Newsom Signs Election Bill, Targets Trump Fund

Less than a week before California’s June 2 primary, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an election-security law restricting law enforcement access to ballots and vowed to tax payouts from a Trump-linked federal fund at 100%.

Senate Bill 73 took effect immediately, barring peace officers from interfering with election administration except in urgent safety situations and requiring a court order before law enforcement can seize ballots or voting equipment. The bill followed Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco’s seizure of more than 650,000 ballots from last fall’s Proposition 50 special election, an investigation Attorney General Rob Bonta later halted amid legal challenges.

Separately, Newsom said California plans to impose a 100% state tax on payouts from the federal “anti-weaponization fund,” a $1.776 billion program announced by the Justice Department as part of the settlement of Trump’s lawsuit over leaked tax returns. “Anyone from California who receives any of those funds, we want to tax 100% of those proceeds,” Newsom said, calling the fund a “slush fund.”

Trump last week defended the fund as restitution for people “badly abused by an evil, corrupt, and weaponized Biden Administration.” The program has drawn criticism from Democrats and some Republicans, including concerns that Jan. 6 defendants could receive compensation.

Steyer Breaks California Ad Record

Billionaire Democrat Tom Steyer has spent or booked more than $195 million on broadcast TV, cable, and radio in his bid for California governor, the most expensive political advertising campaign in the country this year.

The total is roughly 20 times the spending of his nearest rival, fellow Democrat Xavier Becerra, and eclipses Meg Whitman’s 2010 raw-dollar record of $178.5 million. Whitman still holds the inflation-adjusted state record.

The blitz has lifted Steyer into contention in the crowded race, but he has not broken away from the field. Five days before the June 2 primary, Steyer, Becerra, and Republican Steve Hilton were among a leading group of candidates. Becerra is countering with an ad showing tranquil Joshua trees and the pitch: “You can stop the endless Tom Steyer ads. Vote Xavier Becerra.”

Last Matthew Perry Defendant Sentenced

Matthew Perry’s live-in assistant Kenneth Iwamasa was sentenced Wednesday in Los Angeles federal court to three years and five months in prison for injecting the Friends star with the fatal dose of ketamine in October 2023.

U.S. District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett imposed the 41-month term, exactly what prosecutors sought, along with two years of supervised release, a $10,000 fine, and an order to surrender by July 17.

Iwamasa pleaded guilty in 2024 to conspiracy to distribute ketamine resulting in death, admitting he repeatedly injected Perry without medical training, including three injections on the day Perry was found dead in a hot tub at his Pacific Palisades home. He was the fifth and final defendant sentenced in the case.

Perry’s mother, Suzanne Morrison, told the court the family hired Iwamasa to keep her son drug-free. In a victim impact statement, Perry’s sisters Caitlin and Madeline Morrison described Iwamasa as a man who “left him in a hot tub to die.”

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➤ Elk Grove: A former treasurer and president of the Elk Grove Jr. Thundering Herd youth football league was arrested after a two-year embezzlement investigation, police said this week. Kristina Vazquez, 41, allegedly spent more than $100,000 in league funds on mortgage payments, plane tickets, and Disneyland trips over six years. (See Details)

➤ Bay Area: Supporters of a regional sales-tax measure to fund the Bay Area’s transit systems say they submitted more than 305,000 signatures, well above the 186,000 needed to qualify for the November ballot. The “Connect Bay Area” campaign would impose a 0.5% sales tax across four counties and 1% in San Francisco. (More)

➤ San Francisco: The median rent for a one-bedroom apartment in San Francisco has climbed to a record $4,000 a month, according to Bay Area rent tracker Zumper. Analysts say the city’s artificial intelligence boom is helping push rents higher. (See Details)

➤ San Jose: Pro skateboarder Marc Johnson, credited with putting San Jose on the skateboarding map, has died at 49, according to a friend’s post in Thrasher Magazine. Tributes poured in from across the skateboarding world following news of his death. A cause of death has not been released. (More)

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➤ Friant: This Fresno County town ranked as the ninth-fastest-growing community in the United States, growing from 813 residents in 2014 to 3,039 in 2023, a 273.8% increase, according to Census Bureau data. Housing stock grew nearly 150%, while educational attainment reached 87.7%. Friant also topped California’s list of “up-and-coming” communities. (More)

➤ Merced: UC Merced has been awarded a $1.8 million grant from the Keck Foundation to support faculty and doctoral research, the university announced this week. The foundation will direct $600,000 toward protecting researchers from federal grant disruptions, and $1.2 million toward chemistry and biochemistry laboratory research. (More)

➤ Bakersfield: The Kern County Sheriff’s Office is investigating what it called a “theft of a cat” after a west Bakersfield family’s Ring camera caught an Amazon delivery driver picking up and walking off with their pet cat Junie. The driver isn’t directly employed by Amazon. (See Video)

➤ Central Valley: A judge temporarily blocked California Attorney General Rob Bonta from enforcing new cardroom regulations that local officials say could threaten blackjack and other popular table games. Fresno and Clovis officials say local casinos generate millions in tax revenue that help fund police, parks, and other city services. (More)

