Pala Today News – 7/24/26
Written by John Fox on July 24, 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
A brush fire yesterday south of Highway 371 in Anza burned about 12 acres before being brought under control. It started just after 10a near Burnt Valley and Kirby Roads. Within a half hour, four Cal Fire air tankers and three water-dropping helicopters were working the blaze. Forward spread was stopped by 11:45a. No structures were threatened, but Highway 371 was closed for a time as flames burned on both sides of the road. https://patch.com/california/temecula/brush-fire-between-temecula-palm-desert-ignites-road-closures-place
About an hour later, fire broke out in De Luz at Terreno and La Casita Drives. That one burned about two acres near a residence before being contained by 1p with the help of two Cal Fire air tankers and one water-dropping helicopter. This was the third fire in that immediate area in the past two months. https://patch.com/california/murrieta/de-luz-fire-threatened-home-hit-hard-air-support-tankers-cal-fire
With three water-dropping helicopters and 300 firefighters assigned yesterday crews were made steady progress against the Creelman Fire in Ramona, and by mid-morning the more than 1,500 people who had evacuated a day prior were allowed to return home. Fire officials reported that forward progress of the fire was halted around 7a yesterday. The blaze, which has charred nearly 350 acres of brush, was 90% contained. One accessory dwelling unit was destroyed, and inspectors planned to take a closer look to see if any other structures were damaged in the San Diego Country Estates community in southeastern Ramona. https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2026/07/23/evacuations-lifted-in-ramona-fire-as-300-firefighters-brace-for-significantly-hotter-day-of-mop-up/
A Vista Superior Court jury yesterday convicted 49-year old Ruben Vasquez for starting the January 21 Lilac and Pala Fires which burned a combined 102 acres and prompted extensive evacuations. The larger Lilac Fire began near Old Highway 395 and Lilac Road and burned about 85 acres. The Pala Fire began near Old Highway 395 and Cañonita Drive and consumed about 17 acres. Key evidence that led to the conviction came from cellphone location data which placed Vasquez near the origin of each fire just before they were reported. Sentencing is scheduled for August 4. The maximum prison sentence is nine years, four months. https://www.villagenews.com/story/2026/07/23/news/vista-jury-convicts-man-in-january-bonsall-brush-fires/82424.html
The Ojai Raptor Center, where celebrity bald eagle, Jackie has been receiving treatment since being found injured and anemic in Big Bear Lake has received almost 14k donations. Jackie’s health is improving. Meanwhile, her mate, Shadow has been protecting their almost-grown chicks born in the spring – Sandy and Luna. All three were seen on the Big Bear Eagle cam yesterday, though mostly the nest is now empty. The next update is expected Monday. https://patch.com/california/banning-beaumont/big-bear-bald-eagle-healing-raptor-center-receives-transfusion-spirit
Animal cruelty charges have been filed against a Riverside County duck rescue operator who surrendered hundreds of animals to authorities in April and then relocated to Valley Center with that sanctuary raided last week. Howard Berkowitz was arrested July 16 by the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office in Valley Center on a criminal warrant based on allegations of animal cruelty lodged by the Riverside County Department of Animal Services. Berkowitz is the owner of the Duck Sanctuary. https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2026/07/23/valley-center-duck-sanctuary-founder-charged-with-animal-cruelty/
The National Weather Service Heat Advisory for Pala and all of inland Southern California continues. Pala will have high temperatures in the mid to upper 90s for at least the next week. The full forecast is coming up. (below)
SPORTS
In Major League Baseball – The Padres fell to Atlanta 6-5 yesterday as a two-run rally in the 8th left them a run short of forcing extra innings. Arizona beat St. Louis 10-5. The Dodgers and Angels did not play. Heading into weekend series, the Dodgers still barely have the best record in baseball at 65 and 38. The NL Central Brewers are only a half-game off that mark. Arizona is in second place in the NL West, 11 games behind LA. San Diego is in third, 15 games off the pace having lost 6 of their last ten. Today, the Padres are at Miami, the Dodgers are in New York to play the Mets, the Diamondbacks are in Washington and the Angels are in San Francisco.
In the minors – The Lake Elsinore Storm lost 11-7 to Visalia last night. Game 4 of 6 is tonight at Lake Elsinore.
In the MSL – San Diego FC hosts Dallas tomorrow.
In the NBA – LeBron James is joining the 76ers on a two-year $8m veteran’s minimum contract with a second-year player’s option. All of this adds up to a ridiculously low price for the 41-year-old superstar, even if his performance has declined with age. James certainly doesn’t need the money. In 2022 he became the first NBA billionaire player. https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/49227450/lebron-james-signs-philadelphia-76ers-grades-reaction-lakers-contract
In the WNBA – All-Star Game with Team Spoon against Team Coop is tomorrow at 5:30p on ABC.
