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Lynn La

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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 young boy lounges on a bed with a blue and white patterned blanket, holding a camera, in a softly lit bedroom decorated with family photos and a framed sign that reads "It's always better when we're together."
WhatMatters
Meta, Google lose $3 million social media case
A California jury directed Google and Meta to cough up a total of $3 million Wednesday in a landmark verdict in favor of a young plaintiff whose family claimed that the companies knowingly made their social media platforms addictive to teens. As CalMatters’ Colin Lecher explains, the case is one of a spate of lawsuits that […]
By • March 26, 2026
Candidates stand at podiums on stage during a televised debate titled “The Race for California Governor,” while moderators sit at a desk to the side and an audience watches from the theater seating.
WhatMatters
CA Democratic governor hopefuls not bowing out
From CalMatters Capitol reporter Jeanne Kuang: Ten weeks before the primary election, California Democrats still haven’t narrowed down the field of candidates enough to reduce the chances of splitting the vote so much that two Republicans make it to the ballot in November.  That’s what polling released by the Democratic Party on Tuesday showed, with […]
By • March 25, 2026
A person places a pink envelope into a pink box set on a table during an election.
WhatMatters
Last-minute voter? The Supreme Court is coming for you
The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing arguments this week in a lawsuit that could affect elections for more than a dozen states, including California, requiring voters to send their mail-in ballots early. The dispute is over a Mississippi law that allows election officials there to count such ballots when they are postmarked by Election Day […]
By • March 24, 2026
A person wearing sunglasses and a light shawl walks beside another person in a suit outside a courthouse, surrounded by reporters and TV crews holding microphones and cameras.
WhatMatters
FPPC investigates ex-Newsom chief of staff
From CalMatters politics and campaign reporter Yue Stella Yu: California’s campaign ethics watchdog has opened two investigations into Dana Williamson, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s former chief of staff indicted last November on bank and wire fraud charges, and her co-conspirators in the criminal probe. To catch you up: Federal prosecutors last year accused Williamson of falsifying […]
By • March 23, 2026
A stone sign reading “Cesar E. Chavez Memorial Plaza” stands in a landscaped urban area, with smaller text noting the City of Sacramento Department of Parks and Recreation. Sunlight casts soft shadows across the engraved lettering, while nearby buildings and greenery appear in the background.
WhatMatters
Scrubbing César Chávez from California
I’m CalMatters reporter Ryan Sabalow, and I’m pinch hitting for Lynn today.  No more César Chávez Day, California. Democratic leaders said Thursday they’re going to fast-track legislation to rename the March 31 holiday “Farmworkers Day.” The move came a day after the New York Times published a bombshell investigation into allegations that the once-beloved farmworker’s […]
By • March 20, 2026
A black-and-white image shows a person speaking passionately into two microphones, mouth open mid-sentence and one hand raised in emphasis.
WhatMatters
César Chávez sexual abuse revelations reverberate across CA
I’m CalMatters reporter Adam Echelman and I’m subbing in for Lynn today. Multiple women, including Dolores Huerta, said they endured sexual abuse at the hands of California icon César Chávez. The abuse detailed by these women came out in a New York Times investigation published Wednesday. Two of the women were children at the time […]
By • March 19, 2026
WhatMatters
Border Patrol’s year of unchecked force
I’m CalMatters reporter Adam Echelman and I’m subbing in for Lynn today. Border Patrol agents have been roving from city to city, far from their home bases in California and elsewhere along the U.S./Mexico border, over the last 15 months, engaged in an unprecedented mass deportation campaign.  CalMatters, along with partners Evident Media and Bellingcat, has […]
By • March 18, 2026
WhatMatters
What will happen to volunteers who escorted students protesting ICE? 
I’m CalMatters reporter Adam Echelman and I’m subbing in for Lynn today. After students walked out of school to protest ICE back in February, the Clovis and Los Angeles Police Department threatened to arrest adults who helped them leave. No charges have been filed yet, but Alfred Aldrete expects a call from the police any […]
By • March 17, 2026
A close-up view of a person's hands near the keyboard of a laptop. The person holds a pen in between their right index and middle finger.
WhatMatters
California’s back-from-the-dead online college
I’m CalMatters reporter Mikhail Zinshteyn and I’m subbing in for Lynn today. Who doesn’t like a good back-from-the-dead story? California’s only fully online community college seemed like it was on political life support. Twice the state Assembly voted to shutter the school but was rebuffed by either Gov. Gavin Newsom or the state Senate, CalMatters’ […]
By • March 16, 2026
A close-up view of a person's checkered pattern shoes as they lean over a voting booth at a vote center.
WhatMatters
CalMatters has answers to your election questions
I’m CalMatters reporter Ryan Sabalow, and I’ve tapped in for Lynn today. Another contentious election season is upon us, and you may have questions. Am I registered to vote? How do I register to vote? Is my ballot safe? Can I vote in a language other than English? What if I messed up my ballot? […]
By • March 13, 2026

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Lynn La - CalMatters
Lynn La is the newsletter writer for CalMatters, focusing on California’s top political, policy and Capitol stories every weekday.
CalMatters
California, explained
Lynn La
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. 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)