MONTEREY/SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTIES – Crews continue to make repairs on Highway 1 at Paul’s Slide on the Big Sur coast. The estimated date for a full reopening of Highway 1 at Paul’s Slide remains late spring of 2024.

Repair crews have concentrated their efforts on grading of the site and continued to deliver fill material to the south end of the repair to support the new alignment of the road.

Once further progress has been made on bringing up the elevation of the south end of the repair, crews will conduct additional surveys of the site to establish the exact path of the new course of the road which will be elevated as much as 60 feet and slightly inland from its previous course.

Final design of the drainage infrastructure has been completed. Crews have started on-site fabrication of the elements that will make up five new independent culvert systems. 

Future work at the repair includes installation of protective rockfall barriers on the northbound side, installation of drainage infrastructure, and guardrail in the southbound direction.

As expected, recent rains have resulted in single and multiple days of a loss of production. Crews work to prepare the site in advance of forecasted rain and then work around the effects of saturated ground at the repair site after the rain.

Crews will continue to work seven days a week and the estimated date for a full reopening of Highway 1 at Paul’s Slide remains late spring of 2024.

Highway 1 remains open for travel from the Monterey/Carmel area to .6 miles south of the town of Lucia, and from the Cambria/San Simeon area north to Limekiln State Park. No vehicle, bicycle, or pedestrian traffic is permitted across the repair site at Paul’s Slide due to construction activities and the potential for slides and rockfall.

Road information and updates can also be found on Caltrans District 5 Social Media platforms: Twitter at: @CaltransD5, Facebook at: Caltrans Central Coast (District 5) and Instagram at: Caltrans_D5. 

The Big Sur Food & Wine Festival and The Big Sur Fashion Show, projects of the Big Sur Food & Wine Foundation, are proud to announce that net proceeds of all 2023 events brought $225,000.00 to be distributed to the following beneficiaries:

Big Sur Fiddle Camp – Weston Call Scholarship $8500

Big Sur Fire $52,000

Big Sur Grange $5500

Big Sur Health Center $52,000

Big Sur Historical Society $5000

Big Sur Park School $11,500

Big Sur Softball $3000

Captain Cooper School – Parent’s Club $11,5000

Esselen Tribe of Monterey County – Earmarked for Cultural and Land Maintenance $8500

Keep Big Sur Wild $2500

Mid Coast Fire Brigade $16,000

Pacific Valley School $11,500

StageKids $5000

The Big Share $10,000

The Henry Miller Memorial Library $17,000

Scholarship for Big Sur Youth (the Foundation’s own scholarship program) $1,000

Ventana Wildlife Society $4,500

The Big Sur Food & Wine Foundation, an all-volunteer-run 501(c)3 non-profit charitable trust, focuses its efforts on the children and families of Big Sur by providing grants to non-profits in the areas of Health, Education, Safety, and The Arts. 

“We are proud to continue to be one of the strongest supporters of the Palo Colorado, Big Sur and South Coast communities, while staying sustainable ourselves, even during challenging times. In 2023, we curated numerous events, Two German Winemaker Pop-Up dinners, the Fashion Show,  and Ferrari Event at The Barnyard, says Elsa Rivera, CFO/Events Director. 

Foundation President Aengus Wagner expands “We couldn’t do any of this without our tireless working committee & Board, Elsa Rivera and Matt Peterson (also Board members), Peggy Giles, Jennifer Haydu, Roman Reed, Laurie Smith, Amanda Oliver (also a Board member), Olivia Carnahan, Ola Williamson-Rocha, Ashley Wolff, Alicia Busa, Erin Mason, Mike Trupiano, Kari Berardi, Nicolaus Balla and Frank Pinney (Board members). Every chef, wine and champagne producer, somm, designer, model, sponsor, photographer, volunteer, venue and guest helps make our mission come to fruition”. “A special shout out to our 2023 event captains too, Adam Olthof, Matt Glazer and Alicia Cuadra Cutler.”

Rivera, who also serves as Executive Director for The Big Sur Fashion Show, adds “ Each year we say it was the best one yet and we’ll say it again, the show was truly amazing. Thanks to our 2023 Big Idea Squad Sadie Kvenild, Megan Patterson, Sehra Evans, Christen Jones, Beverly Van Pelt, Brent Sepulvedo, Magnus Toren, Sven van Rooij, and artist Ruby Brown Dudley. “The sold-out show continues to be one of the most loved and anticipated performance art events of the year.” 

A check presentation gathering for all beneficiaries will be scheduled soon. 

