We did it again!
Noozhawk was selected as the best Santa Barbara-based website for the Independent’s Best of Santa Barbara 2025 reader poll.
Our staff of reporters, editors and photographers work hard every day to provide the vital local news Santa Barbara County needs. We appreciate the community support and the bragging rights that come with this recognition.
Noozhawk previously won best Santa Barbara-based website in 2017, and has been a runner-up in the category every other year since 2016 – often to the Independent itself, another go-getter in local news.
Noozhawk stories are all available to readers for free, without a paywall, on the website and in daily email newsletters.
We post stories about local government, neighborhood schools, breaking news, wildfires, restaurant openings and closings, housing development, high school sports and so much more. (Are we the reason you knew it was going to rain this week?)
We publish information about events, fundraisers and workshops for community groups and nonprofit organizations. We also post obituaries for no cost.
It’s all in the service of spreading the word and keeping the community informed in good times and in bad.
“We greatly appreciate the support and this recognition for what we do from our readers in the Santa Barbara County community,” said Tom Bolton, Noozhawk editor in chief.
“We do what we do at Noozhawk because we believe in the critical importance of local news reporting. Along with our media friends, we work hard every day to keep our communities up to date and well- informed.”
Getting the “Best of” title comes as Noozhawk is celebrating its 18th birthday and reflecting on how far this organization has come.
Since 2007, Noozhawk has grown from two reporters and a copy editor to 11 news reporters and editors, a sports team, a dedicated crew of contributors and columnists, and a robust sales and marketing team.
Stay tuned for more on our milestone birthday, and to learn how you can keep us going for the next 18 years.