News

Pala Today News – 7/17/25

Written by John Fox on July 17, 2025

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

Two fires broke out east of Temecula early yesterday afternoon just a quarter mile from each other on the Cahuilla Reservation. They quickly merged to become what Cal Fire dubbed the Dale Fire, burning due east. First reported at 12:37p on Lugo Road near Highway 371 south of Anza, the combined fires grew to 331 acres within three hours and 700 by 7p. It was at 1,072 acres with no containment last night at 10p. The fire’s spread had been halted and it was 25% contained as of 8:45a this morning. The northern half of the reservation is still under evacuation orders. The southern half and some other nearby areas are under an evac warning. The evacuation center is the Anza Community Center on Highway 371. https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2025/7/16/dale-fire/

A 24-year-old Menifee resident has been sentenced to 11 years in prison after making several threats against a Murrieta middle school. Julianna Ortgega was sentenced last Thursday by Riverside Superior Court Judge Judith C. Clark. She pleaded guilty May 20 to one count of felony criminal threats. Ortgega was arrested at her home August of last year on suspicion of making threats against Thompson Middle School in Murrieta. https://www.pressenterprise.com/2025/07/16/menifee-resident-sentenced-to-11-years-for-threatening-murrieta-school/

Same old, same old for the weather in Pala for at least another week. The full forecast is coming up. (below)

Mass at Pala Mission Church is broadcast live on Rez Radio 91.3 and streamed live on the Rez Radio App every Sunday at 8a.

SPORTS

In Major League Baseball – No games yesterday or today. The regular season resumes tomorrow. The Padres are in Washington. The Angels are in Philadelphia. The Giants are in Toronto. And the Dodgers host the Brewers.

In the NFL – Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice was sentenced to 30 days in jail and five years’ probation for street racing and causing a wreck in which others were injured. Rice pleaded guilty and paid $115k restitution to the victims of the March 2024 accident. The league can now proceed with its disciplinary action on Rice, who will probably face a multiple game suspension in the upcoming season. https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/45762942/chiefs-rashee-rice-sentenced-30-days-jail-sources-say

In Major League Soccer – Yesterday was the traditional slowest day of the year for major sports in the U.S. … the day after the baseball All-Star Game. With the regular baseball season resuming tomorrow and this not being football, basketball or hockey season, soccer got all the attention. Yesterday, San Diego lost 1-0 to the visiting Toronto FC, the Galaxy lost 2-1 to Austin, and LAFC beat Minnesota United 1-0 in St. Paul. Coming up Saturday, LAFC and the Galaxy play at BMO Stadium and San Diego FC hosts the Vancouver Whitecaps.

In golf – The Open teed off today in Portrush, Northern Ireland. Xander Schauffele is the defending champion. With half the field still on the course, there was a three-way tie into the clubhouse at four-under par 67. There were a number of golfers already at 3-under through the front nine. https://www.espn.com/golf/leaderboard

In racing – The summer horse racing season in Del Mar opens this Friday.

The Norwegian ski federation announced yesterday that Olympic ski cross medalist Audun Groenvold died Tuesday night after being struck by lightning. He won a bronze medal at the 2010 Vancouver Games. More recently, he’d been a national team coach and TV commentator. Gorenvold was 49. https://apnews.com/article/audun-gronvold-lightning-strike-d4e1004e80fe3f32ec19eea1b2696ffa

BUSINE$$

As of midday trading on Wall Street, stocks were up. The Dow and S&P 500 each gained a half percent. The Nasdaq was up ¾ of a percent. Comex gold was down $17.30 to $3,341.80 an ounce. The Benchmark West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures were up a dollar at $67.38 a barrel.

