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Laurel Rosenhall

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Laurel covered California politics for CalMatters, with a focus on power and personalities in the state Capitol. She's been included in the Washington Post’s list of outstanding state politics reporters and was named Journalist of the Year by the Sacramento Press Club. Laurel helped launch CalMatters in 2015 after more than a dozen years covering politics and education for the Sacramento Bee. A lifelong Californian, Laurel holds a master’s degree from the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley.

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Latest Stories

Politics
Departure of powerful staffer comes amid changes in Capitol
Hours after Greg Campbell awoke from surgery in 2013, the phone rang in his Sacramento hospital room. It was Gov. Jerry Brown, calling to wish him a speedy recovery from the operation that removed a large tumor from his brain. Campbell – a powerful, behind-the-scenes staffer in the Capitol – thanked Brown for the call. […]
By • December 9, 2015
Politics
Gun control in a blue state: It’s more complicated than you’d think
This week’s shooting in San Bernardino comes as a debate over gun control that has divided Democrats in the state Capitol could head to the voters of California next year. Nearly three years ago, after a man killed 26 women and children at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, Democrats in the state Legislature […]
By • December 1, 2015
Politics
Money and clout on the line for teachers union in 2016
The California Teachers Association, one of Sacramento’s most powerful interests, is heading into an extraordinary year with decisions on the ballot, in the Capitol and in the courts holding the potential to impact its clout for many years to come. Billions of dollars for schools will likely be at stake on the 2016 ballot as […]
By • November 18, 2015
Politics
More than friends?
Compared with the partisan gridlock that gripped Sacramento just a few years ago, dynamics in the statehouse can seem almost cuddly these days. There are friendly handshakes after lawmakers cross party lines to vote for each others’ bills. Bipartisan banter is visible on social media, where legislators trade funny stories and post selfies with friends […]
By • November 11, 2015
California's Capitol building in Sacramento IMAGE BY MAX WHITTAKER FOR CALMATTERS
Politics
Money talks, candidates listen
In a hotel ballroom blocks from the state Capitol, nearly three dozen wanna-be legislators gathered recently to learn the ways of Sacramento. They were members of city councils and school boards up and down California, ranchers and attorneys, Republicans and Democrats, moms and dads – all candidates for the Legislature who’d signed up for this […]
By • November 3, 2015
Former Democratic Assemblywomen Patty Lopez (left) of San Fernando with Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia (right) of Bell Gardens. File photo by Max Whittaker for CALmatters
Politics
An outsider in an insider game
Politics is a team sport in Sacramento. After new folks are elected to the Legislature, their Democratic or Republican “teams” typically do everything possible to keep them in the game. The camaraderie is strongest when legislators face tough re-elections – their colleagues walk precincts and their political parties spend big money to buoy the campaigns. […]
By • October 28, 2015
Politics
Gripping power for the long term?
Maywood, CA. — A politician who will soon hold one of the most powerful positions in California was walking along the industrial banks of the Los Angeles River last week when an artist smoking a cigarette stopped him to lodge a few complaints. The area has graffiti but no murals, Robert Cortes said. Too few […]
By • October 21, 2015
Politics
Rise of the Business Democrat
HALF MOON BAY — It’s a lovely place to do business. Ocean waves crash into rocky cliffs. Pelicans flap along the shoreline. And on the golf resort overlooking it all, a powerful bloc of legislators hit the links recently with donors who paid up to $40,000 for the opportunity to join them. This was the […]
By • October 13, 2015
Politics
The juiciest job in Sacramento
Around the Capitol they’re known as “juice committees” – those that oversee lucrative industries, allowing politicians to foster relationships they can squeeze for campaign cash. These panels preside over business interests that fight obscure industry battles before the Legislature; think of lawyers vs. insurance companies, doctors vs. physical therapists, or card rooms vs. Indian casinos. […]
By • September 27, 2015
Health
Catholic Church pushes to the left and the right
The Catholic Church was a player in two of the biggest bills California lawmakers grappled with this year, working to push politicians to the left in one case, and to the right in another. Many religious groups lobby the Legislature on a host of issues. But it was unusual for one to be so visible […]
By • September 17, 2015

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