Sable Restarts Oil Production, Transport in Santa Barbara County After Federal Order

Noozhawk ^ | 3/16/2026 | Giana Magnoli

[WKTimpco]

Sable Offshore Corp. announced Monday that it restarted production on Platform Harmony and transporting oil to refineries in response to President Donald Trump and the Department of Energy ordering the move under the Defense Production Act.

The Texas-based company has been attempting to restart the oil production facilities in Santa Barbara County for several years, including the offshore platforms and pipelines to transport oil to refineries.

Local governments, environmental groups and residents have consistently pushed back, often citing safety concerns about major spills.

One of the Sable pipelines is the one that ruptured and caused the 2015 Refugio Oil Spill under the previous owner, Plains All American Pipeline.

[whitney69]

“The one beach you can drive on right to the surf line.”

You enter the beach at the state park at the pier that used to be right next to Lovern’s store where we bought out licenses to clam. Our property was about 200 yards south of the store on the beach hill.

Avila is a great beach for sand and fun at the volleyball nets. On the road that goes north off highway 1 right at the last look of the mountains before the beach is a norther road that has hot springs on it and we used to use that also.

On Pine street in Pismo used to be the best seafood restaurant on the west coast at Plessas Tavern. They are no longer in existence but their baked clam on the half shell was incredible. Knew the owner, Mr. Lazerus, and they were in action there for a couple of generations. The baked clam could be a pre dinner food or dinner food and you couldn’t seem to get enough of it.

http://ciadigitalcollections.culinary.edu/digital/collection/p16940coll1/id/2654/

The recipe is as follow:

1/2 cup Chopped bacon
1 Onion, chopped
8 Pismo clams, shelled and ground
8 Crackers, ground
1 cup Celery, chopped
1/2 cup Milk
1 Egg
Salt, pepper, and crushed corn flakes

Preparation Steps:

Sauté: Cook the chopped bacon and onion until they are browned.
Mix: Combine the ground clams, crushed crackers, celery, milk, egg, and salt/pepper to taste.
Combine: Mix the clam mixture into the bacon and onion, then cover with crushed corn flakes.
Bake: Bake until heated through and lightly browned on top.

You’ll die happy. And yes it reads cornflakes.

wy69

[pfflier]

Thanks for the recipe. My wife is the clam chowder gourmet.

Sycamore Hot Springs was a really nice place to go after a day at the beach. Hot tubs all over the hillside. We had someone's birthday party at "Tubby" the monster tub at the bottom of the hill. Something like 27 people. Still have the T-shirt from 1978 or so.

[whitney69]

“My wife is the clam chowder gourmet.”

Next time you’re in Pismo go to a little restaurant just above the peer in the city and have clam chowder at Splash. Some of the best I ever had.

When I was young, we would go to our cabin in the Pismo state park just south of the city a couple of miles after the Grover City stop light on the road where Grover City come out to the beach roads. We would drive in on a Friday night, exactly 169 miles. Have dinner at Plessas, then stop and get our licenses and snacks at Lovern’s and spend the night in the cabin. Next morning, early, we would hit the beach and clam until we limited. Let them rest next to the sink to open up, and drive just south of Oceano and get fresh veggies and dairy. Clean the clams, make the soup, and have it with sourdough.

If you have ever looked at the clammers and seen some out in deeper water standing up straight and backing up, they are using a drag fork which was invented by my grand uncle. He owned the first motel in the state park. He took a drag potato fork, put weights just above the tines, attached a chain to the handle and to a belt he wore, and put a measuring gage on it. Since the tines are reversed from a normal pitch fork, he could stand up and drag the fork in the sand and when he hit a clam, the fork would jump over it. He would them hook the clam with the tines, straighten the fork, and pick it straight up with the clam in the fork never bending over. And if a large wave hit him he could dig the fork in and take the hit.

It allowed us to go into deeper water where the clams were after a couple of large waves pulled them out to the beds at the breakers. There were four of us using them and we almost always limited. We saw a few sharks out there but at that time, jaws hadn’t been screened and we worked in away from them. We were there when about a 6 foot sand shark got between about a dozen clammers and the beach and they proceeded to poke it to death, pull it in, and get it into the bed of a pickup and drove away with it. They ate good that night.

wy69

[whitney69]

pfflier, for the wife

Splash Clam Chowder:

Ingredients

1 kg (approx. 2 lbs) fresh clams or 3-4 cans (6.5 oz) chopped clams
5 strips bacon, chopped
1 large onion, diced
2-3 stalks celery, diced
1-2 leeks, cleaned and chopped (optional)
1.5 lbs potatoes, cubed (Yukon gold recommended)
4 tbsp butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cups clam juice (reserved from steaming or bottled)
500 ml whole milk
200 ml double cream or heavy cream
1 bay leaf
Salt, pepper, and fresh parsley to taste

Instructions
Prep Clams & Bacon: If using fresh, steam clams until opened, remove meat, and reserve the broth. In a large pot, cook bacon until crispy, then remove and set aside, leaving the fat in the pot.
Sauté Veggies: Add onions, celery, and leeks to the bacon fat (add butter if needed) and cook until soft.
Make Roux & Base: Stir flour into the vegetables and cook for 1-2 minutes. Slowly whisk in the clam broth and fish stock/milk, bringing it to a simmer until it thickens.
Simmer: Add cubed potatoes and bay leaf. Simmer for 15-20 minutes until potatoes are fork-tender.
Finish: Stir in the clam meat, cream, and cooked bacon. Heat through but do not boil.
Serve: Season with salt and pepper, garnish with fresh parsley, and serve in sourdough bread bowls.

wy69