• September 9, 2003

The Los Angeles Times has launched "Outdoors," a new weekly section intended as the region's best source of information about nature, outdoor recreation and the environment. The section will be edited by Bob Sipchen, an 18-year LA Times veteran. Planned features include a scuba dive with famed swimmer Lynne Cox and author Barbara Hurd's exploration of a muddy black cave. "Through compelling stories written with an insider's authority, we want to draw together the spectrum of people who relish the outdoors and care about the environment," Sipchen said in a press release. "The section will exult in a Southern California truism: here it is possible, on a single day, to ski fresh powder in the morning, surf big waves as the sun sets, and - to expand the idea - pause along the way to mountain bike a technical single-track and nymph for scrappy trout in a wilderness stream." Outdoors marks the next step in the paper's attempts to revitalize its features sections. Starting last year, the Times revamped its "Calendar" and its "Food and Health" sections. "Home" was introduced earlier this year, and a new section covering fashion and beauty will debut in 2004.