Matt LaFever
@mattlafever.bsky.social
North Coast Contributing Editor @SFGATE | Publisher @MendoFever | Freelance @KymKemp & @KMUDNews | Digging deep in NorCal’s wildlands—where stories take root.
A mobile sauna business on Big River ignites debate in Mendocino over ecology, access and commercialization
Riverside saunas are tearing a California community apart
"The community, I'll tell you right now, is pretty fired up about this."
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October 16, 2025 at 2:01 PM
A mobile sauna business on Big River ignites debate in Mendocino over ecology, access and commercialization
In Redwood National and State Parks, one of California's strangest World War II secrets still stands in silence
California's redwoods hid a secret war machine
The redwoods remember a time when California's coast prepared for war.
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October 12, 2025 at 3:40 PM
In Redwood National and State Parks, one of California's strangest World War II secrets still stands in silence
The Spyrock site in Mendocino County offers a rare glimpse into California's earliest artistry
An accidental roadside discovery changed California archaeology
One turn off the highway and the timeline of California cracked open.
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October 8, 2025 at 4:01 PM
The Spyrock site in Mendocino County offers a rare glimpse into California's earliest artistry
A giant hammer marks the entrance to Pierson Building Center, a hardware store that embodies the do-it-yourself camaraderie that binds the region and whose namesake built thousands of nearby homes.
The California hardware store that makes chains feel soulless
Northern California locals know this is no ordinary hardware store.
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October 5, 2025 at 2:20 PM
A giant hammer marks the entrance to Pierson Building Center, a hardware store that embodies the do-it-yourself camaraderie that binds the region and whose namesake built thousands of nearby homes.
For years, it defied Humboldt County. Now, California's most infamous commune is cornered.
After decades of defiance, a California hippie commune is defeated
For years, it defied the county. Now, California's most infamous commune is cornered.
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October 1, 2025 at 2:43 PM
For years, it defied Humboldt County. Now, California's most infamous commune is cornered.
Cal Poly Humboldt biologist Silvia Pavan discovers new marsupial species in Peru's cloud forests
Looking for a squirrel, a California professor stumbled on a scientific first
A new species was hiding in Peru's Andes — until a California scientist showed up.
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September 29, 2025 at 7:28 PM
Cal Poly Humboldt biologist Silvia Pavan discovers new marsupial species in Peru's cloud forests
A forgotten arrest and an unsolved double homicide tether Mendocino County to California's darkest cult
Manson Family's plot to expand to Northern Calif. may have ended in murder
Northern California's fog and forests still carry Manson's shadow.
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September 26, 2025 at 1:55 PM
A forgotten arrest and an unsolved double homicide tether Mendocino County to California's darkest cult
A private club preserves Eureka's Carson Mansion, the grandest Victorian in California.
One of the most photographed houses in California forbids visitors
From the street, it's iconic. From the inside, it's a mystery.
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September 24, 2025 at 7:49 PM
A private club preserves Eureka's Carson Mansion, the grandest Victorian in California.
Inside a comeback bid for a century-old inn on the Mendocino Coast.
A Northern California coastal town bets big on a historic inn
Inside a comeback bid for a century-old inn on the California coast.
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September 21, 2025 at 2:48 PM
Inside a comeback bid for a century-old inn on the Mendocino Coast.
Entombed in Lake County, California, the Clear Lake Volcanic Field is one of the state's riskiest
Why scientists are watching a quiet lake north of San Francisco
A Bay Area day trip destination with a secret most don't know.
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September 18, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Entombed in Lake County, California, the Clear Lake Volcanic Field is one of the state's riskiest
Mendocino Coast residents are fighting to save the Albion River Bridge, the last wooden bridge on Highway 1
Gorgeous coastal bridge on Calif.'s Highway 1 gets a death sentence
It's the last of its kind in California. Will it last much longer?
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September 16, 2025 at 12:30 AM
Mendocino Coast residents are fighting to save the Albion River Bridge, the last wooden bridge on Highway 1
Humboldt Bay's struggling Bayshore Mall reveals a region caught between past and future
A dying Northern Calif. mall tells the story of a region in decline
Bayshore Mall isn't dead yet, but walking its halls feels like stepping into a tomb.
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September 10, 2025 at 4:57 PM
Humboldt Bay's struggling Bayshore Mall reveals a region caught between past and future
As PG&E dismantles the Potter Valley Project, Northern California fire chiefs sound the alarm
'Can’t even believe we’re talking about this’: PG&E plan shocks NorCal firemen
A century-old dam is coming down. Firefighters say the timing couldn't be worse.
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September 3, 2025 at 5:58 PM
As PG&E dismantles the Potter Valley Project, Northern California fire chiefs sound the alarm
Reposted by Matt LaFever
Along Highway 101, California's World Famous Tree House reopens, with questions about what's next.
