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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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Latest Stories

The Glass Fire burns behind Kelly Fleming Wines in Calistoga on Sept. 28, 2020. All of Calistoga was under mandatory evacuation Monday night. Photo by Jose Carlos Fajardo, Bay Area News Group
WhatMatters
What will become of Wine Country?
California’s Wine Country, one of the most famed and iconic tourist destinations in the state, is at a tipping point. Gone is the three-Michelin-starred Restaurant at Meadowood, home to the region’s most celebrated fine dining. Gone are sections of well-known wineries, including Chateau Boswell, Castello di Amorosa, Hourglass Winery and Spring Mountain Vineyard. Gone are […]
By • September 30, 2020
WhatMatters
Wine Country under wildfire siege
Good morning, California. It’s Tuesday, September 29. Thousands evacuating, three dead The worst fire season in California’s recorded history keeps getting worse. Following a weekend of high temperatures and dry winds that blasted through parts of Northern California at more than 50 miles per hour, record-breaking blazes intensified and new fires ignited — including the […]
By • September 29, 2020
California Gov. Gavin Newsom announces an executive order requiring all new passenger vehicles sold in the state to be zero-emission by 2035, a move the governor says would achieve a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, at a press conference on Sept. 23, 2020, at Cal Expo in Sacramento. Photo by Daniel Kim, The Sacramento Bee via AP/Pool
WhatMatters
Newsom’s fast-approaching deadline
Good morning, California. It’s Monday, September 28. Controversial bills remain Gov. Gavin Newsom has just three days left to sign or veto some of the most high-profile and controversial bills of the legislative session — including a spate of proposals to police the police, a bill that would establish a state reparations committee, and a […]
By • September 28, 2020
A high fire danger sign is seen along Skyline Boulevard in the hills of Oakland on Sept. 24, 2019. Photo by Jane Tyska, Bay Area News Group
WhatMatters
Dangerous fire conditions ahead
Good morning, California. It’s Friday, September 25. Incoming: heat wave Another big heat wave is set to blanket California this weekend — bringing with it gusty winds, increased fire risk, unhealthy air quality and potential power shutoffs even as Californians reel from what is already the worst fire season in recorded history. Temperatures could spike […]
By • September 25, 2020
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs an executive order on a Ford Mustang Mach-E requiring all new passenger vehicles sold in the state to be zero-emission by 2035, a move the governor says would achieve a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, on Sept. 23, 2020, at Cal Expo. Photo by Daniel Kim, The Sacramento Bee via AP/Pool
WhatMatters
Newsom’s gas-car ban dependent on next president
Good morning, California. It’s Thursday, September 24. More executive orders coming In his most dramatic move yet against climate change, Gov. Gavin Newsom directed state officials to ban the sale of new gas-powered cars in California starting in 2035 — an action sure to escalate the Golden State’s contentious relationship with the Trump administration and […]
By • September 24, 2020
WhatMatters
UC unfairly admitted well-connected students
Good morning, California. It’s Wednesday, September 23. State audit slams UC The debate surrounding admissions to California’s most prestigious university system just got a lot more heated. Four University of California campuses “unfairly admitted” 64 applicants, including 22 “falsely designated” athletes, between the 2013-14 and 2018-19 school years based on their connections to wealthy donors […]
By • September 23, 2020
Reopening for business adapt to new normal in the novel Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. Rear view of business owner wearing medical mask placing open sign "OPEN BUSINESS AS NEW NORMAL" on front door.
WhatMatters
Inside California’s declining unemployment rate
Good morning, California. It’s Tuesday, September 22. Leisure, hospitality hit hard As California settles into its sixth month of the pandemic, unemployment levels appear to be dropping — a spot of bright news for residents and the state’s embattled unemployment department alike — though the numbers belie a more complex and uncertain reality. The Golden […]
By • September 22, 2020
WhatMatters
10,000 unemployment claims backlogged per day — claims paused for 2 weeks
Planning on applying for unemployment benefits? Well, you won’t be able to do so for the next two weeks. California’s beleaguered unemployment department is putting a pause on new claims until Oct. 5 to give it time to implement an automatic identity-verification tool to speed up processing times. The move follows recommendations outlined in a […]
By • September 21, 2020
Gov. Gavin Newsom holds up a bill before signing it into law over zoom on Sept. 17, 2020. Screenshot via YouTube
WhatMatters
Newsom expands worker protections
Good morning, California. It’s Friday, September 18. Three bills signed into law As California enters its sixth month of the pandemic and coronavirus outbreaks rip through garment factories, meatpacking plants, fast-food chains and strawberry fields, Gov. Gavin Newsom and other state agencies took action Thursday to expand worker protections. Newsom signed a trio of bills […]
By • September 18, 2020
WhatMatters
Poll: Californians barely favor changing Prop. 13 — under a third back affirmative action
Many schools and local governments staggering under looming billion-dollar shortfalls are throwing their weight behind Prop. 15, a high-profile measure on California’s November ballot that could raise up to $11.5 billion annually. But only 51% of likely voters support the measure, according to a Public Policy Institute of California report released late Wednesday night — […]
By • September 17, 2020

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