Archive for the ‘Humor’ Category
Election central
For the past few years, we’ve been subjected to endless lectures informing us that voting is incredibly difficult and we must do everything in our power to make it easier for voters to participate in elections. Anything less would be VOTER SUPPRESSION! We’ve been told that democracy shouldn’t place even the slightest burden on the […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, History, Humor, News, Politics, Wakefield | 7 Comments
Tags: ballot, centralized voting, democracy, disabled, drivers license, early volting, Election Day, elections, Galvin Middle School, high school, illegal aliens, mail-in ballot, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, News, Opinion, parking, Politics, polling place, polls, precinct, professional development, schools, senior citizens, teachers, vote, voter suppression, voting, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefielld MA
School choice
Most of us know at least one person who grew up in Wakefield, attended Wakefield Public Schools and then had to reluctantly leave his hometown as it became increasingly unaffordable. Well, living in Wakefield is about to get even more expensive, if the current plans for a new high school go through.
Filed under: Columns & Essays, History, Humor, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 2 Comments
Tags: 1960, Andy Bray, ballot committee, building, building project, cost, Dolbeare School, economy, Galvin Middle School, inflation, Ken Duval, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, Michael Scollo, Opinion, Politics, Robert Bradley, senior citizens, taxes, Television, Town Election, Town Meeting, TV, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield High School, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Public Schools, WMHS, Woodville School, working families, Yes for WMHS
Columbian exposition
Not so long ago, Italian-Americans were actually seen as a disadvantaged group that faced real discrimination. For that reason, President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the first federal observance of Columbus Day in 1937 to recognize the contributions of Italian-Americans and to assure them of their rightful place in American history. “We are celebrating today the […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, History, Humor, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 7 Comments
Tags: 1492, America, American History, Christopher Columbus, colonizers, Columbus Day, conquerors, European, FDR, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Galvin Middle School, holiday, Humor, Indians, Indigenous Curriculum, Indigenous Peoples Day, invaders, Italian-Americans, Italians, Mark Sardella, Megan Webb, Native Americans, New World, North America, October, Opinion, Original Sin, Politics, progressives, U.S. history, United States, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Public Schools, Wakefield Warrior
Developing a climate plan
The state of Massachusetts wants more control over municipal decision-making and is threatening to withhold state funding from cities and towns that do not comply with its social and climate goals disguised as zoning. New state guidelines based on a law passed by the legislature and signed by Gov. Charlie Baker last January require that […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, History, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 11 Comments
Tags: automobiles, batteries, building, bus lines, buses, cars, Charlie Baker, China, Climate Change, commuter rail, developers, development, electric vehicles, environmentalists, EVs, forced labor, fossil fuels, housing, Humor, lithium mining, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, Massachusetts Legislature, MBTA, Mike Kennealy, multi-family, Opinion, parking, Politics, public transportation, railroad, Town Meeting, traffic, trains, transit, Wakefield Daily Item, zoning
A revolting development
A Boston University study recently found that municipal zoning boards, planning boards and redevelopment boards are dominated by white male homeowners. Wait. Men are more interested in construction, development and zoning than women are? What’s the next bombshell revelation – male drivers won’t ask for directions? Fight the urban planning patriarchy! Speaking of zoning and […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, History, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 1 Comment
Tags: American Mutual, Board of Appeals, building, business, Comverse Technologies, construction, development Cabot Cabot & Forbes, elitism, Facebook, Humor, Lake Quannapowitt, Malden MA, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, Opinion, Politics, public hearings, public transit, smart growth, social media, Town Meeting, urban planning, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, ZBA, zoning, Zoning Board, Zoning Bylaws
Sentimental journey
So, it’s settled. A majority of the Wakefield Town Council gets to define what “Official Town Sentiment” is. The Council voted earlier this month to give itself the power to determine what constitutes Official Town Sentiment, at least in terms of which flags can be flown from town flagpoles as an expression of such sentiment. […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Community, History, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 1 Comment
Tags: American Flag, Boston, Christian Flag, election, First Amendment, flag, flagpoles, flags, Humor, Juneteenth, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, Mehreen Butt, News, Official Town Sentiment, Old Glory, Opinion, Politics, POW-MIA, Pride flag, Stars and Stripes, Supreme Court, symbol, Tom Mullen, US Supreme Court, veterans, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Human Rights Commission, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Town Council, Wakefield Veterans Advisory Board, Wakefield Warrior, Warrior logo, WHRC
High school math
Let’s start by stipulating that there will be a new Wakefield Memorial High School. And it will be fabulous. We know this because the local education lobby is very motivated and highly coordinated. We saw it in the recent Town Election. The three School Committee winners were all educators or former educators. And all three […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 4 Comments
Tags: ageism, debt exclusion, Douglas Lyons, economy, education, electric, energy, environment, fossil fuels, Galvin Middle School, gasoline, groceries, Humor, inflation, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts School Building Authority, Mike Conley, MSBA, Opinion, override, Phyllis Hull, Politics, schools, sustainability, taxes, taxpayers, townies, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield High School, Wakefield MA, WMHS
Flagging allegiance
There aren’t a lot of human rights violations in Wakefield, Massachusetts. So, to justify its existence, the Wakefield Human Rights Commission has to find things to do. I just wish they’d stick to discussing their favorite Girl Scout Cookies and leave our country’s flag, holidays and traditions alone. The Wakefield Human Rights Commission (WHRC) recently […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, History, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 4 Comments
Tags: America, Americal Civic Center, Edward Dombroski Jr., flagpoles, flags US flag, genocide, Girl Scout Cookies, History, Humor, immigrants, inclusive, Indians, Indigenous People, Juneteenth, land acknowledgement, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, Native Americans, Old Glory, Opinion, oppression, patriotism, Politics, POW-MIA flag, Pride flag, School Committee, Stars & Stripes, Thomas A. Mullen, Town Council, United States, veterans, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Human Rights Commission, Wakefield Town Council, Wakefield Warrior Logo, welcoming, WHRC, woke, wokeism, wokism, Youth Council
Brave New World
Less than a year after dumping the Warrior logo, the Wakefield School Committee continues to demonstrate that they are more in tune with global causes than they are with the local taxpayers who pay the freight. Last week, they quietly changed Columbus Day to “Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples Day.” And nobody said a word. The 2022-2023 […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, History, Humor, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 4 Comments
Tags: America, Aztecs, calendar, Christopher Columbus, colonizers, Columbus Day, education, European, explorer, History, human sacrifice, Humor, Indians, Indigenous People, Italian-Americans, Italians, learning, Mark Sardella, Native Americans, New World, North America, Opinion, Peru, Politics, Reuters, Scandinavian, school, stolen land, students, teachers, Vikings, virtue signaling, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Memorial High School, Wakefield Public Schools, Wakefield School Committee, WakefieldMA, Western Hemisphere
The naked and the masked
With COVID on the wane, last week everyone in Wakefield was finally liberated from the imperative to cover their faces. Everyone, that is, except those least at risk from the virus: school children. That’s what’s known as “following the science.” The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) lifted the state’s indoor mask mandate last week, […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 3 Comments
Tags: Ami Wall, Amy Leeman, Anthony Chui, children, COVID, data, Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Department of Public Health, DESE, DPH, education, Families, health, Humor, illness, kids, mandate, Mark Sardella, mask mandate, masks, Massachusetts, nurse practictioner, Opinion, pandemic, Politics, schools, students, Suzy Veilleux, testing, Thomas Markham, unvaccinated, vaccinated, vaccination, vaccine, vax, virus, Wakefield, Wakefield Board of Health, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield School Committee, Wakefield Town Council
Mark Sardella 