This year, those opposing Komrosky’s recall have out-fundraised those hoping to remove Komrosky, a Christian conservative whose words and actions have divided parents and teachers in the .

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As of Saturday, May 18, Komrosky and the , which opposes the recall, have raised almost $120,000 combined, according to campaign finance reports filed with the Riverside County Registrar of Voters.

and a pro-recall committee set up by the PAC raised roughly $24,000 between Jan. 1 and May 18, records show. That PAC led the drive to put Komrosky’s ouster on the ballot.

“We are thrilled with the funds we have raised for this recall campaign, the vast majority coming from Temecula residents giving what they can to support the effort,” One Temecula Valley PAC co-founder Jeff Pack said via email.

412 Church Temecula Valley Pastor Tim Thompson, founder of the family PAC, said he wasn’t able to comment Thursday, May 30.

The finance reports were filed before the family PAC’s , the former president’s son. Thompson has said he hoped to raise more than $100,000 from the event as the PAC seeks to sponsor Christian conservative candidates for various Inland Empire school board seats.

Between Monday, May 20, and Wednesday, May 29, the family PAC took in another $19,300 in donations, records show.

Both PACs raised money before the registrar’s office in January . The family PAC raised about $5,200 in 2023, while One Temecula Valley PAC raised almost $89,000 last year, according to records.

Several of the family PAC’s biggest donors don’t live in California.

Carl Boyanton of Diamondhead, Mississippi; Kevin Henry of Brazoria, Texas; and Steven Sanfilippo of Willis, Texas; each gave the PAC $5,000. Other top donors who gave at least $2,000 live in Virginia and Nashville, Tennessee.

“Less than half” of the anti-recall donors “actually live in Temecula and several large donors are from outside California,” Pack said.

“That should be concerning to voters, because it speaks to who is really backing Komrosky’s political game plan to defund and dismantle (the school district),” he added. “These people have no stake in Temecula and are actually funding the destruction of (Temecula schools) from the inside out — by investing in Komrosky to do it.”

Komrosky’s top 2024 donor as of May 18 is the Riverside County Republican Party, which gave him $4,000. Solana Beach real estate broker Marci Strange donated $2,000, while Murrieta conservative activist Bob Kowell gave Komrosky $1,750.

One Temecula Valley PAC’s top 2024 donor prior to May 18 was Temecula retiree Lianne Charton, who gave $1,145.55. Austin, Texas, energy consultant Austin Travis gave $500 while five donors — all but one from southwest Riverside County — gave $250 each.

Going into May 18, the biggest donor to the pro-recall PAC set up by One Temecula Valley was San Francisco retiree Jeffrey Foldvik, who gave $600. Carl Cohn, of Palm Springs, and Nancy Hughes, of Temecula, gave $500 each, while James Richardson, of Temecula, gave $450.

Since winning a majority of Temecula school board seats in 2022, Komrosky, Jen Wiersma and Danny Gonzalez, , passed policies that garnered national headlines, to requiring parents .

Supporters say the board’s conservatives — all endorsed by the family PAC — are keeping their promises to restore parental rights and protect children from pornography and liberal indoctrination. Critics say Komrosky and Wiersma are wasting taxpayer money as they try to impose a right-wing extremist agenda in a public school district.

The Tuesday, June 4, recall will decide whether Komrosky stays on the board  — his term runs through 2026 — or leaves office immediately. If he’s recalled, the remaining three board members — Gonzalez hasn’t been replaced — must appoint a successor or call for an election to fill Komrosky’s seat.

The election is only open to voters in Komrosky’s district. As of Thursday, May 30, about 25% of the 21,999 ballots mailed to voters have been returned, according to the registrar’s office.

The online mega-retailer on Wednesday, May 29, officially opened its first pharmacy in the state. Located in an industrial area of Corona in western Riverside County, the pharmacy near the 15 and 91 freeways promises to deliver prescription drugs — often within hours — using the same infrastructure that puts other goods on customers’ doorsteps.

Once fully ramped up, the pharmacy, which technically opened in March, will deliver medication to the Inland Empire, Orange County and the greater Los Angeles area, including West Hollywood, Torrance and Long Beach.

“Our mission with Pharmacy is to make it easier for people to get and stay healthy,” John Love, vice president, said before a ribbon-cutting ceremony. “It’s that simple.”

