Archive for the ‘Opinion’ Category

As soon as Swine Flu became the trendy disease of the week, you had to know that it was only a matter of time before it got its own Facebook page. Significantly, Swine Flu’s less hip cousin, influenza, isn’t on Facebook. (No, you can’t catch Swine Flu from the Internet.)


Oh, wow, man. Bummer about the new bylaw banning public consumption of herb. Dude, it’s another attempt to snuff out our Constitutional right to toke up anywhere, anytime. I’m pretty sure it’s in the Constitution, because George Washington grew hemp on his farm, man. And he was, like, the father of our country and stuff. […]


Wakefield needs a hug. The town is struggling financially and its self-esteem may be shot, but help is on the way. The board of selectmen gave preliminary approval last week to a group that wants to stage a “farmers’ market” on Saturday mornings at Hall Park on North Ave starting next summer. I just hope […]


I recently reduced my carbon footprint. Did I buy a Prius? No. I could never afford the sticker price. Did I inflate my tires to the proper pressure? The answer is a flat no. Did I install a clothesline in my back yard? Sure – strung between my two windmills. Did I buy a bunch […]


For the town of Wakefield, Massachusetts, news that the dredging of Lake Quannapowitt’s Hartshorne Cove has been completed is certainly welcome. The recent cleanup was ordered following the discovery in 1999 that arsenic, lead and petroleum contaminants had seeped into the sand, mud, peat and gravel on the Lake’s bottom in the area behind the […]


In the wake of the May 27 Referendum Election that reversed the higher-than-recommended School Department budget passed by Annual Town Meeting, we’ve been hearing that there is a lack of information available to the residents of Wakefield, Massachusetts. The most recent of those assertions came at a June 17 public input forum of the Town […]


For those who had clamored since before April’s Annual Town Meeting for a three-way meeting of the Selectmen, Finance Committee and School Committee to look at the town’s finances, the first public meeting of the Tri-Board on June 11 must have been something of a disappointment. The residents of the town of Wakefield, Massachusetts who […]


Vote NO on Wakefield, MA school budget In next Tuesday’s referendum election on the $27.4 million School Department budget, the only vote that make sense is a “No” vote. This conclusion has nothing to do with the value of education, the needs of the Wakefield School Department or the sincerity of the School Committee. It […]


Thoughts on the April 7, 2008 Wakefield (Massachusetts) Town Meeting Sometimes it pays to listen to our elder statesmen. But when we become caught up in a righteous cause, it’s easy to ignore the voices of experience in our midst. We dismiss them at our own peril. Advocates to fund the School Department budget did […]


The best thing to come out of last week’s FCC hearing into Comcast Corp.’s Internet polices had nothing to do with the subject of the hearing. The purpose of the hearing was to look into the communications giant’s network management practices. But the thing that tickled me about the news story was the fact that […]