Pala Today News – 2/20/26
Written by John Fox on February 20, 2026
The following items are part of the award-winning “Pala Today” newscast heard this day at noon on PALA REZ RADIO™ 91.3 FM in Pala.
In any emergency, knowledge is power. Use our resources to leverage your family’s safety. Email 91.3@palatribe.com to subscribe to our daily M-F e-newsletter. Follow us at www.facebook.com/rezradio and www.twitter.com/rezradioFM. Additional resources at Palatribe.com
LOCAL AND REGIONAL NEWS
A fatal single vehicle crash on Margarita Road last evening in Temecula caused the overnight closure of that road between Temecula Parkway and Santiago Road as well as a local power outage. It happened around 8:15p. The driver was killed. Three other passengers were hospitalized in stable condition. According to witnesses, the speeding vehicle hit a utility pole, shearing it in half. No other details released. https://patch.com/california/temecula/fatal-crash-temecula-causes-power-outage-lengthy-road-closure
As of 11a, Jefferson Avenue in Temecula was closed in both directions between Del Rio and Calle Cortez, where a CHP motorcycle officer collided with a white sedan. The officer was transported to a nearby hospital with non-life threatening injuries. No further details released. https://www.villagenews.com/story/2026/02/12/news/span-classbrnwsbreaking-news-spanchp-officer-transported-after-accident/81225.html
Picketers held a small rally outside Escondido City Hall Wednesday to urge the city to cancel its contract with the Department of Homeland Security for the use of the city’s shooting range by ICE. A petition with 3k signatures was presented to city leaders ahead of that night’s scheduled city council meeting. The topic was not on Wednesday’s agenda but will be discussed during the city council meeting on February 25. https://www.newsbreak.com/fox-5-san-diego-1589916/4499915294502-petition-and-rally-wednesday-calls-on-escondido-to-cancel-its-contract-with-ice
Scattered showers brought another hundredth or two of an inch of rain to most inland North County areas since midnight and more snow to Palomar Mountain where chains may still be required on both South and East Grade Roads. There is a chain requirement on Highway 74 between Mountain Center and Palm Desert. https://quickmap.dot.ca.gov/
Here are the 72-hour storm totals with about a half-inch for most places falling over the past 24 hours. These do not include totals from the first storm on Monday.
- 1.12” in Pala – .02” of it since midnight
- .72” in Oceanside
- .85” in Vista
- .78” in Carlsbad
- .85” in Fallbrook
- 1.45” in Rainbow
- .80” in Bonsall
- .90” in Couser Canyon
- 1.22” in Pauma Valley
- No report for Valley Center
- 1.39” at Lake Wohlford
- 1.23” in Escondido
- No report for Deer Springs
- 1.49” inches at Rincon
- Up to a foot of snow at Birch Hill
- Up to a foot of snow at Palomar Observatory
- 2.99” inches at Lake Henshaw, some of it snow
- No report for La Jolla reservation
- 2.69” inches at Mesa Grande, some of it snow
- 1.86” inches at Santa Ysabel
- 1.60”at Warner Springs.
- 2.11” at Oak Grove
- .18” at Borrego Springs
- .05” at Ocotillo Wells
- 1.02” at Temecula
- .52” at French Valley
- .51” at Lake Skinner
- 1.46” at Anza
- .99” at La Cresta
- 1.30” at North Lake Elsinore
We’ll have a sunny, but unusually cold day today, a warm-up this weekend, and highs in the low 80s next week. The full forecast is coming up. (below)
SPORTS
At the Winter Olympics – Canada survived another scare to rally from two goals down to beat Finland in the men’s hockey semifinals 3-2. The unbeaten US team faces Slovakia in the other semi final today. A win sets up the anticipated finals match between the US and Canada. US women won gold in hockey, beating Canada 2-1 yesterday. That moved the US into second place in the medal count. Norway still leads with 37, including a record 17 gold. The US has 27 – 9 of them gold. Italy is third with 26 – 9 of them gold. https://www.espn.com/olympics/winter/2026/medals
In the NBA – The regular season resumed last night with ten games. The Clippers edged the visiting Nuggets 115-114 with Bennedict Mathurin scoring 38 points in his home debut with the Clippers. Other winners were Houston, Cleveland, Atlanta, Washington, Detroit, Toronto, San Antonio, Boston and Orlando. Nine games tonight including the Lakers hosting the Clippers.
In the minors – The San Diego Clippers next games are tonight and tomorrow night hosting Austin at Frontgate Arena in Oceanside.
In college basketball – No Top 25 games yesterday.
In women’s NCAA – #2 UCLA beat Washington 82-67
In the NHL – The regular season is on hold until after the Winter Olympics. Games resume Wednesday.
In the minors – The San Diego Gulls next two games are tomorrow and Sunday at Rockford.
In Major League Baseball – The first games of Spring Training are today.
