Category: kyma-local-news

Marcos Icahuate

EL CENTRO, Calif. (KYMA) – The Naval Air Facility (NAF) El Centro announced the winner of the 2026 NAF El Centro Airshow poster contest.

Marco Bejarano of El Centro was announced as the winner.

NAF El Centro says his design and artwork are the foundation of the poster.

“We are thrilled with the level of talent and creativity we saw in the poster submissions,” said Captain Ryan Carstens, Commanding Officer of NAF El Centro. “Mr. Bejarano’s design truly captures the excitement and spirit of the NAF El Centro Airshow. We are proud to have his artwork represent this year’s event.”

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Dillon Fuhrman

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – The Yuma County Sheriff’s Office (YCSO) is investigating a crash which left multiple people injured.

According to a press release, the crash happened in the area of S. Fortuna Road and E. 24th Street at around 2:30 p.m. Friday.

YCSO says a 2025 Jeep Wagoneer stopped at the railroad crossing north of 24th Street when a Dodge Ram 2500 approached stopped traffic, failed to stop and crashed into the rear of the Jeep.

YCSO says Rural Metro arrived on scene to aid those involved in the crash, and says the driver and passengers of the Jeep were taken to Onvida Health for minor injuries.

The driver of the Dodge was also taken to Onvida Health, but YCSO says the driver was later flown to a Phoenix area hospital after suffering serious injuries.

While neither speed nor impairment appear to be a factor in the crash, the investigation remains ongoing.

If anyone has information regarding the case, call YCSO at (928) 783-4427, call 78-CRIME to remain anonymous, or visit YCSO’s website to submit an anonymous tip.

PR-2026-13-Serious-Injury-CollisionDownload

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Danyelle Burke North

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – The local Yuma Silver Spur Rodeo is helping raise awareness for breast cancer. The rodeo has their Buckin for Bridget campaign which supports locals battling breast cancer.

The campaign raises money all year long and will be selling merch at the rodeo and a saddle raffle. 100% of the funds raised are donated to Bridget’s Gift and go right back into our community.

One Yuma Silver Spur Rodeo pick up men is battling cancer and says he hopes to spread more awareness to locals through campaigns like this.

“One of the great things about being involved with Yuma is they have Buckin for Bridget, and unlike a lot of organizations that you know that raise money for cancer research, these guys are raising money to help people in this community” said Yuma rodeo pick up man Bill Stinemates.

“We’ve got a lot of our own personal people here in our rodeo family that are dealing with cancer and breast cancer, so you know, what was a better way to team up with a local community. We knew where our money was going,” said past Rodeo Chairperson & co chair for Bucking with Bridget Tina McCash.

100% of the funds raised are donated to Bridget’s Gift and go right back into our community.

“One of my favorite things about the Yuma’s Silver Spur Rodeo is it’s not just about the rodeo but ways to give back to the community, so we do that in several different ways,” said rodeo announcer Bob Edmonds.

Rodeo goers are encouraged to wear yellow or gold on Friday for “Pick Up Man” day for suicide prevention awareness. Pink attire is encouraged on Saturday for Buckin for Bridget’s breast cancer awareness.

“The big thing for me is I want to get the awareness out there to men that they need to do self-exams. We don’t need to be tough. We need to get things looked at, and I just want to make sure men know what to get checked for. Women to make their men go get checked, you know, and do self-exams because I don’t want anybody to be ignored like I was, and you’ve got to advocate,” said Stinemates.

Stinemates shares some words of advice for others batting cancer.

“One of the biggest things when you fight cancer is it’s a mental attitude. And, you know, I develop the attitude of every day is a good day. There is no bad days. And then there’s some great days, you know, and surround yourself with people that are positive. I’ve had a great support group behind me that has helped me through, and it’s a lot of it’s mental and just stay active. And it’s not a death sentence,” said Stinemates.

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Jessamyn Dodd

CALEXICO, Calif. (KYMA) – The City of Calexico is cracking down on homeless encampment sites. The Calexico Police Department (CPD), along with community workers, cleared several homeless encampments earlier this week.

Calexico Police Chief Armando Orozco says this is part of an ongoing effort to clean up the city.

“We try to do details on a regular basis to you know, again, offer services. That’s always gonna be our primary mission is to offer services. Try to help people out and then, you know, obviously people have the right to refuse services,” Chief Orozco explained.

The effort aims to enforce state and city bans on “urban camping” The Departments issued multiple citations during the encampment sweeps.

“But now we also have an ordinance on camping on private property. So, because that ordinance and the governor’s direction, you know, starting to enforce those ordinances and establish those ordinances, citations are starting to be issued,” said Orozco.

However, William Cooper, Executive Director of The Becoming Project, a local non-profit, says citing and arresting unhoused individuals doesn’t solve the problem, it just makes it worse.

Cooper raised ethical concerns, stating, “First of all, it makes no sense to fine and cite and penalize people who have already proven that they don’t have the means to pay a fine or the means or the transportation to show up to court.”