The Senate today approved allocated funding pullbacks for public broadcasting and foreign aid totaling about $9b. The vote was 51-48, primarily along party lines. The House of Representatives had already passed similar cuts earlier this week. The bill, as amended by the Senate now goes back to the House for final approval. The House vote on the original version of the bill was 214-212. If the amended Recissions Act of 2025 is approved, $1.1b previously allocated to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds PBS and National Public Radio will not be distributed the next two years, and $7.9b will be cut from foreign aid programs. Many local radio and television stations receive a significant portion of their annual funding through grants from CPB. A key change to the bill coming back from the Senate is that 24 stations serving Native American communities will be spared the cutback. Rez Radio is not one of them, since we do not receive any direct federal funding. The Pala tribe fully funds Rez Radio. The Trump administration has pushed for defunding CPB over claimed “bias” in its reporting. https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/17/media/pbs-npr-trump-rescission-devastating-public-media

Retail sales rebounded in June – up 0.6%. Economists expected only a tenth of a percent increase. According to the Census Bureau, sales decreased 0.9% in May. Excluding auto sales and fuel, last month was flat. Today’s numbers taken along with steady income growth suggest that tariffs are not having an effect on the economy. At least, not yet. The Department of Labor today reported that 221k initial jobless claims were filed the week ending July 12. After increasing in May, they’re now at their lowest level in three months. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/retail-sales-rise-more-than-expected-in-june-123540734.html

Prices on items including baby gear and home goods were up at Walmart in recent weeks. But many other products being tracked for evidence of price hikes due to tariffs are holding fast. The nation’s largest retailer had warned in May that it would have to increase retail prices due to Trump tariffs. https://www.cnbc.com/2025/07/17/trump-tariffs-affect-walmart-prices.html

LIFESTYLE / GREEN LIVING

Singer and actress Connie Francis has died. She had a string of 53 charted songs in the 1950s and 60s including her breakthrough, “Who’s Sorry Now?” in 1958 and the title song for the 1960 movie, “Where The Boys Are”, which was also her on-screen acting debut. She appeared in follow-ups in 1963, ‘64, and ‘65 with several of the same co-stars. Her song, “Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool” in 1960 made her the first woman ever to reach #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. She was also the first to have three chart toppers. Her father, an Italian immigrant encouraged young Concetta to appear in talent contests, pageants, and neighborhood festivities to sing and play the accordion. While appearing on “Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts” in 1950, she’d been advised to change her name from Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero to the stage name, Connie Francis for easier pronunciation. She was also advised to ditch the accordion, which she was happy to do. She had minor success with recordings on the MGM label in the late 1950s and provided Tuesday Weld’s singing voice in the 1956 movie, “Rock, Rock, Rock!”, and for Freda Holloway the following year in “Jamboree”. Planning to not renew her contract, at what was to be her final recording session with MGM, she did a cover of the 1923 song “Who’s Sorry Now?”. Dick Clark debuted it on American Bandstand in February of 1958. It went to #4 domestically and #1 in the UK, finally launching her to stardom. Francis was the victim of a sexual assault while appearing at the Westbury Music Fair in New York in 1974, eventually winning a $2.5m judgement against Howard Johnson’s in Jericho for failing to provide adequate security at its motel. Additional tragedy struck in 1981 when her brother was murdered by mafia hitmen. He was an attorney who’d testified against mob activity and refused witness protection. After medical issues in the 1980’s Francis resumed singing in 1989, retiring from performing, recording and touring in 2018. In 2025, her 1962 song “Pretty Little Baby” went viral on Tiktok. At the time, she said she’d forgotten about that one, but was grateful it was being embraced by a young audience. Connie Francis was 87. https://variety.com/2025/music/news/connie-francis-dead-pretty-little-baby-stupid-cupid-singer-1236463533/