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➤ LAX: Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin this week renewed a threat to pull federal Customs and Border Protection officers from airports in “sanctuary” cities, a move that could halt international flight processing at LAX, SFO and roughly a dozen other major hubs. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has publicly opposed the proposal. (More)

➤ Inland Empire: Four drivers were arraigned Wednesday on felony insurance-fraud charges in an alleged staged-crash scheme. The suspects, from Anaheim and Upland, were arrested after a months-long task force investigation. Two also face assault-with-a-deadly-weapon charges tied to a separate crash. (See Details)

➤ Long Beach: One week before the June 2 primary, city leaders are standing by the Homeless Bureau’s leadership despite mounting criticism over oversight failures and rising homelessness. City Manager Tom Modica said he has full confidence in the bureau. Several councilmembers declined to comment. (More)

➤ Santa Ana: Police are asking for the public’s help identifying a woman caught on surveillance video throwing a bowl of food at a restaurant worker after a verbal dispute over her order. The incident occurred at a restaurant near Santa Ana College. (See Details)

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➤ LA Rams owner Stan Kroenke is suing the city of Inglewood for $400 million, claiming the city owes reimbursement for infrastructure and public improvements tied to SoFi Stadium under a 2015 agreement. (More)

➤ Five California schools begin NCAA baseball tournament regional play today: UCLA, USC, Cal Poly, Saint Mary’s, and UC Santa Barbara. UCLA enters as the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed. (See Bracket)

➤ The Lakers laid off more than a dozen employees in a business-side reorganization under new ownership, affecting marketing, communications, content, and sponsorship departments, according to ESPN. (More)

➤ Stanford women’s golf beat USC on Wednesday to win the NCAA championship for the third time in five years. (More)

➤ Meanwhile, Stanford women’s rowing opens the NCAA Championships today looking to defend its national title after sweeping all five events at the ACC Championship earlier this month. (More)

➤ Yesterday’s Results: NBA | MLB | Soccer | NCAASB | WNBA | Golf

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➤ Marquez Bros., a major Hispanic-cheese producer, has purchased the former Saputo plant in Tulare and unveiled a four-phase expansion that would grow the facility from 101,000 to 241,000 square feet. Phase one is expected to add about 80 jobs. (More)

➤ Tech layoffs continued, with Crunchbase tallying roughly 4,550 U.S. tech workers cut in recent weeks, led by Mountain View-based Intuit’s 3,000-job restructuring, equal to 17% of its global workforce, including closures of offices in Woodland Hills and Reno. San Francisco-connected web platform Wix also announced about 1,000 layoffs amid mounting AI-era cost pressures. (More)

➤ Amazon has invested more than $4 billion in Fresno County since 2010, the company’s Northern California public policy manager said this week, calling the Central Valley “the backbone” of its logistics network. Amazon employs more than 4,000 workers across over 850,000 square feet of fulfillment space locally. (More)

➤ Three Central Coast grocery stores temporarily closed after what owners called a “serious internal technology/computer system issue” halted operations Wednesday. California Fresh Market locations in San Luis Obispo and Pismo Beach, as well as El Rancho Market in Solvang posted notices on Facebook saying the closures would continue until further notice. (More)

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➤ The Queen Mary marked the 90th anniversary of its maiden voyage Wednesday with a free celebration featuring tours, performances, and a ceremonial christening, capped by the debut of the revived Starlight Lounge inspired by the ship’s original 1930s nightclub. The retired ocean liner is permanently docked in Long Beach. (More)

➤ Coachella Lakes RV Resort in Indio ranked among The Dyrt’s top 10 RV destinations in America, praised for its lakes, pools, spas and proximity to Joshua Tree National Park. The resort has 351 sites. (More)

➤ A Papa Johns at 8180 Melrose Ave. in Los Angeles will transform into a “Toy Story” Pizza Planet pop-up on Friday, June 12, noon to 7 p.m., ahead of Toy Story 5‘s June 19 release. Reservations open today at 9 a.m. on Eventbrite. The event is limited to guests 18 and older. (More)

➤ Raging Waters Los Angeles in San Dimas ranked No. 7 on a USA Today list of the country’s top outdoor water parks. The park, one of the largest in California, opens June 8. Splashway Waterpark in Sheridan, Texas, took the No. 1 spot. (More)

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Do political ads sway your vote?

1. Yes, they help me decide
2. No, I tune them out
3. Only if a candidate is new to me
4. They turn me off entirely
5. Other (reply to tell us)

Yesterday’s Results:

If you could ski, bike, and golf all in the same day at Mammoth, which would you start with?

1. Ski first: 24%
2. Sounds exhausting: 22%
3. Bike first: 19%
4. Golf first: 18%
5. Other: 17%

Emeryville-based Pixar has slipped the Pizza Planet truck in nearly every feature film since 1995’s Toy Story. Which movie is the only one without a Pizza Planet truck cameo?

Show me the answer