The year 2020 will forever be an unforgettable one. It certainly was for all of us in Oakville and throughout Halton, but so too it was for the staff team of Oakville News and Oakvillenews.org.
We launched our brand new website and we're finishing the year as our most-read ever. But one of the most interesting things we like to see is which stories really take off with our readers - what are the topics that interest, excite, engage and inspire us the most?
So we've collected a list of the ten most read stories of the year, counting down to recap some of the biggest events and stories that impacted us in town.
Of course, there's so much that happened this year. Our most inspiring and best local stories have been gathered in Kim Arnott's look back of 2020 in Oakville, but even beyond that there was so much more.
There were police incidents and arrests, new ways to celebrate holidays and events amidst a pandemic, countless charitable successes, marches and peaceful protests for the Black Lives Matter movement, new adventures at places around the GTA (including a memorable zoo visit) and for the first time, we covered not one but two major film festivals - most of which online. And none of that includes the hundreds of near-daily coronavirus updates we've been writing since March.
But without further ado, here are the ten most-read stories with Oakville News of 2020....
10. Dark Days for Oakville Restaurants
Back in late May, our Thomas Desormeaux did a deep-dive look into the challenges that were facing restaurants across town. It was an early look and foreshadowing of the restrictions, rules and uphill battle ahead as restaurants continue to face limits, stigma and new challenges to survive in a COVID-19 world.
9. Fraser Institute's 2019 Rankings of Oakville High Schools
Every June, towards the end of the school year, the Fraser Institute ranks every public school in Ontario on a long list of criteria. This year, two local secondary schools cracked the top 10 in the province.
See this year's rankings and the results of schools in Oakville.
8. Face Masks Made Mandatory
On Thursday, July 9, 2020, Halton regional council voted unanimously to make wearing face masks mandatory in all indoor public spaces. A special virtual meeting happened the night before, and Oakville Transit made masks mandatory for all riders just a week earlier. By the end of the month, there was a new normal for people both in Oakville and around the world: the science was clear that masks were one of the best prevention methods of COVID-19 (and would soon become a fashion trend in and of itself!)
Read about how the masks became bylaws in town.
7. Drive-by Shooting on Napier Crescent
In the early morning of Friday, May 29, 2020, several shots were fired at a residential home. Thankfully nobody was injured, but this puzzling case of a suspect targeting the wrong home was our most-read crime story of the year. Our editor-in-chief followed this story, and Oakville News also reported on the arrest of two suspects as the investigation concluded.
Read the original news story from the morning after.
6. Halton held back moving into Stage 3
In mid-July, an announcement was made that, alongside Toronto and Peel, Oakville and Halton would have to wait before being permitted to enter Stage 3 of Ontario's former designations system for business restrictions in the pandemic. There was an immediate frustration and disappointment - though the extension lasted only one more week before Stage 3 began.
Here's the story outlining the reasoning for holding back the new rules.
5. Fraser Institute's 2019 Rankings of Oakville Elementary Schools
Like the high school rankings, the Fraser Institute also ranks all the Ontario elementary schools. More than one-third of the top 10% in the province came from Oakville - 36% to be exact. That's an impressive figure, especially knowing there are 3,000 elementary schools in the province and 45 of them are in our town.
See this year's rankings for all the elementary schools in Oakville.
4. Concern for a new Amazon Fulfillment Centre
A vacant warehouse in southeast Oakville is slated to become a new Amazon distribution centre - but the neighbours are concerned it will bring traffic jams and truck noise. Increased traffic, provincial zoning, site applications and economic development are just some of the many aspects our Kim Arnott investigated in this story on a divisive project.
Read about the site application and the response from nearby Joshua Creek residents.
3. Oakville prepares for the Second Shutdown
Published just last Tuesday, December 22 - it took less than a week for this update on the new rules for our current province-wide shutdown to become our third most-read story of the entire year. Called "Lockdown 2.0", this was published to re-iterate the rules that will be in effect for Halton region until at least Saturday, January 23, 2020.
Read about the rules currently in effect for Ontario's shutdown.
2. Halton Moves to the Red-Control Level
It was only the second week of Ontario's new framework for classifying regions in coloured-tier levels for long-term management of the COVID-19 pandemic. The new levels for rules and permitted openings had started Oakville (and Halton) in the yellow level - and on day #5 of the new system, Oakville was told it would move into the Red-Control Level; the second strictest of the pandemic. Hundreds of businesses in town were immediately restricted or closed, still feeling the impacts today.
Read the original report of moving to the Red Level.
1. The Passing of Tammy Cuoto
Tammy was a landmark restauranteur in the Oakville scene, co-owner of Seasons, Corks and Bru restaurants. She passed away in September at the age of 53, only six days after she received a cancer diagnosis. Tammy had been an Oakville resident for 48 years - almost 90% of her life. She was a celebrated member of our local community and she is dearly missed by many.
Read her full obituary with Oakville News.
Thanks for joining us in our walk down memory lane, but more so, thank you for continuing to read, learn, share and enjoy the work done by our team at Oakville News. Here's to all the great stories to tell in 2021!