Archive for the ‘Opinion’ Category
Point of Order
In defense of Open Town Meeting Wakefield‘s Regular Town Meeting opens on Monday, Nov. 18, and it seems like a good time to reflect on the institution of Open Town Meeting. While some towns have gone to a watered-down “Representative Town Meeting,” with voting members elected from each precinct, Open Town Meeting remains a New […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Humor, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 1 Comment
Tags: Boston Globe, Edward L. Glaeser, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, Open Town Meeting, town government, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA
The Massachusetts Tech Tax is going to be repealed, and that’s a good thing. But now that repeal appears certain, all this “let bygones be bygones” stuff is just a little nauseating. Massachusetts is Democratic state – I assume we can all agree on that much. A state’s political leanings tend to be reflected within […]
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Tags: Brad Jones, Bruce Tarr, High Tech, Karen Spilka, Katherine Clark, legislature, MA, Mark Sardella, Mass., Massachusetts, repeal, Software Services Tax, taxes, tech tax, technology, technology tax, Wakefield Daily Item
The Young and the Reckless
Kenneth Lonergan’s “This Is Our Youth,” currently on stage the Gloucester Stage Company, paints a compelling, passionate and funny – if not pretty – picture of disaffected upper-class youth in Manhattan’s Upper West Side in 1982. I found myself wondering if the play’s title was intended as an observer’s commentary about the play’s twenty something […]
Filed under: Art, Columns & Essays, Opinion, Reviews, theater | Leave a Comment
Tags: Alex Pollock, Amanda Collins, Gail Astrid Buckley, Gloucester, Gloucester Stage Company, Jenna McFarland-Lord, Jimi Stanton, John Malinowski, Kenneth Lonergan, Lewis D. Wheeler, Mark Sardella, Marsha Smith, theater, theatre, This Is Our Youth
It’s the parking…
Pop quiz: What’s the first thing you do if you’re a new business moving into Wakefield Square? If you answered, “Hire Brian McGrail to go before the Zoning Board and get a waiver from the parking requirements,” you would be correct! Bonus question: Why do you need a waiver from the requirements for parking? If […]
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Tags: business, economic development, Lexington, Lynnfield, Mark Sardella, MarketStreet, Massachusetts, Melrose, revitalization, Wakefield, Wakefield Daily Item
Commencement Speech
We are right in the middle of the graduation season, and I am again available for a small stipend to deliver the keynote address at any commencement ceremonies. Or you can save yourselves the money, save me some time, and spare your graduates a few minutes of agony and just read it here. Graduates, distinguished […]
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Tags: commencement, graduates, graduation, Mark Sardella, school, speech, students, Wakefield Daily Item
Going After Gomez
They say that everybody loves an underdog – unless the underdog happens to be a moderate Massachusetts Republican. The Democrats think you’re the devil incarnate, and a lot of your fellow Republicans call you a Democrat. Scott Brown heard it when he ran, and now Senate candidate Gabriel Gomez is also getting it from both […]
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Tags: campaign, Congress, Ed Markey, Edward Markey, election, Gabriel Gomez, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, Politics, senator, US Senate, Wakefield Daily Item
From the Fab Four to 4G
Today, Saturday, Feb. 9, marks a significant anniversary for Baby Boomers. On that date in 1964, a British band known at The Beatles made its US debut on the Ed Sullivan Show. For the benefit of those under 50, the Ed Sullivan Show was a TV staple. It was a variety show that families could […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Community, Humor, News, Opinion, Television, Wakefield | Leave a Comment
Tags: Beatles, Beyonce, Ed Sullivan Show, Mark Sardella, phones, telephone, Television, Wakefield Daily Item
A Word, Please?
Eliminating a few dozen words from the lexicon will make for a better 2013 It’s the New Year, time for all those obligatory and oh-so-hilarious “Best” and “Worst” lists for the previous year along with predictions for the coming year. I’m taking a different approach. Since nothing good happened in 2012, I’m off the hook […]
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Tags: 2012, 2013, ban, banned, Humor, Mark Sardella, New Year, Wakefield Daily Item, War on Words, words
End of Year Observances
When I speak of “end of year observances” I’m not attempting to concoct a new euphemism for “the holidays,” although, now that it’s come up, it seems as good a place as any to begin. I won’t talk about any “War on Christmas,” which is probably about as worthy of serious consideration as the “War […]
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Tags: Christmas, ethics, holiday, holidays, marijuana, Mark Sardella, moral equivalency, New Year's, Seasons Greetings, Wakefield Daily Item, War on Christmas
Mark Sardella 