For any questions or more information about the Big Sur Food & Wine Festival or The Big Sur Fashion Show, please contact Elsa Rivera at elsa@bigsurfoodandwine.org 831-596-8105 

The Foundation’s giving history can be found here:

Beneficiaries – Our Giving History

Date:	Tuesday, January 9, 2024
District:	05 – Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz Counties
Contact:	Kevin Drabinski or Jim Shivers
Phone:	(805) 549-3138 or (805) 549-3237

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

VIRTUAL PUBLIC MEETING FOR LIMEKILN CREEK BRIDGE REPLACEMENT PROJECT SET FOR WEDNESDAY JAN. 17

MONTEREY COUNTY – The public is invited to attend a virtual public meeting regarding the Limekiln Creek Bridge Replacement Project. This virtual open house will discuss such topics as:

·       Environmental Studies and Documents

·       Resource Agency Coordination

·       Aesthetic Effects

·       Biological Effects

·       Coastal Zone Compliance

·       Environmental Documents for Public Comment

The Virtual Public Meeting to discuss this project will take place on Wednesday Jan. 17, from 5:30 to 7 pm.

The link to attend this meeting may be found at https://dot.ca.gov/caltrans-near-me/district-5/district-5-current-projects/05-1f510

The link to this meeting may also be found by scanning the QR Code on the attached flyer.

Caltrans proposes to replace the existing concrete Limekiln Creek Bridge in Monterey County on Highway 1 near Lucia. Within the limits of the proposed project, Highway 1 is a two-lane undivided highway with two 10- to 12-foot lanes and 0- to 4-foot non-standard shoulders. The proposed project lies exclusively within the Limekiln State Park property. The entrance to Limekiln State Park is directly off the highway at the southern abutment of the bridge. There is also access to the beach from Limekiln State Park underneath the Limekiln Creek Bridge. The existing bridge consists of eight piers and two abutments and is approximately 580 feet long and experiencing deterioration.

For more information about this project or the meeting, please contact Matt Fowler, Senior Environmental Planner, at 805-779-0793 or by email at matt.c.fowler@dot.ca.gov.

For all other state highway matters in the area, please contact the District 5 Public Information Office at info-d5@dot.ca.gov or by phone at 805-549-3138.

Road information and updates can also be found on Caltrans District 5 Social Media platforms: Twitter at: @CaltransD5, Facebook at: Caltrans Central Coast (District 5) and Instagram at: Caltrans_D5.

From the Washington Post on Sunday:

“On Tuesday, oral arguments are scheduled at 9:30 a.m. [6:30 am PST] at the D.C. federal appeals court to determine if presidential immunity or double jeopardy should bar federal prosecutors from charging Trump for his actions around the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. (The audio will be streamed on the court’s YouTube channel here.)

Trump has argued the case against him should be tossed because he was acting as president and cannot be prosecuted for actions taken in the course of his official duties, and that his 2021 impeachment acquittal by the Senate precludes criminal charges now. Judge Tanya S. Chutkan, who is overseeing the case, ruled against Trump. Now the former president is appealing her ruling.”

For me, January 6th 2020 is on a par with Sept 11, 2001 and November 22, 1963. I will never forget where I was and what I was doing. Unlike 9/11 or 11/22, 1/6 is too fresh to have the perspective of history to soften the blunt edges of the horror of those days and the pain inflicted. Unlike the other two, the partisan politics try to twist and shape today’s memory into that which it is not. All three were forms of terrorism. Whatever else you do today, vow to remember the truth and make a commitment to vote.

Also, since I can’t add this in the comments, I will add it here. At least one Republican was concerned.

I’ve turned off comments. I’ve started to get the usual conspiracy theory comments — “it was all a trap orchestrated by Nancy Pelosi.” It can only go downhill from there. I did allow opposing opinions, but when we step off  into that conspiracy deep end, I cannot give that air or space on my blog.

Hello,

Please see the attached Notice of Availability of a Draft Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Assessment for the Limekiln Creek Bridge Replacement Project.

Per the attached public notice, Caltrans will hold a virtual public hearing on January 17th.

The document and project website can be found here: https://dot.ca.gov/caltrans-near-me/district-5/district-5-current-projects/05-1f510

If you have questions about the project, please contact Matt Fowler, Senior Environmental Planner, at 805-779-0793 or by email atmatt.c.fowler@dot.ca.gov. 

Thanks,

Taylor Price (he/him or they/them)Associate PlannerCounty of Monterey – Housing & Community Development1441 Schilling Place, 2nd Floor South, Salinas, CA 93901O: (831)784-57

This one was sent to me by Ken Wright, taken by Mary Wright:

Tobias McLeod is visiting his parents and sent me this one:

If you have a rainbow photo from this morning you want to add, sent it to kwnovoa@mac.com and make this day a joyful one for yourself and your loved ones.

This next bright double rainbow was taken by Brent Helmick in Soledad this afternoon.

This amazing photo was taken by Tim Huntington (of Condor fame). “It was taken at 11:20 on Thursday 12/28 – one can see the falls to the left of the photo, totally being dwarfed by the waves crashing on the rocks.”

From Wikipedia: “McWay Falls is an 80-foot-tall (24 m) waterfall on the coast of Big Sur in central California that flows year-round from McWay Creek in Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, about 37 miles (60 km) south of Carmel, into the Pacific Ocean. During high tide, it is a tidefall, a waterfall that empties directly into the ocean. The only other tidefall in California is Alamere Falls.” Does that make that huge wave 160+ feet?