Archive for the ‘Columns & Essays’ Category

The recent candidates debates at WCAT once again proved to be a valuable tool in informing the voters about the candidates and issues in advance of the April 26 Town Election. I was happy once again to have had the privilege of serving on the press panel that posed questions, in two separate debates, to […]


by MARK SARDELLA For nearly two hours, Anthony Amore entertained the packed audience at The Savings Bank Theater with tales of art theft and the sometimes colorful but often inept characters that perpetrate such crimes. Amore was the opening speaker in the 2016 Sweetser Lecture Series in Wakefield, Massachusetts. As head of security and chief […]


Thanks to ‘Wakefield Main Streets’ program By MARK SARDELLA WAKEFIELD — You’ve seen the flower barrels currently along Main Street in the downtown filled with colorful plantings from spring through summer. Starting in May, look for some new additions to that downtown beautification effort. The Wakefield Main Streets program will be providing four new self-watering […]


Sometimes the solutions to our problems are so close we overlook them. I am speaking of course of the new “Wakefield Walk” proposal that would make Main Street one-way heading north from the Melrose line to Lowell Street. The northbound lane would remain open to vehicular traffic with no changes. The southbound lane would become […]


Identity crisis

26Mar16

Identity theft is big business – not only for the thieves but for a host of companies that have sprung up to help consumers thwart those who would steal the identities of others. But increasingly, identity theft is being committed in connection with other crimes, like drug trafficking. Police are all too aware of this […]


by MARK SARDELLA When it comes to larceny, people seem far more fascinated with art theft and fraud than with other types of robberies and scams. Part of the intrigue likely stems from the myth of the gentleman art thief, according to security expert Anthony Amore, who will kick off the 2016 Sweetser Lecture Series […]


It’s been a tough week for the Cannabis Community. Last weekend, the Boston Globe published an op-ed piece opposing legalization of marijuana co-written by Gov. Charlie Baker, Attorney General Maura Healey and Boston Mayor Marty Walsh. Then, adding insult to injury, on Tuesday the much anticipated Report of the Special Senate Committee on Marijuana was […]


Hunger games

04Mar16

It’s Restaurant Week in Wakefield, as proclaimed by the Chamber of Commerce. My Facebook friends would tell you that based on my check-ins, every week is restaurant week for me. Hey, at least I’m supporting the local economy.


“Sorry” continues the Apple family saga at Stoneham Theatre Memory, like family, is about connections. And Sorry, currently on stage at Stoneham Theatre, is about both. Sorry is part 3 of Richard Nelson’s series, “The Apple Family Plays.” (The first in the cycle, “That Hopey Changey Thing,” was produced by Stoneham Theatre last year. Gloucester […]


Judgment Day

19Feb16

“The judgment-free zone.” That’s what Planet Fitness calls itself in its advertising campaign. It’s smart marketing to appeal to those who avoid gyms for fear of being judged as to heavy, too scrawny or just plain out of shape compared to the rest of the gym rats. “No gymtimidation,” is another way that Planet Fitness […]