Category: kyma-local-news

Wesley Williamson

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – Yuma Community Area Transit (YCAT) will help kick off Hunger Action Month by accepting canned food donations in place of bus fare from Monday, Aug. 31, through Saturday, Sept. 5.

During the promotion, riders may donate one canned food item for one YCAT ride, one can, one ride.

All donations collected onboard will benefit the Yuma Community Food Bank and support local hunger relief efforts.

YCAT provides safe, affordable, and reliable public transportation throughout the greater Yuma region, connecting riders to work, school, medical appointments, shopping, community services, and other everyday destinations.

The Yuma Community Food Bank is a leading hunger-relief organization serving Yuma and southwestern Arizona, providing emergency and supplemental food programs that help families, children, seniors, veterans, and individuals throughout the region access nutritious food.

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Wesley Williamson

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – Bad Rabbits AZ, Yuma’s girls travel flag football program, hosted a girls flag football skills camp Saturday at 11 a.m. at the Caballero Fields.

The event that was hosted by the Bad Rabbits had flag football drills and on field instructors.

Nearly 50 girls were in attendance whose ages ranged from six to 18-years-old.

Guest Coach Michael Maccagnano the Head Coach of Arizona Christian University’s Women’s Flag Football program and a 2024 AIA 6A State Champion coach at Hamilton High School was in attendance for Saturdays skills camp.

With him, Coach Maccagnano brought members of his ACU women’s flag football team, girls who are currently playing college flag football on scholarship.

This weekend’s skills camp focused on young Yuma girls getting hands on time with high schoolers and college athletes playing the sport at a scholarship level.

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Wesley Williamson

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – The Donnie Crump Late Night Over the Line tournament was held Saturday night at the Pacific Avenue Athletic Complex.

The Over The Line (OTL) tournament started at 5:30 p.m. Saturday evening and the event went on all night until a champion was crowned on Sunday morning.

The tournament was separated into three divisions, a Men’s and Women’s along with a Masters division.

The OTL tournament brought in teams from all over the desert southwest looking for bragging rights including teams from San Diego.

A fun night of competition for the entire family that lasted well into the morning hours.

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Skylar Heisey

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – The Yuma Police Department (YPD) are warning of a scam going around the community.

YPD is reminding the community to remain vigilant when searching for homes, apartments or other properties for rent in the Yuma community.

YPD also said they have received some reports of rental scams targeting citizens by advertising properties that scammers do not own.

Scammers may copy rental listings, offer unusual low rent, pressure people to act quickly or request a deposit before you have verified the property.

YPD is asking residents to remember to stop, verify, do your research, and then pay.

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Jessamyn Dodd

CALEXICO, Calif. (KYMA) – Crossing the border could soon look a little different in imperial county thanks to some new technology. 

A high-tech upgrade is coming to the Calexico Port of Entry as U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) expands the use of biometric technology to identify people crossing the border.

CBP says facial recognition helps confirm that travelers are the rightful owners of their documents.

Nationwide, more than 800 million travelers have already been processed using the system.

One resident, Juan Ramon, hopes this will help speed up the crowds.

“In the morning, it’s hard because all the people coming, the students. It’s too much people. Around around, people coming into the morning. 6 o’clock, 8 o’clock it’s too much people,” Ramon explained.

These changes come as the West Port of entry is being rebuilt with a permanent structure expected to be completed in 2029.

The Calexico Police Department (CPD) said the new construction brought new crime, although that jas been addressed with more patrol units.

“Actually we’ve seen a little bit of increases as the construction companies have arrived,” said Det. Jose Cuellar with CPD.

“At the beginning they were breaking into the construction site and stealing tools and stuff like that, but once they let us know that that was happening, extra patrols were conducted and that has dropped,” he explained.

The construction and installation on the new technology begins Monday night with crews working in the evening to cut down on traffic delays.

Detective Cuellar said traffic from the current construction has not affected the flow of traffic, except when it comes to parking downtown.

As for the data and what happens to it, CBP says the photo is generally deleted after a person’s identity has been confirmed, but may be stored longer than 12 hours, depending on the person’s status.

The biometric technology is already being used at several airports, land borders, and seaports across America

As the technology expands, data and privacy remain a major part of the conversation.

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Dillon Fuhrman

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – Yuma Union High School District (YUHSD) said Vista High School has received the top “safety committee” award of $8,300 during a Governing Board meeting Wednesday.

In a press release, Brenda Higuera, Director of Finance, and Henry Gonzalez, Director of Health and Safety, distributed checks “from board-approved insurance proceeds to the safety committee for each of the seven eligible schools in the district.”

In order to be eligible to receive the funds, YUHSD said the seven campuses fulfilled several of the following requirements for the 2025-26 school year:

Have a safety committee who meets quarterly and conducts inspections twice per school year.