David Ambroz, Amazon’s head of community engagement in Southern California, said the pharmacy leverages “Amazon’s world-class logistics network” to “provide fast, free and convenient delivery of prescription medications right to the customer’s door.”

Riverside County Supervisor Karen Spiegel helped cut the ribbon.

“There’s more to this than the pills,” said Spiegel, a former Corona mayor who represents the city on the Riverside County Board of Supervisors. “It’s about the people and I get excited about the job opportunities that are now available” through the pharmacy.

One of 12 Amazon Pharmacy locations nationwide, the Corona pharmacy is next to an existing Amazon fulfillment center — a warehouse where goods are brought in, categorized, packaged and shipped in an elaborate process involving computers, forklifts, conveyor belts and bustling, vest-wearing employees.

The pharmacy, Love said, operates like any retail pharmacy.

It’s in a much smaller room than the cavernous fulfillment center, with rows of shelves and medication sitting in bins with brightly colored labels in an environment where sterile safety glasses are required.

More than 1,000 medications are available at the pharmacy, Love said. The pharmacy itself isn’t a walk-up facility and sits behind two sets of locked doors.

“One of the benefits of (the) pharmacy, from a shipping and a delivery (standpoint), is it’s light and small,” Love added. “So there’s a lot of medications that we can sort in a fairly small amount of space.”

A machine resembling a smart fridge contains frequently prescribed pills and sits behind the pharmacists’ station. Two computer panels let pharmacists review medications and spot any potential problems, such as a pill that might conflict with a patient’s other medication, for example.

After that, to protect patients’ privacy, medications are packaged and labeled in Amazon packages resembling anything else that someone might order. From there, the packages are sent to the fulfillment center, where a seemingly endless procession of drivers push package-laden carts to deliver on their rounds.

Amazon plans to give price estimates to customers before they order medication — a move Love and others hope convinces people who think they can’t afford their medicine to fill their prescriptions.

“We hear these terrible stories of people going up and having a really embarrassing moment,” Love said. “You might be at a physical pharmacy in your neighborhood and you get in line and they tell you the price of the medicine and you can’t afford the medication.”

Launched in 2020, Amazon’s other locations include New York City, Seattle, Indianapolis, Miami and Phoenix. Its entry into the pharmacy market caused the stock of competitor GoodRx to fall 22.5%, with the stock of Walgreens, Rite Aid and CVS taking a hit as well, .

Spiegel said it’s an honor that Corona is the first California location.

“It’s one of those things that time, money, whatever the reason is (for not filling a prescription), you’ve now taken that away and that’s what’s amazing,” she said.

How did we get here? What happens if Komrosky is recalled?

Here are some answers.

Why is there a recall?

Komrosky, along with two other Christian conservatives, have pursued a controversial agenda since of board seats in late 2022.

Among other moves, Komrosky, Jen Wiersma and Danny Gonzalez, , , approved a policy and feuded with over that indirectly referenced civil rights leader Harvey Milk — a “pedophile,” .

While Komrosky and Wiersma have their defenders, critics, led by , organized a recall campaign and managed to get enough signatures from voters in Komrosky’s district to force a recall.

Why is the recall a hot-button issue?

At stake is how many seats conservatives will continue to keep on the school board.

If Komrosky is recalled, only Wiersma would be left from the slate endorsed by the Christian conservative .

Just about anything having to do with the school board is a touchy topic in an area to which many families moved to benefit from the district’s stellar academic reputation. The conservatives’ backers say they’re standing up for parents’ rights and against “woke” indoctrination and inappropriate, overtly sexual classroom material.

Critics contend the conservatives want to dismantle public education and impose a right-wing, Christian nationalist agenda. The conservatives’ cultural war fights have cost taxpayers thousands in legal bills and ignore the nuts-and-bolts issues facing Temecula schools, One Temecula Valley PAC argues.

How will the election work?

The roughly 22,000 voters in Komrosky’s Trustee Area 4 . They can mail their ballots back or drop off those ballots or vote in-person at several locations before and during Election Day on June 4.

Voting is only open to Trustee Area 4 voters. Area 4 includes locations between Temecula Parkway and Rancho California Road and extends into Temecula Valley Wine Country.

Ballots have just one question — should Komrosky be recalled? Yes or no are the only options.

How much will the recall cost?

About $75,000, according to the Riverside County Registrar of Voters, which is overseeing the election. The school district is responsible for covering that price tag.

