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Emily Hoeven

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Emily Hoeven wrote the daily WhatMatters newsletter for three years at CalMatters . Her reporting, essays, and opinion columns have been published in San Francisco Weekly, the Deseret News, the San Francisco Business Times, the Flathead Beacon, the Daily Pennsylvanian, and the Mercury News. Emily graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a BA in English and French and studied English at the University of Cambridge, England as a Thouron Summer Prize fellow. She speaks French fluently and spent a year teaching English in Châteauroux, France.

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A man stands in front of a sign of Meta at its headquarters in Menlo Park on October 28, 2021. Photo by Carlos Barria, REUTERS
WhatMatters
Capitol bracing for social media showdown
Sacramento is preparing for a showdown over how far the state should go in regulating social media companies that many blame for contributing to a national youth mental health crisis.  At the center of the controversy is a first-in-the-nation bill co-authored by Republican Assemblymember Jordan Cunningham of San Luis Obispo and Democratic Assemblymember Buffy Wicks […]
By • July 14, 2022
California Gov. Gavin Newsom pauses as he discusses the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade during a news conference in Sacramento on June 24, 2022. Photo by Rich Pedroncelli, AP Photo
WhatMatters
Mr. Newsom goes to Washington
Gov. Gavin Newsom is poised to burnish his national profile this week on a trip to Washington, D.C., where he’s set to accept an award recognizing California’s financial investments in public education and discuss such issues as gun safety, abortion, climate change and homelessness with Biden administration officials and other high-profile lawmakers. One person the […]
By • July 13, 2022
Cal State campuses with have new admissions requirements soon. Here, students walk across campus at Fresno State on Feb. 8, 2022. Photo by Larry Valenzuela for CalMatters
WhatMatters
Does Cal State hide Black graduation rates?
If data can illuminate, it can also obscure. That’s one of the main takeaways from CalMatters’ Mikhail Zinshteyn’s revealing investigation into gaps in graduation rates among ethnic and racial groups at California State University, the nation’s largest public university system that enrolls nearly half a million students. If you were to look at Cal State’s […]
By • July 12, 2022
California Gov. Gavin Newsom discusses the recent mass shooting in Texas, during a news conference in Sacramento on Wednesday, May 25, 2022. Flanked by lawmakers from both houses of the state legislature, Newsom said he is ready to sign more restrictive gun measures passed by lawmakers. Photo by Rich Pedroncelli, AP Photo
WhatMatters
Will California gun laws pass muster?
This week, Gov. Gavin Newsom is poised to sign a bill on his desk that would create a “standard of conduct” for the gun industry — and permit California residents, the state attorney general and local governments to sue noncompliant manufacturers, retailers and distributors. Once signed, it’s almost certain to be hit with legal challenges. […]
By • July 11, 2022
A person walks by as betting odds for the National Football League's Super Bowl 55 are displayed on monitors at the Circa resort and casino sports book in Las Vegas on Feb. 3, 2021. AP Photo/John Locher
WhatMatters
Complex cast of players battles over sports betting
Californians in November will vote on the fewest statewide ballot measures in more than a century — heightening already intense attention on a pair of dueling initiatives to legalize sports betting. Deciding whether or not to authorize sports betting in California may seem like a fairly straightforward proposition — no pun intended. But understanding the […]
By • July 8, 2022
From left, Democratic candidate for Controller Malia Cohen and Republican candidate for Controller Lanhee Chen. Photos by Jeff Chiu for AP and Martin do Nascimento for CalMatters
WhatMatters
Cohen-Chen standoff intensifies in controller’s race
Ahead of California’s November general election, some races are cooling off and others are heating up. Here’s a look at what went down Wednesday: The race for California insurance commissioner got a lot less exciting. Democratic Assemblymember Marc Levine of San Rafael conceded second place to Republican Robert Howell, who will now face off against […]
By • July 7, 2022
Gov. Gavin Newsom during a press conference in San Bernardino on Jan. 21, 2022. Photo by Eric Thayer, Sipa via Reuters
WhatMatters
Newsom finally reveals his whereabouts
Gov. Gavin Newsom is on vacation in Montana visiting family, I was the first to report Tuesday evening. It was information that the governor’s office appeared loath to disclose. Although the office said Friday the governor had left California to spend time with family, it did not until Tuesday answer questions about where he was […]
By • July 6, 2022
Students from Miguel Contreras Learning Center high school in Los Angeles demonstrate in front of City Hall after walking out of school to protest U.S. gun violence on May 31, 2022. Photo by Lucy Nicholson, REUTERS
WhatMatters
More mass shootings, more gun laws coming to California
What’s more American than a mass shooting? That was the question posed by the Sacramento Bee editorial board following a spate of Fourth of July shootings in California and across the country: In Highland Park, Illinois, a gunman killed at least six people and injured dozens more during an Independence Day parade. In Sacramento, one […]
By • July 5, 2022
Republican candidate for Controller Lanhee Chen outside of his office in Sacramento on Feb. 17, 2022. Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters
WhatMatters
Lanhee Chen comes clean on Trump, abortion
Note: The newsletter will pause until Tuesday due to the Fourth of July holiday. Lanhee Chen has a few confessions to make. The Republican candidate for California state controller, who will face off against Democrat Malia Cohen in the November general election, told me in an exclusive interview on Thursday that he did not vote […]
By • July 1, 2022
The California State Capitol at night. Photo via iStock Photo
WhatMatters
Lawmakers OK budget, despite ‘crappy’ parts
Rebates ranging from $200 to $1,050 are one step closer to landing in millions of Californians’ pockets after state lawmakers in marathon Wednesday night floor sessions passed a record-breaking $300 billion budget plan for the fiscal year beginning Friday. Though heated and hours-long, the sessions were in many ways perfunctory: The supermajority-Democratic Legislature was all […]
By • June 30, 2022

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