Columns & Essays | Mark Sardella

Archive for the ‘Columns & Essays’ Category

Royal pains

20Jun25

Last Saturday was something called “No King’s Day,” a nationwide protest brought to you by those who have convinced themselves that the White House is currently occupied by a man who would be king. He must be a very benevolent monarch, since he allowed the hundreds of protests against him last weekend to go on […]

Filed under: Columns & Essays, History, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 1 Comment
Tags: business, Constitution, democracy, demonstration, Donald Trump, Hart's Hardware, History, Home Depot, Humor, ice, immigration, Mark Sardella, Market Basket, No Kings, Opinion, parking, Politics, President, protest, protestors, signs, stores, The Farmland, United States, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA

Retreat to paradise

30May25

One of your new Town Councilors wants Wakefield to be more like Lexington, Northampton and Georgetown. Another would like the Council to think about “scaling back” the public’s online access to meetings via Zoom. And although the “T” word was never uttered, most councilors are very worried about “what’s going on in Washington” and how […]

Filed under: Columns & Essays, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 1 Comment
Tags: affordable housing, bicycle network, Disabilities Commission, economic development, Georgetown, goals, Housing Production Plan, John Crisley, Jonathan Chines, Lexington, marketplace, Massachusetts, Mehreen Butt, Michael McLane, mom and pop, Northampton, Open Meeting Law, priorites, public participation, retreat, selectmen, single-family home, Stephen Maio, Town Council, Town Planner, traffic, transportation, Wakefield MA, Wakefield School Committee, Washington DC, Zoom

Fear and loathing at Town Meeting

02May25

It would be tedious and boring if it weren’t so dangerous. Another anti-Israel article will appear on Monday’s Annual Town Meeting warrant as a result of a citizens’ petition. It’s the third consecutive Wakefield Town Meeting that such an article has appeared on the warrant. The first one appeared on last year’s Annual Town Meeting […]

Filed under: Columns & Essays, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 2 Comments
Tags: antisemitism, BDS, boycott, citizens petition, divestment, Gaza, Hamas, hate, Israel, Israelis, Mark Sardella, Middle East, October 7, Opinion, Palestine, Politics, propaganda, sanctions, terrorists, Town Meeting, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Human Rights Commission, Wakefield MA, warrant

A hero remembered

25Apr25

There are heroes walking among us, but the true heroes don’t go around seeking recognition for their deeds. We lost another one of those authentic heroes last week. I count myself fortunate for having known World War II veteran Alfred Willett. Al was 85 years old in 2010 when I had the honor and privilege […]

Filed under: Columns & Essays, Feature stories, History, Wakefield | 4 Comments
Tags: 29th Artillery Division, Al Willett, Alfred Willett, D-Day, Daily Item, Normandy, Omaha Beach, United States Army, US Army, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Mass, Wakefield Massachusetts, World War 2, World War II

Mean streets

04Apr25

I’m told that my last column was insensitive to those who despise Elon Musk and Tesla with every fiber of their being. So, allow me to make amends and start off today’s column by saying something positive. Last Saturday was International Tesla Takedown Day, but unlike their brothers and sisters in arms, our local protesters […]

Filed under: Columns & Essays, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 2 Comments
Tags: cars, Climate Change, DOGE, electric vehicles, Elon Musk, EV, fossil fuels, Humor, Mark Sardella, opimion, Politics, protesters, Resistance, Tesla, Tesla Takedown, Wakefield Daily Item, WakefieldMA

Senior movement

21Mar25

If you ventured to downtown Wakefield last Saturday morning, you may have thought you’d stumbled upon an open-air AARP meeting. In reality, it was a couple of dozen Woodstock alumni holding handmade (or is it handmaid?) signs proclaiming their disapproval of the current administration in Washington.

Filed under: Columns & Essays, History, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 4 Comments
Tags: 1776, 1960s, AARP, activists, demonstration, Donald Trump, Elon Musk, handmaids, History, Humor, Kamal Harris, MA, Malrose MA, Mark Sardella, Medicaid, News, Occupy Wall Street, Oligarchy, Opinion, paddles, Politics, protest, Resistance, signs, Sixties, Tesla, virtue signaling, Wakefield, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, Washington, Woodstock

Environmental justice

28Feb25

Monday’s Wakefield Town Council meeting felt like karma. And you know what they say about karma. On Monday, the Town Council pulled the plug on the “Decarbonization Roadmap.” Creating the Roadmap was key step in the process of joining the state’s “Climate Leader Communities” program. To appreciate why this is so delicious, return with me, […]

Filed under: Columns & Essays, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 1 Comment
Tags: Attorney General, boondoggle, Climate Change, Climate Leader Communities, Decarbonization Roadmap, Ed Dombroski, electric cars, environmental justice, Environmental Sustainabilty Committee, Global Warming, Humor, Joe Wakefield, Jonathan Chines, Joseph Conway, Julie Smith-Galvin, karma, Mark Sardella, Mike McLane, net-zero, Open Meeting Law, Opinion, Politics, Scot McCauley, taxpayers, Town Council, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Town Council

More Executive Orders

14Feb25

After the outpouring of love following my first round of Executive Orders, as a Valentine’s Day gift to my readers I am issuing a new list of decrees sure to warm the hearts of the Compassionate Community. When it comes to issuing Executive Orders, I can’t possibly keep up with the new president. Still, I […]

Filed under: Columns & Essays, Humor, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | Leave a Comment
Tags: barthroom, baseball, Benjamin Franklin, bicyclists, Board of Aldermen, cent, DOGE, Donald Trump, early voting, election, Elon Musk, Executive Orders, gender neutral, Greenwood, Hall of Fame, Humor, Joe Jackson, like, mail-in voting, Mark Sardella, Opinion, Our Democracy, penny, Pete Rose, Politics, railroad crossing, restroom, select board, selectmen, Sudafed, Super Bowl, toilet seat, Town Council, Town Counsel, Valentine's Day, Voter ID, voting age, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, Youth Council

My executive orders

31Jan25

As you are no doubt aware, the new president wasted no time issuing a flurry of Executive Orders, which have the usual suspects clutching their pearls. He has restored Mt. McKinley to its rightful name. He has ordered that the Gulf of Mexico will henceforth be the Gulf of America. He has ordered all federal […]

Filed under: baseball, Columns & Essays, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 3 Comments
Tags: Alaska, American Flag, automobiles, ballplayer, baseball, bicyc;es, bike lanes, cars, Cleveland Indians, coal, Daylight Saving Time, designated hitter, Donald Trump, Eastern Time, electricity, Executive Orders, Fighting Irish, flag poles, flagpoles, flags, football, ghost runner, Gulf of America, Gulf of Mexico, heat, Humor, Indians, Major League Baseball, Mark Sardella, Melrose Red Raiders, MLB, motor vehicles, mountain, Mt. Denali, Mt. McKinley, names, National Football League, Native American, natural gas, NFL, Notre Dame, oil, Opinion, paper bags, pitch clock, plastic bags, Politics, POW-MIA, President, re-useable bags, roads, sidewalks., softball, Standard Time, Stop & Shop, streets, time zones, United States, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Warriors, Washington Redskins

Subject matter experts

24Jan25

When you attend a lot of municipal meetings, you come to learn that each board has its own pet buzzwords and phrases. But one phrase favored across the board by local government bodies is the term “subject matter experts.” Town boards and committees rely on these subject matter experts to inform and validate their actions […]