Meantime, Ozorco says the City will continue the encampment sweeps, and try to keep downtown clean and safe.

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Marcos Icahuate

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – Locals are invited to a fun, family-friendly event for Easter.

The Easter Egg Hunt will be on Saturday, March 21, 2026 starting at 11 a.m. in the village area.

Children will be split into age groups to hunt for eggs.

Other fun activities include, face painting, crafts, games, and a visit with the Easter Bunny.

Age groups and times are included in the attached flyer.

The event is free.

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Jessamyn Dodd

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – Vega Family Clinic celebrated their official grand opening Friday. The clinic is spearheaded by Family Nurse Practitioner Ivan Vega.

Located at 100 East 24th Street in Yuma, the clinic offers routine primary care, as well as weight management, preventative health screenings, chronic disease management, and acute illness visits.

Ivan Vega, Family Nurse Practitioner said, “We’ve been working closely with the community and a number of different agencies including nursing homes, assisted living, to expand our services.”

A patient of the Vega Family clinic, Darlene Gelsleichter, said she values the level of personalized care she receives from Vega and his team.

“He’s very personable, he’s wonderful, he really cares about you as a patient. I’m really happy to have him as my physician,” said Gelsleichter.

Vega says he is looking forward to taking on new patients, and that all insurances and private pay are available.

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Adrik Vargas

WESTMORLAND, Calif. (KYMA) – The City of Westmorland is getting nearly $4 million in federal funding to build a new Emergency Operations Center for its fire and police departments.

Right now, the fire department is working out of old FEMA trailers after Tropical Storm Hilary damaged their building. The police department operates in a small room inside City Hall.

The money will be used to remodel an existing building and add space for fire trucks, living quarters for firefighters, and modern facilities for police.

Chief Anthony Lynn Mara said, “The public will be able to walk in, and speak to the officers. Obviously, we’ll be open 24 hours but there’ll be a phone outside so they can call us anytime.”

The new facility is going to be at 198 East Third Street. Residents can expect faster response times and easier access to both departments.

The new facility is expected to be finished by 2028.

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Adrik Vargas

SOMERTON, Ariz. (KYMA) – Arizona Public Service (APS), is proposing a roughly 14% increase to its base rates.

If approved by the state, families could see their monthly electricity bills rise.

Maura Valenzuela, a mother of two who has lived in Somerton for more than 20 years, says the increase would hit families like hers hard.

“Many times, I honestly couldn’t pay my electricity bill in full just to pay for gas or fill the fridge,” Valenzuela said. “I had to sacrifice other things, trips, other bills, other expenses just to cover the electricity bill.”

Valenzuela says families in Somerton who rely on seasonal farm work could struggle even more. Summer bills can reach $500, a time when jobs are scarce.

APS plans to hold three public comment hearings in the coming months to discuss the proposed increase. The utility says customers can also reach out to review options like payment plans or switching to a different rate plan.

“Some of the increases are related to the cost of materials, like poles and wires, and other things we’re doing to maintain a sustainable grid and ensure good reliability for Arizona,” said APS representative Anne Carlton.

Valenzuela says electricity is essential in Arizona, especially during the summer heat.

“I can assure you there isn’t a family or person who doesn’t have air conditioning in their home during this time,” she said. “Maybe people from other states don’t understand…but I invite them to come in July or August to Arizona without air conditioning and see how long they could last.”

She hopes utility leaders and lawmakers will consider how rate increases affect rural and low-income families.

For families like hers, Valenzuela says, an APS rate increase could impact their livelihoods for years to come.

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Adrik Vargas

EDITOR’S NOTE: A previous version of this story said a man had been arrested, but the man was not arrested, he was detained.

IMPERIAL COUNTY, Calif. (KYMA) – A man has been detained in connection to the death of 17-year-old T’neya Tovar.

The Imperial County Sheriff’s Office (ICSO) confirmed a man was detained at his residence in Salton City.

Tovar was reported missing last December after traveling to Thermal, California.

In late December, investigators discovered human remains in the Salton City area.

Weeks later, DNA testing confirmed the remains belonged to Tovar after her mother provided a sample for comparison.

ICSO says the investigation is ongoing with assistance from the FBI.

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Adrik Vargas

IMPERIAL, Calif. (KYMA) – The City of Imperial is moving forward with its legal challenge to a proposed data center in the Imperial Valley.

In December, the City filed a petition under the California Environmental Quality Act, arguing the project should go through a stricter review process. The county and the developer challenged the petition in court.

The Superior Court of California, County of Imperial, granted the county’s and developer’s motion but allowed the City to amend its petition.

City officials say they plan to file the amended petition within the 30-day period set by the court.

City Manager of Imperial said the City intends to address the concerns raised by the court and will continue through the legal process if the county challenges the amended petition.

In a statement shared to KYMA, the developer says it is “very pleased with the court’s ruling” and added that it believes the City’s continued actions against the project could affect the region’s economic future.

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