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CARPINTERIA
Vol. 28, No. 45
July 28 - Aug. 3, 2022
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Diving in with Rincon Swim School
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Thursday, July 28, 2022 19
Coastal View News • Tel: (805) 684-4428
Old Town Fiesta brings colorful delights
Tired of his high-water bill and looking to be ecofriendly, Gerald Enthoven tore up his front lawn and replaced it with drought-tolerant plants.
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A “coastal desert landscape,” right around the corner BY EVELYN SPENCE
Head down Via Real and peak around the corner onto Sentar Road, and you might catch a glimpse of large cacti and blooming succulents lining the front yard of a blue house – a “coastal desert landscape,” as put by the house’s owner, Gerald Enthoven. Enthoven, who boasts one of the lowest water bills in the Carpinteria Valley, said he ripped up his entire front lawn two years ago and – tired of the highwater bills and water waste – designed his own piece of desert paradise, right there in his front lawn. “(Our) water bill slashed in half,” he emphasized, gesturing to the collection of cacti, succulents and colorful decorations spread across his front yard, atop decomposed granite and gravel. “Nothing changed inside the house.” He points out a large metal dinosaur decoration, perfect for the “Jurassic” landscape. Enthoven said it took him three weeks to tear up his grass lawn, and that he designed the landscape himself, inspired by trips to the desert. He put a “weed cloth” underneath the granite and gravel to prevent weeds from sprouting up. “Fifteen years ago, I didn’t care… about the drought, I didn’t think there
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was water waste,” he said, noting that his family has lived in that house since 1983. But, inspired by the high bill and the need to do better for the environment, he set out to change that. Since pulling out his grass and planting cacti and succulents, Enthoven said people walking by have taken pictures of the outside of his house and knocked on his door, asking him to design their yards. His advice? It’s easy to pull off. “There is a little bit of a cost initially, with the plants, but it slashed my water bill,” he said. “It’s worth it... I’m very proud.” He also showed off his backyard to July 28, 2022 CVN, noting the expanse of green is actually AstroTurf, built to withstand the rough and tumble of his large dog and his seven grandkids. He started with renovating the backyard to be environmentally friendly five years ago as a passion project, before tackling the front. His house, he said, is built for parties and fun – and the best of all, he doesn’t have to worry about his yard being ruined, or the high bills that come with a grass lawn. “Two years ago, this was all grass,” he said. “All lawn – a waste of water.”
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Locally Owned. Lic. # 375514 Going green with less water
Gerald Enthoven stands next to a large cactus, part of his front yard that he transformed in to – in his own words – a “coastal desert landscape” two years ago.
Carpinteria Beautiful volunteers Ernie Merlan, left, and Joanna Norstedt, right, add a vibrant beach-themed design to an MTD bus bench on the oceanside of Carpinteria Avenue near the Reynolds Avenue on-ramp to Highway 101. The pair are part of a large crew of Carpinteria Beautiful volunteers who spend several Saturdays a year turning Carpinteria’s public benches into public art. See more bus bench painting on page 12.
Greg Novak is new girls volleyball coach
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KARLSSON Gerald Enthoven’s house, located on Sentar Road in Carpinteria, boasts one of the lowest water her bills in on thethe district to its drought-resistant Ashlee Morar keeps eye ball fordue return service. decorations.
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Carpinteria’s new coach Greg Novak is ready and excited for the upcoming season.
Warriors’ new volleyball coach gets girls ready for season WORDS BY RYAN P. CRUZ • PHOTOS BY ROBIN KARLSSON
Carpinteria’s newest coach, Greg Novak, has spent the last two decades coaching volleyball, but he didn’t even “catch the bug” and start playing himself until he was well into his 20s. A friend had taken him to Santa Barbara’s East Beach, a beach volleyball hotspot, and after his first serve, he fell in love. “I was there playing sunup to sundown,” he said. It was there at East Beach where he
met his wife, fellow volleyball head KC Collins. In 2001, the couple married and moved from Santa Barbara to Carpinteria, where they have both been coaching at the club and high school levels ever since. BRE#01383773 After helping out his wife, who was coaching Santa Barbara High’s frosh/ soph squad at the time, Novak started coaching with Santa Barbara Volleyball Club’s team, and eventually moved
over to Dos Pueblos, where he coached at all levels for about a decade. He found some success, clinching the girls volleyball CIF title in 2009, before leaving to take over a much smaller program at Cate School. Going from Dos Pueblos, where there was a “huge selection of kids,” he said, to Cate, a private school with a much smaller class size, was an adjustment. But Novak was able field a competitive team, reaching the CIF semifinals three
and time management,” but encourages all his players to have fun. “That’s a key point: make sure that they’re having fun while trying to make it as competitive as possible.” Novak has already started holding open gym workouts, getting to know some of the returning players on the roster, but he is still on the search for some assistants to help out this year. “We need coaches,” he said. He’s hoping that he gets some interest from former players
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