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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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Governor Gavin Newsom addresses a press conference held at the launch of a mass COVID-19 vaccination site at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Jan. 15, 2021. Photo by Irfan Khan, Los Angeles Times via AP/Pool
WhatMatters
A big night for Gavin Newsom
Good morning, California. It’s Tuesday, March 9. Significant speech Gov. Gavin Newsom has a lot riding on his State of the State speech tonight. The annual address comes at a pivotal moment for both California and Newsom’s own political career, which could be why the governor will deliver it at 6 p.m. from Dodger Stadium […]
By • March 9, 2021
WhatMatters
As California racks up huge surplus, billions set to flow in from feds
California’s coffers — already overflowing with a $25.3 billion surplus — could soon see another massive infusion of cash. California’s state and local governments are set to reap $40 billion of the $1.9 trillion federal stimulus package that narrowly passed the Senate on Saturday and which President Joe Biden is expected to sign this week […]
By • March 8, 2021
Patients enter Levi’s Stadium to receive Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines on Feb. 9 2021 in Santa Clara. The 49ers arena opened on Tuesday as a vaccine distribution site for Santa Clara County residents 65 and older and is expected to inoculate up to 15,000 people per day once supplies become available. Photo by Anne Wernikoff, CalMatters
WhatMatters
California hurtles into fastest reopening yet
Good morning, California. It’s Friday, March 5. Lots of changes at once Gov. Gavin Newsom is leading California into its largest and fastest reopening since the state first shut down nearly a year ago — even as questions remain as to whether the necessary infrastructure is in place. State lawmakers on Thursday sent to Newsom’s […]
By • March 5, 2021
Denise Saldana prepares the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines for inoculation at St. John's Well Child And Family Center in South Los Angeles on Feb. 09, 2021. Photo by Shae Hammond for CalMatters
WhatMatters
California changes reopening criteria again, allots 40% of vaccine to poorer areas
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration announced changes late Wednesday night to California’s tiered reopening system that will make it easier for businesses to reopen and increase pressure on school districts to bring kids back to campus. Under the new system, California will earmark 40% of its COVID-19 vaccine doses for low-income communities spread out across 400 […]
By • March 4, 2021
Demonstrators calling for $15 an hour and a union protest at a McDonald's restaurant in downtown Los Angeles in 2016. According to a recent report, California's economic divide has grown wider during the pandemic. Photo by Richard Vogel
WhatMatters
Governor’s panel: State should help workers unionize, raise wages
California should push for a federal jobs guarantee, raise wages, double the amount of workers who have access to benefits, and help workers form unions. Those were among the recommendations in a report released Tuesday by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Future of Work Commission, which outlines steps the Golden State should take in order to achieve […]
By • March 3, 2021
Second-grader Quinn Stevens, 7, carries a sign during a rally to reopen publish schools for in-person instruction at Astro Park in Oakland on Feb. 28, 2021. “I miss my friends,” said Quinn on why she wants to return to the classroom. Photo by Anne Wernikoff, CalMatters
WhatMatters
Will new school reopening plan work?
Good morning, California. It’s Tuesday, March 2. Third time’s the charm? The school reopening deal Gov. Gavin Newsom and top lawmakers unveiled Monday stops short of requiring campuses to reopen — raising questions about whether it will actually accelerate students’ return to the classroom. The $6.6 billion proposal would incentivize schools to bring their youngest […]
By • March 2, 2021
WhatMatters
SNL rips Newsom, French Laundry
Good morning, California. It’s Monday, March 1. (Yes, you read that correctly.) National criticism mounts Gov. Gavin Newsom was skewered in this weekend’s episode of Saturday Night Live for dining at the French Laundry and for California’s chaotic vaccine rollout — adding to growing national criticism as he fends off a potential recall. In SNL’s […]
By • March 1, 2021
OptumServe is opening vaccine clinics across California despite several counties expressing dissatisfaction with a vaccination pilot program and COVID-19 testing sites. Photo by Anne Wernikoff, CalMatters
WhatMatters
Counties raise concerns as OptumServe gets bigger role in vaccination
Health care operations company OptumServe has quietly been assuming an ever-larger role in California’s pandemic response — including its vaccine rollout — despite numerous counties expressing dissatisfaction with its services. Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday announced plans to open 11 OptumServe vaccination sites to serve “some of the hardest-hit or most at-risk communities” in the […]
By • February 26, 2021
Patients enter Levi’s Stadium to receive Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines on Feb. 9 2021 in Santa Clara. The 49ers arena opened on Tuesday as a vaccine distribution site for Santa Clara County residents 65 and older and is expected to inoculate up to 15,000 people per day once supplies become available. Photo by Anne Wernikoff, CalMatters
WhatMatters
Delays emerge in Blue Shield vaccine rollout
This week, 10 counties in the inland portions of Central and Southern California were slated to transition to the new vaccine distribution system helmed by Blue Shield — but limited communication, technical challenges and lack of transparency have resulted in delays for at least three counties. Meanwhile, the state is overhauling its equity program after […]
By • February 25, 2021
Sunset behind electrical lines outside of Bay Point along highway 4 on Sept. 15, 2020. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters
WhatMatters
California’s climate goals likely out of reach
Good morning, California. It’s Wednesday, February 24. Two reports cast doubt California is unlikely to meet its ambitious climate goals, two reports released Tuesday show. The first, from California State Auditor Elaine Howle, doesn’t mince words: “The state will fall short of meeting the 2030 goal” of a 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from […]
By • February 24, 2021

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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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Emily Hoeven