Archive for the ‘News’ Category
Environmental justice
Monday’s Wakefield Town Council meeting felt like karma. And you know what they say about karma. On Monday, the Town Council pulled the plug on the “Decarbonization Roadmap.” Creating the Roadmap was key step in the process of joining the state’s “Climate Leader Communities” program. To appreciate why this is so delicious, return with me, […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 1 Comment
Tags: Attorney General, boondoggle, Climate Change, Climate Leader Communities, Decarbonization Roadmap, Ed Dombroski, electric cars, environmental justice, Environmental Sustainabilty Committee, Global Warming, Humor, Joe Wakefield, Jonathan Chines, Joseph Conway, Julie Smith-Galvin, karma, Mark Sardella, Mike McLane, net-zero, Open Meeting Law, Opinion, Politics, Scot McCauley, taxpayers, Town Council, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Town Council
My executive orders
As you are no doubt aware, the new president wasted no time issuing a flurry of Executive Orders, which have the usual suspects clutching their pearls. He has restored Mt. McKinley to its rightful name. He has ordered that the Gulf of Mexico will henceforth be the Gulf of America. He has ordered all federal […]
Filed under: baseball, Columns & Essays, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 3 Comments
Tags: Alaska, American Flag, automobiles, ballplayer, baseball, bicyc;es, bike lanes, cars, Cleveland Indians, coal, Daylight Saving Time, designated hitter, Donald Trump, Eastern Time, electricity, Executive Orders, Fighting Irish, flag poles, flagpoles, flags, football, ghost runner, Gulf of America, Gulf of Mexico, heat, Humor, Indians, Major League Baseball, Mark Sardella, Melrose Red Raiders, MLB, motor vehicles, mountain, Mt. Denali, Mt. McKinley, names, National Football League, Native American, natural gas, NFL, Notre Dame, oil, Opinion, paper bags, pitch clock, plastic bags, Politics, POW-MIA, President, re-useable bags, roads, sidewalks., softball, Standard Time, Stop & Shop, streets, time zones, United States, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Warriors, Washington Redskins
Subject matter experts
When you attend a lot of municipal meetings, you come to learn that each board has its own pet buzzwords and phrases. But one phrase favored across the board by local government bodies is the term “subject matter experts.” Town boards and committees rely on these subject matter experts to inform and validate their actions […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 2 Comments
Tags: automobiles, Bicycle lane, bicycles, bike, bikes, cars, Climate Change, cyclists, drivers, election, Fire Chief, Mark Sardella, Mehreen Butt, Michaek Sullivan, motor vehicles, North Avenue, Opinion, Police Chief, Politics, road, Safe Streets Wakefield, safety, Steven Skory, street, subject matter experts, Town Council, Town Councilors, travel lanes, voters, Wakefield Daily Item
Normalizing Inauguration Day
Monday, January 20 is Inauguration Day, and while many of you will be celebrating, please try to have some consideration for those who are mourning the Death of Democracy.
Filed under: Columns & Essays, History, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 8 Comments
Tags: America, Canada, Capitol, D.C., democracy, Donald Trump, elections, Germany, Greenland, Harry S. Truman, History, Humor, inaguration, John F. Kennedy, joke, Mark Sardella, Opinion, Politics, President, Television, TV, United States, unity, Wakefield Daily Item, Washington, White House
Reality bites
Cycling and farmers markets go together like avocado and toast. Wakefield’s Farmers Market even offers a bike valet service for the convenience of its cycling customers during the market season. And now, Wakefield‘s first true bike lane begins right next to the Farmers Market location at Hall Park. A match made in heaven, right? Perhaps […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Community, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 2 Comments
Tags: advocacy, ambulance, AnnMarie Gallivan, automobiles, avocado toast, bicycle, bicycle lanes, bicycles, bike, bike lane, bikes, cars, commuter rail, COVID, cycling, cyclists, farmers' market, Humor, Jonathan Chines, Mark Sardella, motorists, North Avenue, Opinion, Politics, road, safety, street, Town Council, train, vehicles, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA
Lean and green
It’s both humbling and gratifying when one’s advice is taken to heart, even if it’s for the wrong reasons and after the horse has left the barn. In this space last June, I wrote: “One of the Environmental Sustainability Committee’s Guiding Principles is, ‘Reduce, reuse, recycle and compost.’” I added, “They could start by reducing […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 4 Comments
Tags: advice, climate, compost, drill, education, electric vehicle, environmental, green business, Green Space, Humor, Mark Sardella, net-zero, Open Meeting Law, Opinion, policy, Politics, recycling, reduce, reuse, Scot McCauley, subcommittees, sustainability, Town Council, Town Meeting, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA
Much of the attention at Saturday morning’s Town Meeting will be focused on Article 4, the town’s latest plan to comply with the state’s so-called MBTA Communities Act, mandating by-right multifamily zoning in all Massachusetts communities served by the MBTA. Also sure to spark some discussion is a plan to put solar panels on the […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, History, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 1 Comment
Tags: anti-Semitism, antisemitism, Article 8, BDS, Fight Hate, Gaza. Middle East, Israel, Mark Sardella, MBTA Cmmunities Act, Oct. 7, October 7, Opinion, Palestine, Politics, solar panels, Town Meeting, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Human Rights Commission, Wakefield Massachusetts, WHRC
Idle thoughts
From the front lines of the War on Gas-powered cars This week, the Town Council decided that Wakefield should comply with a virtually unknown, 15-year-old state regulation requiring “No Idling” signs to be displayed on school grounds. The issue came up after Councilor Bob Vincent did one of his signature deep dives into the legal […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 2 Comments
Tags: automobiles, bike lanes, cars, DEP, drivers, Fight Hate, fossil fuels, gasoline, Humor, idling, laws, Lt. Joseph Anderson, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, MassDEP, motorists, No Idling, Opinion, parking, Politics, Robert Vincent, schools, signs, Stop signs, Thomas Mullen, Town Council, Traffic Advisory Committee, trucks, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Public Schools
Greens gone wild
Things got a little hot for representatives of Wakefield’s Environmental Sustainability Committee at last week’s Town Council meeting. But for once, they couldn’t blame climate change. The leading ladies of the ESC must have been a bit dumbfounded by the criticism leveled at them. After all, they’re the good guys (or gals) who are “doing […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Humor, Nature & Wildlife, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 10 Comments
Tags: climate, Climate Change, Climate Leader Communities, conservation, cost, Edward Dombroski, energy, environment, Environmental Sustainability Committee, environmentalism, ESC, Global Warming, Humor, Julie Smith-Galvin, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, Melissa Eusden, Michael McLane, mission statement, Opinion, planet, policy, Politics, recycling, Specialized Building Code, Tiana Veldwisch, Town Council, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA
Mark Sardella 