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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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WhatMatters
An unusual addition to California’s 2022 ballot
Good morning, California. It’s Tuesday, May 25. Two elections for same seat When you get your November 2022 ballot, it might feel as though you’re seeing double: For the first time in history, a race for the same California seat in the U.S. Senate will likely appear twice. That’s because lawmakers are rushing to tweak […]
By • May 25, 2021
California's April unemployment rate indicates the paradox the state is confronting. Image via iStock
WhatMatters
California’s unemployment paradox: openings and joblessness
Despite California’s high unemployment rate, many positions at restaurants, bars and retail stores are going unfilled — causing some business owners to fear they won’t be able to fully reopen even when the state gives the green light on June 15. The Golden State’s unemployment rate remained unchanged between March and April, holding steady at […]
By • May 24, 2021
The California Assembly chamber
WhatMatters
Legislative bloodbath as big bills die
Good morning, California. It’s Friday, May 21. Goodbye to all that Thursday was a brutal day in the state Legislature. Hundreds of bills met their demise or were watered down as lawmakers raced through an opaque process called the “suspense file,” a tool often used to euthanize proposals without having to cast a politically precarious […]
By • May 21, 2021
WhatMatters
Counties face choice about forcing more mentally ill Californians into treatment
Time is running out for California counties to decide whether they want to develop programs that would give families a legal tool to get severely mentally ill relatives into treatment. After years of resistance, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to implement Laura’s Law, becoming the 21st county to do so. The […]
By • May 20, 2021
WhatMatters
Golden State’s next culture war: math class
California’s fierce debate around educational equity is about to get a lot fiercer. Today, a state Board of Education commission is set to review public comments responding to a controversial proposal to overhaul California’s math framework for 6.1 million K-12 public school students. The state’s proposed plan — which aims to “counter the cultural forces […]
By • May 19, 2021
A teenage girl pulls a mask off her face. California will relax most mask restrictions by June 15. Image via iStock.
WhatMatters
California to end its mask mandate — sort of
June 15 will be a big day for California. That’s when the state will ease its mask mandate to allow fully vaccinated people to forgo face coverings in most places, Dr. Mark Ghaly, the state’s health and human services secretary, said Monday. It’s also when California will lift capacity limits on businesses, permitting the state […]
By • May 18, 2021
A firefighting helicopter flies away after dropping water over a brush fire scorching at least 100 acres in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles Saturday, May 15, 2021. AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu
WhatMatters
It’s mid-May: Welcome to wildfire season
It’s only May, and I’m already having to write about wildfires forcing Californians to evacuate their homes. Around 1,000 people were displaced from their homes Sunday as the Palisades Fire in Los Angeles County grew to more than 1,300 acres. The blaze, which was 0% contained as of Sunday afternoon, carved a path through dense, […]
By • May 17, 2021
Apedestrian passes a mural reading: "When out of your home, Wear a mask over your mouth and nose," in San Francisco on Nov. 21, 2020. Photo by Jeff Chiu, AP Photo
WhatMatters
To mask or not to mask? California’s conundrum
Gov. Gavin Newsom is facing a mask dilemma. If he updates the state’s mask guidance to align with that of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — which on Thursday announced that fully vaccinated people no longer have to wear masks or physically distance in most places — he risks contradicting his own […]
By • May 14, 2021
A student runs into a school building. Amid a recall campaign, Gov. Gavin Newsom and challenger Kevin Faulconer are rolling out big plans. Image via iStock
WhatMatters
Newsom, Faulconer make big promises to Californians
Go big or go home. That seems to be the modus operandi for Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Republican candidates vying to replace him in an all-but-certain recall election. Newsom on Wednesday unveiled a $20 billion proposal to “reimagine” public schools, noting that it represents “the highest level of state school funding in California history.” […]
By • May 13, 2021
Bartenders were masks and face shields as they work at Slater's 50|50 on July 1, 2020, in Santa Clarita. Photo by /Marcio Jose Sanchez, AP Photo
WhatMatters
Mask mandate likely to end soon
Good morning, California. It’s Wednesday, May 12. Newsom previews changes If you’re looking for a sign that California is approaching the end of the pandemic, here it is: The state may soon ease workplace rules that require employees to wear face masks and physically distance from each other. Next week, California’s workplace safety agency is […]
By • May 12, 2021

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