The rideshare giant is testing a feature to let drivers set prices — and get around the new gig economy labor law. Plus: A nonprofit asks Uncle Sam to lease it land to put up tiny homes for chronically homeless people.

It's hump-day news to get you over the hurdle.

And later, I talk to Lalo Alcaraz, a Chicano artist who served as a creative consultant on the Pixar blockbuster "Coco" and now on Nickelodeon's "The Casagrandes." We'll talk #OscarsSoWhite, why people should love our food AND people and how Hollywood can stop remaking "Little Women."

I'm Arlene Martínez and I write In California, a daily roundup of news from across USA TODAY Network newsrooms and beyond. Signing up is fast, fun and free.

Uber tests program to let drivers set pricing

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Uber unveiled a test feature at three California airports this week, part of a plan the company is calling "Project Luigi." The goal is to give ride-sharing drivers greater control over their work and pay to bolster the company's case that drivers are independent contractors.

At Santa Barbara, Palm Springs and Sacramento airports, drivers can set fares up to five times greater than Uber's original price, in increments of 10%. Next week, the company said, it will begin allowing drivers to offer rides for less than Uber's original price point and opt out of the surge pricing that ride-sharing platforms apply when demand is high.

The changes are in response to AB 5, the new California law that limits gig economy platforms' ability to classify workers as independent contractors. It's all part of Uber's larger plan to win exemption from the law.

"Since AB 5 has gone into effect, we’ve made a number of product changes to preserve flexible work for tens of thousands of California drivers," an Uber spokesperson told The Desert Sun. "We’re now doing an initial test of additional changes which would give drivers more control over the rates they charge riders."

The flu strikes, and could a '96 missing teen case get closure?

It's been a brutal flu season. So far, 105 Californians have died, 35 in one January week alone.

No one knows what happened to Kristin Smart, who disappeared in 1996 when she was a freshman at Cal Poly SLO. Her mom says we may get an update soon.

When the sun goes down, so does solar energy's output. Geothermal plants could help fill that clean energy gap. The catch: They're pretty expensive.

Nonprofit wants feds to give it lease to erect tiny homes

A Northern California nonprofit wants to lease federal land to build permanent housing for the chronically homeless — which would make it the first such project on Bureau of Land Management property in the Golden State.

The 30-acre site is west of Redding, and on it, Noah's Community Village sees potential to build 180 tiny homes. We "need to rethink housing and get more and more people off the street,” said Carrie Noah, the nonprofit's head of organizational development said.

The BLM typically allows government agencies and nonprofits to lease space for fire stations, schools or even landfills. No lease for housing currently exists, federal officials said.

The homes would be 200 to 300 square feet, with a bathroom, kitchenette, shower and porch. There also would be communal areas with kitchens, a community center, gardens, medical services and work opportunities. BLM did not say when a decision could be made.

What else we're talking about

Rancho Mirage City Council wannabe Stephen Jaffe said he chose the community because it's a "relatively upscale, nice community." It was NOT to be near a dumpy ol' In-N-Out Burger. The recent S.F. transplant ran against Nancy Pelosi in 2018.

Bed, Bath & Beyond plans to close 40 stores, five of them in California. See the full list here.

A Newport Beach woman pleaded guilty to fraud for paying a company $9,000 to take a class for her son. She demanded a discount when he received a C. The company also provided a stand-in for her son for a mandatory video conference.

America, love 'our food AND our people'

A week after the Academy Award nominations came out as white as ever, I talked via email to artist, producer and creative consultant Lalo Alcaraz about Tinseltown and his successful career. The creator of "La Cucaracha" — the first Latino politically themed, nationally syndicated comic strip — answered my questions from the Nickelodeon studios, where he's currently hard at work on a new show, "The Casagrandes."

Lalo, I remember when La Cucaracha first syndicated in 2002. And then I remember when papers started dropping it because it was too political and/or brown, then they’d pick it up again. Can you believe you’re still doing it?

Nope, I can’t! There were angry people campaigning against my little comic strip even before it officially launched. Overall, the whole ride of my national daily syndication has been pretty smooth. The newspaper business has never been easy, but now it’s much rockier, so there’s no one more surprised than myself that "La Cucaracha" is still making people laugh and cry angrily on the comics page after almost 18 years.

What was it like working on "Coco"?

It was a dream. I couldn’t believe a major studio like Pixar was interested in my opinion. But flying up to Northern California to work at Pixar, to give feedback to the whole team about an amazing and important film like "Coco," that was quite an experience. The directors, producers, the artists and voice talent were the best, and the visual artistry was mind-blowing, even in its raw form.

Did you know it was going to be such an amazing movie?

It was going to be such an important movie for Mexico, for Chicanos and Latinos and a major cultural touchstone, that it had to be done right. The work of our team of consultants and community members paid off in a big way onscreen and in the hearts of millions of people all over the planet. Pixar doesn’t mess around, they make good movies. We just helped them with a little extra amor.

Let’s talk Oscars ("Coco" won best animated feature in 2018). What was your reaction when you saw the nominees last week?

I’m never surprised when the Oscar nominations are not diverse. The past few years we have seen a slight improvement, with the work of Mexican filmmakers being recognized as top level. But yeah, I have no illusions that industry awards will be diverse if the content being green-lit by the major studios is still mainly centered around white characters and stories. Can Hollywood stop remaking “Little Women,” por favor??

Who/what were some of the most striking omissions? (See all the nominees here)

The most striking omissions are stories from the Latino community. I wish there were more performances to pick from ... Latinos over-index as moviegoers. Hey, Hollywood! We might go even more to the movies if we could see ourselves onscreen! Instead, Latinos are usually relegated to token roles at best, stereotypical roles at worst, but mostly invisibility.

You’ve worked in Hollywood for a long time now. Has it gotten better?

I’ve been working on and off in Hollywood for 30 years. Mostly off. Recently, I’ve had a pretty good five-year run. ... Hollywood is seemingly improving. There’s an increase in Latino actors and writers, plus shows featuring Latino-themed stories, but the opportunities still greatly lag behind our numbers.

And speaking of Hollywood, you recently started working on a Nickelodeon show called "The Casagrandes." Congrats! How’d you get involved and what do you do?

I’m consulting producer, cultural consultant and freelance writer. The Creative Producer Miguel Puga got me hired to help guide the cultural content of the show. I get to advise on stories, marketing, I chime in with jokes in the writers' room, and write scripts. I also help on every recording session, which basically means keeping accents and Spanish pronunciations as authentic and appropriate as possible, and coming up with alternative lines on the fly.

What do you hope it accomplishes, like politically or culturally or human-ey?

In this toxic anti-immigrant, anti-ethnic era in which we are all living through, it’s more important than ever to create art that shows minority communities as normal, funny, and as messed up as everybody else’s communities. In my opinion, Mexican-American /Latino families are the standard for tight-knit, loving familias. But it seems that the USA needs a little reminder that we are awesome.

America, you should love both our food AND our people.

I’ve always thought it would be hard to be a comedian nowadays — even SNL sometimes seems like a muted version of reality. How do you use what’s happening for your art?

Satire is in such a weird place now; reality outpaces it every day. I try to keep up with the news cycle by cranking out editorial cartoons on the subject of the moment. I don’t worry if my work is too hard-edged for people, because when the president calls my family rapists and drug dealers, and babies are being separated from their parents at the border and then caged, who has time for politeness?

Know someone who would make a good Q&A for In California? Drop a line: avmartinez@gannett.com or DM me at @avmartinez.

In California is a roundup of news from across USA TODAY Network newsrooms. Also contributing: Associated Press, Los Angeles Times.

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