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Matt LaFever (@_MattLaFever) profile picture

Matt LaFever

@_MattLaFever

North Coast Contributing Editor @SFGATE | Publisher @MendoFever | Freelance @KymKemp & @KMUDNews| Digging deep in NorCal’s wildlands—where stories take root.

 Mendocino County
mendofever.com
Joined December 2013
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Photo by Matt LaFever (@_MattLaFever)Photo by Matt LaFever (@_MattLaFever)
A mobile sauna business on Big River ignites debate in Mendocino over ecology, access and commercialization sfgate.com/northcoast/articl…
Riverside saunas are tearing a California community apart

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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In Redwood National and State Parks, one of California's strangest World War II secrets still stands in silence sfgate.com/northcoast/articl…
California's redwoods hid a secret war machine

California's redwoods hid a secret war machine

The redwoods remember a time when California's coast prepared for war.

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The Spyrock site in Mendocino County offers a rare glimpse into California's earliest artistry sfgate.com/northcoast/articl…
An accidental roadside discovery changed California archaeology

An accidental roadside discovery changed California archaeology

One turn off the highway and the timeline of California cracked open.

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A giant hammer marks the entrance to Eureka’s Pierson Building Center, a hardware store that embodies the do-it-yourself camaraderie that binds the region. sfgate.com/northcoast/articl…
The California hardware store that makes chains feel soulless

The California hardware store that makes chains feel soulless

Northern California locals know this is no ordinary hardware store.

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For years, it defied Humboldt County. Now, California's most infamous commune is cornered. sfgate.com/northcoast/articl…
After decades of defiance, a California hippie commune is defeated

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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Cal Poly Humboldt biologist Silvia Pavan discovers new marsupial species in Peru's cloud forests sfgate.com/northcoast/articl…
Looking for a squirrel, a California professor stumbled on a scientific first

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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A private club preserves Eureka's Carson Mansion, the grandest Victorian in California sfgate.com/northcoast/articl…
One of the most photographed houses in California forbids visitors

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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A Crescent City institution, the Del Norte Triplicate has shut down after nearly 150 years sfgate.com/northcoast/articl…
After 146 years, a Northern California county loses its only newspaper

After 146 years, a Northern California county loses its only newspaper

Nearly 150 years of local journalism vanish from California’s remote North Coast.

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Entombed in Lake County, California, the Clear Lake Volcanic Field is one of the state's riskiest sfgate.com/northcoast/articl…
Why scientists are watching a quiet lake north of San Francisco

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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Mendocino Coast residents are fighting to save the Albion River Bridge, the last wooden bridge on Highway 1 sfgate.com/northcoast/articl…
Gorgeous coastal bridge on Calif.'s Highway 1 gets a death sentence

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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Humboldt Bay's struggling Bayshore Mall reveals a region caught between past and future sfgate.com/northcoast/articl…
A dying Northern Calif. mall tells the story of a region in decline

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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Tourists dream of gems found at Fort Bragg's Glass Beach. Locals see danger, erosion and broken ankles. sfgate.com/northcoast/articl…
California's coastal jewel? Locals call it a 'pit to hell.'

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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Northern California's Humboldt Crabs keep small-town baseball alive as the nation's oldest summer collegiate team sfgate.com/northcoast/articl…
One of Northern California's hippie strongholds has a rowdy summer tradition

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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Mountain lions kill 15 alpacas in three nights of attacks on a Lake County ranch in Northern California. sfgate.com/northcoast/articl…
15 alpacas dead, 3 cougars on the loose: NorCal ranch under siege

15 alpacas dead, 3 cougars on the loose: NorCal ranch under siege

Three nights. Fifteen alpacas. And one rancher left asking why.

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In working-class Kihei, a new kind of gathering place is reshaping the rhythm of Maui sfgate.com/hawaii/article/ki…
Something unexpected is growing behind a lingerie shop on 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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Crescent City's harbor sustained major damage after tsunami waves battered California's North Coast sfgate.com/northcoast/articl…
California harbor suffers close to $1 million in damage from tsunami waves

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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Watch a video of the tsunami hitting the harbor here: instagram.com/reel/DMyo1a4sg…
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Del Norte County's Josephine Ophiolite reveals a cross section of Earth usually buried miles below sfgate.com/northcoast/articl…
The remote California road hiding a global geological marvel

The remote California road hiding a global geological marvel

You are, quite literally, driving through Earth’s mantle.

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Matt LaFever retweeted
PPIC Water (@PPICWater) profile picture
PPIC Water@PPICWater29 Jul 2025
Great @SFGate article on the complexities of taking down the dams on the Eel River, via @_MattLaFever. For more on the issue, watch our video: youtube.com/watch?v=KFj1sKpS… #cawater sfgate.com/northcoast/articl…
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As Ukiah eyes expansion, a battle over land use ignites in small-town Northern California sfgate.com/northcoast/articl…
A California city tried to triple in size. Then came the rebellion.

A California city tried to triple in size. Then came the rebellion.

The city calls it planning. Residents call it a power grab.

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