How many ballots have been returned so far?

As of Wednesday, May 23, 4,629 of 21,958 mail-in ballots — 21% — have been returned, according to registrar of voters spokesperson Elizabeth Florer.

What happens if the recall fails?

Komrosky remains in office. His term runs through 2026.

What if he’s recalled?

Komrosky must leave office immediately, leaving a vacancy on the five-member board that’s already missing Gonzalez, who wasn’t immediately replaced after resigning in December.

If Komrosky is recalled, how will he be replaced?

The remaining board members — Wiersma, Allison Barclay and Steven Schwartz — could call for a special election or appoint someone to fill the open seat.

Barclay and Schwartz have consistently opposed the conservatives’ agenda and an earlier attempt to appoint someone to fill Gonzalez’s seat fizzled .

If that happens, an election to replace Komrosky would likely take place later this year.

Both their families moved to Temecula — Molina from Fallbrook, Price from North Dakota — so their children could take advantage of the city’s highly regarded public school district.

But Molina, 32, and Price, 41, find themselves on opposite sides in the fight to remove Temecula school board President Joseph Komrosky, .

“Out of all of us parents, he was the one that stood up and decided ‘I’m going to take a stand,’” said Molina, who has three school-age children and a 7-month-old.

Price, whose 13- and 15-year-olds attend Temecula schools, said Komrosky has done “nothing for our community, nothing of value.”

“Komrosky is a dictator, not a leader,” she said. “He always causes division and chaos.”

Price said Komrosky, along with two other conservative board members elected in 2022 — one, Danny Gonzalez, — has tried to impose a political agenda at the expense of children’s education.

“All children deserve an education, a quality education with the separation of church and state without religion,” Price said.

“And they are trying to push their beliefs on others. Banning books is not OK. That’s what the Nazis did … We need to learn history and not go there”

“The (Temecula) school district is superior compared to Fallbrook Unified,” Molina said. “We (were) also looking for more of that community feel — the tract home feel where we’d be closer to everyone.”

Price said she and her husband are amazed at what Temecula high schools offer, especially compared to the small Washington state town in which they grew up.

“Going through the freshman orientation a month ago, we were just in awe of the opportunities these children have with the hundreds of clubs,” Price said. “We maybe had five clubs at our school.”

For the most part, Temecula school board meetings used to be tranquil affairs.

After Komrosky, Gonzalez and fellow conservative Jen Wiersma , those meetings have become culture war battlegrounds featuring fiery public comments, public acrimony between board members, shouting and clapping from conservatives’ friends and foes and sheriff’s deputies keeping the peace.

That division has carried over to the recall, with both sides attacking each other on social media, holding sign-waving rallies at busy intersections and competing to see who can put up the most campaign signs around town.

Both sides accuse the other of stalking and menacing behavior in-person and online.

“You go to these (school board) meetings and you realize some of these individuals are not even civil. They’re not even following the rules themselves,” Molina said.

“Some of them are employees, some of them are educators from other places. So it’s just kind of really inspired me as a mom to speak up and support Dr. Komrosky because it’s very rare you elect someone and they go in and they do what they say they’re going to do.”

Molina, a registered Libertarian who lives in Komrosky’s district, has an anti-recall lawn sign and sticker on her vehicle. She said she has neighbors who support the recall and gets along with them, but she’s also been flipped off by other drivers “and I’ve had people try to run me off the road.”

Price, who doesn’t live in Komrosky’s district, said the anti-recall side is “nasty and aggressive” at board meetings.

“I know there’s been talk about me,” Price said, who described herself as a moderate and declined to share her political party affiliation.

“We meet sometimes at the park and certain individuals from the park told one of my other neighbors how she doesn’t like my (pro-recall lawn) sign … There is one individual who I’m Facebook friends with who’s spewed all kinds of misinformation on my Facebook page and I have the right to delete that.”

Neither Molina nor Price considers themselves to be die-hard activists.

Molina, whose husband, Danny, hosts an anti-recall podcast — Komrosky has been a guest — said she’s never been heavily involved in politics. Price said she volunteered for a few political campaigns and talked politics with family before joining the pro-recall effort.

Molina said she and her husband, a Marine Corps veteran, voted for Komrosky after reading his biography in a voter information guide.

