Did you catch Darth Vader delivering public comment yesterday? Behold the power of the Brown Act.

🌤️ Today's weather: Coast — Cloudy, then sunny, high 74; Inland — Cloudy, then sunny, high 87

🎧 Sounds like: "Rattlesnake Shake" by Fleetwood Mac.

Today's newsletter is 1,114 words — a 4-minute read.

Snake wrangling is such a busy job around here that Bruce Ireland could only talk on his way to pick up a snake.

The big picture: Ireland runs The Snake Wranglers, a group of volunteers who come to your house and catch that intrusive snake free of charge.

• He sometimes gets more than 20 calls a day and his exploits have nabbed him more than 1 million followers across social media (though he said he kept getting banned from TikTok for doing dangerous acts).

"I joke with my wife that this is my midlife crisis, instead of a Ferrari and dating a golf cart girl," Ireland, 61, said. "The adrenaline rush is real when it's a giant rattlesnake that does not want to be caught. I get the blood rushing, and you know that's pretty fun for me."

One of those calls came during our interview.

• "There is a snake inside the home, the mom called, there are kids there, she's petrified, so I am driving there now," Ireland told Axios.
• Turns out it was a non-venomous coachwhip snake, but the caller was so scared that Ireland went anyway.

Flashback: Ireland has always been obsessed with snakes.

• "They were the underdogs, and no one really liked them," he said.
• He learned to catch and care for snakes on his own, and then 10 years ago started The Snake Wranglers to help others.

Between the lines: If you call 911 about a rattlesnake, they'll send a fire truck and kill the snake, Ireland said.

• "So I started doing this as a knee-jerk reaction, and it grew way faster than I ever thought," he said.

Now he has a team of more than 50 trained volunteers who respond to thousands of calls a year.

How it works: Ireland takes the calls himself.

• He finds out where the person is and if they have eyes on the snake.
• If they do, he sends a volunteer with tongs and a bucket to capture the snake.

That volunteer then takes the snake on a hike.

• "You have to release that animal within a certain distance from the capture site," Ireland said. "Any farther than that, and it's a death sentence."

State of play: The call for help with the coachwhip snake turned out fine for all involved.

• "The kids weren't as young as I thought; she made them sound like they were little; these were teenagers," Ireland told Axios on his way home from the job. "But they were all petrified."
• Turns out it was a baby, about the size of a pencil, Ireland said.
• "I was like, 'Oh gosh, you guys are scared of this?' But I have to be respectful."

He picked up the snake, carried it a quarter mile away and left it in a field.

More details

Amazon set up a package delivery hub in Mission Bay over the weekend, and some city leaders are not happy about it, even as the retail giant said it was a mistake.

The big picture: The company used a city parking lot in Crown Point to park a delivery truck, which workers used as a base to deliver packages by hand.

"I’ve talked to the City Attorney about how we can shut this down ASAP," Council member Sean Elo-Rivera wrote on social media.

• "San Diego families have to get a permit and pay a fee to reserve a picnic table at Crown Point," he added. "Meanwhile, a trillion-dollar corporation apparently decided it could run a delivery hub in our parks for free."

The other side: A spokesperson for Amazon told Axios it was a "miscommunication."

• "We've since corrected this error and added safeguards to ensure it doesn't happen again," Austin Stowe said in a statement.

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🐙 Two juvenile Red Octopuses are now on display at Birch Aquarium. They are among the first Red Octopuses ever successfully raised in aquarium care. (Birch Aquarium)

⚾ ICE detained Padres coach Oswaldo Pirela at the El Paso airport. He's an asylum seeker from Venezuela. His visa had expired, but his family said he has a valid work permit. (KPBS)

🎯 The county cut ICE access to firing ranges in Otay Mesa and Miramar. Previously, ICE and CBP could use the facilities, and federal agents logged 3,350+ training hours since 2024. (KPBS)

🛒 A downtown Whole Foods will open Sept. 23 on Front and A streets. Two more county locations are planned in Carmel Mountain Ranch and Encinitas. (Union-Tribune)

It's been a busy month in the local dining scene.

Openings:

🍽️ Graze Craze: The charcuterie catering shop opened in Presidio Shopping Center across from the University of San Diego.

🌊 By The Sea: The Mediterranean-inspired restaurant opened Aug. 12 at 1300 Orange Ave. in Coronado.

🍔 Mr. Charlie’s: The fast-casual vegan restaurant opened its Hillcrest location July 11 at 3896 Fifth Ave. Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker is part owner.

🍸 Honor Bar: Hillstone Restaurant Group opened Honor Bar at 1404 Camino Del Mar in Del Mar in early August, its first restaurant in San Diego County.

Closings:

💔 Matsu: Oceanside’s elegant Japanese restaurant Matsu closed May 31 after nearly five years in business.

🚪 Deckman’s North at 3131: Chef Drew Deckman’s North Park restaurant served its final dinner June 27, less than two years after opening in August 2024.

🍜 Potato Powder Love Noodle Shop: The only San Diego location of Potato Powder Love Noodle Shop quietly closed in May inside the 99 Ranch Market food court on Balboa Avenue.

More

This adorable entry into our pets of San Diego series was born to run free in your backyard.

• "Alena hates her kennel," Helen Woodward Animal Center spokesperson Austin Hale told Axios. "It's understandable why. She's a 10-month-old terrier blend, they're not meant to spend most of their days sitting in a 40-square foot-space."

Dogs like Alena are meant to be in a home with a family, he said.

• If that sweet face and perched paws are pulling on your heart strings, you can find out more about adopting her here.

📸 Got a pet that deserves the spotlight? Hit reply and send us their name, some cute pics and what they most like and dislike. They might just become our next featured star!

👩🏻‍🍼 Kate is on parental leave.

🎉 Claire hit the town last night. Oh wait, no, it was just Back to School Night.

This newsletter was edited by Geoff Ziezulewicz.