Archive for the ‘Columns & Essays’ Category

Wakefield (MA) Police Chief Rick Smith was at Monday night’s meeting of the Board of Selectmen for the presentation of his department’s budget. But in light of what he called “a tough year for law enforcement,” Smith also took the opportunity to correct some misconceptions regarding police work in general and to highlight some positives […]


Alicia Reddin is the new VSO for Wakefield & Saugus, MA “When I really feel strongly about something, I don’t give up,” says Wakefield’s new Veterans Services Officer Alicia Reddin. That’s good news for veterans in the district that includes Reddin’s territory of Wakefield and Saugus. Reddin is replacing former VSO Andrew Biggio who has […]


Not the Time

21Feb15

Normally, I give topics like Global Warming and Climate Change a good leaving alone. It’s a slippery slope that can quickly trigger an avalanche of supercilious lectures from the Reality-Based Community. But in my reality I have eight feet of snow in my front yard and if the AccuWeather Boston forecast holds true, we’ll finish […]


Mixed Signals

08Feb15

This has been driving me crazy for years, so I was pleased when a member of the Board of Selectmen raised it at a recent meeting. It relates to the intersection of Salem and Lowell streets (at the Prime Gas Station) as well as the intersection of Salem and New Salem streets. Both of these […]


The passing of another era has been marked with the removal of another landmark from Wakefield‘s downtown. On Sunday, the giant projecting “Santoro’s” illuminated sign was removed from above what was one of the early submarine sandwich franchises in the Wakefield area. Why didn’t the preservationists step in and protect this historic landmark? Were they […]


So…What?

12Jan15

The New Year is the time for lists: Lists of “Bests,” and “Worsts” for the year just gone by along with predictions for the coming year. Among those of us who work with words, one of the popular year-end lists is Lake Superior State University‘s Annual List of Banished Words. It’s a compilation of “Words […]


The newest storm brewing on the Wakefield Facebook discussion groups relates to the winter parking ban. The local ban prohibits overnight parking on the street from Dec. 1 to April 1 in order to facilitate snow plowing and ensure public safety. The latest idea that social media pundits are convinced has never occurred to anyone […]


“It should not be just one day. We should be thinking about the service men and women every day,” State Rep. Donald Wong said at Wakefield’s 2014 Veterans Day ceremonies. When Rep. Wong speaks at local Veterans Day or Memorial Day ceremonies, he always ends his remarks with some version of that same message about […]


Re-dedication of the Galvin Middle School in Wakefield, Massachusetts It was a night to celebrate, and on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2014 hundreds of Wakefield residents filled Veterans Memorial Auditorium to join with town officials, members of the Galvin family, students and school administrators past and present to rededicate the new John Rogers Galvin Middle School. […]


No decisions were made, but Shelter Development presented more architectural detail on its proposed 137-unit Brightview Senior Living facility on Crescent Street at the Oct. 22 meeting of the Wakefield Zoning Board of Appeals. The board in turn gave Brightview representatives feedback and indicated areas related to density and architecture that need to be addressed […]