Sixteen million clicks, two years, countless conversations — and still going strong.
Two years. Can you believe it? Since November 15, 2023, Santa Barbara Current has landed in your inbox every single day — and together, we’ve built something extraordinary.
What began as a small idea — honest, independent coverage of our community — has become a daily conversation, shaped by thousands of readers who care about Santa Barbara and how stories are told.
752 Issues (And Many More to Come)
The SBCurrent community now includes more than 40,000 subscribers, with over a third of you reading us every day. Together, we’ve reached 16 million reads, averaging 22,000 clicks daily.
For 752 consecutive days, we’ve delivered fresh content every single day — hundreds of stories, essays, and opinions from over 40 talented contributors. Over these two years, DID YOU KNOW has appeared 87 times, offering curious readers a closer look at the stories behind the headlines. And you, our readers, have brought it all to life — questioning, celebrating, and keeping the conversation vibrant. Daily content. No days off. Still going strong!
This anniversary isn’t just about numbers. It’s about what we’ve built together: a community of curious minds, thoughtful voices, and engaged readers. Your support — through every click, comment, and share — is what makes this possible.
The numbers are impressive. But the conversations? Priceless.
So today, we celebrate you. You’ve made SB Current a living, breathing conversation. You’ve turned curiosity into engagement, and engagement into community. Thank you for being part of this journey — for reading, commenting, sharing, and showing up. This milestone? It’s ours — readers, writers, and everyone in between.
And now, in true celebration, the mic goes to you, our readers. Here are some of your reflections, congratulations, and thoughts on what SB Current means — because this anniversary belongs to everyone who has made it possible.
In Appreciation I turn the Mic to YOU!!!
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The Wind Behind Santa Barbara’s Back
SB Current remains my own daily tonic. Many thanks to those regulars who contribute formal articles with their in-depth research and engaging topics. Many, many thanks to our local watchdogs Bonnie Donovan and Andy Caldwell, who connect so deeply with our highly local issues, personalities, policies, and perfidies. And enduring thanks to all the regulars, whose follow-up comments keeps it all real. A remarkable milestone.
We were an anonymous in-gathering of strangers two years ago, to now being a very welcome in-crowd of conservatives who keep this important flame alive in our increasingly alien, political landscape. May Santa Barbara Current continue to widen its reach and grow its numbers. Nationwide, the wind is behind our backs. But in our own beloved California, not so much.
Thanks also to founders Jim Buckley, James Fenkner, and you too, founder Bonnie Donovan, for keeping this lifeline of diverse thought and discussion alive after the demise of the former SB News-Press Voices pages. My own life in this town would not be the same without SB Current. I get plenty of exposure to the “other side” from our local media monopoly, but this is where I find my real spiritual home.
elce
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A Welcome Respite
SB Current is like an oasis in the news desert of Santa Barbara
I enjoy the comments as much as the columns
Thanks for a breath of sanity!
Michael Self
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A Safe Place to Heal
We have a city and a state to save. Santa Barbara Current has done a great job of giving real reports in the face of the Globalist/Democratic Party propaganda that nearly every other news site, paper, or magazine, in this county churns out. Now we have an election year coming up and a helluva lot of Gerrymandering crapola to overcome. In SB Current’s coming year, I’d like to see more focus on the issues and problems that most people — regardless of political party — can and will relate to. The Left has done a brilliant job of destroying intelligent debate and discussion in California communities. Santa Barbara has been a place of healing for many of its citizens. We who have benefited from that need to heal Santa Barbara now.
Polly Frost
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A Great Daily Read
Hi Bonnie: Yes, here’s to many more years ahead for The Santa Barbara Current. I have enjoyed reading it on a daily basis and believe that the comments from the readers are a great way to hear different opinions on many subjects that are important in today’s world. I especially think that the columns on the running of our city and county of Santa Barbara and the information that is provided is especially valuable to those that want to stop the destruction of our town. Thank you.
Monica Bond
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An Intelligent View From the Other Side
What I appreciate about the Current is that it is one of the few sources of news and opinion in Santa Barbara that diverges from the progressive left-wing Santa Barbara ethos, which some of us find toxic. I enjoy the diversity of pieces - from Bonnie Donovan‘s updates on what’s going on in City Hall, to Calla Corner’s lovely reminiscence of life in France. The comments on the political scene are very well written and enjoyable. I appreciate the fact that every once in a while I get tapped to tackle a subject that most people wouldn’t touch with a 10-foot pole. I also enjoy the opportunity to jump in with a comment on the day’s post. I don’t get involved in verbal volleyball with the naysayers, however.
Paul Aijian
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Santa Barbara Today; Next, the World!
When I first heard it was near the anniversary of the start-up of Santa Barbara Current, my first reaction was “How quickly time passes.”
It seems only a month ago that we were reading the week-end editions of the News-Press, where many of today’s SBC writers contributed their weekly columns.
Bonnie allowed me to contribute to some of her columns back then. It was great fun for me to be her assistant.
When Santa Barbara Current got under way, I wrote a few columns, but I also very much enjoyed reading the work of others and having the opportunity to write comments on the material I had read.
For me, the great advantage of Santa Barbara Current is exactly that, the opportunity to participate in the conversations that ensue from the columns written by others.
I am very encouraged by the amazing growth of participation in Santa Barbara Current. The potential is not just here in Santa Barbara County, but across California. How about “Orange County Current” next?
Why not think about a franchise-like organization to establish “County Current” organizations across the state?
If this mode of communication and participation can grow so fast in Santa Barbara, it seems likely that it could grow fast everywhere in California, given the tools and the opportunities for participation. The “Current” influence could grow rapidly, who knows how far?
I want to thank Bonnie, James, and Jim for allowing me to participate in this start-up adventure in communications. And, to congratulate them for the great success of the experiment they founded.
Derek Hanley
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We’d love to hear from even more of you: add your comment and join the celebration!
Community Calendar:
Got a Santa Barbara event for our community calendar? Fenkner@sbcurrent.com