News

Pala Today News – 2/26/26

Written by John Fox on February 26, 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.

LOCAL AND REGIONAL NEWS

There was a two-vehicle accident on Highway 76 near Pankey Road last evening just before 7p. One vehicle went over the side of eastbound lanes and into a ditch. Those involved reportedly suffered unknown injuries. Early reports of a motorcycle also being involved proved untrue. CHP is continuing to investigate. https://www.villagenews.com/story/2026/02/19/news/two-vehicle-collision-sends-car-down-embankment-on-state-route-76-in-pala-mesa/81281.html

An overturned vehicle blocked southbound traffic on De Luz Road near Roblar Truck Trail late lasts night. A blue Subaru WRX overturned, landing on its roof at about 10:19p. The driver was able to get out independently and the incident was downgraded to non-injury. The road was cleared within an hour. https://www.villagenews.com/story/2026/02/19/news/overturned-vehicle-blocks-de-luz-road-driver-escapes-uninjured/81282.html

Last night was the first time the Escondido City Council addressed the issue of ICE agents training at a city-owned firing range. Dozens of residents rallied outside City Hall, holding signs and chanting, calling on the city to end the contract between the Escondido Police Department and the Department of Homeland Security allowing ICE agents to use the city’s firing range for training. Debate inside at the meeting went on for hours. It was the first time the full City Council received a public presentation outlining the contract and then discussed whether to reject future contracts connected to border security or immigration enforcement. Escondido Police says the agreement dates back to 2024 and renewed earlier this year for about $67k. Many speakers said the issue isn’t about the relatively small amount of money – it’s about values. www.10news.com

Rancho California Road will close for one more night tonight from 8p to 5a tomorrow between Butterfield Stage and Calle Contento Roads to finish fixing a design flaw in the recently erected gateway arch at the entrance to Wine Country. The 75-foot sign with the words, Temecula Valley Wine Country has been in planning since 2022. According to Temecula city councilman James Stewart, wineries paid for most of the $623k cost through their sales taxes. https://patch.com/california/temecula/county-replace-temecula-wine-country-gateway-sign

There will be no Coaster rail service this weekend between Oceanside and San Diego due to regular maintenance and scheduled major infrastructure work. North County Transit reminds motorists that there will still be construction vehicles and test trains at grade crossings along the route with regular service resuming in time for Monday morning’s commute. https://patch.com/california/oceanside-camppendleton/coaster-rail-service-suspended-weekend-oceanside-san-diego

Well over 1k SDG&E customers in Valley Center and Lilac lost power this morning at about 8:45a. It was expected to have been restored by 11:30a. https://www.sdge.com/residential/customer-service/outage-center/outage-map

Pala will be sunny and hot for the next several days. Temperatures should be more seasonable next week. The full forecast is coming up. (below)

SPORTS

In the NBA – Yesterday’s winners were Detroit, San Antonio, Golden State, Houston, Milwaukee and Denver. Ten games tonight including the Lakers at Phoenix and the Clippers hosting Minnesota.

In the minors – The San Diego Clippers lost to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers 109-102 last night in Edinburg, Texas. Their next games are tomorrow and Saturday at Santa Cruz. https://sandiego.gleague.nba.com/

In college basketball – #6 Connecticut destroyed #16 St. John’s 72-40. Six other Top 25 teams all won against unranked opponents. San Diego State beat Utah State 89-72 at Viejas Arena. Oregon State beat USD 92-82 in overtime.

In women’s NCAA – #8 Michigan outlasted #13 Ohio State 88-86 in overtime.

In the NHL – The Ducks edged the visiting Edmonton Oilers 6-5. Vegas topped the Kings in Los Angeles 6-4. Other winners were buffalo, Washington, Tampa Bay, Dallas, Colorado and Winnipeg.

In the minors – The San Diego Gulls lost 2-1 in overtime to Tucson last night at Pechanga arena. Their next game is tomorrow at Texas.

In Major League Baseball Pre-Season – The Padres beat the Angels 7-3. Kyle Hart got the win. The Dodgers beat the Diamondbacks 10-7.

