Archive for the ‘Columns & Essays’ Category
Foreseen Circumstances
QUESTION: During the campaign to legalize recreational marijuana in Massachusetts, how many times were we assured that legalization would never lead to increased use by teens? ANSWER: About the same number of times we were told that legalizing weed would not result in more highway deaths in Massachusetts. Go explain how that works to the […]
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Tags: alcohol, Christopher Desir, crash, David Bell, driving, drugs, DUI, East Bridgewater, Eryck Sablah, herb, legalization, marijuana, Mark Sardella, Naiquan D. Hamilton, Nicholas Joyce, Opinion, OUI, Politics, pot, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield High School, Wakefield MA, weed, Youth Risk Behavior Survey, YRBS
Street view
Monday was like Christmas in August for me. Did the town rescind the plastic bag ban? Did the Town Council go back to being the Board of Selectmen? Sadly, the answer to both of those questions is “no.” But something almost as good happened. The 2018 edition of my favorite book was released. I’m not […]
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Tags: 1936, 2018, Board of Assessors, Board of Registrars, Board of Selectmen, books, Christmas, directory, female, genders, Humor, inclusivity, male, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, Opinion, Politics, residents, Street List, Town Council, voters, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, World War II Memorial
Meeting expectations
I’m starting a petition to ban petitions. Actually, I would never do that. First of all, I’m much too lazy and second, it would involve talking to people, which I try to avoid whenever possible. Saying that I want to start a petition against petitions is an attempt at irony. Not intended to be ironic […]
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Tags: agendas, Board of Selectmen, branding, digital, downtown, Favermann Design, government meetings, Humor, kiosk, Mark Favermann, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, Open Meeting Law, Opinion, Politics, Town Council, transparency, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Main Streets, wayfinding, WCAT
Kiosk chaos
This whole business of letting a group of citizens work their butts off for months or years on some worthy project only to have others swoop in at the eleventh hour and scuttle all that effort is getting a little old. We saw it with the Public Safety Building. And now we’re seeing it with […]
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By MARK SARDELLA Easily, the strength of Gloucester Stage Company’s current production, Cyrano, is in the performances of the professional cast. The five-member cast plays a multitude of roles in this adaptation of Edmond Rostand’s 1897 classic Cyrano de Bergerac by Jason O’Connell and Brenda Withers.
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Tags: Andrea Goldman, Brenda Withers, Cyrano, Edmond Rostand, Feremiah Kissel, Gary Ng, Gloucester Stage, James Ricaro Milord, Jason O'Connell, Mark Sardella, Nicole Washington, Paul Melendy, play drama, Robert Walsh., theater, theatre, Wakefield Daily Item
How to vote
There are few responsibilities easier for citizens to fulfill than voting. Last week, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court agreed, at least when it comes to requiring voters to be registered before election day. It’s a safeguard that allows city and town clerks to verify the eligibility of each would-be voter. Why anyone would be against […]
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Tags: apathy, Attorney General, early voting, elections, Mark Sardella, notification, Open Meeting Law, public meetings, Public Safety Building, registration, SJC, Stephen P. Maio, Supreme Judicial Court, town hall, Town Meeting, Tpwn Clerk, voter fraud, voters, voting, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA
Why Bother?
It’s a question that lots of people have to be asking themselves in the wake of Tuesday’s election results. Anyone who attended Annual Town Meeting and sat through a two-and-a-half hour presentation and debate and then voted with the overwhelming majority in favor of the Public Safety Building project could hardly be blamed for wondering […]
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SMWs Unite!
If there’s anyone more insufferable than a Social Justice Warrior, it’s a Social Media Warrior. However irritating they may be, at least Social Justice Warriors can usually parrot some tired talking points in defense of their positions. All Social Media Warriors care about is being one of the cool kids. They’ll say whatever they think […]
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Tags: alcohol, Board of Selectmen, COPS, DUI, eatery, fingerprints, food, Greenwood Plaza, law, law enforcement, liquor, liquor license, Mark Sardella, police, Police Chief Rick Smith, restaurant, Richard Smith, SJW, SMW, Social Justice Warrior, Social Media Warrior, Tequilas Mexican Cantina, Town Council, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA
I’ll resist calling it “entertaining,” but it has been fascinating to watch the ongoing feud between the Wakefield Farmers Market and The Bread Shop. A year ago, Farmers Market manager Wendy Dennis initially denied The Bread Shop’s application to have a table at the Wakefield Farmers Market but later grudgingly relented after The Bread Shop […]
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Tags: artisan, bakery, Board of Selectmen, bread, cheese, competition, elitist, food, France, fruit, hippie, Humor, locally grown, Mark Sardella, Opinion, pastry, Politics, shop local, social media, Socialist, The Bread Shop, Town Council, vegetables, vendors, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Farmers Market, Wendy Dennis
Mark Sardella 