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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)

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Latest Stories

An white and black "X" logo is displayed on multiple screens.
An aerial view of construction workers working on the wooden framing of two homes.
A view from behind of a person, wearing a gray suit, standing in the middle of a room filled with white voting booths as they cast their ballots.
A protester wearing a dark hoodie raises a clenched fist amid smoke during a demonstration in an urban plaza, as a crowd behind them holds signs reading “Los Angeles Writers Say No to ICE” and other protest messages, with palm trees and office buildings in the background.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom gestures with one hand while speaking from a wooden podium inside the state Capitol, a microphone in front of him and a large dark display mounted behind.
Assemblymember Eloise Gomez-Reyes at a press conference announcing the California Green New Deal Act on opening day of the 2020 legislative session
A person stands in front of a window with open shutters as they look down.
An aerial view shows a large data center complex surrounded by warehouses and industrial buildings in a dense urban area. The main structure has a white facade with vertical window slits and a flat roof filled with cooling units, pipes, and mechanical equipment, while streets, parked cars, and power lines run along the perimeter. A hazy cityscape stretches into the distance beyond the industrial zone.
People stand on a balcony of the California State Capitol building, partially obscured by tree branches in the foreground. The white building features tall columns and arched windows.
A close-up view of a pregnant woman wearing a navy blue shirt and light brown cardigan, holding both her hands together near her belly while she sits on a brown leather couch.

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