Archive for the ‘Opinion’ Category
Size Matters
Does size matter? Yes, it does. But if you’re a member of the Wakefield Zoning Board of Appeals, there’s a limit to the number of hours you want to spend talking about it. Size is the biggest issue for many opponents of the Brightview Senior Living facility that Shelter Development is proposing to build on […]
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Tags: Assisted Living, Brightview Senior Living, Charles Tarbell, David Hatfield, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, Shelter Development, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, ZBA, Zoning Board of Appeals
The Big Ask
Wakefield School Department officials have acknowledged that their requested 11.4 percent budget increase for FY 2016 is “a big ask.” The largest piece of that increase is $1,176,875 (3.8 percent) for “contractual salary obligations.” Another $658,174 (2.1 percent) is for SPED tuitions and $628,218 (2 percent) goes to fund salaries related to the newly instituted […]
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Tags: Big Ask, budget, Christopher Callanan, Daniel Sherman, Dr. Stephen Zrike, Edward Dombroski, Finance Committee, Gerard Leeman, Mark Sardella, school, School Committee, schools, Wakefield Daily Item, William Boodry
The high road to hell
There will very likely be a ballot question in 2016 seeking to legalize recreational marijuana in Massachusetts. We know this because the activists who in 2012 successfully perpetrated the “medical” marijuana scam are the same people who are now working on the 2016 ballot question to make pot available for recreational use. So much for […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 30 Comments
Tags: addiction, alcohol, Colorado, drugs, high, legalization, marijuana, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, medical marijuana, opiates, pot, recreational marijuana, Wakefield Daily Item, weed
Not the Time
Normally, I give topics like Global Warming and Climate Change a good leaving alone. It’s a slippery slope that can quickly trigger an avalanche of supercilious lectures from the Reality-Based Community. But in my reality I have eight feet of snow in my front yard and if the AccuWeather Boston forecast holds true, we’ll finish […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Humor, Nature & Wildlife, Opinion, Photography, Politics | 3 Comments
Tags: Climate Change, divestment, electric rates, electricity, fossil fuels, Global Warming, ice, Mark Sardella, Porter Fox, power, snow, solar, Wakefield Daily Item, wind, winter
Mixed Signals
This has been driving me crazy for years, so I was pleased when a member of the Board of Selectmen raised it at a recent meeting. It relates to the intersection of Salem and Lowell streets (at the Prime Gas Station) as well as the intersection of Salem and New Salem streets. Both of these […]
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Tags: blinker, cars, directional, drivers, driving, Mark Sardella, roads, signal, streets, traffic, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA
Sign of the Times
The passing of another era has been marked with the removal of another landmark from Wakefield‘s downtown. On Sunday, the giant projecting “Santoro’s” illuminated sign was removed from above what was one of the early submarine sandwich franchises in the Wakefield area. Why didn’t the preservationists step in and protect this historic landmark? Were they […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Community, History, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 1 Comment
Tags: downtown, Israel Horovitz, Main Street, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, Santoro's, signs, sub, submarine sandwich, The Savings Bank, Thomas Wolfe, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield High School, Wakefield MA
Winter Parking Woes
The newest storm brewing on the Wakefield Facebook discussion groups relates to the winter parking ban. The local ban prohibits overnight parking on the street from Dec. 1 to April 1 in order to facilitate snow plowing and ensure public safety. The latest idea that social media pundits are convinced has never occurred to anyone […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Community, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 3 Comments
Tags: blizzard, cars, emergency, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, parking, roads, snow, storm, street, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, winter, winter parking ban
Re-dedication of the Galvin Middle School in Wakefield, Massachusetts It was a night to celebrate, and on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2014 hundreds of Wakefield residents filled Veterans Memorial Auditorium to join with town officials, members of the Galvin family, students and school administrators past and present to rededicate the new John Rogers Galvin Middle School. […]
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Tags: Allida Kelleher, Chris Callanan, dedication, Galvin Middle School, General John R. Galvin, Joe Bertrand, John Encarnacao, Kathleen Galvin, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, Mike Angelo, Pat Glynn, re-dedication, schools, Steve Maio, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA
In for a Dollar
The mystery is over and the rumors were true. It’s now official that Dollar Tree has signed a lease agreement and will be filling the long-vacant spot at 376-378 Main St. in downtown Wakefield formerly occupied by CVS. We should welcome our new neighbor. Anything would have been better than nothing in that prime retail […]
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Tags: Beverly MA, business, CVS, Dollar Tree, downtown, Main Street, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, retail, store, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA
Mark Sardella 