Three-time Cy Young Award winner, Max Scherzer will return to the Blue Jays for a 19th MLB season. He’ll get a one-year, $3m contract. https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/48040023/max-scherzer-agrees-return-blue-jays

In soccer – The San Diego Sockers next game is tomorrow hosting Tacoma.

In lacrosse – The San Diego Seals next game is tomorrow at Denver.

In racing – The 2026 Indycar season begins Sunday in the streets of St. Petersburg.

Local High School Sports –

Bonsall – no scheduled games today

Great Oak – baseball hosting Linfield Christian at 3:15p; boys’ volleyball hosting Fallbrook at 5p; girls’ volleyball hosting Paloma Valley at 5:30p

Fallbrook – softball hosting Montgomery at 3:30p; girls’ lacrosse at Mira Mesa at 4:30p

Valley Center – boys’ golf hosting Escondido at 3p; boys’ tennis against Mission Hills at 3:30p, varsity hosting, JV away; track & field at San Dieguito Academy at 3:45p

BUSINE$$

As of midday trading on Wall Street, stocks were down. The Dow fell 4 tenths of a percent. The S&P 500 was down 1.1%. And the Nasdaq was off by 2%. Gold fell $41.40 on the Comex, trading at $5,184.50 an ounce. The benchmark West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures were up 95 cents at $66.37 a barrel.

Nvidia’s latest profit report is being discounted by investors, with its stock down 4.6% in morning trading. That’s dragging down the rest of the tech sector, leading to today’s losses, even though most stocks overall are up today. Nvidia, whose chips are powering the AI boom, exceeded Wall Street expectations with yesterday’s report and once again topped expected forecasts for the current quarter. That should be good news for Nvidia’s stock. But such blowout performances have become so typical for Nvidia, worries over AI in general are dominating investor sentiment. Those worries include whether the company can ever make back all the billions of dollars invested in AI through future gains in productivity. Will their customers continue to buy Nvidia chips for that long? https://apnews.com/article/stocks-markets-nvidia-trump-oil-4fc4ccf75ee85f53585f08ddd93b2fc1

Papa John’s is the latest pizza chain to announce it will close hundreds of locations as consumers pull back on spending. In today’s earnings call, the company said it will close about 300 underperforming locations by the end of next year, with about 200 of them closing this year. They didn’t give a specific list of locations. As of the end of last year, Papa John’s had about 3,500 total locations with same-store sales down 5.4% compared to a year ago. They also plan to cut about 7% of their 700-person corporate workforce. Rival, Pizza Hut announced earlier this month that it will close about 250 stores. https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/26/food/papa-johns-closures

Mortgage rates have dropped below 6% for the first time in more than three years this week. According to Freddie Mac, the average 30-year fixed rate is now 5.98%. Even a quarter percent drop in the rate can enable a buyer to afford about 2 ½% more house for the same payment. Rates are still higher than they were early in the pandemic, but they’re more than a full point lower than just over a year ago. And breaking the 6% barrier could be a big psychological break for the housing market. https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/26/economy/mortgage-rate-falls-below-six-percent

State Farm Insurance has announced a $5b dividend. As a result, customers can expect to receive an average $100 refund, depending on the state and the amount of their car insurance premium. State Farm also reports it has lowered premiums by about 10% in 40 states. That’s not much when the Bureau of Labor Statistics is reporting car insurance premiums have shot up by 50% over the past three years – the highest inflation of motor vehicle insurance in 50 years, and at a time when auto repair costs and the frequency of accidents are starting to decline. According to TransUnion, shopping for better car insurance rates is at an all-time high. Auto insurance is 63% of State Farm’s business. Rates on home insurance will likely continue to soar as claims in that area continue to climb. https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/26/state-farm-dividend-car-insurance-customers.html

