Archive for the ‘Columns & Essays’ Category
Thickly settled
If there’s one thing the public has made abundantly clear of late, it’s that they hate overdevelopment and especially all the new multifamily housing being built around town. The discussion of overdevelopment dominates conversation in the public square, the local coffee shops and on social media. It’s a far greater concern than potholes or a […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 1 Comment
Tags: affordable housing, Anne Danehy, building, by right, Chapter 40A, construction, density, development, district, Edward Dombroski, EOHLC, Erin Kokinda, globalism, Greenwood, housing, Jim Hogan, Jonathan Chines, Julie Smith-Galvin, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, MBTA communities, Michael McLane, multi-family, Opinion, over-development, overdevelopment, Politics, population, residential, units, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, West Side, zoning
Happy real Columbus Day!
Today, October 12, is traditional Columbus Day. It was 531 years ago today that the Genoese explorer became the first European to set foot in the Western Hemisphere. No big deal, according to those who want to cancel Christopher Columbus because he violated “norms” that the world wouldn’t discover for another half millennium. The cancelers […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, History, Humor, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 3 Comments
Tags: America, cancel culture, Christopher Columbus, Europeans, exploration, FDR, Genoa, History, Humor, Indians, Italians, Italy, LBJ, Mark Sardella, Native Americans, New World, Oct. 12, Opinion, politicsColumbus Day, Samuel Eliot Morison, United States, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA
Idle thoughts
For sheer entertainment value, last week’s Wakefield Town Council meeting had it all: pathos, bathos, drama and farce. And they say there’s nothing good on TV anymore. Let’s dive right in with the most contentious issue of the evening. Chairman Jonathan Chines had ordered eight “NO IDLING” signs to be put up on Main Street […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 3 Comments
Tags: bathrooms, bicycle path, bike lanes, cars, Climate Change, climate equity, cultural, democracy, education, environmental justice, floating wetland island, historic, Honey Dew, Humor, Jonathan Chines, Lake Quannapowitt, MAPC, Mark Sardella, men women, No Idling, Opinion, parking, Politics, resilience, restrooms, Route 128, Route 95, signs, Town Council, transparency, Veteran's Field, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA
Voke truthers
Can we get a few things straight once and for all regarding the new Northeast Metro Tech building project? First, the site that the school would be built on is not protected land, despite what the “Save the Forest” activists would like you to think. Nor is it part of Breakheart Reservation, although you could […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Humor, Nature & Wildlife, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 4 Comments
Tags: activists, Amazon Rain Forest, ANRAD, Breakheart Reservation, building project, campus, conspiracy, democracy, education, election, forest woods, Humor, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, NEMT, Northeast Metro Tech, Opinion, Politics, Save the Forest, school, students, Town Meeting, trade school, trees, truthers, vocational school, Voke, vote, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Town Council
Braking bad
Now that the intersection of Salem and Pleasant streets is a 4-way stop, stand by for indignant complaints from drivers who have never come to a complete stop at a STOP sign in their entire lives. If those drivers are looking for someone to blame for this new arrangement, I suggest that they tilt their […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Humor, Opinion, Wakefield | 2 Comments
Tags: 4-way Stop, automobile, brakes, cars, collision, crash, drivers, horn, insurance, intersection, Mark Sardella, Mercedes, Pleasant Street, rearview mirror, road, Salem Street, stop sign, street, ticket, traffic, violation, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA
The new one percent
You probably remember the term “one percent” or “one-percenter,” which became popularized during the “Occupy Wall Street” movement. Theoretically, it referred to the richest one percent of the population, who are said to have most of the money, property, and power in society. In reality, it was used to demonize any productive individual who had the audacity to earn and accumulate any quantity of wealth. […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 8 Comments
Tags: 1 percent, 40A, automobiles, bicycle, Bicycle lane, bike, bike lanes, cars, Climate Change, commuting, cycle, cyclist, developers, driving, Erin Kokinda, housing, Humor, Julie Smith-Galvin, Lake Quannapowitt, MAPC, Mark Sardella, Marxism, Massachusetts, MBTA, one percent, one-percenter, Opinion, parking, pedestrian, Politics, Safe Streets Working Group, schools, spandex, SSWG, transit, transportation, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, walking, wealth, zoning
Circle game
So, this is how it ends. All we have to show for two and a half years of rancor and division in the community is a double circle with a “W” inside it. This will surely inspire fear in our Middlesex League opponents. Predictably, this decision was made literally in the middle of the summer, […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, History, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 3 Comments
Tags: 4th of July, educators, Gen. John Galvin, Humor, Independence Day Parade, Indian, July Fourth, logo, Mark Sardella, Native American, NATO, Opinion, Politics, School Committee, schools, soldier, students, teachers, Wakefield, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield High School, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Public Schools, Wakefield Warrior Football, warrior, WHS, WMHS
Flag warriors
Next Tuesday, July 18, 2023 will be a big day in Wakefield – if things go as planned. But if past is prologue, that’s a big “if.” The School Committee says that it will vote that night on a new Wakefield Warrior logo. Since this is at least the fourth time that they’ve said this […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, History, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 1 Comment
Tags: American Flag, education, election, Facebook, Flag Day, football, Humor, Independence Day, Indian, July 4, lightning bolt, logo, Mark Sardella, messenger, Opinion, Parade, photo, Politics, School Committee, schools, strength, students, summer, survey, team, Town Council, valor, veterans, virility, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield High School, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Warrior, warrior, WMHS, Youth Council
Flagging allegiance
What happens when a community deserts its wounded warriors in favor of social justice warriors? The town of Wakefield, Massachusetts is in the process of finding out. On May 16, the Veterans Advisory Board (VAB) voted 7-0 to request that the town honor Flag Day “by flying only the American flag” from public flagpoles on […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Community, History, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 2 Comments
Tags: activists, Ed Dombroski, election, flag American Flag, Flag Day, flagpole, Jonathan Chines, Juneteenth, Old Glory, Pride flag, progressive, Stars & Stripes, Town Council, VAB, veterans, Veterans Advisory Board, voter turnout, voters, Wakefiekd MA, Wakefield Human Rights Commission, WHRC, woke
Lightning strikes twice
When I saw the two final design options for the new Wakefield Warrior logo presented at last week’s School Committee meeting, I’ll admit I was little relieved. At least they decided to forgo the hammer and sickle.
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Community, History, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 4 Comments
Tags: Bayrd's Indian Trading Post, Community, Daily Item, education, election, hammer & sickle, Humor, Indians, Indigenous People, John R. Galvin, lightning bolt, Mark Sardella, Native Americans, Opinion, Politics, Richard O. Bayrd, schools, vote, Wakefield, Wakefield Memorial High School, Wakefield School Committee, Warrior Logo. Wakefield MA, WHS, WMHS, yearbook, Youth Council
Mark Sardella 