Good morning, Yuma.

The Yuma County Victim’s Rights committee held a dinner at Yuma Main Library’s Garden Area this week to honor crime victims and advocate for their needs.

Local leader Miss Yuma County Mone-Asia Bowman and council member Mark Martinez stressed the importance of trusted support during National Crime Victim’s Week — which ends today.

The Republic Services Transfer Station in Yuma caught fire Friday afternoon at 3040 3 1/2 in eastern Yuma — Rural Metro Fire was already on scene.

26-year-old Angel Witrado returned to court today on a first-degree murder charge after fatally stabbing 37-year-old Justin Arviso outside a Circle K last October, with his lawyer asking for more time to review new video evidence— the state said a plea deal will be offered at his next hearing on May 16.

Trial dates have been set for a Yuma man, 24-year-old Gabriel Taddei, accused of shooting a 29-year-old man near East 40th Place last October+ Judge Claudia Gonzalez scheduled his next appearance on May 23rd.

Aden Arviso appeared in court today for a status hearing over his involvement in a Yuma house party shooting that killed Danny Garcia, 19, and Ande Blackthunder, 20, in May 2023; he faces two counts of second degree murder and his trial is set to begin in September with a four-week duration.

Northern Arizona University in Yuma celebrated the opening of its new mechanical engineering labs that include a machining lab, a fluid analysis lab, and an electrical lab designed for hands-on student training.

Yuma Mayor Doug Nicholls said the labs offer a chance to train local engineers — a major step forward for the city to build its own industry.

The Yuma Union High School District fired a Somerton cheerleading coach (Alyssa Plaza) after she allowed a boy on her team to change in the girls’ locker room when empty to protect him from bullying.

The coach said her action saved her student (Alejandro Perez-Parra) from escalating harassment even though some students felt uncomfortable, and her cheer team has launched an online petition to reinstate her.

Adelita Grijalva, daughter of the late Raúl Grijalva, announced she is running to fill her father's House seat and visited Somerton to launch her campaign — she has received endorsements from Senators Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego and former Rep. Gabby Giffords while her father died on March 13.

Yuma Regional Medical Center got new federal Medicaid funds aimed at helping care for nearly half of Yuma’s 85,000 Medicaid enrollees — CEO Dr. Robert Trenschel said the boost is welcome but does not fix the underlying system issues.

Some locals, including Ron Dauzenroth, raised concerns about waste in government spending after the state authorized a new reimbursement model earlier this year.