“Any time we see someone who is a veteran running, that’s very important to us for our family,” Molina said, adding she was impressed by Komrosky’s academic background — he holds a Ph.D. in philosophy and teaches at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut — “and he’s for the parents. He’s for parental rights.”

Watching the conservatives run for school board in 2022, “(I thought) ‘Oh boy, these people, I think they might get elected,’” Price said.

After school closures during the pandemic and remote learning, she said, “people were riled up so I could just kind of see the writing on the wall.”

The night they took office, Komrosky and his fellow conservatives , a term used by conservatives to attack lessons they believe to be racially divisive and borne of a victim mentality.

“We have a blended family,” Molina said. “My oldest daughter is from my first marriage and she’s biracial.”

“Teaching CRT to my children would break our family apart essentially because you’re going to be teaching my daughter, who is half Black, that I’m her oppressor and her siblings are her oppressor.”

Price is especially troubled by board and a policy, passed by the then-conservative majority, to .

While neither of her children identify as transgender, “we’ve built a safe environment,” Price said.

“However, not all children have that option … I want parents to be involved in their children’s life. But children need to be able to come out when they feel comfortable and safe on their own time.”

Price is working with One Temecula Valley PAC, which spearheaded the drive to put the recall on the ballot. She knocks on voters’ doors to promote the campaign.

“The people of Temecula have awakened and they’re unhappy,” Price said.

Price said her family at one point was “on the fence” about moving “if we didn’t get normalcy back.”

“We’re not looking for left or right,” she said. “We just want a quality education for our children with fighting different battles that are not meant for a school board.”

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct an error. Sally Price did not sign the petition to force a recall election against Joseph Komrosky. She does not live in his district. 

The son of former President told hundreds gathered at country music venue in Old Town Temecula that his father won the 2016 and 2020 presidential races and that the 2020 was stolen from his father — despite no credible proof that happened.

“And I promise you, we’re going to win again,” he told a cheering crowd, many of whom wore American flag apparel and the red Make America Great Again hats synonymous with Trump supporters.

Eric Trump, attorney Alina Habba, Trump administration official Kash Patel and Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin were in Temecula to headline a fundraiser for the which seeks to elect Christian conservatives to local school boards.

Before the fundraiser, the atmosphere outside the Stampede felt like a Trump rally, with people waving Trump flags and a MAGA hat-wearing woman handing out small American flags.

Across the street, a small group of protesters held signs with slogans such as “Keep your church out of our school” and “Separate church and state.”

Another protest took place at the Temecula Duck Pond about a mile from the Stampede. The Riverside County Democratic party chairperson and the leader of a group opposed to political extremism in local government .

Inside the venue, family PAC founder and 412 Church Temecula Valley Pastor Tim Thompson kicked things off by telling the audience: “Welcome to the Texas of California!,” an allusion to Temecula and southwest Riverside County being a GOP bastion in a deep-blue state.

A cheer went up when Eric Trump was spotted near the stage. Chants of “Trump! Trump! Trump!” and “USA! USA! USA!” filled the room as he posed for photos.

Eric Trump started his speech by calling Democratic California Gov. “the worst governor.” The audience cheered in agreement.

“I’m sorry you have to live in communism,” Eric Trump said toward the end of his 20-minute remarks.

Eric Trump warned the audience of “a war happening in this country.”

“The Democrats have weaponized every single institution,” he said, including the FBI “to come after my family” and the military, whose leaders, according to Eric Trump, are more interested in renaming military bases to be politically correct than in leading an effective fighting force.

On education, “Frankly, Republicans have been asleep in the wheel,” Eric Trump said.

“The Democrats got in there and they started perverting every single one of these systems … What’s more important than children? What’s more important than our churches? What’s more important than our schools?”

Eric Trump also blasted the continuing criminal cases against his father as meritless and borne of a corrupt system that desperately wants to stop Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

“He’s literally shining this bright light on the actual corruption,” Eric Trump said.

Next up was Habba, a conservative media personality who represented Donald Trump during his civil defamation trial in which he was ordered to pay $83.3 million to E. Jean Carroll. Another jury found Donald Trump civilly liable for sexually abusing Carroll in the 1990s.

“Let me tell you what my pronouns are — God, family, guns and MAGA,” she said in a jab at efforts to acknowledge the preferred pronouns of transgender people.

Habba, who was threatened with jail time for interrupting a judge in New York, railed against what she called a corrupt and scheming effort to use the courts to go after Donald Trump by bringing charges after he launched his 2024 campaign.

