Join us at the CalMatters Ideas Festival on May 21. 💡 Get your tickets now.

Avatar photo

Lynn La

Newsletter Writer

Contact Latest Stories

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

Gov. Gavin Newsom addresses the media during a press conference unveiling his revised 2024-25 budget proposal at the Capitol Annex Swing Space in Sacramento on May 10, 2024. Photo by Fred Greaves for CalMatters
WhatMatters
Who’s on Gavin Newsom’s friends and foes lists?
Gov. Gavin Newsom is picking and choosing his political friends and foes, depending on the day. On his black list at the moment: Billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk, who threatened to move the headquarters of X (formerly known as Twitter) and SpaceX from California to Texas after Newsom signed a law earlier this month prohibiting […]
By • July 30, 2024
Firefighters work as Park Fire burns near Chico on July 25, 2024. Photo by Fred Greaves, REUTERS
WhatMatters
Park Fire explodes up list of biggest California wildfires
Park Fire — the largest wildfire in California this year, and one of the largest fires in the state’s history — continues to rage, burning more than 360,000 acres. The conflagration began last week near Chico, and Gov. Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency for Butte and Tehama counties. Evacuation orders or warnings […]
By • July 29, 2024
Gov. Gavin Newsom and a worker carry a mattress from a homeless encampment along a freeway in San Diego as he promotes his announced new blueprint homeless plan on Jan. 12, 2022. Photo by Mike Blake, Reuters
WhatMatters
Newsom: Clear California homeless encampments
Gov. Gavin Newsom is pressing for direct action, nearly a month after the U.S. Supreme Court gave cities the green light to clear homeless encampments and arrest or fine unhoused people for sleeping in public spaces. As CalMatters homelessness reporter Marisa Kendall explains, the governor on Thursday issued an executive order directing state agencies to […]
By • July 26, 2024
A worker wearing a yellow vest scans items and places them into yellow bins as they move through the Amazon Fulfillment Center in Sacramento in 2018. Photo by Rich Pedroncelli, AP File
WhatMatters
California indoor heat rule put on fast track
From CalMatters Capitol reporter Jeanne Kuang:  After years of delay, a new California regulation to protect indoor workers from extreme heat is now in effect.  A workplace safety board approved the rule in late June, and asked other state administrative agencies to fast-track putting it on the books. The rule went into effect Tuesday as […]
By • July 25, 2024
Former Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, standing in front of a podium, talks to reporters during a press conference at the construction site of a new water desalination plant in Antioch on Aug. 11, 2022. Photo by Godofredo A. Vásquez, AP Photo
WhatMatters
A second California governor try for Antonio Villaraigosa
From CalMatters Capitol reporter Alexei Koseff: Have you had enough speculation this week about who presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris might choose as her running mate? Can I interest you in some speculation about California’s next governor instead? The crowded field expanded again on Tuesday when Antonio Villaraigosa, the Democratic former Los Angeles mayor […]
By • July 24, 2024
President Joe Biden delivers his first State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress, as Vice President Kamala Harris and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi watch at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on March 1, 2022. Photo by Saul Loeb, Pool via AP
WhatMatters
Pelosi joins Newsom in backing Kamala Harris
As Democratic leaders, donors and advocacy groups jump on the Kamala Harris bandwagon, it can be more intriguing who doesn’t immediately get on board.  Gov. Gavin Newsom, a political frenemy of the vice president and long-rumored presidential hopeful, waited a beat on Sunday after President Joe Biden’s announcement and endorsement. Monday, he sent out a […]
By • July 23, 2024
President Joe Biden delivers his third State of the Union address with Vice President Kamala Harris, left, and U.S. Speaker House of Representatives Mike Johnson, right, behind him in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. on March 7, 2024. Photo by Shawn Thew, Pool via CNP/INSTARimages.com via Reuters
WhatMatters
California Democrats praise Biden, largely fall behind Harris
Facing mounting pressure from fellow Democrats to end his reelection bid, President Joe Biden on Sunday made the stunning announcement that he is dropping out of the November race and then endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic presidential nominee.   The president said that he will give more details about his decision — […]
By • July 22, 2024
Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is in New Hampshire to attend a fundraising event for U.S. President Joe Biden's campaign, greets people at the Common Man Roadside Cafe & Deli in Hooksett, New Hampshire, on July 8, 2024. Photo by Reba Saldanha, Reuters
WhatMatters
Newsom stands by Biden to the bitter end
As fellow Democrats’ calls for President Joe Biden to bow out of his re-election campaign reach a fever pitch, Gov. Gavin Newsom remains a loyal foot soldier to the president, saying he’s “all in, no daylight” during an interview with CBS News last week. But while such unwavering support could be risky for Newsom if […]
By • July 19, 2024
Rep. Adam Schiff speaks during the House Judiciary Committee hearing on the Report of Special Counsel John Durham, on Capitol Hill in Washington on June 21, 2023. Photo by Jose Luis Magana, AP Photo
WhatMatters
Is the Democratic dam breaking for Biden to drop out?
Saying it’s time for President Joe Biden to “pass the torch,” U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff on Wednesday became the highest-profile Democrat so far to publicly call for Biden to end his re-election bid.  In a statement, the Burbank Democrat — who is running for U.S. Senate — says he has “serious concerns” about whether Biden […]
By • July 18, 2024
WhatMatters
California cities and counties ignoring mandate to monitor homeless shelters
In 2021, responding to reports that the state’s homeless shelters were dirty and dangerous, the state Legislature crafted a plan: It would require local governments to inspect their shelters after complaints and file annual reports on shelter conditions. Three years on, California’s cities and counties have basically ignored the mandate. A new investigation from CalMatters […]
By • July 17, 2024

Gift this article

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)