Category: kyma-local-news

Lynette Niebla

IMPERIAL COUNTY, Calif. (KYMA) – California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced he is suing the City of Calexico.

The lawsuit, in conjunction with the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) and the Newsom Administration, alleges the City of Calexico failed to comply with the state’s Housing Element Law.

The Housing Element Law, according to the Attorney General’s Office, is for every city and county across California “must update its housing plan every eight years to meet its Regional Housing Needs Allocation, or its share of the regional and statewide housing needs.”

However, HCD said they identified 15 local governments who remained out of compliance with the law, and while two-thirds of the local government came to compliance with the law, five of them, including Calexico, were said to be “to be still out of compliance to the Attorney General’s Office.”

The state’s lawsuit claims Calexico is nearly five years late in adopting a valid affordable housing plan and asks a judge to force compliance within 120 days. If the city loses, it could face hefty monthly fines, a loss of local zoning control, and the temporary loss of its power to issue commercial building permits.

“California’s housing crisis demands action, not excuses,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Jurisdictions that remain out of compliance with our Housing Element Law are standing in the way of the homes Californians need. We are well past the halfway point of the current housing planning cycle, and timely compliance is not optional. As I’ve said many times, no local government has to solve this challenge alone, but every local government has to do its fair share. Today, we’re showing how serious we are about ensuring that every city and county in California adopts a housing element. Restoring the California dream will take an all-hands-on-deck effort.”

“California can’t solve the housing crisis while some cities sit on their hands and dare us to do something about it,” said Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA). “These five jurisdictions had every chance to follow the law and plan for their fair share of housing. They chose not to, so now they’ll answer for it in court. Housing law applies statewide, and no city gets a pass.”

State leaders reiterate that California is in a crisis when it comes to housing production and that everyone must do their part.

“The vast majority of California’s cities and counties have stepped up to achieve housing element compliance,” said HCD Director Gustavo Velasquez. “For the small number that are still falling short, the actions we are taking today should send a clear message: no community is exempt from doing its part to solve our housing crisis. Alongside Attorney General Bonta, Governor Newsom and HCD will continue to hold local governments accountable for complying with state law.”

In response to the lawsuit, Calexico City Manager Ben Martinez released an extensive statement emphasizing the city’s active work behind the scenes to resolve the dispute:

“The City of Calexico remains fully committed to achieving compliance with California Housing Element law and advancing policies that support the development of housing opportunities for all residents. City staff continues to work closely and collaboratively with the California Department of Housing and Community Development to address comments received during the Housing Element review process and to ensure that the document meets all applicable statutory requirements. The City has made substantial progress in preparing revisions to the Housing Element and is actively incorporating HCD’s feedback into the updated draft.”

Martinez further noted that through ongoing coordination with the state, the city is actively refining its housing programs, policies, and site inventory analysis. He noted that the city appreciates HCD’s partnership and guidance throughout the process and “anticipates submitting a revised Housing Element to HCD in the near future for further review and consideration,” remaining dedicated to securing full compliance as expeditiously as possible.

Still, local leaders admit the stern punishment might be the wake-up call the city needs.

“If it has to come to that, then it might have been necessary so that whoever is on there now realizes the importance of following through with all the requirements that the city has to fulfill,” said Councilwoman Diana Nuricumbo.

As for the delay, Nuricumbo blames years of local government unrest.

“[In] the past few years, so much has gone on, with the changing of city managers of the recall of council members, not having anyone at the planning department, who is the one who is supposed to work on that, so I believe that that’s the reason why it fell so many years late,” Nuricumbo explained.

Because plans were previously presented to the council, leaders assumed the process was tracking smoothly and say this lawsuit blindsided them.

“We were under the assumption that it was getting done. We were just as surprised as everyone else,” Nuricumbo stated.

Despite the legal friction, city officials say they are actively moving to resolve the gap with the state.

“Our staff is gonna be working on this with the consultant. They’re going to be submitting something to the state in the next few days for review,” Nuricumbo said.

The Calexico City Council says they plan to have a new affordable housing plan adopted by October of this year.

To learn more about the lawsuit against Calexico, click here.

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Lynette Niebla

NILAND, Calif. (KYMA) – Home is no longer a refuge for dozens of vulnerable low-income seniors at the Lark Spa Mobile Home & RV Park.

