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In California | A SPOTLIGHT ON ALL THINGS GOLDEN STATE | Thursday, April 29 | | |
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| But first. Have you ever marveled at a pelican gliding above the ocean's surface and wondered how the portly birds get their lift? UC San Diego has come up with the most detailed theoretical model yet for describing and quantifying how pelicans harness the ocean and winds with little or no need to flap their wings. Check out the details at the San Diego Union-Tribune. |
| Know someone who cares about the Golden State? Let them know they can sign up for the In California newsletter via this link. I'm Julie Makinen, California editor for the USA Today Network, bringing you Tuesday's key headlines. |
$6B in tax breaks for small businesses |
| California will give more than $6 billion in tax breaks to small businesses that got federal PPP loans to get through the economic downturn during the coronavirus pandemic, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. |
| Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill Thursday that lets firms write off expenses on their state taxes if they were paid for with Paycheck Protection Program loans that were later forgiven, mirroring how the money is treated for federal tax purposes. |
| "It's been a hell of a year — the stress, the anxiety, the fear that so many people have had to struggle with," Newsom said at a signing ceremony at a sushi restaurant in the San Fernando Valley. "This state is poised for a major comeback, and we're experiencing that comeback because of small business leaders that have persevered, that have worked through, that haven't given up." |
5 arrested in Lady Gaga dognapping case |
 | | Lady Gaga's dog dressed as Santa Paws for a festive day out. | | Josiah Kamau, BuzzFoto via Getty Images | |
| I know you've been wondering: Will justice ever be served in the Lady Gaga dognapping case? |
| LAPD is apparently on the case: Five people have been arrested and charged in shooting Lady Gaga's dogwalker and stealing two of her French bulldogs in February, the police department said Thursday. Three suspects have been charged with attempted murder and robbery and two as accessories after the initial crime. |
| Intrigue: One of the alleged accessories is the 50-year-old woman who returned the singer's dogs to LAPD's Olympic Community Police Station two days after the armed robbery. Los Angeles Police Capt. Jonathan Tippet said in February that the woman who returned the dogs appeared to be "uninvolved and unassociated" with the incident. |
| Detectives said they now believe she had a relationship with the father of one of the attempted murder suspects. |
Huge fire last year was set to cover up killing, police say |
 | | The LNU Lightning Complex Fire burns on Sunday above Butts Canyon Road in unincorporated Lake County, Calif. | | Noah Berger, AP | |
| In another bit of bizarre crime news, the Washington Post reports that last year's Markley Fire in Northern California, which merged with nearby blazes in what became one of the largest wildfires in state history known as the LNU Lightning Complex fire, was set intentionally to cover up a killing. |
| The flames started near a dam in Northern California last summer and tore through a vast stretch of land, killing two men whose homes lay in its path. |
| For eight months, investigators worked to determine the cause. Police arrested Victor Serriteno within weeks of the August 2020 fire, charging him with killing Priscilla Castro, 32, of Vallejo, Calif., whom he had met for a date. Prosecutors now plan to file additional murder charges against the 29-year-old in connection to the blaze, including the two men it killed: Douglas Mai, 82, and Leon "James" Bone, 64. |
| "The fire had devastating impacts on so many people in our community," Solano County District Attorney Krishna Abrams said during a news conference announcing the findings. |
Can lawmakers bring state's internet into the 21st century? |
 | | In this April 30, 2015 photo, Leticia Fonseca, 16, left, and her twin sister, Sylvia Fonseca, right, work in the computer lab at Cuyama Valley High School after taking the new Common Core-aligned standardized tests in New Cuyama, Calif. The Cuyama Joint Unified School District is 60 miles from the nearest city and has Internet connections about one-tenth the minimum speed recommended for the modern U.S. classroom. Across the country, school districts in rural areas and other pockets with low bandwidth are confronting a difficult task of administering new Common Core-aligned standardized tests to students online. | | AP Photo/Christine Armario | |
| California touts itself as the tech capital of the U.S., but the reality is there are huge gaps in broadband service across the Golden State. Is this the year the California Legislature closes the digital divide? |
| CalMatters reports there are 20 pending broadband-related bills — to boost state investments in unconnected areas, to make it easier for providers to lay fiber and hang wireless transmitters, to subsidize internet subscriptions for low-income Californians — pending before the Legislature. |
| It only took a global pandemic, a year spent working and studying at home and a once-in-a-generation spending blitz from the federal government. Both Democrats and Republicans like the idea, but few have been willing to actually prioritize it. |
| What's different this time? Well, for starters, there's plenty of money to throw at the problem, there's an undeniable sense of urgency to act and there's commitment to the cause coming from both the governor's office and legislative leadership. |
| "We've been talking about universal broadband since I've been in diapers," Gov. Gavin Newsom said at a recent press conference — maybe a slight overstatement from the 53-year-old chief executive. "I think we're just resolved to solve this once and for all." |
| In California is a roundup of news from across USA Today network newsrooms. Also contributing: Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, San Diego Union-Tribune, CalMatters, Washington Post. Julie Makinen is California editor for the USA Today Network. Follow her on Twitter at @Julie_Makinen |
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