In the NHL – Patrick Kane is returning to the Chicago Blackhawks for a second time. He’s getting a two-year $8m contract. The 37-year old right winger won three Stanley Cups his first time with Chicago after they drafted him #1 overall in 2007. https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/49432354/patrick-kane-returns-blackhawks-two-year-contract
In golf – At the 3M Open, Michael Kim has the lead midway through round 2 at 14 under par – three strokes ahead of Ben Kohles. https://www.espn.com/golf/leaderboard
In racing – NASCAR Cup at Indianapolis this Sunday. Horse racing season continues at Del Mar where the longtime CEO of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, Joe Harper will be retiring at the end of this season. He’s been with the DMTC for nearly 50 years. https://www.10news.com/news/local-news/joe-harper-longtime-del-mar-thoroughbred-club-ceo-to-retire-at-the-end-of-2026
BUSINE$$
As of midday trading on Wall Street, stocks were mixed. The Dow gained four tenths of a percent. The S&P 500 was up a quarter percent. The Nasdaq fell a quarter percent. Gold futures traded up $20 at $4,070.20 an ounce. The benchmark West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures were down $3.95 to $88.24 a barrel.
With his most recent round of temporary tariffs set to expire today, President Trump has slapped new tariffs of between 10% and 12 ½% on imports from 60 trading partners, accounting for 99% of all U.S. imports. The justification for these tariffs is charges that these trading partners have failed to enforce bans on goods produced by forced labor, citing Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. Similar tariffs against China during Trump’s first administration survived court challenges, unlike the sweeping and much higher tariffs he enacted in January. More Section 301 tariffs are likely on the way as the U.S. Trade Representative’s office has launched a probe into whether 16 countries, accounting for 70% of all U.S. imports have overproduced goods in order to push down prices and put U.S. companies at a global competitive disadvantage. https://apnews.com/article/trump-tariffs-supreme-court-forced-labor-4ea091eeee3fa1bfbe55af3f482e6bc1
As the Iran war drags on, Middle East oil producers now being prevented from shipping through the Strait of Hormuz are planning on spending billions to build pipelines to get their product to ports on the Red Sea, avoiding the Strait. At least seven major pipeline projects are under construction, in the planning stage, or being discussed as possibilities. The war has been a wake-up call for neighboring countries. But pipeline alternatives are also vulnerable to disruptions. Early yesterday, Houthi rebels attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea – the main alternate route to the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz. There are currently two main pipelines through the United Arab Emirates which had spare capacity of 3 ½ to 5 ½ million barrels per day before the war. They’re now running at capacity. A parallel Abu Dhabi state-owned 200-mile pipeline project is currently about half-completed. With port expansion, it should be online in about a year. Plans to pipe more oil to Syria and Turkey will take even longer. https://apnews.com/article/oil-strait-of-hormuz-iran-896c02f0c978986fff0ae7fc389ea51f
LIFESTYLE / GREEN LIVING
New this weekend at the movies, the crime drama, “Motor City” with Alan Ritchson, Ben Foster and Shailene Woodley. And the horror, sci-fi thriller “Her Private Hell. Beginning Sunday, there’s an almost 30th anniversary limited re-release of the Bruce Willis, Milla Jovovich sci-fi adventure “The Fifth Element”. Among venues where it’ll be showing is River Village in Bonsall. https://www.boxofficemojo.com/calendar/?ref_=bo_nb_we_tab
Comic Con is going on now through Sunday at the San Diego Convention Center. Major presentations include studios like Prime Video, AMC, and DC showcasing upcoming film, TV and gaming projects. Thousands of costumed fans will be roaming the exhibit hall packed with mega-booths of merchandise. Beyond just the Convention Center, that portion of downtown is full of special themed cafes and interactive fan challenges. https://www.comic-con.org/
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the outbreak of cyclosporiasis linked to shredded iceberg lettuce has expanded by four to nine states. In addition to the original Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, and most of all, Michigan, the outbreak has expanded to Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania. The source of the cyclospora parasite contamination is still being linked to shredded lettuce from Taylor Farms’ operations in Mexico. The FDA is also investigating a separate cyclosporiasis outbreak. So far, the CDC has tallied almost 2k cases with the earliest ones beginning to show up in mid-May. A few hundred cases would be normal for this time of year. The long incubation period for the infection which usually shows up as severe diarrhea means the lettuce crop responsible for the main outbreak would have been distributed well over a month ago. https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/24/cyclospora-cdc-says-outbreak-is-in-nine-states.html
On this day in music history – July 24,
- 1964, a riot broke out at a Rolling Stones concert in Blackpool, Lancashire after guitarist Keith Richards kicked somebody in the mouth who’d been spitting on the band. Two policemen and 30 fans were injured. Damages were estimated at over $8k. The Stones were banned from ever playing in Blackpool again. The ban was eventually lifted, but not until 2008.
