solid with everything going back to the next few days. It was tough, but I just wanted to thank everybody again for the support,” Andre Nunez said.

If you would like to learn more about the contest and where to vote, click here.

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Adrik Vargas

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – The Greater Yuma Economic Development Corporation (GYEDC) said it is not actively recruiting data centers to Yuma County.

Greg LaVann, President and CEO of GYEDC, told the Yuma County Board of Supervisors this week that the organization has not taken a position on data centers.

“I know there’s a lot of conjecture and misinformation out there about the industry, about what my organization is doing,” LaVann said.

LaVann said GYEDC is instead gathering information about the industry and sharing it with local governments so they can decide whether data center development is something they want in their communities.

“We do not actively recruit them. We do not actively market towards them,” LaVann said.

He said GYEDC takes the same approach with other industries considering Yuma County, looking at the potential costs and benefits before sharing that information with local governments.

The clarification comes as data centers continue to be discussed in Yuma County, with residents raising questions about what the industry could mean for the community.

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Dillon Fuhrman

SAN LUIS, Ariz. (KYMA) – The San Luis Police Department (SLPD) is asking for the public’s help in locating a missing person.

Marlenne Galindo, 19, is described by SLPD as over five-feet tall, weighing 186 pounds, and has brown hair and brown eyes.

SLPD said Galindo was last seen Sunday, September 20, at around 8 a.m., and was with her boyfriend at that time.

The possible vehicle involved in her disappearance, according to SLPD, is a black 2021 Nissan Altima, with Arizona license place number 80A0N7.

If anyone has seen Galindo, or know of her whereabouts, call SLPD at 928-341-2420.

Courtesy: San Luis Police Department

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Dillon Fuhrman

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – The Yuma County Sheriff’s Office (YCSO) has provided an update regarding a missing person.

Sydnie Nicole Marfione, 25, has been found, and YCSO said she is safe and her family has been notified.

Marfione, according to YCSO, was last seen back in July traveling through Yuma from Florida, with California being her intended destination.

YCSO also said she was believed to be traveling alone.

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Manoah Tuiasosopo

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – A successful agricultural season can depend on what happens before a crop ever begins to grow above the soil.

According to University of Arizona Professor and Extension Specialist in Agronomy and Soil Science Dr. Jeffrey Silvertooth, one of the most vulnerable stages in a crop’s life cycle is stand establishment, when a seed germinates, emerges from the soil and develops into a healthy young plant.

One way growers help create the right conditions during that stage is through pre-irrigation.

Pre-irrigation involves applying water to a field before or around planting to create adequate moisture in the soil. Silvertooth says that moisture helps initiate the germination process and gives young plants access to the water they need as their root systems begin to develop.

“It’s important to understand that a seed is a living organism,” Dr. Silvertooth said. “It’s a living organism that actually is dormant, and it’s initiated or woken up by the presence of good temperature conditions in the soil and good water conditions.”

Once a seed absorbs water, it begins to germinate. One of the first developments is a small root that grows into the soil in search of additional water and nutrients.

Silvertooth describes three important stages during the beginning of a crop’s life: Germination, early development and emergence, and stand establishment.

But emergence above the soil does not mean the plant is out of danger.

“When that little plant actually pushes up above the soil profile…it’s not out of the woods in terms of its danger at that point,” Silvertooth said. “That crop still requires water to be taken up from the soil through that little, small infant root system.”

Because young plants have small root systems, growers must carefully manage soil moisture around them. While an individual seedling may require relatively little water, the surrounding soil needs enough moisture to keep the developing roots from drying out.

Silvertooth compares this early stage of crop development to early childhood development, saying the right care can establish a strong foundation.

“Sometimes we can make the analogy like it’s early childhood development,” Silvertooth said. “We need to do it well, and that establishes a good foundation.”

For growers, that foundation can have implications throughout the entire growing season.

“If we don’t have a good, healthy plant to start the season, we’ll never finish the season with a healthy crop,” Silvertooth said.

Pre-irrigation is a common agricultural practice, but Silvertooth says its importance comes down to creating the soil conditions needed to help a crop get off to a healthy start.

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Jessamyn Dodd

IMPERIAL COUNTY, Calif. (KYMA) – Imperial County Board of Supervisors Chairperson Peggy Price has been served with another recall notice.

Chairperson Price was served this week at the board meeting during public comments.

Among the reasons listed were delayed storm response for residents, the shuttering of Fire Station 6, the inability to secure funding for the airport, and “lack of oversight in the proposed building of the massive AI data center.”

“I’m here today on behalf of the residents of Supervisorial District 3, pursuant to Section 11.020 of the California Elections Code to offer this notice of intention to seek the recall and removal from office of Imperial County Supervisor for District 3, Mrs. Peggy Price,” said Darrell Pechtl, an Imperial County resident.

Price has seven days to file an answer to the notice.

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Abigahil Padilla

SAN LUIS, Ariz. (KYMA) – The City of San Luis said their water remains safe for residents despite recent test results showing elevated levels of contaminants.

They Arizona Department of Environmental Quality notified the City that two water samples exceeded the state’s maximum contaminant level of trihalomethanes (THM).

While the state limit is .080 milligrams per liter, test results from the second quarter showed levels of .089.

Public works said they have taken steps to lower the levels and are working on a new main water line to improve circulation through the system.

“The city water is safe to drink…the city did not issue to a stop drinking water, or continue using water for the residents daily needs,” said Jorge Perez, Assistant Director for the City of San Luis Public Works.

While the City said the new water line is expected to be completed in October, the state has given them 90 days to provide documentation showing that the system is meeting the required water quality standard.

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Connor Emery

SAN LUIS, Ariz. (KYMA) – The San Luis Police Department (SLPD) arrested a woman on a manslaughter charge in connection to fatal crash earlier this year.

SLPD said the crash happened at the intersection of Avenue E and County 24th Street, right by the San Luis Medical Mall.

Rosa Isabel Nogales, 28, was arrested five months after the crash after SLPD obtained a search warrant on Nogales’ vehicle and phone.

Police say it took them that amount of time to extract data from her phone.

“Unfortunately, some of the things take a little more time. The search warrant itself is not really what takes a while, it’s the fact of doing data extraction, for example obtain all the data files from a cellphone,” said Lt. Emmanuel Botello, Public Information Officer for SLPD.

SLPD believes Nogales should be held responsible for what happened.

“We call it an accident for a reason but obviously detectives take it up another step here…which is really what led us to conduct an arrest and conduct an actual criminal investigation because this was a preventable accident,” Sgt. Botello explained.

Nogales, who was charged with one count of manslaughter, is no longer in custody after posting a bond of $50,000.

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