is a collection of news related articles or links to articles about Big Sur that are in current newspapers or publications.

The Big Sur Guide: Best Places to Eat, Play, and Stay in Big Sur, California
Published April 16, 2020
Writer Mackenzie Nia and photographer Pouya Nia
About Big Sur, California
Big Sur is arguably one of the most beautiful places in California, with it’s dramatic coastal views and steep cliffs cascading into the Pacific Ocean. Spanning over 50 miles on California’s Highway 1, simply driving through Big Sur is a popular thing to do on a road trip up or down the coast. Most visitors will take advantage of the many pull-outs along Highway 1 to take photographs or simply enjoy the view. While Big Sur is a rustic and remote location, at least in California’s standard, it is still a luxury to vacation here with very few Big Sur hotels charging less than $200 per night, aside from camping, of course. There are many things to do in Big Sur to take in its beauty, including hiking, enjoying lookout points, relaxing at beaches, and camping in Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park. After analyzing the data on over 20 articles written about Big Sur, referencing online reviews, and visiting Big Sur ourselves, we determined that the following are the best places to eat, play, and stay.

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Forged by Fire: Lightening and Landscape at Big Sur

We know that wildfire is a key part of the ecology of the Bay Area and has played a major role in shaping our landscapes. Yet it's simply not possible to let fires burn naturally in an urban region such as ours. But just to the south, the 240,000-acre Ventana Wilderness near Big Sur is large and remote enough to allow for the return of a natural fire regime. That's what has happened over the past 30 years as a series of lightning-ignited wildfires has helped shape both a living laboratory of fire ecology and an increasingly diverse landscape. Read about it on BayNature.org.
http://baynature.org/articles/oct-dec-2009/forged-by-fire

 

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Big Sur artist Emile Norman dies at 91
Used plastic in sculpture

The Monterey County Herald
Herald Staff Report
Updated: 09/25/2009 09:36:56 AM PDT

Emile Norman, a world-renowned artist and sculptor who lived in Big Sur since 1946, died of natural causes Thursday in Monterey. He was 91.
Related: 2008 slideshow of the artist | Artist's work brought him around the world and back

Mr. Norman was one of the pioneering artists in the 1940s to use plastic and resin to make sculptures.

Born Emil Nomann in 1918 in San Gabriel, he began his career making plastic jewelry in Los Angeles. He moved to New York in 1943 and designed department store windows before turning full time to his art.

Mr. Norman discovered epoxy, or "German mastic," on a trip to Europe in the late 1940s, and that discovery shaped the rest of his career. One of his most famous works is the mosaic window in San Francisco's Masonic Memorial Temple on Nob Hill, done in 1958.

Mr. Norman met Brooks Clement, who would become his life partner and business associate, shortly after moving to New York. They returned to Los Angeles after World War II and, in 1946, moved to Big Sur.

The redwood house they built became a showcase for Mr. Norman's talents as he designed tables, lamps, walls and windows as if they were sculpture. His caregiver, Jeff Mallory, said that even well into his 80s, Mr. Norman would tell visitors that the house "is almost finished."

Mr. Norman opened his own gallery in Carmel in 1961. In 2005, he created the Emile Norman Charitable Trust to preserve his art and support the arts on the Peninsula.

He was profiled in a documentary, "Emile Norman: By His Own Design," that was broadcast on PBS in 2006.

Mr. Norman was predeceased by Clement, who died of cancer in 1973, and is survived by three sisters and five nieces and nephews.

http://www.montereyherald.com/local/ci_13418025
Slideshow of Emile Norman artwork:
http://extras.montereyherald.com/slideshows/emile_norman/index.html

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For Immediate Release:
August 4, 2009
Contact: Kelly Sorenson, 831-455-9514
Big Sur, CA.

Biologists Find Condor Chick Dead in Big Sur, Trash the Likely Cause

Biologists from Ventana Wildlife Society’s Condor Recovery Project in Big Sur made a disappointing discovery on July 21st. They found the lifeless body of a wild California condor chick lying in thick brush beneath its redwood nest tree in Landel-Hills Big Creek Reserve. Joe Burnett, Sr. Wildlife Biologist for the VWS Condor Project and who recovered the chick personally said, “Although the loss of a wild chick is never easy, we still feel very fortunate to have four chicks surviving in the wild this year. In 2007 and 2008 we had a combined total of three chicks produced and they still thrive today and 2009 is on track to be the most productive year yet for condors in central California.” Mark Readdie, Manager of UC-Santa Cruz Landel-Hills Big Creek Reserve added, “We are excited that the pair is nesting at Big Creek Reserve but it’s tragic how their chick died.” More>>>

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Billy Post
August 24, 1920 - July 26, 2009
A man of the land returns to the land

BIG SUR – The 4th generation of a well known homesteading family, Billy Post was a respected and enormously loved “old timer” in Big Sur. A humble and gentle man, he had an old fashioned sense of courtesy and manners. Billy had a vast love and knowledge of Big Sur, his home and community, its history and environment. He knew every tree and path at Post Ranch, and paid attention to the natural world around him, the wild creatures and plants and especially horses. In his younger days he was able to combine these passions and share his experience with others by offering pack trips on horseback into the Big Sur wilderness. Billy was an expert horseman and wrangler, and was known as a horse whisperer who always gentled, never broke his horses. While in his teens and twenties he drove cattle on the three day trip from Big Sur to the cattle yard in Monterey. After the opening of Post Ranch Inn in 1992, he took guests on nature walks on the ranch and when arthritis claimed his joints he mastered the nuances of an off road Segway to continue his contact with people and nature. In his last years he shared breakfast with guests of the inn, telling stories of the bygone era of his life. Bill had a way of paying attention and taking care of others, of giving them a glimpse of a simpler and quieter time. A man of integrity, he positively influenced the lives of thousands of people with his warmhearted graciousness and generosity. More>>>

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Big Sur's Treebones in world's top-10 eco-resorts
APRIL 13, 2009
Big Sur’s Treebones Resort is one of the 10 best coastal eco-resorts in the world, according to Coastal Living magazine's April issue. The article describes Treebones Resort as a hippie heaven with massages provided in your yurt. Yurts are nomadic dwellings covered by felt, circular in shape and domed.

Eco-resorts are defined by features including traditional structures, minimal energy use, solar power, recycling, shared living arrangements or service to the community.

The Big Sur resort was one of four in the U.S. honored by Coastal Living. More>>

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February 8, 2008
Birthing season for elephant seals at Piedras Blancas


It's birthing season once again for the Northern elephant seals at Piedras Blancas (just south of the Big Sur coastline, near San Simeon). The group Friends of the Elephant Seal gives more information on what the giant pinnipeds are up to this time of year:

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In the News 2005-2008
In The News 2004
More In The News dating back to 2002