Archive for the ‘Opinion’ Category
Smoke signals
There has been much hand-wringing of late regarding the opioid abuse crisis. As there should be. But when it comes to dealing with substance abuse, we know what works and what doesn’t work. Our long history with alcohol and tobacco provides a blueprint, if only we would follow it instead of looking for other dangerous […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, History, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 1 Comment
Tags: alcohol, beer, booze, bud, drugs, drunk driving, herb, Jeffrey's Package Store, legalization, marijuana, Mark Sardella, pot, smoke, smoking, substance abuse, tobacco, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, weed
Eve of construction
If you’ve ventured anywhere near downtown Wakefield area in the last few months, perhaps you’ve noticed that there are some trucks and heavy equipment digging up the streets. If you haven’t been napping somewhere with Rip van Winkle, you may have even heard about the coming $20 million Brightview Senior Living complex. Perhaps you even […]
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Tags: Assisted Living, Brightview Senior Living, Bronwyn Della-Volpe, building, business district, construction, Crescent Street, demolition, dust, Dust Bowl, electric, ice, infrastructure, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, natural gas, physics, sewer, Shelter Development, Wakefield Civic League, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, water
Now’s Your Chance!
We’ve arrived at the Put Up or Shut Up Season. Monday, Jan. 4 was the first day that you could pull nomination papers to run in the April 26 Town Election. For those who for the past year have been have been telling anyone who would listen that you could do a better job running […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Community, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | Leave a Comment
Tags: Board of Selectmen, campaign, City Hall, Conservation Commission, election, Facebook, government, Mark Sardella, nomination papers, Planning Board, Politics, public hearing, public office, School Committee, social media, town, town hall, Town Meeting, Town Planner, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA
The Spirit of Giving
‘Tis the Christmas season, and Mr. Paid Reporter Man is filled with the spirit of giving toward the naughtiest and the nicest in Wakefield. He’s made his list and checked it twice. If you don’t find your name on his list, perhaps you haven’t been sufficiently naughty or nice. To the Lake Quannapowitt Water Quality […]
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Tags: Alison Simcox, Brian McGrail, Bronwyn Dell-Volpe, Christmas, Colonial Point Apartments, Conservation Commission, Dan Lieber, Dennis Cloherty Heron Pond, Douglas Heath, Fred Rich, Humor, Lake Quannapowitt, MBTA, Michael Collins, Pat Bruno, Politics, Richard Stinson, Robert McLaughlin, Robert Mitchell, Seth Moulton, Shaw's, Stephen P. Maio, Thomas Mullen, Wakefield Civic League, Wakefield Human Rights Commission, Wakefield MA, Wakefield School Committee, ZBA
Fantasy League
The irony of the moment was not lost on acting Planning Board chairman Bill Spaulding. “I do find it interesting that you’re questioning the parking – the amount of it,” Spaulding told Bronwyn Della-Volpe at hearing last week on Town Meeting Article 12, which was aimed at revitalizing the downtown with more mixed-use, residential-above-retail development. […]
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Tags: Brightview Senior Living, Bronwyn Della-Volpe, commuter rail, downtown, housing, Main Street, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, Melrose MA, mixed-use development, parking, Pat Bruno, Paul Reavis, Planning Board, residential, retail, Town Meeting, Wakefield Civic League, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, William Spaulding, zoning
Next Wednesday is Veterans Day. It’s one of the few holidays left that hasn’t been consigned to the nearest Monday in order to create another long weekend for those who have the day off. If you’re not a public employee, chances are you have to work on Veterans Day. On one hand, I understand not […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, History, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | Leave a Comment
Tags: Air Force, Alicia Reddin, Army, Coast Guard, Galvin Middle School, Gen. John R. Galvin, Global War on Terror, Gulf War, Korean War, Marine Corps, Mark Sardella, Marnie Sheeran, military, Navy, November 11, soldiers, veterans, Veterans' Day, Vietnam War, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, war, women, World War I, World War II
by Mark Sardella (Wakefield Daily Item) If there’s one thing that A Measure of Normalcy, the relentlessly manic 90-minute play by Lucas Baisch could use it might be a measure of normalcy. The play runs through Nov. 1 at Gloucester Stage, and it was written by Baisch, the theater’s 2015 Playwriting Apprentice. Normalcy follows an […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Opinion, Reviews, theater | Leave a Comment
Tags: A Measure of Normalcy, cartoons, gecko, Gloucester Stage, Lucas Baisch, Mark Sardella, millennials, play, theater, theatre, Wakefield Daily Item
Mark Sardella 