First Take: Whitman’s latest contribution. ‘Tea party’ fizzles in California. Budget deadline looms.

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Meg Whitman has written another $20-million check to her campaign -- bringing her personal contribution total to $91 million.

Meanwhile, a Democratic group has offered a comic reminder to voters about who Dick Cheney is backing in the governor’s race.

Whitman allegedly pushed an EBay employee in 2007 during a board meeting and paid a cash settlement for what she called the ‘professional disagreement.’

Maeve Reston looks at the reasons many ‘tea party’ candidates did not fare well in California.

The former CalPERS board member named in an influence peddling suit has been driven to bankruptcy by gambling debts.

Tuesday is the constitutional deadline for the Legislature to pass a budget. While lawmakers appear nowhere close to passing a spending plan Tuesday, they did meet with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday to talk about it.

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-- Anthony York