Archive for the ‘Opinion’ Category
Twilight Zoning
Well, as it stands right now, there will not be a parking garage in downtown Wakefield, Massachusetts and based on recent developments, you might want to hold off on that down payment on an assisted living unit. It’s been anything but dull in our sleepy little town over the last few weeks. There’s blame being […]
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Tags: Assisted Living, Brightview Senior Living, economy, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, parking garage, Politics, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA
It depends on who you ask Downtown Wakefield is changing, in case you haven’t noticed or have been hibernating under a rock somewhere for the last few months, in which case you could hardly be blamed given the winter that thankfully officially ended at 12:57 p.m. on March 20. In any case, the downtown area […]
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Tags: Assisted Living, Brightview Senior Living, CVS Pharmacy, Dollar Store, Lynn MA, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, parking, parking garage, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA
Voting Made Easy
Whenever the government says it is taking steps to make life easier for me, my BS detector goes off. The latest example is the Massachusetts Legislature’s effort to “reform” elections and voting. The House and Senate bills are currently in conference committee where they are negotiating a version that both branches can agree upon. The […]
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Tags: ballot, early voting, elections, MA, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, polls, reform, registration, vote, voter, voting, Wakefield Daily Item
Early in 2014, Massachusetts issued its first 20 “Medical Marijuana Licenses.” By summer, as you’re out driving with your kids, you’ll be seeing signs for such establishments as Garden Remedies of Newton, Greeneway Wellness Foundation in Cambridge, Green Heart Holistic Health & Pharmaceuticals of Boston and Good Chemistry of Worcester. Because they’re just getting established […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 2 Comments
Tags: cannabis, CVS, drugs, herb, marijuana, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, medical marijuana, medicine, pot, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, weed
Ten Bold Predictions for 2014
As we enter the New Year, the time has come to make some bold predictions for 2014. So let’s dust off the old crystal ball, shall we? Come to think of it, the whole house could use a good dusting. I’ll begin by predicting that that will not happen in 2014. People ask how I […]
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Tags: 2014, forecast, Galvin Middle School, Independence Day Parade, John Tierney, July 4th, Lake Quannapowitt, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, parking, Politics, predictions, Richard Tisei, Scott Brown, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA
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 […]
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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
Mark Sardella 