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In California | A SPOTLIGHT ON ALL THINGS GOLDEN STATE | Tuesday, May 25 | | |
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| But first. John Cox enlisted Tag, a 1,000-pound bear, as his campaign sidekick as the Republican businessman tries to make an impression with voters in the recall race against Gov. Gavin Newsom. But the bear has now attracted a different kind of attention. A group of San Diego animal activists filed a lawsuit asking a judge to order Cox to immediately suspend any further appearances with the bear . Lawyers for the Animal Protection and Rescue League say that Cox's campaign stop in San Diego earlier this month violated a city ordinance and that ongoing appearances are illegal under federal law. Read more at the San Diego Union-Tribune. |
| Plus: Still confused about how the recall will work? CalMatters has the basics in cartoon form. |
| 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 today's key headlines. |
Plan would cut share of out-of-state students at UC campuses, open up more slots for in-state students |
 | | University of California-Los Angeles campus. | | Damian Dovarganes / Images | |
| California lawmakers are considering a plan to cut the share of out-of-state and international students at University of California campuses to make room for more state residents, the L.A. Times reports. |
| Demand for spots at UC schools is through the roof, and parents and students are frustrated by high rejection rates. |
| The state Senate has unveiled a proposal to cut the share of nonresident incoming freshmen to 10% from the current systemwide average of 19% over the next 10 years. The state would make up the revenue lost from higher out-of-state tuition. |
| The plan would let nearly 4,600 more California students secure freshmen seats each year, with the biggest gains expected at UCLA, UC Berkeley and UC San Diego. |
| The percentage of nonresidents at those campuses surpasses the systemwide average, amounting to about 25% of incoming freshmen. UC leaders, however, are resisting, saying they'd be hamstrung to raise needed funds. Plus, they say a geographically broad student body has benefits. |
| "It's not about ending out-of-state students — they really add to the mix and the educational experience," said Sen. John Laird (D-Santa Cruz), whose Senate budget subcommittee on education discussed the plan this month. "We just have to make sure there's enough spaces for in-state students." |
Windmills off the California coast? |
 | | The iconic Morro Bay Rock stands alone in the bay. | | Bobbie Green | |
| Hundreds of square miles of ocean off the California coast could be used for wind turbines under a plan unveiled Tuesday by Gov. Gavin Newsom and White House officials, the Sacramento Bee reported. |
| That could create a new industry in California, officials told reporters on a briefing call. The identified areas include 399 square miles northwest of Morro Bay off the California Central Coast. Another area would be offshore near Humboldt County in the far north of the state. |
| The Department of the Interior estimates the areas could produce enough energy to power 1.6 million homes. Developing a wind energy industry on the West Coast would help both President Joe Biden and Newsom realize clean energy goals, officials said Tuesday. |
State on pace for another record year of wildfires |
| As California sinks deeper into drought, it already has had more than 900 additional wildfires than at this point in 2020, which was a record-breaking year that saw more than 4% of the state's land scorched by flames, Associated Press says. |
| California's mountains and foothills are expected to see above-normal wildfire potential from June through August and possibly into the fall, which is the usual peak fire season, according to the National Drought Mitigation Center and the Southwest Coordination Center. |
| While some parts of the Southwest saw cool and moist conditions over the past month, that wasn't the case in California. said Chuck Maxwell, a meteorologist and predictive services manager with the Southwest Coordination Center in Albuquerque. About 94% of California has drought conditions ranging from moderate to exceptional, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor that measures conditions. |
| This year's fires so far have burned nearly five times as much acreage as they did last year at this time. But the 24 square miles scarred by about 2,600 fires this year is a small portion of last year's totals of nearly 10,000 fires and an astronomical 6,653 square miles burned. The fires killed 33 people and burned more than 10,000 homes and other structures. |
| Last year's epic fire season lasted so long that it slowed Cal Fire's attempts to set its own fires — the prescribed burns that they want to make an increasing part of their long-term efforts. They've been able to deliberately burn about 17 square miles through April 30, down about 40% from last year. |
Vanessa Bryant fires back against 'full-scale attack' by LA County in grisly photos case |
 | | Kobe Bryant and wife Vanessa were all smiles after he won an Oscar in 2018 for his short basketball film, "Dear Basketball." | | ANGELA WEISS, Getty Images | |
| The widow of Kobe Bryant has "every right" to find out how and why Los Angeles County government employees shared pictures of her dead husband and daughter after they died in a helicopter crash last year, her attorney stated in a new court filing this week, USA Today reports. |
| That is why she wants more time to investigate the case and is fighting back against the county's "full-scale attack" on her last week in court filings, the attorney stated. |
| The filing from Vanessa Bryant's attorney, Luis Li, comes in response to what county attorneys said about her last week as they pushed back against her lawsuit about the photos. |
| The county said in court documents then that her lawsuit had turned into a "fishing expedition" that was taking first responders away from their jobs and was subjecting them to harassment. The county also said the photos were not publicly disseminated, were not publicly posted on the internet and therefore the widow of the NBA legend suffered no actual harm to merit a lawsuit. |
| Her attorney batted that back Monday. "The discomfort and distress she has suffered from government personnel using graphic photos of her deceased loved ones as gossip fodder is very real," said the filing in federal court. "The County's downplaying of what happened only confirms that Mrs. Bryant cannot trust the County's internal investigations and must complete an investigation of her own." |
| In California is a roundup of news from across USA Today network newsrooms. Also contributing: Los Angeles Times, San Diego Union-Tribune, Sacramento Bee and Associated Press. Julie Makinen is California editor for the USA Today Network. Follow her on Twitter at @Julie_Makinen. |
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