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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

A collage-style illustration in green, purple and white tones that includes several cut-out images of scanned checks with payments ranging from $20,000 to $100,000.
An aerial view of an animal refuge near a river as it flows through green farmland with lots of trees around.
A bulldozer on the corner of 7th Street and Colorado Avenue in Santa Monica on May 24, 2023. Photo by Zaydee Sanchez for CalMatters
A collage-style illustration in pink and black tones with various cut-out images. The images include a human brain and different types of office workers.
A man with gray hair and a flannel button-up shirt stands behind a bar with various liquor bottles and a mounted longhorn skull on the wooden wall.
A person in a suit speaks emphatically at a podium surrounded by microphones, with others standing nearby. A large sign next to the podium reads, "Defend Fair Elections."
Two videographers film two women across from them sitting on a grey couch. The woman on the right is crying while the woman on the left sits and listens with her hands folder on her lap.
A wide-view of lawmakers standing and talking to each other in the middle of a legislative floor filled with desks. A white chandeliers hangs above the room and the room is decorated with beige and green fixtures.

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