Instead, their trailers have been transformed into dangerous ovens during an extreme summer heatwave after an unpermitted, unsafe electrical line was ordered to be de-energized.

Vulnerable residents, disabled neighbors, and their pets have been left stranded in triple-digit desert heat since the electricity was cut off early Monday morning.

Because the enforcement action only targeted the specific unpermitted line, the resulting power outage affected a portion of the property, leaving some sections of the park with functioning electricity while others were plunged into darkness. The crisis has forced many to completely abandon their homes, beds, and private restrooms just to survive.

The emergency sprouted from a long-standing issue with a main electrical infrastructure line on the property, which park management had failed to permanently repair for years.

In an attempt to solve the issue temporarily and keep the cooling systems running through the blistering weather, an electrician laid a high-power bypass line along the ground, heavily barricaded it off for safety.

However, Imperial County Planning & Development Services flagged the private repair during an inspection. Citing the unpermitted and hazardous setup, county officials issued an Attention-Action Required Notice on July 9, directing the property operator to immediately stop the unpermitted electrical work and de-energize the affected unsafe electrical line for safety reasons.

County officials made clear that the order was aimed strictly at removing the immediate fire hazard. The five-day period referenced in the notice was a compliance window for the operator to correct the unpermitted work.

In an effort to get answers for the displaced residents, we reached out directly to Imperial County District 4 Supervisor Ryan Kelley, whose district includes the Niland area.

The county adds that once the Imperial County Executive Office was formally notified of the residents’ dire circumstances on July 17, multiple county departments immediately mobilized that same day to assess the affected residents and connect them with available emergency assistance.

When reached for comment regarding the situation, the Imperial Irrigation District (IID) clarified that they are not responsible for the current outage.

According to an IID spokesperson, the facility operates on a master meter, meaning the utility company is only in charge of billing these customers as a single entity.

The utility confirmed they have no reported outages in the broader Niland area. IID stated that this setup is typical for RV parks, emphasizing that the owner of the RV park is solely in charge of supplying power to the residents, and IID is not responsible for them losing electricity.

An emergency request remains tied up in the permitting phase. Because progress is expected to stall through the weekend, vulnerable residents face the reality of surviving several more days in scorching conditions without air conditioning. 

With air conditioners knocked offline, frail and disabled elderly residents are now crowding inside a single on-site recreation room to escape the scorching sun.

“Imagine having no access to your personal effects,” said park resident Seth True. “Not being able to watch your movies, your streaming services. Not being able to go to the bathroom in your bathroom or take a shower when you want to.”

At night, the situation grows increasingly treacherous. Without electricity, residents are forced to step outside into pitch-black conditions just to use the facility’s exterior restrooms.

“So at night you have to come outside, walk through the dark…there’s snakes, tarantulas, there’s camel spiders,” True shared. “Even attempting to wash away the day’s sweat offers no refuge, as the lack of climate control leaves the community showers sweltering like steam rooms…just feel how hot it is in there, you know… no air conditioning.”

Those who can afford to stay inside their homes are forced to burn through $50 to $75 a day on generator fuel just to keep simple fans spinning.

According to residents, the only guidance received from local agencies was a written notification suggesting they surrender their companion pets to the Humane Society and keep their groceries and medication chilled on ice.

“Well, the closest ice is in Niland,” True explained. “So it’s a 12-mile drive in 100+ degree heat.”

With the official system leaving them completely in the dark, community compassion has become the only real light left shining at the park. Neighbors are actively looking out for one another to make sure no one succumbs to heat-related illness. 

“People have been coming down and talking to everybody and offering them to come over and have dinner, or come watch some TV at night to go off and talk,” True said. “They’re trying to help.”

While the situation remains critical, enforcement documents indicate officials maintain the directive to de-energize the unpermitted line was legally necessary to completely eliminate an immediate electrical fire hazard.

“I would like to see somebody from the county come up here and stay one day,” True emphasized. “I would like them to go have to be in there from the time they wake up and stay there on a night on one of those beds.”

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Adrik Vargas

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – Community members gathered outside the Mexican Consulate in Yuma Wednesday evening for a vigil honoring people who have died in incidents involving ICE, or while in ICE custody.

The event included moments of silence, candle lighting, and speakers sharing why they felt it was important to remember the lives being honored.

Organizers said the vigil came together after they learned of another death involving ICE just days after they began planning the event.

