Archive for the ‘Feature stories’ Category
A simple choice
Out-of-state donors are pouring millions into an effort to forever alter the outcomes of Massachusetts elections. Unfortunately for them, the concept of ranked choice voting is so convoluted that it can’t be convincingly explained in a one-minute TV ad or even with an oversized, glossy, two-sided mailer.
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Feature stories, History, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | Leave a Comment
Tags: ballot question, ballots, candidates, carpetbaggers, elections, Humor, John Arnold, Laura Arnold, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, money, Opinion, Politics, ranked-choice voting, Secretary of the Commonwealth, Shauna Hamilton, Texas, vote, voting, Wakefield Daily Item
Pride of the Yankees
I was vaguely aware that John J. Round had been a town official way back at the beginning of the 20th century. But, like most people, I had no inkling about his more significant contributions to the town. I had no idea, for example, that he had purchased entire tracts of land in the areas […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Family, Feature stories, History, Opinion, Politics, Profiles, Wakefield | Leave a Comment
Tags: altruism, Anglo-Saxons, Arthur G. Walton, Bandstand, Cornelius Sweetser, Crystal Lake, Cyrus Wakefield, Galvin Middle School, Gardner Campbell, Greenwood, JJ Round Park, John J. Round, Lucius Beebe, Lucius Beebe Memorial Library, Mark Sardella, money, old white men, philanthropy, Pilgrims, Protestant, Sweetser Lecture Series, trees, Wakefield Common, Wakefield High School, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Town Hall, Walton Field, Yankees
For those who like music spiced with a bit of history – or vice versa – last Saturday’s Polymnia Choral Society production of Franz Josef Haydn’s The Creation was a doubly rewarding experience. The sanctuary of Wakefield’s First Parish Congregational Church was a fitting venue in which to experience Haydn’s oratorio depicting the miracle of […]
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Tags: Bible, church, classical, concert, Dana Lynne Varga, Eileen Worthley, First Congregational Church, Franx Josef Haydn, instruments, John Milton, Joseph Holmes, Melrose MA, music, oratorio, Paradise Lost, Philip Lima, Polymnia Choral Society, Sylvia Berry, The Creation, Wakefield High School, Wakefield MA
Give Bees a chance
Lake Quannapowitt is Wakefield’s jewel – an emerald, judging by the color. It’s August, and like the swallows returning to Capistrano, blue-green algae, aka cyanobacteria, has returned Lake Quannapowitt to the color of pea soup. Last week, the town issued a public health warning.
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Feature stories, History, Humor, Nature & Wildlife, News, Opinion, Photography, Politics, Wakefield | Leave a Comment
Tags: blue-green algae, boats, cyanobacteria, EPA, fertilzer, Frank J. Luciani Jr, Groundhog Day, Humor, Lake Quannapowitt, lawns, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, Michael Collins, Opinion, phosphorus, Politics, SolarBees, sunlight, Wakefield MA, WakefieldDaily Item
Polymnia pays tribute to Elvis
Memorial Hall in Melrose was “All Shook Up” last Saturday night as the Polymnia Choral Society presented its “Tribute to Elvis, the King of Rock.” Polymnia and the King share a historical timeline. Polymnia was founded in Wakefield in 1953, the year Elvis Presley recorded his first demo at Sun Studio in Memphis. In 1956, […]
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Tags: Eileen Worthley, Elvis Presley, Jillian Casa, Lauren Abramson, Mark Sardella, Melrose MA, Murray Kidd, music, Polymnia Choral Society, rock, She Major, songs, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield High School, Wakefield MA
By MARK SARDELLA WAKEFIELD – She’s done it again. For the second year in a row, the New England Patriots are in the Super Bowl and for the second straight year local businesswoman and Patriots super fan Danielle Resha has scored free tickets to the big game. She’ll be in the stands in Minneapolis on […]
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Tags: Bose, CrossFit128, Danielle Resha, football, gym, Jacksonville Jaguars, Mark Sardella, new england patriots, Philadelphia Eagles, Super Bowl, Tom Brady, Wakefield Daily Item, WakefieldMA
By MARK SARDELLA CONCORD — If, like me, you enjoy stories in which everyone is despicable, David Mamet’s testosterone-fueled Glengarry Glen Ross is hard to beat. And under the direction of Wakefield native Nancy Curran Willis, these dishonorable characters are brought to vivid life by a strong cast at The Umbrella in Concord. Set mainly […]
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Tags: Adam Heroux, Bill Stambaugh, Brian Boruta, Chicago, Concord MA, Craig Ciampa, Dan Kelly, David Mamet, Eric Lamarche, Glengarry Glen Ross, Gordon Ellis, Jason Myatt, Mark Sardella, Nancy Curran Willis, real estate, The Umbrella, theater, theatre, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA
Remembering Phyllis Hull
It’s my favorite photo of Phyllis Hull. It’s Veterans Day, 2011, and she’s standing at the podium on Veterans Memorial Common, about to make her dedication speech in front of the just unveiled, brand new World War II Monument. She’s beaming, and she had every right to be proud. She was the first to say […]
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Tags: Betsy Sheeran, Board of Selectmen, election, fiscal conservative, Italian, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, Phyllis J. Hull, Politics, selectman, selectmen. taxes, senior citizens, Somerville, taxpayers, The Savings Bank, veterans, Veterans' Day, voting, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, World War II Memorial
‘Wakefield 150’ Time Capsule
Kudos to the Wakefield Independence Day Committee for deciding to go with the 150th birthday of the Town of Wakefield as the theme for the 2018 Fourth of July Parade. This was the decision I’ve been hoping for since I wrote a column about it last April. But I can’t claim credit for the idea. […]
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Tags: 150th, 1868, 2018, 2118, anniversary, Betsy Sheeran, Cyrus Wakefield, gender binary, gender neutral, hookah, Jeff Wakefield, July 4th, July Fourth Parade, Juul, marijuana, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, plastic bag, Reading, Robert McLaughlin, South Reading hookah, Street List, time capsule, vaping, Wakefield 150, Wakefield Dail Item, Wakefield Independence Day Committee, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Warriors, William Carroll
By MARK SARDELLA The wave of sexual misconduct allegations that has been toppling prominent men in politics and the entertainment industry has reached Wakefield. The Board of Directors of the Gloucester Stage Company and its founder, world renowned playwright and Wakefield native Israel Horovitz, have permanently severed ties amid new allegations of sexual assault made […]
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Tags: Ad Rock, Adam Horovitz, Al Pacino, Beastie Boys, Elizabeth Dann, Gloucester Stage Company, Harvey Weinstein, Israel Horovitz, Jeff Zinn, Jill Clayburgh, Jocelyn Meinhardt, John Cazale, Kevin Kline, Liz Neumeier, Louis C.K., Maggie Smith, Maia Ermansons, Mark Sardella, My Old Lady, New York Times, plays, playwright, sexual assault, theater, theatre, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield High School, Wakefield MA, Widow's Blind Date
