Avatar photo

Lynn La

Newsletter Writer

Lynn La is the newsletter writer for CalMatters, focusing on California’s top political, policy and Capitol stories every weekday. She produces and curates WhatMatters, CalMatters’ flagship daily newsletter with more than 150,000 subscribers.    

In the newsletter, Lynn analyzes the state’s policy issues for a broader audience, through original reporting and by summarizing and compiling stories from CalMatters and other news sources. Recently, she has reported on bills to address California’s worsening fentanyl epidemic, tackle retail theft and legislate happiness. She also reveals more about lawmakers by interviewing them for an occasional series on first-term legislators in 2023 and new committee chairpersons in 2024. 

Through WhatMatters, Lynn also plays a crucial role in CalMatters election coverage, helping to keep track of daily developments in key campaigns, including legislative and congressional races and ballot measures.  

Prior to joining CalMatters in March 2023, she wrote for the education technology startup Guild and was a senior editor at CNET. She also covered public health at The Sacramento Bee as a Kaiser media fellow and was an intern reporter at Capitol Weekly. 

Lynn is based in the Bay Area. She graduated from UC Davis and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Other languages spoken: Vietnamese (basic)

Contact

Email

Latest Stories

The playground at Burnt Ranch Elementary School in Burnt Ranch on Dec. 13, 2019. Photo by Dave Woody for CalMatters
A group of officers, dressed in full tactical gear and wearing face masks, stands in the roadway of a neighborhood street during the middle of the day. In the foreground, we can see over the shoulders of a couple of people as they point to the officers, with one of the officers visible between the two people.
An immigration agent, dressed in camouflage riot gear and holding a weapon, looks straight forward while standing next to a car as their right arm rests on the driver's window seat.
Dr. Rishi Patel from the Akido street medicine team checks on an unhoused man living in a vineyard in Arvin on May 28, 2024. Street medicine teams throughout California are increasingly using long-acting injectable antipsychotic medication to stabilize the mental health of people living in homeless encampments. Photo by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local
A large crowd gathers at night in a downtown plaza, many holding candles and protest signs, with city hall and office buildings lit in the background as traffic passes along a busy street.
A diverse group of people gathers outdoors, holding and waving various LGBTQ+ pride flags, including the progress pride flag, rainbow flag, and bisexual pride flag. Many attendees are clapping, smiling, and recording the event on their phones. Some individuals are draped in flags, while others hold them high. The background features trees, lampposts, and a grassy area, suggesting a public park or school campus setting.
A row of beige suburban houses with tiled roofs lines the top of a sloped retaining wall, with dry grass and sparse shrubs in the foreground beneath a wide, pale sky.
Three people arranged in a dance routine inside a plain-colored dance studio. One person has their back arched as they are in the middle of their dance routine, while another lies directly underneath them.
The outer framing of a gray and red bricked building that was burned during a wildfire.

Gift this article