Matt LaFever

Riverside saunas are tearing a California community apart "The community, I'll tell you right now, is pretty fired up about this."

A mobile sauna business on Big River ignites debate in Mendocino over ecology, access and commercialization

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

In Redwood National and State Parks, one of California's strangest World War II secrets still stands in silence

An accidental roadside discovery changed California archaeology One turn off the highway and the timeline of California cracked open.

The Spyrock site in Mendocino County offers a rare glimpse into California's earliest artistry

The California hardware store that makes chains feel soulless Northern California locals know this is no ordinary hardware store.

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.

After decades of defiance, a California hippie commune is defeated For years, it defied the county. Now, California's most infamous commune is cornered.

For years, it defied Humboldt County. Now, California's most infamous commune is cornered.

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.

Cal Poly Humboldt biologist Silvia Pavan discovers new marsupial species in Peru's cloud forests

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.

A forgotten arrest and an unsolved double homicide tether Mendocino County to California's darkest cult

One of the most photographed houses in California forbids visitors From the street, it's iconic. From the inside, it's a mystery.

A private club preserves Eureka's Carson Mansion, the grandest Victorian in California.

A Northern California coastal town bets big on a historic inn Inside a comeback bid for a century-old inn on the California coast.

Inside a comeback bid for a century-old inn on the Mendocino Coast.

That’s exactly why I framed the closure as a corporate failure: because while ownership walked away, the community is still fighting to preserve local journalism. That tension — loss from the top, resilience from the ground up — is the heart of this story.

You’re right — nuance and recent context are part of the picture. And you’re also right that the emergence of Redwood Voice and the effort to buy the paper show the community isn’t giving up.

The real story here isn’t one man’s reputation. It’s that an entire county has lost its newspaper, and the people who relied on it for accountability and local reporting are the ones left paying the price.

If Country Media had cared about the integrity of its paper of record, they would have recognized the problems you mention and replaced leadership. That’s what responsible ownership does. Instead, they let it deteriorate and then pulled the plug.

I don’t disagree that Gitlan was divisive — plenty of people in Del Norte remember his baggage. But reducing the closure of a nearly 150-year-old paper to the actions of one person misses the larger truth. The Triplicate was bigger than any single editor or publisher.

I’m gonna call bull on that analysis. Editors, of course, can be polarizing, but ownership can right that ship if they see fit. Clearly Country Media, Inc. didn’t value the Triplicate enough to do so.

Why scientists are watching a quiet lake north of San Francisco A Bay Area day trip destination with a secret most don't know.

Entombed in Lake County, California, the Clear Lake Volcanic Field is one of the state's riskiest

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?

Mendocino Coast residents are fighting to save the Albion River Bridge, the last wooden bridge on Highway 1

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.

Humboldt Bay's struggling Bayshore Mall reveals a region caught between past and future

'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.

As PG&E dismantles the Potter Valley Project, Northern California fire chiefs sound the alarm

Along Highway 101, California's World Famous Tree House reopens, with questions about what's next.

✍️ @mattlafever.bsky.social/SFGATE

California's coastal jewel? Locals call it a 'pit to hell.' Fort Bragg's most photographed beach isn't what the brochures promise.

Tourists dream of gems found at Fort Bragg's Glass Beach. Locals see danger, erosion and broken ankles.

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.

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.

Northern California's Humboldt Crabs keep small-town baseball alive as the nation's oldest summer collegiate team

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.

The Venice Canals have been rocked by dog illnesses and deaths this summer.

Mountain lions rampage through California ranch slaughtering alpacas Three nights. Fifteen alpacas. And one rancher left asking why.

Mountain lions kill 15 alpacas in three nights of attacks on a Lake County ranch in Northern California.

'Good god why are these here': A terrifying Mount Shasta mystery unravels In Mount Shasta, two forgotten figures keep watch in the overgrowth.

Decades of curiosity surround Mount Shasta's rusting figures, which are now fading into the overgrowth

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.

In working-class Kihei, a new kind of gathering place is reshaping the rhythm of Maui

At Bay Area concert, the 2010s' most cerebral songwriter grows up Plus, memorable Bay Area events from last week.

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.’

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

California harbor suffers close to $1 million in damage from tsunami waves California's tsunami magnet just lived up to its name.

Crescent City's harbor sustained major damage after tsunami waves battered California's North Coast