On this day in music history – July 17,

1946,Petula Clark made her British television debut appearing on the Cabaret TV series at the age of 13. Clark began with guest spots on radio when she was only 9 and made her first film a year later. ‘Put Your Shoes On Lucy’ was her debut release in 1949. The song ‘The Little Shoemaker’ became her first U.K. hit in 1954. She remained unknown in the U.S. until the British music invasion beginning in 1964 when she had a series of hits beginning with “Downtown”. She had an Oscar nomination for her role in the remake of “Goodbye Mr. Chips” alongside Peter O’Toole.
In 1959, Billie Holiday died at the age of 43 in a New York City hospital from cirrhosis of the liver after years of alcohol abuse. She was under arrest for heroin possession at the time, with Police officers stationed at the door to her hospital room. In the final years of her life, she had been progressively swindled out of her earnings. The singer who had recorded classics such as ‘God Bless the Child’ and the civil rights anthem ‘Strange Fruit’ died with just 70 cents in the bank.
In 1965, King Records released ‘Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag’ by James Brown, which went on to sell over 2 million copies and receive the Grammy Award for best for Best Rhythm & Blues Recording. The song introduced funk as a distinctive musical style.
In 1967, American jazz saxophonist and composer John Coltrane died from liver cancer at Huntington Hospital in Long Island, New York at the age of 40.
In 1967, The Beatles’ single ‘All You Need Is Love / Baby You’re A Rich Man’ (originally called ‘One Of The Beautiful People’) was released in the US. It became their 14th US No.1 hit.
In 1968, The animated film “Yellow Submarine”, premiered at The London Pavilion. The Beatles made a cameo appearance at the end of the film but did not supply their own voices for the cartoon characters in the body of the film.
In 1972, a bomb exploded under The Rolling Stones’ equipment van in Montreal, believed to be the work of French separatists. Angry fans rioted throwing bottles and rocks after 3,000 tickets for the show turned out to be fake.
In 1982, Irene Cara was at No.1 with ‘Fame’, from the hit movie and later TV series about a New York drama school. Cara (who played the role of Coco Hernandez in the original movie) won the Academy Award for Best Original Song and the Golden Globe Award.
In 1987, The Ozzy Osborne Band started a 16-week tour of US prisons.
In 1992, it was the first night of a North American tour by Guns N’ Roses, Metallica, and Faith No More at RFK Stadium in Washington DC.
In 1993, Guns N’ Roses appeared at River Plate Stadium in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in front of 80,000 people, the final show on their Use Your Illusion Tour. A highlight of the night was English drummer Cozy Powell playing drums with Matt Sorum, dressed as a Domino’s Pizza delivery boy.
In 2004, Half of the 4,500 people in the audience walked out of Linda Ronstadt’s show at the Aladdin Resort and Casino in Las Vegas after the singer dedicated an encore of ‘Desperado’ to filmmaker Michael Moore and urged the crowd to see his film “Fahrenheit 9/11”.
In 2013, U2’s Bono received France’s highest cultural honor for his contribution to music and commitment to humanitarian causes when he was presented with the Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters in Paris.

Born this day …

In 1941, Welsh musician Spencer Davis, the founder of the 1960s rock band The Spencer Davis Group who scored the 1967 US No.7 single ‘Gimme Some Lovin’ featuring 19-year old Steve Winwood on vocals and keyboards.
In 1952, singer, songwriter Phoebe Snow, known for her hit single ‘Poetry Man” in 1975. Snow suffered a cerebral hemorrhage on January 19, 2010 and slipped into a coma. She died three months later.
In 1976, Luke Bryan, American country music singer and songwriter. He began his music career writing songs for Travis Tritt and Billy Currington.

Other anniversaries today …

Actress Lucie Arnaz, daughter of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz is 74
Actor David Hasselhoff is 73
Disneyland is 70 years old. The Anaheim amusement park fully opened to the general public on this day in 1955.
Mark Burnett, creator and producer of TV’s “Survivor”, “The Apprentice”, and “Shark Tank” is 65
Among those who’ve passed, actor James Cagney was born on this day in 1899
Author and Talk Show host Art Linkletter was born in 1912
Comedienne Phyllis Diller was born in 1917.
Jazz pianist songwriter and bandleader Vince Guaraldi, best known for the music in the Peanuts TV specials was born in 1928.
Actor Donald Sutherland was born in 1935.
So was musical satirist Peter “P.D.Q. Bach” Schickele.

http://www.davesfunstuff.com/a-dd/2080-date0717.htm

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 tomorrow (7/18) –

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WEATHER

Pala Weather – mostly sunny with a high of 85 this afternoon … 20% chance of thunderstorms tonight after 11p … patchy morning low clouds and fog, clearing to sunny and 83 tomorrow … about 83 or 84 each day through Wednesday … overnight lows, 58 tonight through Saturday night … about 56 Sunday through Tuesday 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.

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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.