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Our 166th Year
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The Good Plow brings healthy dining to South Coast
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A team of 21 deputies from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office have been deployed to South Lake Tahoe as part of a mutual aid operation associated with the Caldor Fire.
Sheriff’s Office deputies respond to Caldor Fire Responders offer mutual aid in South Lake Tahoe By MADISON HIRNEISEN NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS
Executive Chef Pedro Garcia and owner Katie Lesh are shown outside The Good Plow restaurant in Carpinteria on Saturday.
By MADISON HIRNEISEN NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
A new farm-to-table restaurant, The Good Plow, has officially opened in Carpinteria, offering locally sourced, organic meals in what is perhaps the beachside city’s healthiest restaurant. The Good Plow, located at 5205 Carpinteria Ave., celebrated its grand opening just over two weeks ago. The new business replaced the long-standing Fosters Freeze establishment, which closed in Aug. 2020. Using all locally sourced, organic ingredients, the restaurant offers a menu of mainly vegetarian options, with the exception of its popular fish tacos, Lox Bowl and “The Real Burger,” which sources grassfed beef from San Julian Ranch in Lompoc. Other menu offerings include hearty bowls, sandwiches and salads that are stuffed with vegetables and Asian-inspired flavors and seasonings. Since opening two weeks ago, the restaurant has been full of customers, Katie Lesh, the owner of The Good Plow, told the News-Press Saturday. She and her husband, Jason, own the restaurant and Farm Cart Organics in Carpinteria. With deep ties to the local farming community, Ms. Lesh said her goal for this restaurant is to use locally sourced ingredients to create a healthy and affordable dining option in the beachside city. “I saw what Carp needed,” Ms. Lesh said. “I could see personally what (the city) needed and heard what people wanted, and it was always healthier food options in a fast-paced environment. Somewhere you can go get a salad or go get a sandwich, and somewhere you can bring your kids that it’s just casual.” “I just tried to build around that vision,” she added. Ms. Lesh and her husband got to work making that vision a reality when the couple began renovating the building last September after Fosters Freeze closed in August. The renovation effort continued through this year and was completed through a crowdsourcing effort on Kickstarter, where community members raised over $50,000 for the construction of the restaurant’s outdoor patio and inventory. Now that the restaurant is open, Ms. Lesh and her husband are offering a menu of healthy meals in the heart of Carpinteria.
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Along with dishes, various items are sold inside The Good Plow.
By partnering with numerous local farmers to provide ingredients for the restaurant’s menu, Ms. Lesh estimates that customers are enjoying meals that are made from 95% organic ingredients. Even the oil that the food is cooked in is made from organic sunflower oil, she said. While the new restaurant has a vastly different menu than the Fosters Freeze that once occupied the location, the owners decided to pay tribute to the old establishment by installing an ice cream window off the side of the entrance. Customers can order organic ice cream served on chocolate-dipped cones. “When people first heard that Foster Freeze was closing, they were so angry because it was this, like, childhood memory for them,” Ms. Lesh said. “So we tried to offer a similar thing.” Customers to the store also have the option to purchase fresh local produce on the spot
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insi d e Classified.............. A8 Life..................... B1-4 Obituaries............. A4
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right inside the restaurant. Currently, the store is selling an assortment of local fruits and vegetables, as well as various kitchen utensils and goods. Looking toward the future, Ms. Lesh said she’s hoping to open additional Good Plow locations in the region, perhaps in Santa Barbara or Ventura. She said through the restaurant, she hopes to reach a new demographic of people and introduce them to affordable, healthy menu options. “I’m really trying to reach a different demographic with our prices, and I really want to create a space where everyone feels welcome,” Ms. Lesh said. “Like the middle schoolers who come here every day because the school is just right down the street. That’s what I’m really trying to capture — just a community space where everybody feels important and welcome.”
A team of deputies from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office are currently on the ground in South Lake Tahoe to aid local law enforcement bodies as the Caldor Fire continues to burn through the region. The team, composed of 21 deputies from the Sheriff’s Office, deployed last Wednesday to provide mutual aid in El Dorado County, where thousands of residents have been evacuated due to the fire. As of Saturday, the Caldor fire had burned more than 214,000 acres in both El Dorado and Amador counties and was only 37% contained. The Sheriff’s Office deputies are joined by four officers from the Santa Barbara Police Department and two officers from the Lompoc Police Department. These responders from Santa Barbara County are part of a contingent of more than 100 law enforcement personnel from Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties that are responding through a mutual aid agreement between all California law enforcement agencies, according to a news release. Since deploying, the team of deputies has been patrolling the South Lake Tahoe region to watch for looters and check on the few residents in the area who chose not to evacuate. According to Lt. Steven Johnson from the Sheriff’s Office, the majority of South Lake Tahoe’s 22,000 residents have evacuated, though some stayed behind in an effort to protect their homes and businesses. During patrols, Lt. Johnson said deputies make regular contact with residents out walking, biking or driving, checking in on them to make sure they have what they need to stay safe. He said many of the residents have been cooperative and appreciative of law enforcement presence. The team also looks out for looters during patrols, responding to reports of stolen property. As of Saturday, deputies had made four arrests — two on Thursday and two on Friday — for illegal entries into homes and looting, according
to Lt. Johnson. A few residents who evacuated the area have aided the deputies in catching looters by utilizing security systems and video cameras outside their homes. The lieutenant said one resident called law enforcement when they saw someone stealing a bike through their Ring Doorbell system, and deputies were able to confront the looter and arrest them within minutes. “It’s a good thing for us to be up here,” Lt. Johnson told the News-Press on Saturday. “We’re doing a lot of work and a lot of preventative work by keeping people out who aren’t supposed to be here and basically representing the people who are still here.” “People are very appreciative of our presence, and they’re making that well known to us,” he added. “It’s a matter of everybody working together to get back, hopefully, to the point that they’ll be able to lift the evacuations and get everybody back in.” Since the team arrived in the city last week, conditions have been very smoky and foggy, and crews can smell the fire burning just a few miles away, Lt. Johnson said. When the crew traveled on U.S. Route 50 to get to South Lake Tahoe last week, fire was burning on both sides of the road, and Lt. Johnson said Caltrans is working hard to ensure the road remains open and clear for first responders. As the fire advances, Lt. Johnson said it’s pushing wildlife, like black bears, into the mostly evacuated city limits of South Lake Tahoe. During patrols, deputies have seen multiple bears roaming around and searching for food by knocking down trash cans and breaking into evacuated homes. “One of our female deputies who is on our media team videotaped a bear jumping up onto a fence and then going through a window into a house,” Lt. Johnson said. “We get alarm calls for residences here or neighbors calling and saying ‘hey a bear just went into the house.” With the fire still advancing Please see DEPUTIES on A2
Sudoku................. B3 Weather................ A5
Saturday’s SUPER LOTTO: 9-11-23-30-43 Mega: 5
Saturday’s DAILY 4: 3-5-2-7
Friday’s MEGA MILLIONS: 8-14-31-58-68 Mega: 15
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Saturday’s DAILY 3: 0-9-9 / Midday 3-5-4