In the minor leagues – The Lake Elsinore Storm
In the NFL – The Rams have promoted passing coordinator Nate Scheelhaase to offensive coordinator – role he will share with quarterbacks coach Dave Ragone. https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/47985549/rams-promote-nate-scheelhaase-oc-sources-say
In soccer – The San Diego Sockers next game is tomorrow at Tacoma.
In lacrosse – The San Diego Seals next game is tomorrow hosting Halifax.
In golf – At the Genesis Invitational at Pacific Palisades, Marco Penge turned in yesterday’s best round at 5-under par 66. He was tied with Xander Schauffele at 7 under par on today’s front nine.
In racing – NASCAR at Atlanta this Sunday at noon.
Local High School Sports –
Bonsall – no scheduled games today
Great Oak – softball at a tournament in Norco at 3p today and 11a tomorrow; girls’ wrestling at CIF Masters all day; girls’ lacrosse hosting Eleanor Roosevelt at 5p; boys’ lacrosse at Martin Luther King at 5:30p; Tomorrow – girls’ soccer at CIF prelims; varsity baseball at a tournament in Norco at 11a; freshman and JV baseball at Corona at 11a
Fallbrook – no scheduled published
Valley Center – boys’ wrestling at CIF championships at Olympian all day today and tomorrow; girls’ wrestling at CIF championships at Eastlake tomorrow at 9a
BUSINE$$
As of midday trading on Wall Street, stocks were up. The Dow gained four tenths of a percent. The S&P 500 was up 7 tenths. And the Nasdaq rose just over 1%. Gold gained $98.20on the Comex, trading at $5,096 an ounce. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures edged up another 12 cents to $66.55 a barrel over US tensions with Iran.
The Supreme Court today struck down President Trump’s sweeping tariffs, saying he overstepped his authority in ordering them added to nearly all imports last year. The tariffs were central to Trump’s economic agenda. The federal government has been collecting about $30b in tariffs every month since implementation. That’s about four times as much as before Trump returned to office. Most of the cost is being paid by US business and to some extent, their customers. The SCOTUS decision, which affects about half of that tariff income to the government hasn’t been reflected in the stock market yet, probably because the White House has yet to react to the ruling. Retailers could be the big winners in this. Whether any of it gets passed on to consumers depends on whether retailers feel they’ve lost sales to higher prices caused by tariffs. There’s also the messy issue of how to refund any tariffs already collected that have been found to be illegal. https://www.npr.org/2026/02/20/nx-s1-5677609/tariffs-economy-trump-supreme-court
The cost of one commodity has come way down since a year ago … eggs. And that’s a problem for farmers. A dozen eggs now cost less than half what they did a year ago at the retail level – an average of $2.58 per dozen. But consumers, turned off by last year’s $6 or more per dozen prices have yet to respond to the new lower prices, which have already gone too low for farmers. With wholesale prices as low as 36 cents a dozen, that’s less than the cost of feed, labor and energy for farmers, who just got through repopulating their flocks after bird flu caused the slaughter of hens, shooting up the price of eggs one year ago. The loss of family farms unable to make a living could lead to fewer egg suppliers, decreased competition and future supply shortages. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/us/remember-when-egg-prices-ballooned-last-year-now-theyve-fallen-so-low-that-united-states-farmers-are-in-crisis/articleshow/128609144.cms?from=mdr
Workers at a Volkswagen plant in Tennessee voted yesterday to ratify their first union contract. It was a rare win for the United Auto Workers union in the South – especially at a plant not owned by GM, Ford or Stellantis. Workers at the Chattanooga plant had twice previously voted against joining the union. It took two years of negotiations to come up with an agreement that gives workers raises and job protections. The contract goes into effect Monday with a $6,550 bonus for each worker and a 20% pay increase over the four-year life of the contract when wages will top out at $39.41 an hour for production workers and about $10 more for skilled workers. There will be additional cost of living increases and a 20% reduction in health care premiums. https://www.npr.org/2026/02/19/nx-s1-5711458/union-uaw-volkswagen-tennessee-contract-vote
LIFESTYLE / GREEN LIVING
New this weekend at the movies, a music business family drama, “I Can Only Imagine” starring John Michael Finley, Dennis Quaid and Trace Adkins; A pair of thrillers, Glen Powell in “How to Make a Killing” and “Psycho Killer”; and the Japanese drama about traditional Kabuki theater, “Kokuho”. https://www.movieinsider.com/movies/2026
Actor Eric Dane, best known as “McSteamy” on TV’s “Grey’s Anatomy” has died. A little less than a year ago, Dane announced that he’d been diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, a progressive nerve disease that eventually renders a person unable to walk, talk, or even breathe. Most patients die of the disease in three to five years. Dane became an advocate for ALS awareness, speaking in Washington for health insurance prior authorization. A memoir by Dane is scheduled for release later this year. He is survived by his wife, actress Rebecca Gayheart and their two teenage daughters. Eric Dane was 53. https://apnews.com/article/eric-dane-dead-a2eaf3916d047c038ac1121af9a99f17
Two months after he was found dead in his New York Apartment, the coroner’s office released word Wednesday that actor Peter Greene died December 12 after accidentally shooting himself in the armpit, damaging major arteries. His credits include “The Mask”, “The Usual Suspects” and “Training Day”. But he’s best remembered as the character “Zed” in the movie “Pulp Fiction”. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/pulp-fiction-actor-peter-greene-died-accidental-shooting-rcna259617
On this day in music history – February 20,
- 1958, an all-star review called “The Big Gold Record Stars” began the first of a six-date tour in Florida – Bill Haley and his Comets, The Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly & The Crickets, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Jimmie Rodgers.