“When I talked into court and I said ‘Hi, my name is Alina Habba and I represent President Trump’ … all of a sudden, the laws don’t apply,” she said, later saying that keeping Donald Trump in court is “election interference at its finest.”

“They do not want him campaigning and even though they tried to make him stop campaigning, the man is killing everyone in the polls.”

Opponents believe that “making America great again means we’re in a cult,” Habba said, adding: “Thinking that the Constitution and the constitutional rights that we were afforded by our founders, the bedrock of this country, somehow makes us Nazis?”

Thompson urged Christian conservatives to run for school board and vote to keep them in office, especially Temecula school board President Joseph Komrosky, a family PAC-endorsed official .

“Perversion” can’t be allowed to take over schools, Thompson said, adding that if loving God and protecting unborn babies is seen as toxic masculinity, “let’s keep it toxic.”

and a meet-and-greet with Eric Trump.

Thompson said before the event that he hoped it would generate more than $100,000 for the family PAC, which opposes policies with the goal of supporting people and certain ways race is talked about in the teaching of U.S. history.

Five of seven PAC-endorsed candidates across southwest Riverside County .

Eric Trump’s appearance stems from a February visit by Habba at a Temecula-area equestrian facility at an event for , a Thompson-led organization that posts his commentaries and interviews with conservative activists and lawmakers on social media.

Thompson said Habba offered to connect his organization with Eric Trump, one of the former president’s three sons and ’s third child with ex-wife Ivana Trump.

An executive vice president in his father’s business, the Trump Organization, Eric Trump, 40, has been a prominent spokesperson and adviser for Donald Trump over the years. His wife, Lara, is co-chairperson of the Republican National Committee.

Like his father, Eric Trump has about COVID-19, Donald Trump’s accomplishments, the 2020 election and Biden.

Eric Trump also faced scrutiny  the Eric Trump Foundation shifted money intended for cancer patients to Trump family businesses and other charities, “many of which were connected to Trump family members or interests, including at least four groups that subsequently paid to hold golf tournaments at Trump courses.”

Eric Trump, who has not been criminally charged, suspended the operations of his charitable foundation in 2016 to avoid the appearance of contributors trying to gain access to his father through donations.

, is asking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency not to grant a waiver that would allow the to take effect.

In a letter co-signed by 74 congressmembers, Obernolte told EPA Administrator Michael Regan that the rule, adopted in April 2023 by the California Air Resources Board and set to start taking effect in 2030, is unnecessary and impossible to follow because the required technology doesn’t exist.

Trains account for just 0.5% of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions — which are responsible for climate change — and despite the industry taking steps to cut those emissions, the rule “has the potential to undermine the progress made by the railroads,” Obernolte’s letter read.

“Forcing the adoption of unproven technology could inadvertently move freight from the rail sector to (the) heavy-duty trucking sector,” which emits far more pollution, the letter added.

Obernolte, whose district includes cities in San Bernardino County’s High Desert as well as parts of Colton, Highland, Loma Linda, Redlands and San Bernardino, fears the rule will cause to pull the plug on its $1.5 billion project, killing 20,000 jobs, because the project would need all-electric locomotives that don’t exist.

Rail projects such as the Barstow gateway “would be canceled completely as development would become cost-prohibitive” if the rule were enacted, Burlington Northern spokesperson Lena Kent said via email.

Also, “thousands of existing and promised well-paying jobs would vanish” and “the cost of goods movement through California would increase to the point of being non-competitive, shifting cargo to other ports outside the state,” Kent said.

“Our national supply chain and West Coast port throughput would suffer without new rail projects that improve efficiency.”

The air resources board declined to comment on Obernolte’s letter. But according to information given by board spokesperson Lys Mendez, emissions from just one train exceed those from 400 heavy-duty trucks.

“The reduced nitrogen oxide and diesel particulate matter — of which there is no known safe level of exposure — will bring an estimated $32 billion in health savings by preventing 3,200 premature deaths and 1,500 emergency room visits and hospitalizations,” the statement provided by Mendez said.

“Cancer risk from exposure to air toxins within one mile of locomotive operations is expected to be reduced by 90%. Many rail operations, particularly in urban areas, tend to be located in places that are home to low-income residents and communities of color, who often bear a disproportionate burden from the impacts of air pollution,” the statement added.

