Archive for the ‘Columns & Essays’ Category
Decolonizing Columbus
I love Columbus Day because it reminds me of a bygone era before children were taught to hate their own country, its founding and its history. Now, we teach students that they live on stolen land and are descended from genocidal oppressors. Must do wonders for their social emotional wellness. Our local Human Rights Commission […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, History, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 3 Comments
Tags: America, Christopher Columbus, Columbus Day, explorer, Galvin Middle School, General John Galvin, headdress, History, humor Wakefield High School, Indians, Indigenous People, Indigenous Peoples Day, Majorettes, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, Native Americans, Opinion, Politics, restorative justice, schools, Wakefield, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Human Rights Commission, Wakefield School Committee, Wakefield Warriors, Warrior logo
Policy of truth
“We’re only getting rid of the Warrior logo. The Warrior name can stay.” How many times did we hear those soothing words of assurance over the last year? I didn’t believe it the first time I heard it and I don’t believe it now. Even before they cancelled the logo, I said, “They’ll be back […]
Filed under: Art, Columns & Essays, Humor, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 18 Comments
Tags: Cyrus Wakefield, definition, dictionary, Eagle Feather, Hiker, Humor, immigrants, Indian, Lakers, logos, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, Native American, Opinion, policy, Politics, Richard Bayrd, School Committee, schools, team names, violence, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield High School, Wakefield Human Rights Commission, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Public Schools, Wakefield Warrior, war, warrior, wicker, Youth Council
Cruel summer
August was not a good month for those who believe they have the power to control the weather. Things started to go downhill on Aug. 12, when those climate deniers at the Department of Public Utilities hastened the incineration of the planet by approving Project 2015A. Project 2015A a natural gas-fired plant to be sited […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 8 Comments
Tags: automobiles, battery, Boston Globe, cars, charging stations, Chevrolet Bolt, climate, coal, DPU, electric cars, electricity generation, energy, environment, environmental justice, EVs, fossil fuels, Fox News, General Motors, Humor, Mark Sardella, MCAN, MMWEC, narural gas, nuclear power, oil, Opinion, Peabody, peak power, PMLP, Politics, Project 2015A, public power, recall, reliability, renewables, solar power, Tesla, Wakefield, Wakefield Daily Item, WakefieldMA, wind power, WMGLD
Secret summer retreat
Only the most jaded cynic would question the School Committee’s decision to discuss the “next steps” in the process for the Wakefield Warrior logo at a Saturday morning meeting in the dead of summer that wasn’t being recorded on ZOOM or cable. So, when a reporter and two members of the public showed up at […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, History, Humor, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 7 Comments
Tags: Ami Wall, apology, Critical Race Theory, culturally responsive teaching, Dorothy Presser, Douglas Lyons, education, Galvin Middle School, Humor, Indians, Indigenous People, Mark Sardella, Mike Boudreau, Native Americans, Open Meeting Law, Opinion, Politics, professional development, public meetings, retreat, schools, teaching, Town Election, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield School Committee, Warrior logo
Power to the people
Remember all the way back to last week, when we had a four-day heat wave? I realize that the return to winter weather over the July Fourth weekend tends to blunt the memory of what came before. But three of those days, June 28, 29 and 30, brought temperatures of between 97 and 100, coupled […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 1 Comment
Tags: Breathe Clean North Shore, capacity, carbon, climate, climate activists, CO2, electricity, energy, environmental activists, environmental justice, Environmental police, Eversource, fanatics air conditioning, fossil feuls, heat wave, Humor, Julie Smith-Galvin, Mark Sardella, MMWEC, National Grid, natural gas, Opinion, Peabody, peak power, peaker, Politics, power, power cpmpanies, Project 2015A, renewable energy, solar power, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department, Wakefield Town Council, weather, wind power, WMGLD
High school confidential
If you thought the Warrior logo issue that roiled the Wakefield community last spring was just going to go away quietly, that’s what’s known as wishful thinking. At least that’s what the anti-logo side was wishing would happen. But the Warrior logo is back in the news, and once again, it wasn’t the pro-logo side […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, History, Humor, Wakefield | 2 Comments
Tags: Ami Wall, Doug Lyons, election, Humor, Indian, logo, Mark Sardella, Native American, Opinion, Politics, public records, Richard Bayrd, school, School Committee, survey, Suzy Veilleux, Wakefield, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield High School, warrior
Train in vain
WAKEFIELD, MA — The closure since last November of the Broadway commuter rail crossing has certainly been no picnic for many, and the damage to nearby businesses is not to be minimized. At the same time, I’m an optimist by nature, and in the spirit of this week’s theme of arcane 1970s pop culture references, […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, History, Humor, News, Opinion, Wakefield | 2 Comments
Tags: Boys & Girls Club, Broadway, crossing, Federal Railroad Administration, FRA, Greenwood, gridlock, Harvard Mills, Humor, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, Monty Python, New Englnd Dragway, Opinion, Politics, quiet zone, railroad, traffic, train, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, Wesr Side
Field House of Dreams
If the town is still divided as a result of the Warrior logo issue, you wouldn’t have known it from last Saturday’s Town Meeting, where things were so congenial, I feared a chorus of Kumbaya might break out at any moment. Mercifully, the proceedings came to a close before anything so unseemly could transpire. Compared […]
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Tags: Bill Carroll, caffeine, COVID, division, Field House, harmony, Humor, kumbaya, Mark Sardella, Moderator, Opinion, Politics, Saturday, sleep, Town Meeting, unity, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield High School, warrant, Warrior logo
