WEEKEND REWIND: A migrant bust, Gila Bend, loopholes in mask mandate, Yuma administrator under investigation
From a mass migrant bust to Gila Bend's monsoons and a Yuma administrator under investigation
DESERT SOUTHWEST (KYMA, KECY/CBS/AP) - Agents say they apprehended the group of 173 of undocumented immigrants near County 17th Street and the Salinity Canal. All were transported to the Yuma station for processing.
Just Thursday night, Yuma Sector agents took more than 350 migrants into custody.
It's been nearly a week after major flooding in Gila Bend took the lives of two residents and leaving many others displaced. Residents in the small town are still in the thick of recovery efforts.
Some are making their way out to help, like Larry Kalas, who volunteers with the American Red Cross.
"It’s pretty amazing when you look around it’s hard to imagine there were 5-6 feet of water on these buildings when it was going on. All you can see now is the mud lines and debris," he said. Helping with cleaning supplies and tools and equipment, passing on food and meals, and plugging whatever gaps need to be need to be taken care of while we're here to help the people the best we can," Kalas added.
As the debate about masks continues, some schools in Arizona have taken matters into their own hands and gone against Arizona Governor Doug Ducey's executive order banning mask mandates.
However, Arizona Western College (AWC) has found a way to require masks indoors while still abiding by Gov. Ducey's ban.
"After really considering that executive order, it was determined that we’re not in violation of that executive order because the caveat is that we are not differentiating between vaccinated and unvaccinated people," says AWC Associate Dean of Communications and Marketing Mandy Heil.
A Yuma city leader is accused of driving aggressively and leaving the scene of an accident. The City Council discussed his employment status. As of now, City Administrator Philip Rodriguez will keep his job. However, if anything in this investigation changes, it will be reconsidered.
Several members of the community spoke up tonight on behalf of Rodriguez.
"He’s a blessing to the city and I think we should be very careful to not push Phil away and stay neutral. At a minimum, we should stay neutral. At a maximum, I think we should support Phil," explains Yuma resident Clint Harrington.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Imperial and Yuma Counties respectively have populations of about 180,000 and 214,000 people.
With those numbers in place, about 15% of Imperialites have had cases of Coronavirus and about 18% of Yumans have tested positive for the virus.
California reached a new vaccine milestone with now over 46 million doses administered and Arizona with nearly 7.2 million doses.