Toxic exhaust from trucks and trains serving the industry is a sensitive topic in the Inland Empire, where mega-warehouses stretching into the horizon support tens of thousands of jobs.

Environmental justice activists want the government to strictly limit or eradicate diesel emissions linked to cancer, asthma, heart attacks and other health problems. But logistics industry advocates warn the rules sought at the state and federal levels have unrealistic timelines and the industry is already taking steps to curb emissions.

, by 2035, all locomotives operating in California will have to run in “zero-emission configuration” or in a way that doesn’t emit pollution.

“Presently, there are no commercially available freight locomotives that could comply with the (zero-emission) requirements of the regulation,” Obernolte’s letter states.

The rule also forces freight train companies to deposit money into a spending account that can only be used for zero-emission technology, with the amount deposited based on their trains’ emissions.

Burlington Northern and — the two Class I freight train companies operating in California — could each be forced to deposit up to $800 million a year, Obernolte’s letter read.

If the EPA adopts the rule, it could lead to a byzantine level of state-by-state locomotive regulations, disrupting a freight train industry that’s best regulated by the federal government, Obernolte said.

Responding to Obernolte’s questions , Regan said his agency is “going through a very thorough evaluation right now (of the rule) and we’ve got a lot of things to consider.”

“I have pledged, and so have my team members, to follow the science and follow the law. We have to be sure that any action that we take does both of those things, especially follow the law,” Regan said.

He did not provide a timeframe for when the EPA will decide whether to grant the rule a waiver.

Those are just a handful of the proposed budget cuts across 260 state programs in California Gov. Gavin ɫ����̳om’s latest , commonly referred to as the “May Revise,” which he announced May 10 as part of a plan to close a projected deficit.

But what do those numbers mean for Inland Empire programs that rely on state funding? Here are several ways the governor’s proposed budget cuts could affect the region.

Transportation

While transportation agencies dodged direct cuts in the revised budget, delayed $1 billion in grant funding for transit and intercity rail projects.

That freeze held up $138 million ticketed for the , Aaron Hake, the commission’s executive director, said via email. Among other priorities, that money would have helped public transit companies shift to zero-emission vehicles.

“The freeze leaves funds vulnerable to potential cuts, local projects stalled, and uncertainty in future project funding,” Hake said.  The May Revise also would cut funding for projects helping pedestrians and bicyclists and separate rail crossings from roads so cars don’t have to wait for trains to cross, he said.

Any funding cuts “result in more challenges in meeting the needs of our residents and commuters,” Tim Watkins, chief of legislative and public affairs for the , said via email.

“Currently, the transportation dollars, looking through our lens, appear to be only frozen rather than cut or redirected, so we remain optimistic until final outcomes are enacted.”

Social Services

A range of social services overseen by Riverside and San Bernardino counties would face cuts under the May Revise.

Cuts to CalWORKs, the state’s welfare program, could make it harder for the county to determine if people are eligible for benefits, San Bernardino County spokesperson David Wert said via email.

Other cuts would slash $6.8 million from housing programs, which “would result in the reduction of supportive services for children and families that are experiencing homelessness,” Wert said.

A proposed $11 million cut to the Future of Public Health program would take away money that could hire more public health workers, while a $6 million cut to child welfare services “would result in the reduction of administrative support and supportive services for children and families in need,” Wert said.

The May Revise cuts “have the potential for a significant impact on Riverside County’s ability to provide essential social services,” County Executive Officer Jeff Van Wagenen said via email.

Those services, according to Van Wagenen, include food stamps, emergency child care services, a program to build affordable housing, Medi-Cal — California’s health insurance program for the poor — adult protective services and In-Home Supportive Services, a program providing in-home care to elderly and disabled indigent adults.

Crime Victims

The May Revise cuts “pose a dire threat to our services for victims of crime,” Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin, a Republican who has criticized the Democratic governor before, said in an emailed statement.

Hestrin said his office could lose $2 million in “vital crime victim assistance grants serving child victims and human trafficking victims … The additional loss of Victims of Crime Act funding creates significant concern … potentially depriving more than 6,000 victims of essential services.”

The cuts “not only neglect victims’ rights but also disregard the economic and societal costs, including job loss, program destabilization, and increased strain on already burdened systems,” Melissa Donaldson, director of victim services in Hestrin’s office, said in the emailed statement.

