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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 person with long, wavy hair sits on the floor surrounded by papers, holding and organizing a stack of documents. They are wearing a patterned blouse, glasses on their face, and sunglasses resting on their head. A large folder and various papers, some with writing and printed text, are spread across the area, creating a cluttered workspace. The person is focused on reviewing the paperwork.
A person wearing a long blue apron and red hat, stands in the middle of cow milking machines at a dairy farm.
A person in a dark blue suit and a red tie sits in a chair on stage and gestures while they speak. At left, the person's shadow, and that of a moderator are visible on a backdrop with the words "CALMATTERS" emblazoned on it. The setting is a forum or panel.
A person arranges posters of people who have died while in-custody in San Diego jails on a table during an event. One poster, containing photos of 19 individuals, reads "stop the deaths!" at the bottom.
Four white voting booths with American flags and the word "VOTE" emblazoned on the side are visible. A person wearing a baseball cap casts a ballot in one of the booths. They're located in a room, reminiscent of a community center.
A side view of elderly person wearing a blue knitted sweater sitting in a yellow chair on stage next to another person during an event.
A close-up view of a person's hands sifting through a small black basket filled with pink mail-in ballot envelopes. A stack of pink mail-in ballot envelopes can be seen laying on the table in the background.
Two people stand in front of a framed International Union of Painters and Allied Trades logo hung up on a wall in an office. The person on the left