- In 1959, 16-year old Jimi Hendrix made his stage debut playing a show at a synagogue in Seattle.
- In 1970, the single John Lennon had written recorded and mixed all in one day three weeks earlier was released in the U.S. – “Instant Karma!” was credited to the Plastic Ono Band.
- In 1976, all four members of KISS put their footprints in cement in front of Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood.
- At the 1977 Grammy Awards, Stevie Wonder won Best Album for “Songs in the Key of Life” and Best Vocal Performance for “I Wish”. Chicago won Best Album for “Chicago X”. Best new artist was the Starland Vocal Band.
- In 1980, AC/DC lead singer Bon Scott was pronounced dead on arrival at a London hospital after being found passed out in a friend’s parked car after a night of heavy drinking. The official coroner’s report said he “drank himself to death.”
- In 2003, 100 people died when concert pyrotechnics ignited the venue during a show by Great White in West Warwick, Rhode Island. The group’s guitarist Ty Longley was one of the victims. Two brothers who owned the club and the former tour manager were charged with involuntary manslaughter.
- In 2007, the hair salon where Britney Spears shaved her head set up a website to auction her hair for more than $1m.
Born on this day …
- In 1941, Canadian singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie who wrote the #1 hit for Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes, “Up Where We Belong”.
- In 1944, Lew Soloff from Blood, Sweat & Tears.
- In 1946, guitarist J. Geils, whose J. Geils Band had a #1 hit with “Centerfold” from their #1 1982 album, “Freeze Frame”.
- In 1950, Walter Becker, singer, bass and guitar player for Steely Dan.
- In 1951, Randy California from Spirit
- In 1953, Cramps guitarist Poison Ivy – real name, Kristy Wallace.
- In 1967, Kurt Cobain from Nirvana.
- In 1988, Rihanna, which is her middle name. Her full name is Robyn Rihanna Fenty from Barbados. Along with Jay-Z she had a #1 hit in 2007 with “Umbrella”.
- In 2003, Olivia Rodrigo
https://www.thisdayinmusic.com/search/?keyword=&date=20&month=2
Other celebrity anniversaries today …
- Actress Sandy Duncan is 80
- Actor Peter Strauss is 79.
- Actor Andrew Shue, best known from TV’s “Melrose Place” is 59. He’s the brother of Elizabeth Shue from “Back to the Future” and “Adventures in Babysitting” in which he also appeared.
- Comedian/actor Patton Oswalt is 57
- Comedian Trevor Noah is 42
Programming on Rez Radio 91.3 is made possible in part by the Pala Band of Mission Indians and donations from listeners like you. Call 760 742 4200 or email 91.3@palatribe.com for details on contributing to community radio in Pala.
Call the Pala Fire Department at 760 742 1632 before starting any open fires to get the day’s Cal Fire and APCD recommendations. Fire Department permits are required for any burning on Pala tribal land.
Pala seniors’ lunch menu for Monday (2/23) – Salisbury steak, mashed potatoes, vegetables and dessert
The Pala Band of Mission Indians has employment opportunities including full time and part time. For a list, go to the Palatribe dot com website.
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A transcript of this newscast will be available at our website, Rez Radio dot FM and on the Rez Radio App an hour or two after broadcast.
WEATHER
Pala Weather – sunny with a high of 59 this afternoon … 71 tomorrow … 77 Sunday … mostly sunny and 83 Monday … 81 Tuesday … 80 Wednesday … 82 Thursday … overnight lows, 35 tonight … 45 tomorrow night … 47 Sunday night … about 50 Monday through Wednesday night
FIRE PERMITS
Call the Pala Fire Department at (760) 742-1632 before starting any open fires to get the day’s Cal Fire and APCD recommendations. Fire Department permits are required for any burning on Pala tribal land.
PALA
The Pala Band of Mission Indians has a number of part-time and full-time employment opportunities.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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COMMUNITY CALENDAR
The Community Events and Casino Corner portions of this newsletter can be heard three times daily Mon-Sun on Rez Radio, at 7:25a, 12:25p (in Pala Today M-F), and at 5:25p as the “Pala Community Calendar”. Submit items for the calendar to 91.3@palatribe.com at least a week before the event.
You can view the events on the Calendar page.
SHOWS
You can find a wide-range of Pala Rez Radio programming on our Shows page.
RESOURCES
The Pala Band of Mission Indians and Rez Radio gathered this list of resources as a courtesy and offers no guarantee of accuracy. Please contact us if you find an error or if any link needs to be updated.
Check out the list of information on our Resources page.
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