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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

Commuters quickly jump on the Metro bus at the Norwalk Green Line Station in Norwalk on April 3, 2023. A decline in ridership was exacerbated when the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020, leading to service cuts and fare hikes. Photo by Pablo Unzueta for CalMatters
The sun sets behind a row of transmission towers as temperatures rise to a scorching 114 degrees in Fresno County on Sept. 6, 2022. Photo by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local
Anthony Delio, 36, falls asleep standing up in an alley after smoking fentanyl in Los Angeles on Aug. 23, 2022. Photo by Jae C. Hong, AP Photo
Lawmakers on the Assembly floor at the Capitol on March 27, 2023. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters
Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks to the media at a Prop 1 celebration event at The Citizen Hotel in Sacramento on Nov. 8, 2022. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters
Oakland police officers walk through a crime scene outside the West Oakland BART station on Jan. 3, 2018. Photo by Gabrielle Lurie, San Francisco Chronicle via AP
Assemblymember Corey Jackson, a Moreno Valley Democrat, at his legislative office at the state Capitol in Sacramento on April 12, 2023. Photo by Rahul Lal for CalMatters
California Gov. Gavin Newsom pauses as he discusses the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade during a news conference in Sacramento on June 24, 2022. Photo by Rich Pedroncelli, AP Photo
Artesia Councilmember Ali Sajad Taj, president of Cal Cities, speaks during a press conference at the state Capitol in Sacramento on April 12, 2023. Photo by Rahul Lal, CalMatters

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