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✍️ @mattlafever.bsky.social/SFGATE
August 29, 2025 at 10:55 PM
Along Highway 101, California's World Famous Tree House reopens, with questions about what's next.
✍️ @mattlafever.bsky.social/SFGATE
✍️ @mattlafever.bsky.social/SFGATE
Tourists dream of gems found at Fort Bragg's Glass Beach. Locals see danger, erosion and broken ankles.
California's coastal jewel? Locals call it a 'pit to hell.'
Fort Bragg's most photographed beach isn't what the brochures promise.
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August 26, 2025 at 1:24 PM
Tourists dream of gems found at Fort Bragg's Glass Beach. Locals see danger, erosion and broken ankles.
Reposted by Matt LaFever
Northern California's Humboldt Crabs keep small-town baseball alive as the nation's oldest summer collegiate team
One of Northern California's hippie strongholds has a rowdy summer tradition
Humboldt's hippie haven is bound together by an old-fashioned summer ball team.
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August 24, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Northern California's Humboldt Crabs keep small-town baseball alive as the nation's oldest summer collegiate team
Northern California's Humboldt Crabs keep small-town baseball alive as the nation's oldest summer collegiate team
One of Northern California's hippie strongholds has a rowdy summer tradition
Humboldt's hippie haven is bound together by an old-fashioned summer ball team.
www.sfgate.com
August 24, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Northern California's Humboldt Crabs keep small-town baseball alive as the nation's oldest summer collegiate team
Reposted by Matt LaFever
The Venice Canals have been rocked by dog illnesses and deaths this summer.
The coastal Calif. community banding together to try and solve a tragic mystery
The Venice Canals have been rocked by dog illnesses and deaths this summer.
bit.ly
August 23, 2025 at 12:30 PM
The Venice Canals have been rocked by dog illnesses and deaths this summer.
Mountain lions kill 15 alpacas in three nights of attacks on a Lake County ranch in Northern California.
Mountain lions rampage through California ranch slaughtering alpacas
Three nights. Fifteen alpacas. And one rancher left asking why.
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August 23, 2025 at 12:06 AM
Mountain lions kill 15 alpacas in three nights of attacks on a Lake County ranch in Northern California.
Decades of curiosity surround Mount Shasta's rusting figures, which are now fading into the overgrowth
'Good god why are these here': A terrifying Mount Shasta mystery unravels
In Mount Shasta, two forgotten figures keep watch in the overgrowth.
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August 9, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Decades of curiosity surround Mount Shasta's rusting figures, which are now fading into the overgrowth
In working-class Kihei, a new kind of gathering place is reshaping the rhythm of Maui
Something unexpected is growing behind a lingerie shop on Maui
This low-key Kihei oasis is serving more than food — but good luck finding it.
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August 8, 2025 at 1:34 AM
In working-class Kihei, a new kind of gathering place is reshaping the rhythm of Maui
My first ever published concert review from this week’s edition of @sfgate.com’s Fogcutter column, a round up of events and happening around the Bay Area.
‘The indie scene’s psychedelic troubadour seems to be getting his head straight.’
‘The indie scene’s psychedelic troubadour seems to be getting his head straight.’
At Bay Area concert, the 2010s' most cerebral songwriter grows up
Plus, memorable Bay Area events from last week.
www.sfgate.com
August 5, 2025 at 1:11 AM
My first ever published concert review from this week’s edition of @sfgate.com’s Fogcutter column, a round up of events and happening around the Bay Area.
‘The indie scene’s psychedelic troubadour seems to be getting his head straight.’
‘The indie scene’s psychedelic troubadour seems to be getting his head straight.’
Reposted by Matt LaFever
Crescent City — one of California’s northernmost towns and Del Norte County’s lone city — took a close-to-$1 million hit to its harbor after tsunami waves battered the North Coast earlier this week.
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✍️ @mattlafever.bsky.social/SFGATE
July 31, 2025 at 11:55 PM
Crescent City — one of California’s northernmost towns and Del Norte County’s lone city — took a close-to-$1 million hit to its harbor after tsunami waves battered the North Coast earlier this week.
✍️ @mattlafever.bsky.social/SFGATE
✍️ @mattlafever.bsky.social/SFGATE
Crescent City's harbor sustained major damage after tsunami waves battered California's North Coast
California harbor suffers close to $1 million in damage from tsunami waves
California's tsunami magnet just lived up to its name.
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July 31, 2025 at 10:45 PM
Crescent City's harbor sustained major damage after tsunami waves battered California's North Coast
Del Norte County's Josephine Ophiolite reveals a cross section of Earth usually buried miles below
The remote California road hiding a global geological marvel
You're not just driving through the mountains. You're driving through ancient Earth.
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July 31, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Del Norte County's Josephine Ophiolite reveals a cross section of Earth usually buried miles below