“It’s so unfortunate that within that short time frame that happened again. So not only are we going to be honoring Lorenzo tonight, we’re also going to be honoring Joann Bastian and countless others,” Aquino said.

Speakers at the vigil said they hoped the gathering would help bring attention to the stories and experiences of people impacted by ICE operations.

“There’s someone’s father. There’s someone’s sister. You know, it’s someone you know that has a life, that has a family. We cannot be so inhumane,” said Bryan De La Hoya, a San Luis resident who spoke at the vigil.

Organizers said they hope events like this continue conversations within the Yuma community about the people being remembered and ICE operations.

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Lauren Duffel

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – If you have lived in Yuma for some time, you probably know the name Emily Hieber.

The 19-year-old went missing 13 years ago, and her mother is still searching for answers, clinging to hope that one day she will know where her daughter is.

Hieber went missing in February of 2013, alongside her miniature pinscher, Bruiser. Hieber and Bruiser have not been seen or heard from since.

Jenny Jimenez, Hieber’s mother, said, “We just need to find her.”

Jimenez describes her daughter Hieber as independent, funny, athletic and a social butterfly, but things started to change in high school.

Jimenez says the summer of her junior year, Emily started using drugs.

“I think that in that summer just everything changed. Emily was a really happy girl, but she was just trying to find like the happiness. There were things that had happened in her life that she just couldn’t find that true happiness and I feel that that’s why she strayed that summer and that’s what got her into the things she was getting into,” Jimenez said.

Things just got worse.

“Things were just happening so much here. Things were going missing. I had my home broken into and I had taken away her car and she left,” Jimenez said.

Emily took to the streets, living on the streets for an entire year. But she still managed to stay active on social media. She was an avid Facebook poster and communicated with her family often about her whereabouts until one day, she vanished.

“It was two weeks, which sometimes it wasn’t that odd not to talk to her for that long, but to not see her on Facebook…so many selfies…and then her phone was shut off, and that’s when we started to get worried,” Jimenez said.

Before she disappeared, Emily told her mother, Jenny, that she was ready to turn over a new leaf and become more involved in her nephew’s life following the birth of her sister’s baby.

“She wanted to be really involved in his life, and she just wanted to be done. And then two weeks later, she went missing. And [the picture of Emily holding her nephew] was the last day we saw her,” Jimenez said.

What seemed like the start of a new chapter took a tragic turn just two weeks later.

“That day I felt like things were going to change. It was really exciting, you know; we thought things were going to be better. You know, and we hugged, and she always called me mama. She was like, ‘I love you, mama,’ and I said, ‘I love you too.’ And then two weeks later, she just…it was like she had dropped. Her phone was off. She was off Facebook, which was not her, and here we are 13 years later,” Jimenez said.

Because of her age and lifestyle, her family wasn’t able to file a missing persons report right away, but one day, when a body was found, her grandfather went to see if it was Hieber.

“My dad wanted to make sure it wasn’t Emily, and he started talking to the detective, and the detective took the case on sight,” Jimenez said.

For the past 13 years, and after hundreds of tips, the search for Emily Hieber, who is now 32 years old, continues.

Sgt. Lori Franklin with the Yuma Police Department (YPD) says the case is still open.

“As of now, it’s still an open case. We do have a detective still on it. As tips come in, or if something new does come in, they follow everything,” Sgt. Franklin said.

Hieber’s family is hopeful that one day she will be back home.

“That’s what the future has to hold,” Jimenez said.

If you or someone you know has information that could help detectives find Hieber and bring answers to her family, please contact the YPD or 78-CRIME to remain anonymous.

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Dillon Fuhrman

YUMA COUNTY, Ariz. (KYMA, NBC) – A produce company with ties to Yuma, headquartered in Salinas, California, is being investigated as a possible source of the cyclosporiasis outbreak.

Investigators are looking at shredded iceberg lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms, a source familiar with the investigation shared with NBC News.

It is unclear whether the outbreak has anything to do with any of the Salinas facilities.

Taylor Farms also has a processing plant in Yuma, and the lettuce was sold to several Taco Bell restaurants.

The stomach illness has spread to 34 states, including Arizona and California. Arizona has 19 cases, with some in Yuma County, but it is not clear if those cases are tied to this specific outbreak.

News 11 will have the latest details as this story develops.

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Connor Emery

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – As the heat warning is still in effect, a local nonprofit is opening its doors to help those who want to cool off inside.

