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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 diner makes their way into the Waterbar restaurant past a proof of vaccination sign in San Francisco on Aug. 20, 2021. AP Photo/Eric Risberg
CalMatters en Español
Newsom: Es improbable que se cierren por Omicron COVID
Read this article in English.  ¡Qué diferencia hace un año! El miércoles, poco después de que se confirmara en San Francisco el primer caso de la variante omicron en el país, el gobernador Gavin Newsom realizó una conferencia de prensa para promover las vacunas y las inyecciones de refuerzo, y para tranquilizar a los californianos cansados […]
By • December 2, 2021
A diner makes their way into the Waterbar restaurant past a proof of vaccination sign in San Francisco on Aug. 20, 2021. AP Photo/Eric Risberg
WhatMatters
Newsom: Omicron COVID lockdowns unlikely
What a difference a year makes. On Wednesday, not long after the country’s first known case of the omicron COVID-19 variant was confirmed in San Francisco, Gov. Gavin Newsom held a press conference to promote vaccines and booster shots — and to reassure weary Californians that more lockdowns are unlikely. Newsom: “There’s more panic than […]
By • December 2, 2021
A custom-made semi-automatic hunting rifle with a high-capacity detachable magazine at a gun store in Rocklin on Oct. 3, 2013. AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli
WhatMatters
California scores gun control victory — for now
As California tries to crack down on crime, it secured a sizable victory for its strict gun control laws on Tuesday. That’s when a federal appeals court reinstated California’s bans on the sale and possession of high-capacity magazines that can funnel more than 10 rounds of ammunition into a single firearm. The 7-4 ruling from […]
By • December 1, 2021
Inside the Newsroom
Support CalMatters on GivingTuesday, double your impact
Today is GivingTuesday, an exciting opportunity for you to support CalMatters. I’m looking back at our most meaningful work throughout the year, and we could not have done this important nonprofit journalism without our readers, subscribers and members. Thank you for reading and supporting our journalism in 2021. When you support CalMatters today and through the […]
By • November 30, 2021
A sign encouraging fans to get vaccinated outside of a vaccination tent during an event sponsored by the California Department of Public Health to increase vaccine awareness at a Club America vs. Atlas FC soccer Match at PayPal Park on July 7, 2021 in San Jose. Photo by Anne Wernikoff, CalMatters
WhatMatters
Vaccine mandates multiply across California
President Joe Biden on Monday reassured Americans that the omicron variant “is a cause for concern, not a cause for panic” — raising questions about the strategy Gov. Gavin Newsom will employ to respond to a form of COVID-19 about which much remains unknown. The governor, who returned to California late Sunday night after a […]
By • November 30, 2021
A security guard stands outside the Nordstrom store at Broadway Plaza on Nov. 22, 2021, in Walnut Creek. Dozens of looters robbed the store on Saturday night. Photo by Aric Crabb, Bay Area News Group
WhatMatters
State beefs up Highway Patrol around stores and malls after brazen thefts
Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday that Californians could expect to see “substantially more” law enforcement officers near “highly trafficked” retail stores starting immediately, as businesses prepare for hordes of holiday shoppers after a weekend wave of Bay Area robberies that saw thieves abscond with thousands of dollars of merchandise. He directed the California Highway Patrol […]
By • November 23, 2021
Higher education
WhatMatters
Big changes coming to California education
Good morning, California. It’s Friday, November 19. Equity vs. being “woke” Goodbye, admissions tests to get into the University of California. Hello, social justice concepts in high school math classes. The leaders of the nation’s premier public university system announced Thursday that UC won’t require any admissions tests for undergraduate applicants, a little more than […]
By • November 19, 2021
WhatMatters
California’s $31 billion surplus: More stimulus checks possible
Remember the Golden State stimulus checks? Well, more might be landing in your bank account in the near future. That’s because California is — once again — overflowing with money, and will likely have a $31 billion budget surplus next year, according to a Wednesday report from the independent Legislative Analyst’s Office. And because the […]
By • November 18, 2021

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