LIFESTYLE / GREEN LIVING

Chat groups are becoming a way of life. But what are the rules and how do they differ from individual texts and messaging? Discussions can veer off-topic. Repetitive or basic questions can become irritating to some group members. And something you and some of the group might find funny could offend other members. Debrett’s, the British etiquette guide has a list of rules you should follow, but probably aren’t. They’re listed on Debrett’s website. They include: only talk about topics relevant to everyone in the group. Otherwise, you’re forcing a whole group to eavesdrop on a one-on-one conversation. Always acknowledge messages reasonably promptly. Quicker if it’s a pressing question. Post your message in one single chunk. Multiple single sentence posts cause multiple, distracting alerts for recipients. If you’re in a group thread, participate. Nobody likes a troll. And leave groups about which you’re no longer interested. Many groups are for time-specific purposes anyway, like organizing an event. Don’t be offended when someone leaves the group. Like a social event, some people leave early to take care of other commitments while some stay ‘til the end. Don’t overwhelm the group with memes, promotions or big attachments. It makes people feel they’re being spammed. Before you post, remember that what you say ifsfor public consumption. Be a little more discreet than you might in a private conversation. Although that’s good advice for anything transmitted over the internet. And don’t be a nuisance texter, sending constant stream-of-consciousness messages or always demanding replies. Respect the dynamic of the group. Some are more laid back and occasional than others. https://debretts.com/the-wonderful-world-of-whatsapp-chats/

On this day in music history – February 26,

1955, Billboard magazine reported that for the first time since their introduction in 1949, 45 rpm singles were outselling the old standard 78 discs. Anyone under age 40 has no idea what any of that means.
In 1965, before Zeppelin, before the Yardbirds, Jimmy Page released a solo single called “She Just Satisfies”. Page played all the instruments except drums, sang lead and produced the track. It was only available in Britain.
In 1966, Frank’s daughter, Nancy Sinatra was at #1 with “These Boots Are Made For Walking”. The song was written by Lee Hazlewood, who intended to record it himself, but realized it was better suited to a young woman. The LA session musicians known as The Wrecking Crew were the backing band. Sinatra and Hazlewood had a hit together two years later with the single, “Summer Wine”.
In 1977, the Eagles were at #1 with “New Kid in Town” – their third #1 hit. It was written by Don Henley, Glenn Frey and J.D. Souther and was the first single released from the album, “Hotel California”.
In 1983, Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” was at #1 on the album chart. It’s credited with cracking the color barrier on MTV and was one of the first albums to successfully use music videos as promotional tools. To date, it has sold over 65m copies.
In 2011, according to royalty distribution service, BMI, Queen’s “We Will Rock You” was still the most-played song at U.S. sporting events, even after more than 30 years. The data was based on NFL, NHL and MLB games in 2009 and 2010.
In 2015, the childhood home of Paul McCartney sold for $231k at an auction in Liverpool. He’d moved there with his parents in 1947 and lived in the three-bedroom home for six years.

Born on this day …

In 1928, singer, songwriter, bandleader and pianist, Antoine Domino, better known as “Fats” after the success of his first recording, “The Fat Man” in 1949. By 1953 it had sold over a million copies and is considered the first rock and roll record ever to do so. In his career, Domino had 35 Top 40 hits. He died in 2017 at age 89 after a long illness.
In 1932, another of the most influential American musicians of all time, Johnny Cash. Though best remembered as a country icon, Cash also sang rock and roll, rockabilly, blues, folk and gospel. He holds the rare honor of having been inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. Rez Radio even includes Cash and Joe Strummer’s version of “Redemption Song” on our Sunday Morning Marley reggae show.
In 1945, Bob “The Bear” Hite, vocalist and harmonica player with Canned Heat.
In 1950, Jonathan Cain from The Babys, Journey, and Bad English.
In 1953, Michael Bolton.
In 1968, Tim Commerford, bassist with Rage Against the Machine.
In 1971, Erykah Badu.

https://www.thisdayinmusic.com/search/?keyword=&date=26&month=2

Other celebrity anniversaries today …

Among those who’ve passed, Warner Brothers and MGM animator Fred “Tex” Avery was born on this day in 1908.
Jackie Gleason was born on this day in 1916
Actor Tony Randall was born in 1920.

http://www.davesfunstuff.com/a-mb/2080-date0226.htm

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Pala seniors’ lunch menu for tomorrow (2/27) – cheese pizza, mac & cheese, French fries and dessert

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WEATHER

Pala Weather – sunny with a high of 88 this afternoon … 94 tomorrow … 91.3 degrees Saturday … 83 Sunday … 75 Monday … 77 Tuesday … 80 Wednesday … overnight lows, 58 tonight and tomorrow night … 52 Saturday night … about 47 Sunday through Tuesday night

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