Hot weather calls for a cooling solution.

During severe heat advisories, the Salvation Army Cooling Center often extends its hours to provide a safe place to rest, hydrate and cool off.

They also have relief kits, snacks and most importantly water.

Trisha Backman, a local volunteer, said Salvation is open to everyone as they want to provide relief during this extreme weather.

“It’s not just the people that are homeless or that have swamp coolers as their air conditioner that don’t work. We’re here for anybody that needs it. Even if you just need a bottle of water, come by and say hi. See what we have to offer,” Backman explained.

While Salvation Army sees roughly between 15 to 30 visitors a day, Backman said that she would like to gather more people inside.

“We do have a regular population. Usually, we do have around 15-30 that come in. We’d like to see more, that’s what we’re here for. I know there are other cooling centers around the area as well. We just want to help aid that because it gets unbearably hot,” Backman said.

Salvation Army welcomes any donations to help with the cooling center. To learn more about how you can help, click HERE.

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Moses Femino

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – The Yuma Police Department (YPD) officially opened its new evidence storage facility dedicating the building to fallen Lt. Daniel P. Elkins in honor of his service and sacrifice.

The facility provides a larger, more secure space for storing and processing evidence while also serving as a lasting memorial to Elkins and Arizona Department of Public Safety Sgt. Michael Crowe, who were both killed in the line of duty in 1995.

According to YPD, Elkins and Sgt. Crowe were investigating missing evidence when they were shot and killed while serving as supervisors with the Southwest Border Alliance, a multi-agency law enforcement task force.

YPD said naming the facility after Elkins ensures that the legacy of both officers will continue to be remembered.

“It’s special that we can let the legacy of these men who lost their lives serving their country, serving the department to live on for people to know,” Sgt. Lori Franklin of the YPD Public Affairs Unit said. “And I think it’s important for the families too. So that they know that they will never be forgotten.”

Yuma Mayor Doug Nicholls said the dedication serves as a reminder of the sacrifices made by law enforcement officers in the community.

“Those that give the ultimate sacrifice for our community are never forgotten,” Mayor Nicholls said. “That was 31 years ago. It’s one of those things that we remind ourselves that the men and women who don the uniform, put their lives on the line for us. And that there are some that have lost it in the service, unfortunately. And it’s our obligation as a community to continue to honor that through time.”

The new evidence storage facility is designed to improve the department’s handling and security of evidence while ensuring the memory of Elkins and Crowe remains a permanent part of the YPD’s history.

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Jalen Fong

IMPERIAL COUNTY, Calif. (KYMA) – A lawsuit against a nonprofit organization accusing them of civil defamation has been dismissed Thursday in court.

The Imperial County Superior Court granted a special motion, essentially dismissing a lawsuit against Comite Civico del Valle (CCV) and Luis Olmedo, its executive director.

The court determined the lawsuit, filed by Imperial County Computer Manufacturing, LLC and Sebastian Rucci, presented no admissible evidence supporting their allegations.

They claimed CCV or Olmedo participated in, directed, or orchestrated an alleged defamatory campaign concerning the proposed Imperial Valley data center.

CCV previously said the lawsuit was an attempt to silence critics of the data center.

To learn more about the lawsuit’s dismissal, read the press release below.

CCV & anti-SLAPP – Legal Victory Final Press Release 7.16.26Download

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Dillon Fuhrman

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – A local bank is offering a once in a lifetime opportunity for Yuma residents.

OneAZ Credit Union is celebrating its 75th anniversary by buying residents free coffee.

Courtesy: Desert Buzz Cafe

They’ll cover customer orders at Desert Buzz Cafe, located at 2451 W. 16th Street, next Wednesday.

This will go from 9 a.m. to noon, or until the tab reaches $1,500 tab runs out.

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Abigahil Padilla

SOMERTON, Ariz. (KYMA) – The Arizona primary election is a week away, and News 11 is introducing another candidate running for Somerton City Council.

Mireya Bran says her involvement in the community, including hosting a podcast where she interviews local residents, has given her a first-hand understanding of the city’s needs.

Bran’s platform focuses on supporting families, strengthening public safety and encouraging the growth of small businesses.

“Transparency and accountability, we need accountability…Those are the two main areas I am heavily focused on, and with working with children, young people, and the seniors,” Bran explained.

The Arizona primary election is next Tuesday, and early voting is underway. To find out where you can vote, click here.

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