“It’s imperative that we prioritize funding for victim services to prevent further harm to those already suffering. The priorities of a government are measured by where they direct their funding and, clearly, crime victims are not a priority for this administration.”

The settlement, disclosed by the Murrieta-based , ends a lawsuit filed last year in federal court by Jessica Tapia, who accused the district of violating her civil and First Amendment rights when it terminated her in January 2023.

“What happened to me can happen to anybody, and I want the next teacher to know that it is worth it to take a stand for what is right,” Tapia said in the Advocates’ news release.

“Across the country, we are seeing teachers’ freedom of speech and religious liberty violated through policies that require them to forsake their morals. I want teachers to be confident in the fact that the best thing we can do for students is educate in truth, not deception.”

The settlement “serves as a reminder that religious freedom is protected, no matter your career,” Julianne Fleischer, an Advocates lawyer, said in the release.

“If the school district’s actions were legal, no teacher of faith would be qualified to serve as a public school teacher. Jessica’s story is one of faithful courage. She fought back to ensure her school district was held accountable and that no other teacher has to succumb to this type of discrimination.”

The Jurupa school board approved the settlement Monday, May 13, according to a statement issued by district spokesperson Jacqueline Paul.

“The district has not admitted any fault or wrongdoing as part of this settlement,” the statement read.

“The decision to settle this case was made in conjunction with the district’s self-insurance administrators and in the best interest of the students, such that the district would be able to dedicate all of its resources and efforts to its student population regardless of their protected class.”

According to her lawsuit, Tapia attended Jurupa Valley High School and had been a district employee in various capacities since 2014 before becoming the high school’s only female physical education teacher in 2021.

Tapia, a Christian who believes God created two sexes — male and female — was placed on paid administrative leave in 2022 after “some issues had been brought to the District’s attention regarding her personal social media posts,” the lawsuit states.

The district “sent Ms. Tapia numerous, unfounded allegations,” accusing her of writing bigoted social media posts, “proselytizing during P.E. class” and not referring to students by their preferred pronouns even though no student asked her to, the lawsuit alleged.

The district ordered Tapia to withhold students’ transgender identities from parents, refer to students by their preferred gender pronouns and to refrain from sharing her faith and opinions on social media and discussing religious beliefs with students, according to the lawsuit.

These orders “caused Ms. Tapia to suffer severe mental and emotional anguish because she was torn between agreeing to conditions that caused her to violate her religious beliefs or losing the job she worked her entire life for,” the lawsuit added.

Since her firing, Tapia has spoken at school board meetings in the Inland Empire . She frequently appears in social media posts for , a program hosted by conservative southwest Riverside County Pastor Tim Thompson, to local school boards in 2022.

Advocates and Tapia said they’re launching the Teachers Don’t Lie campaign, which “aims to provide educators with a thorough understanding of their constitutional rights, as well as give options on how to respond to their school district when being asked to go against their sincerely held religious beliefs,” Advocates’ release states.

Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin also is expected to speak at the fundraiser, set for Wednesday, May 22, at the Temecula Stampede country music venue.

So is Kash Patel, who served in the Trump White House, and Alina Habba, an attorney who represented Donald Trump in court.

“The entire Trump family understands the need for patriotic Americans to get involved in the election process,” PAC founder and 412 Church Temecula Valley Pastor Tim Thompson said via email.

“Our hope is Eric Trump will inspire the Temecula Valley and beyond to engage in a powerful way.”

The Riverside County Democratic Party chairperson assailed the event.

“This fundraiser clearly shows how, and by whom, big money is being raised in the Inland Empire by the executors aiding the creation of a dictatorship under the guise of ‘Family Values,’” Joy Silver said via email.

A protest is scheduled to take place outside the fundraiser. “Let’s show Tim Thompson and the Trump Crime Family that their brand of fascism isn’t welcome here in our school districts!” an online ad for the demonstration states.

Amy McKenzie, a Hestrin spokesperson, said via email that Hestrin, a Republican, “has been invited to speak at the event to address criminal justice issues in California.”

In February, Habba attended an event at a Temecula-area equestrian facility for , a Thompson-led organization that posts his commentaries and interviews with conservative activists and lawmakers on social media.

Habba “offered to connect us with her family friend, Eric Trump,” Thompson said. “We gratefully accepted that offer.”

