YUMA INFORMED
News, explainers and local context, with evidence you can check.
161 published entries
When Rachel's leftovers blew through on Oct. 10 and 11, they carried birds that are supposed to live on the open Pacific. Birders found sea terns at Mittry Lake, the West Wetlands and the Gila River, and storm-petrels from the Salton Sea to Lake Havasu to Utah.
The City of Yuma already has a road safety plan. Now the Yuma Metropolitan Planning Organization is building one for San Luis, Somerton, Wellton, Cocopah tribal lands and the unincorporated county. The first round of public input, including a map where you can mark trouble spots, is open now.
The county departments that keep its buildings running and its computers secure are working out of 50-year-old buildings, mobile offices and a warehouse. Supervisors looked at three ways to replace them, from a $7 million renovation downtown to $10.1 million in new construction, and sent staff back for more numbers.
News
Onvida Health has added a robotic system for joint replacement, starting with shoulders. It builds a 3D model of your joint from a CT scan, and the cutting tool shuts off if it strays outside the plan. Knees are expected next. Hips are waiting on federal approvals.
The City of Yuma says an Oct. 14 trip to Mexico City advanced the Yuma Spaceport. What got signed is a broad science and technology agreement. The deal aimed squarely at the spaceport was discussed as a future one. That distinction matters, because rockets launched from here would fly over Mexico.
The State and Local Election Alliance says it has spent more than $90,000 on ads and mailers backing Jorge Lozano for Yuma County Superior Court. John LeSueur calls outside money in a local judge race a threat to local control. Lozano says he's had no contact with the group. Here's what's documented and what isn't.
All summer, Yuma has quietly been on the same time as California. At 2 a.m. Sunday, California and Baja California fall back an hour. Arizona and Sonora don't. That dentist appointment in Algodones or that shift in El Centro just moved.
Any registered Yuma County voter can use any of ten vote centers on Tuesday, Nov. 3, from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Bring ID. It's too late to trust the mail with an early ballot, so drop it off instead. Here's where, plus what to do if something comes up before Tuesday.
A Yuma County Sheriff's deputy was hit Wednesday afternoon while directing traffic around a three-vehicle crash on South Frontage Road in the Foothills. Her injuries are not life-threatening. Deputies say speed and impairment appear to have played a role in the first crash, but not the second.
The City of Yuma has named its nominees for the 26th Tribute of the Muses, the annual awards for people who keep the local arts going. The ceremony at the Historic Yuma Theatre on Nov. 20 is free; the black-tie party next door is $25.
The Desert Difference summit brings growers, researchers and startups to Yuma to see automation, AI and sensors working on real commercial fields. Registration is free through Nov. 20.
Every acre-foot of Colorado River water that irrigates Yuma lettuce also brings salt. Growers get pitched plenty of products to deal with it. A University of Arizona extension trial in Yuma is testing 32 of them side by side, on purpose, with saltier water.
A $113,800 grant from Arizona Complete Health will help Sunset Health launch a family medicine residency in Yuma. It's small, two new doctors a year, and its public page leaves the accreditation status unclear. The idea behind it is simple: doctors tend to stay near where they train.
Dolores Huerta died Oct. 28 at 96. San Luis Mayor Nieves Riedel met her at 17 in a Delano grape field. Seven months ago, Huerta said Cesar Chavez, who was born in Yuma and died in San Luis, had assaulted her. Both things belong in how Yuma County remembers her.
Only three school districts outside the Phoenix and Tucson areas are covered by Prop 320, and two of them are in Yuma. Here's where District One and Yuma Union High stand, what happens if they don't hit 60%, and the best case each side makes.
A reported remodel added a different lodging option downtown. The operator describes one- and two-bedroom apartments; the building’s claimed 1938 origin has not been independently verified.
KYMA reports that family, friends and veterans gathered Oct. 23 for a tribute to Kenneth Metoyer and his late father, Victor Jones.
KYMA credits Marcus Hancock, Roman Jacobo, Alonzo Fierro and Antonio Fierro with two school relay marks. The times remain attributed pending a check of official meet results.
The Town confirms the completed playground addition. The Yuma Association of Realtors identifies a $7,500 National Association of Realtors Placemaking Grant behind it.
KYMA reports the donation kiosks will be in front of Harkins Nov. 16–29. The local hours and item list have not yet been confirmed.