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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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Gov. Gavin Newsom poses for a photo with the California Women's Caucus after signing a series of bills. Photo via social media
WhatMatters
Family leave, farmworker bills come down to wire
Surrounded by members of the California Legislative Women’s Caucus, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law Tuesday a package of bills he said would advance California’s “commitment to pay equity and supporting women.” Among them: a bill requiring employers with at least 15 workers to include salary ranges in job postings and another prohibiting businesses from […]
By • September 28, 2022
California Attorney General Rob Bonta announces the creation of the Office of Gun Violence Prevention within the California Department of Justice at a press event in San Francisco on Sept. 21, 2022. Photo by Martin do Nascimento, CalMatters
WhatMatters
Three state officers face policy pitfalls
Several statewide officials’ policies are coming under scrutiny as California’s Nov. 8 general election inches closer, heightening the possible political implications. First up: Attorney General Rob Bonta was dealt a major blow Monday, when the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 8-3 that California must exclude private immigration detention centers from its 2019 law […]
By • September 27, 2022
California Governor Gavin Newsom signs a number of climate-related bills surrounded by state legislators at a press conference at the USDA Forest Service Regional Office on Mare Island in Vallejo on Sept. 16, 2022. Photo by Martin do Nascimento, CalMatters
WhatMatters
5 days for Newsom to decide 550+ bills
I’m back from a lovely vacation! Many thanks to my wonderful colleague Ben Christopher and other CalMatters reporters for guest hosting the newsletter while I was gone. Gov. Gavin Newsom has until midnight Friday to determine the fate of the more than 550 bills on his desk — or risk turning into a pumpkin. That […]
By • September 26, 2022
WhatMatters
When fires, heat and a tropical storm collide
Note: My amazing colleague Ben Christopher and other CalMatters reporters will guest host the newsletter while I’m on vacation. I’ll see you on Monday, Sept. 26! Another day, another state of emergency. Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday proclaimed a state of emergency in Riverside County due to the Fairview Fire — which as of Friday […]
By • September 9, 2022
The sun sets behind a row of transmission towers as temperatures rise to a scorching 114 degrees in Fresno County on Sept. 6, 2022. Photo by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local
WhatMatters
Heat wave tests state’s communications strategy
Communication is everything. That seemed to be the key takeaway Wednesday as California officials assessed their response to the long-running extreme heat wave that pushed the state’s power grid to the edge of rolling blackouts Tuesday night. (The situation improved Wednesday as temperatures dipped slightly, though conditions were still dire enough for the California Independent […]
By • September 8, 2022
A jogger runs near power lines in Mountain View on August 17, 2022. Photo by Carlos Barria, REUTERS
WhatMatters
Blackouts loom as record heat wave blankets California
California teetered on the edge of rolling blackouts Tuesday, as the state entered the most sweltering stretch of a heat wave that Gov. Gavin Newsom described in a video message as “the hottest and the longest on record for this state and many parts of the West for the month of September.” As high-temperature records […]
By • September 7, 2022
A Fresno resident uses an umbrella to shield herself from the sun as they walk through Tower District in Fresno on Aug. 30, 2022. Temperatures hit 104 degrees as a heatwave begins to hit the San Joaquin Valley. Photo by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local
WhatMatters
A do-or-die day for California’s power grid
Today, California’s power grid is poised to face its biggest test of the summer so far as a record-setting heat wave continues to boil the drought-parched, fire-stricken state. As residents crank up their air conditioners to deal with yet another day of triple-digit temperatures, peak demand could shoot past 51,000 megawatts — surpassing the record […]
By • September 6, 2022
A woman shades herself using beach umbrella in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022. Photo by Jae C. Hong, AP
WhatMatters
Can California keep lights on over Labor Day?
Note: Due to the holiday weekend, the newsletter will pause until Tuesday. Californians’ energy conservation efforts and Gov. Gavin Newsom’s emergency proclamation freeing up additional supplies helped the state avoid a Wednesday shortfall that could have resulted in rolling blackouts as an extreme heat wave strained the electric grid, California’s Independent System Operator said Thursday. […]
By • September 2, 2022
The sunsets over a grapevine outside Fresno on Aug. 30, 2022. An excessive heat warning was in effect as temperatures soared to 104 degrees as a heat wave moved into the San Joaquin Valley. Photo by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local
WhatMatters
The Diablo is in the details
At least two days of statewide Flex Alerts asking Californians to voluntarily conserve energy amid an extreme heat wave that could last more than a week, pushing temperatures 10 to 20 degrees above normal and endangering vulnerable communities. Gov. Gavin Newsom proclaiming a state of emergency to take last-ditch measures to keep people’s lights and […]
By • September 1, 2022
Assemblymember Adam Gray, a Merced Democrat, takes notes on the Assembly floor on the next-to-last day of the session at the state Capitol in Sacramento on Aug. 30, 2022. Photo by Rahul Lal, CalMatters
WhatMatters
Decision day for hot-button bills
California’s legislative session ends tonight at midnight, but the intense lobbying surrounding some of the most high-profile and controversial bills is far from over. That’s because Gov. Gavin Newsom has until Sept. 30 to sign or veto the hundreds of bills sent to him by the state Legislature, and you better believe interest groups are […]
By • August 31, 2022

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