- In 1965, the Byrds were at #1 with their version of Bob Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man”.
- In 1967, The Beatles and manager Brian Epstein signed a petition printed in the London Times calling for the legalization of marijuana.
- In 1969, Paul McCartney recorded a demo of his new song “Come and Get It” which he gave to The Iveys – the group that would soon rename itself Badfinger. The song, now credited to Badfinger was included in the movie soundtrack for “The Magic Christian” and became a hit.
- In 1971, Paul Revere and the Raiders had a #1 hit with their remake of the 1959 Marvin Rainwater song, “Indian Reservation”. Raiders lead singer Mark Lindsay is part Cherokee.
- In 1974, George McCrae was at #1 with “Rock Your Baby”, a song written by KC and Richard Finch of KC and the Sunshine Band.
- In 1977, Donna Summer was at #1 with the disco hit “I Feel Love”.
- In 1978, possibly the worst rock-music based movie of all time was released. “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” could have easily sunk the careers of its stars, The Bee Gees and Peter Frampton had they not already been extremely popular and at the peak of their careers. Critics laid the blame for the project on producer Robert Stigwood.
- In 1982, Survivor began the first of six weeks at #1 with “Eye of the Tiger” from the movie, “Rocky III”.
- In 1993, U2 had the #1 album with “Zooropa” and UB40 had the #1 single with “Can’t Help Falling in Love”, a reggae version on the old Elvis Presley hit.
- In 2003, Johnny Cash got six nominations at the MTV Video Music Awards for his remake of Nine Inch Nails’ “Hurt”.
- In 2008, rapper 50 Cent sued Taco Bell claiming the chain used his name and image without permission for its “Why Pay More” items under a dollar ad campaign.
- In 2019, Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” video reached one billion views on YouTube. It was the first pre-1990s video to do so.
- In 2022, Joni Mitchell surprised the crowd at the Newport Folk Festival when she joined Brandi Carlisle for several of Mitchell’s songs. Due to a brain aneurism suffered in 2015, Mitchell remained seated while she sang and played guitar.
Born on this day …
- In 1944, three well-known musicians – guitarist Jeff Beck who before forming his own band, replaced Eric Clapton in The Yardbirds; Chris Wood, founding member of Traffic; and Arthur Brown who had the 1968 #1 hit “Fire”, credited to The Crazy World of Arthur Brown
- In 1945, Colin Blunstone, singer-songwriter with The Zombies, and later, The Alan Parsons Project.
- In 1947, Mick Fleetwood, drummer and co-founder of Fleetwood Mac
- In 1949, John Illsley, guitarist with Dire Straits
- In 1957, Jeff Cease, guitarist with The Black Crowes, and Terrence Wilson, singer with UB40
- In 1961, Curt Smith from Tears For Fears
- In 1973, Mario Calire from The Wallflowers
https://www.thisdayinmusic.com/search/?keyword=&date=24&month=7
Other celebrity anniversaries today …
- Actor Robert Hays, best known for the movie “Airplane!” is 79
- Michael Richards, best known as Kramer on “Seinfeld” is 77
- TV’s Wonder Woman Lynda Carter is 75
- Actress and singer Kristin Chenowith is 58
- J-Lo is 57
- Actress Rose Bryne is 47
- Among those who’ve passed, comedienne Ruth Buzzi from TV’s “Laugh-In” was born in 1936
- So was Mark Goddard, best remembered as Major West from TV’s 1960s series, “Lost in Space”
- watermelon-smashing comedian Gallagher was born in 1946.
http://www.davesfunstuff.com/a-dd/2080-date0724.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 Monday (7/27) – Pala chicken, mashed potatoes, creamed corn, coleslaw and cake
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.
Go to Facebook.com/RezRadio for community events and news affecting, or of interest to Pala and inland North County.
Listen to Rez Radio just about anywhere and access all of our assets with the free Rez Radio App, available at Google Play and the Apple App Store.
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 – The National Weather Service Heat Advisory for Pala and most of inland Southern California continues through Monday … it’ll be sunny and 96 with winds gusting up to 20 miles an hour in Pala this afternoon … patchy night and morning low clouds and fog, clearing to mostly sunny and 97 tomorrow … 94 Sunday … 95 Monday … 93 Tuesday and Wednesday … 94 Thursday … overnight lows, about 67 tonight through Sunday night … about 64 Monday through Wednesday night
PROGRAMMING
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.
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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E-PAPER
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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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