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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 lawmaker, standing on the left and wearing a black suit with a purple tie, holds their right hand up while placing their left hand on a book. A person, standing in the center and wearing a black blazer, holds the book as they look towards Vice President Kamala Harris, standing on the right and wearing a purple blazer, as she directs the swearing-in ceremony.
A teacher points at a book while a child sitting at their desk looks at it. Other students are visible in the frame. The setting is a classroom.
A person speaks at a podium in the sand next to a border fence. Behind the person is a row of people dressed in suits, and a group of people standing on the right in lines dressed in army uniforms.
A person sits at a bench leaning against a pole as they watch a group of people play basketball in a room.
A person with blonde hair and wearing a black and white flower pattern blouse stands in the living room of their home while looking towards their left.
A room full of people place their right hands over their hearts as they stand and recite the pledge of allegiance at the floor if the Assembly room at the state capitol. Two lawmakers, one wearing a grey suit and the other wearing a red blazer, are seen at the center of the frame.
A person, wearing black sunglasses, a black sweater and blue pants, scans their credit card on an electric vehicle charging port while a pump is connected to their white car.
A person wearing a red and gold pattern dress stands behind a lectern with microphones from local media outlets during a press conference. A bookshelf with law books can be seen behind them.
Two people inside a car look out the passenger window while one of them holds a cut out of President-elect Donald Trump wearing a hat that reads "MAGA". The outside of the car is decorated with more Trump paraphernalia including mini flags and a cut-out sticker of Trump pasted onto one of the side windows.