We're back

Thomas Wolfe was wrong; you really can go home again.

In response to an overwhelming show of support from readers, community leaders and concerned citizens, we are now in the process of returning to Westmount, lock, stock and coffee machine, into the same office suite we vacated back in early February.

The separation, as they say, didn't work out.

When it was announced two months ago that the Examiner and West End Chronicle would be leaving their Victoria Avenue offices and set up shop in the main regional facility in LaSalle, some people, like Mayor Karin Marks and former mayor May Cutler, immediately sprung into action and voiced their vehement opposition to our parent company, Transcontinental Media. Others were not so polite or diplomatic; they accused the Examiner of abandoning the community, leaving them with no decent alternative publication. Some were downright rude—"absolutely ballistic" was how I described them in a Gazette article last week—shouting at me on the phone, accusing me of betraying Westmount and complaining about the French-only greeting on the new main phone line. No matter how much I tried to assure them that their Examiner would be the same as long as I was editor, they wouldn't hear it.

For a while, it seemed, I was no more popular in Westmount than Pierre Bourque, even though the move to LaSalle was certainly not my idea.

Now, as I sit writing amidst a pile of boxes, waiting for the tech people to come and take my computer away, I would like to say just how flattered I have been by those of you who offered kind words and support—and yes, even those who were not so gracious. A big thank-you to you all for letting us know, in no uncertain terms, that the Examiner is a valued part of this community.

And please, do drop by to see us in our old office at 245 Victoria.