We're keen to understand the issues that most animate this community, to help broaden our reporting ideas — but we cannot do it without you.

Meet us at the library for a neighbourhood discussion about the gaps in news coverage that you want to see us fill for Willowdale.

For a moment, it seemed like we were all holding a collective breath. Last Friday evening, as the Artemis II crew made their way to Earth, people gathered around televisions or other devices to track the spacecraft’s re-entry. We watched as the four astronauts aboard the Orion capsule splashed down as planned into the Pacific Ocean off of the coast of San Diego. It was, by all accounts, a textbook landing.

The Artemis II splashdown was a world away from Willowdale. And yet, it was a welcome distraction from everything that has been going on. Between global wars and tensions, the idea of normalcy seems fragile at best. Even if such conflicts may not affect our personal lives, the effects on our day-to-day lives, from economic to psychological, are evident. And don’t even get me started on the weather, where it goes from almost summer-like conditions to another slap of winter’s windchill from one day to the next.

When I stepped out of my home the next morning, to go for a swim at the Douglas Snow Aquatic Centre, I marvelled at the many signs of spring that are finally at our doorstep. I heard – then saw – a cardinal and a blue jay; the latter reminded me of our beloved baseball team. (Yes, I will admit to being one of the bandwagoners.) I saw shoots springing out of the ground where I know tulips will eventually burst forth. And I saw buds on trees, which will eventually turn into massive blooms that will then carpet the pavement underneath.

So it is with springtime hope and wonder that I write to you now – to welcome you to the Willowdale Wire. My colleague Rachel Chen and I have embarked on this project because of our love for this neighbourhood and the community that lives here. Ever since I moved to Canada in 1998, Willowdale has been my home; with a few errant years in Mississauga and Vaughn in between (but we won’t talk about them). I have always appreciated living in Willowdale, even when people used to think that anything north of Bloor Street was the boonies.

Today, I love how vibrant this community has become over the past decade and counting. On a warm summer evening (it’s coming, I keep telling myself!), as I stroll down Yonge Street between Finch and Sheppard Avenues, it feels full of life, like any main street of a metropolitan city. Of course, with dynamism come new challenges that we need to negotiate. Through the Willowdale Wire, we hope to celebrate what makes the community unique, while also addressing harder issues together.

We will have an inaugural meeting on April 16, at 6:30 pm at North York Central Library. We would love to meet some of our neighbours and understand what they might expect from a local news organization – what type of stories they would like us to look into, what sort of events we can help organize to facilitate local engagement, suggestions of residents or organizations that we should profile.

We hope to see you there!

Stay in touch as we develop this newsletter and stay tuned for future stories! Know someone looking for local news in Willowdale? We would love it if you would forward this their way.

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The Willowdale Wire