Eric Trump’s wife, Lara, is co-chairperson of the Republican National Committee.

range from $200 for general admission to $1,000 for VIP seating and a meet-and-greet with Trump. Thompson said he hopes the event raises more than $100,000. As of Tuesday, May 14, tickets are still available, he said.

Habba frequently appears on cable news to praise the former president and blast efforts to prosecute Trump, .

While she is celebrated in conservative circles, the judge in Trump’s defamation trial — at one point after she interrupted him.

The plaintiff in that case, E. Jean Carroll, alleged Trump defamed her after a jury for sexually abusing her in the 1990s. Trump .

Patel served in various capacities in the Trump administration, including chief of staff in the Department of Defense and a counterterrorism adviser on the National Security Council.

In December, Patel that if Trump returns to the White House, “conspirators” in the media and government would be targeted — “We’re going to come after you whether it’s criminally or civilly,” he added.

Thompson’s PAC  to school boards in Temecula, Murrieta and Lake Elsinore.

PAC-endorsed candidates campaigned on a platform of restoring parents’ rights and ridding schools of “indoctrination.” , including a majority on the Temecula Valley Unified School District board.

Once elected, the three Temecula conservatives , with over curriculum that indirectly referenced LGBTQ leader Harvey Milk and , among other controversial actions.

Critics say the conservatives, , want to impose a Christian nationalist agenda while ignoring pressing student needs. A recall election of one of the conservatives, board President Joseph Komrosky, .

While defeating the Komrosky recall “is a top priority for us … the IE Family PAC continues to vet possible candidates for school board seats across the Inland Empire and will be announcing our endorsed candidates at a date to be determined,” Thompson said.

“We focus solely on school board races as parental rights and the safety of our children are our main passion.”

The fundraiser “is yet another blatant example of the IE Family PAC’s mission to corrupt local nonpartisan school board seats with partisan politics and culture wars in an attempt to dismantle public education,” Jeff Pack, co-founder of , which is spearheading the recall, said via email.

“ … IE Family PAC’s supported elected officials and candidates are singularly focused on indoctrinating our students religiously and politically. We find that shameful and antithetical to the American public education system.”

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct an error. The Democrats of Southwest Riverside County club is not organizing a protest scheduled to take place outside the Wednesday, May 22, fundraiser. 

Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Corona, this week to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy seeking answers as to why the ballots sent to voters from Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties arrived too late, as .

“The fact that these voters were denied their ability to exercise their constitutional duty due to flaws in the mail-in ballot system is shocking,” Calvert, who represents parts of Riverside County, .

“In American elections, it’s not hyperbole to say every vote matters — it’s a fundamental component of our democracy. There’s no question that the increased role of mail-in ballots has put the (U.S. Postal Service) in a more critical position in our election process. Americans must have confidence that the USPS is up to the task of supporting our democracy.”

Duke Gonzales, a postal service spokesperson, relayed a statement from postal service headquarters acknowledging receipt of Calvert’s May 6 letter.

“We will respond directly to the congressman,” the statement said.

Under California law, mail-in ballots are sent to every registered voter. Legally, ballots postmarked on or before Election Day and received by a county registrar of voters up to seven days after an election must be counted.

According to Riverside County, 31 mail-in ballots postmarked on time arrived eight days after the election or later. They included “a few military ballots,” Registrar of Voters Art Tinoco .

In Orange County, 70 postmarked-on-time ballots arrived too late to be counted, with 61 arriving March 13, three arriving March 14 and six arriving March 15, according to that county’s registrar.

In San Bernardino County, three ballots arrived between March 13 and March 15 that were postmarked on Election Day.

Elections officials said they didn’t know why the ballots arrived late. Gonzales previously referred to postal service statistics showing that 99.89% of 2020 ballots and 99.93% of 2022 ballots nationwide were delivered within seven days.

Like many in the Republican Party, Calvert has expressed concerns about mail-in ballots.

In March 2019, Calvert sent then-Riverside County Registrar of Voters Rebecca Spencer a letter warning that — a term used derisively by conservatives to describe someone dropping off multiple ballots at once —  is “ripe for fraud” and posing a list of 27 questions about the practice, which is legal in California.

Despite conspiracy theories and continued doubts about the nation’s elections, multiple investigations at the state and national level have found on a scale that would change election results. Elections officials note that to verify voters’ eligibility and make sure they’re not voting twice in the same election.