Look for building and equipment hazard and safety concerns, such as damage to crosswalks and signage.

Monitor injuries on campus throughout the school year.

In addition to Vista, the other schools within the district received the following funds:

San Luis High School: $5,500

Cibola High School: $6,000

Yuma High School: $5,700

Kofa High School: $5,400

Somerton High School: $5,400

Gila Ridge High School $6,000

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

PR – Vista earns top safety committee award 2026.docxDownload

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Dillon Fuhrman

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA) – The man accused of murdering a missing San Luis, Arizona teen has been formally charged.

Mark Alan Spadt, 52, is facing seven felony charges, including first-degree murder, sexual conduct with a minor, custodial interference and evidence tampering.

Spadt was arrested Thursday, August 13, in connection to the murder of 15-year-old Diana Walle, whose body was found in the area of Adams Avenue and Tera Lane back in June of this year.

16 days after the body was found, Spadt, who was considered by the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office (YCSO) as a person of interest, was arrested on drug charges.

After an extensive investigation and collecting evidence, YCSO identified Spadt as the suspect, leading to his arrest.

“The bond remain as previously set, being in the amount of $1 million cash only,” Judge Gregory S. Stewart said.

Spadt, who is currently being held at the Yuma County Detention Center, will be back in court this Friday at 4 p.m.

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Dillon Fuhrman

SAN LUIS, Ariz. (KYMA) – Chicanos Por La Causa (CPLC) Family Assistance is partnering with regional SNAP agencies to host an event offering community resources.

The event, according to CPLC, is taking place at Comite de Bien Estar, located at 963 E. B Street, in San Luis, Arizona Wednesday, August 19, and Thursday, August 20, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

During the event, CPLC is offering an APS crisis bill utility assistance and SNAP eligibility and application assistance.

While walk-ins are welcomed for APS bill assistance, residents are urged to schedule an appointment for SNAP assistance.

Courtesy: Chicanos Por La Causa

In addition, CPLC said, “Utility assistance is an income and crisis based program that requires eligibility,” and said to qualify, those who attend the event will need to bring the following required documentation:

Proof of ID from all adults over 18+ in the household

Current APS bill

Must have crisis/hardship with supportive documentation

Proof of incone from everyone 18+ in the household:

Most recent paystubs from the last 30 days

AHCCCS/SNAP award letter

Social Security award letter

VA benefits

Child support

Alimony

To learn more about the upcoming event, see attached flyer and application, written in English and Spanish, below.

CPLC Family Assistance APS & SNAP San Luis Event. ENGLISHDownload

CPLC Family Assistance APS & SNAP San Luis Event. SPANISHDownload

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Madeline Murray

YUMA COUNTY, Ariz. (KYMA) – Two of the five suspects arrested in a child sex trafficking operation in Yuma were in court Monday.

In addition, News 11 has learned another suspect committed suicide while being held at the Yuma County Detention Center.

Jacob David Vasquez, 24, and Eduardo Jesus Martinez, 27, pleaded not guilty during their court appearance.

Both were arrested after the Yuma Police Department conducted “Operation Teardrop” to catch child predators.

They, along with three other suspects, were charged with luring a minor for sexual exploitation and sex trafficking.

News 11 spoke with the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office (YCSO), who confirmed one of the five inmates arrested committed suicide inside the jail.

YCSO provided a statement saying, “Detention officers immediately initiated lifesaving measures until EMS arrived and transported him to Onvida Health for further treatment. During his hospitalization, the inmate was released from custody.”

YCSO also said he was taken to a Phoenix area hospital where he later died.

Vasquez and Martinez are both scheduled to be back in court later this month.

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Dillon Fuhrman

YUMA COUNTY, Ariz. (KYMA) – Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said Cal-Maine Foods delivered 17 pallets of eggs of the Yuma Community Food Bank (YCFB).

In a press release, the delivery followed a settlement, announced by Attorney General Mayes back in June, after an investigation found Cal-Maine Foods, Versova/Centrum and Hickman’s Egg Ranch illegally coordinating “to manipulate a daily egg price index, artificially inflating prices for retailers and consumers nationwide.”

“Many Arizonans are struggling to make ends meet because of illegal tariffs, inflation, and corporate greed,” Mayes said. “When major egg producers engaged in illegal price-fixing that drove prices up even further, my office stepped in to stop them. This delivery is proof that when companies break the law and drive up costs for Arizonans, we will hold them accountable and get real relief for Arizonans.”

The eggs were delivered to YCFB Friday, August 14, and will be distributed to food banks, food pantries and other partner agencies across Yuma and La Paz Counties.

“Additional deliveries as part of this settlement will be announced at a later date,” the press release said.

YCFB is one of four regional food banks within the Arizona Food Bank Network, along with St. Mary’s Food Bank, United Food Bank and Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona.

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