Archive for the ‘Columns & Essays’ Category
Marching Orders
I love a parade. I’m especially fond of the Wakefield, MA Independence Day Parade, having attended most of them since the Eisenhower Administration. Over the years, I became less interested in the clowns and more interested in the politicians. In other words, my tastes haven’t changed very much. The 2012 Wakefield Independence Day Parade featured […]
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Tags: Daily Item, Donald Wong, Elizabeth Warren, Fourth of July, holiday, John Tierney, July 4, Mark Sardella, Parade, parades, Peter Koutoujian, politicians, Richard Tisei, Sen. Scott Brown, Wakefield, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Independence Day Parade, Wakefield Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Massachusetts
The New Drug Culture
Full disclosure: this column was written under the influence of performance enhancing drugs: the caffeine from two cups of Stop & Shop brand coffee. Especially when it comes to caffeine, the drug culture has come out of the closet. Just look at the advertising campaigns for caffeine containing products. They are now promoted far more […]
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Keep Neighborhood Polling Places
Largely ignored in all the excitement over the margin of victory in the June 9 Special Election was the fact that the decision to build a new Galvin Middle School was made by a minority of the town’s voters. Less than one-third of those eligible weighed in with a vote. If you count only the […]
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Tags: Daily Item, election, elections, Galvin, Galvin Middle School, Galvinize, Galvinize Wakefield, Mark Sardella, polling places, Proposition 2 1/2, school, schools, tax, taxes, vote, voters, votes, voting, Wakefield, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Massachusetts
One Issue Wonders
Every time a special interest group manages to pack Town Meeting to ram their pet measure through, local government geeks find themselves wondering if there will be some long-term residual benefit, some lasting silver lining to this cynical exercise. Surely, they imagine, out of this great mass of people here to vote on their one […]
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Tags: ballot, ballot question, debt exclusion, election, Galvin Middle School, Galvinize, Galvinize Wakefield, June 9, Mark Sardella, new Galvin Middle School, property tax, Proposition 2 1/2, rebuild, school, school building project, school construction, schools, taxes, Town Meeting, vote, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Mass, Wakefield Massachusetts
Galvinizers’ Night Out
Pro-debt exclusion crowd dominates Wakefield, MA Annual Town Meeting The Monday, May 14 Galvin Gala was scheduled to begin at 7:30, but if you arrived later than 7 p.m., you may have found yourself parking, as I did, in Victory Village down off Richardson Street. Packing the Galvin Auditorium and the cafeteria, the crowd of […]
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Tags: Bill Carroll, Daily Item, debt exclusion, Galvin, Galvin Middle School, Galvinize Wakefield, Mark Sardella, property tax, Proposition 2 1/2, school, schools, taxes, Wakefield, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Mass, Wakefield Massachusetts
Preaching to the Choir
Judging from the comments of those who spoke, 99 percent of the hundred or so people who showed up for the April 30 public forum on the the Galvin Middle School were supporters of the project before they walked in the door. Given the composition of the audience, the project manager, architect and Wakefield town […]
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Tags: Dunkin' Donuts, Galvin Middle School, Galvinize Wakefield, Mark Sardella, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Massachusetts
Signs of the Times
It happened two weekends ago. Seemingly, if not literally, overnight, political yard signs sprung up like crocuses all over the town of Wakefield. Along main roads and side streets and especially on the coveted corner lots, each sign installation proclaimed a resident’s allegiance to a candidate or candidates in the April 24 Town Election. Some […]
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Tags: ballot, Brian Falvey, candidate, candidates, Daily Item, election. elections, Galvin Middle School, Greg Liakos, Paul DiNocco, Phillip Renzullo, Phyllis Hull, political signs, Politics, Town Meeting, vote, voters, Wakefield, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Mass, Wakefield Massachusetts
Mark Sardella 