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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

Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks to the press during a visit to Ruby Bridges Elementary School in Alameda on March 16, 2021. Photo by Anne Wernikoff, CalMatters
WhatMatters
Will Newsom OK supervised drug injection sites?
Gov. Gavin Newsom has a big decision to make — one that could have equally big implications for his national profile. Heading to Newsom’s desk is a controversial bill that would allow Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles to launch trial supervised drug injection sites through Jan. 1, 2028. The sites — which are currently […]
By • August 11, 2022
The senate select committee hearing on Monkeypox meets at the state Capitol in Sacramento on Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2022. Photo by Rahul Lal, CalMatters
WhatMatters
Monkeypox, COVID responses share central obstacle
Red tape, red tape, red tape. That was the refrain that popped up repeatedly on Tuesday, when California lawmakers convened for two separate hearings on the two viruses for which Gov. Gavin Newsom has declared a public health state of emergency: COVID-19 and monkeypox. The key takeaway from the two hearings — which, ironically, took […]
By • August 10, 2022
Legislators convene on the house floor during a session at the state Capitol in Sacramento on Monday, Aug. 8, 2022. Photo by Rahul Lal, CalMatters
WhatMatters
A plethora of private meetings
Today, California lawmakers are preparing to hold a series of high-stakes meetings — behind closed doors. The Assembly Legislative Ethics Committee — a bipartisan panel of three Democrats and three Republicans — is scheduled to meet privately to consider a complaint brought against a legislator or other public officer or employee, according to the legal […]
By • August 9, 2022
Scarlett Kovacevic wears her hearing aid at her family's home in Lincoln on July 26, 2022. Photo by Rahul Lal, CalMatters
WhatMatters
Are California programs having their intended effect?
With California lawmakers debating the fate of some 1,200-plus bills ahead of the end of the legislative session this month, let’s check in on some existing programs’ effectiveness. Today, an in-depth assessment of California’s unemployment insurance program is set to be released by the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office, which advises lawmakers on fiscal issues. As […]
By • August 8, 2022
A billboard truck hired by SumOfUs parked across the street from the Carneros Resort and Spa in Napa on Aug. 4, 2022. Photo by Martin do Nascimento, CalMatters
WhatMatters
Lawmakers, lobbyists gather in Napa ahead of key votes
Blockchain and cryptocurrency. Artificial intelligence. Facial recognition technology. Health care innovation. The energy industry. Building tech economies in “underestimated” cities such as Fresno. Understanding the benefits of remote work. Helping small businesses thrive online. Those are among the topics that state lawmakers and tech industry lobbyists are set to discuss today at the luxurious four-star […]
By • August 5, 2022
Democratic Assemblymember Robert Rivas on the floor on May 31, 2022. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters
WhatMatters
Inside the donor network reshaping California politics
Meet the biggest spending group of mega donors trying to reshape California politics you’ve probably never heard of. Govern For California’s 18 chapters have so far donated more than $3 million to candidates across California in the 2022 election cycle. One of the top beneficiaries: Assemblymember Robert Rivas, a Salinas Democrat. Rivas isn’t facing an […]
By • August 4, 2022
Farmworkers and labor advocates march in Fresno, urging Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign the Ag Labor Voting Choice Act, providing more choices in how farm workers can vote in their union elections, March 31, 2022. Photo by John Walker/The Fresno Bee
WhatMatters
Farmworkers to march, mental health workers to strike
Workers across California are taking to the streets. Today, the United Farm Workers union is set to embark on a 24-day, 335-mile march from Delano to Sacramento to urge Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign a bill that would permit farmworkers to vote from home in union elections. Farmworkers and their supporters are set to arrive […]
By • August 3, 2022
Shipments of cargo leave the Port of Oakland on July 25, 2022. Photo by Martin do Nascimento, CalMatters
WhatMatters
Is California headed for an economic downturn?
Some cautionary economic signals are gaining strength in California just a month after Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers adopted a record-breaking $308 billion budget. The Golden State is more likely than not to collect less from personal income, sales and corporation taxes than the $210 billion assumed in the 2022-23 budget, according to a […]
By • August 2, 2022
Fast-food workers and other SEIU members marched to the Capitol to deliver postcards and petitions in support of AB257 to the Governor's Office on May 31, 2022. Photo by Fred Greaves for CalMatters
WhatMatters
Buckle up for a busy month in Sacramento
Welcome to the final countdown. Today, state lawmakers will reconvene in Sacramento after a month-long summer recess — during which some traveled abroad on trips funded by special interest groups that lobby them on various issues — for the final, frenzied month of the legislative session. Legislators face an Aug. 31 deadline to determine the […]
By • August 1, 2022
People line up at a monkeypox vaccination site in Encino on Thursday July 28, 2022. Photo by Marcio Jose Sanchez, AP Photo
WhatMatters
Will California declare monkeypox state of emergency?
As one of California’s public health emergencies appears to be subsiding, another is emerging. Los Angeles County public health officers, who had been poised to take the controversial step of reinstating a universal indoor mask mandate as soon as today, announced Thursday they would not proceed with that plan due to improving coronavirus infection numbers […]
By • July 29, 2022

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