Archive for the ‘Opinion’ Category
QUANNAPOWITT CASINO REVISITED
I am nothing if not ahead of my time. On April 1, 1999, I wrote a column about filling in the Lake and building the “Quannapowitt Casino.” In spite of the date on the newspaper, some people in town actually thought it was a serious proposal. Back then, the state’s economy was booming, cities and […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Community, Humor, Opinion, Wakefield | 2 Comments
Tags: casino, Daily Item, gambling, Lake Quannapowitt, Massachusetts, Quannapowitt, Wakefield, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Mass, Wakefield Massachusetts, Wakefield news, Wakefield newspaper, Wakefield newspapers
THE CONSERVATIVE RECYCLER
It’s been official for many years, but now it’s truer than ever: if you’re still not recycling, you’re costing yourself and your fellow taxpayers money. At one time, recycling may have been the exclusive province of aging hippies, environmentalists and assorted other tree-huggers. But that’s ancient history. Nowadays, recycling is an exercise in fiscal conservatism. […]
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Tags: Daily Item, MA, recycling, trash, Wakefield, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Mass, Wakefield Massachusetts, Wakefield news, Wakefield newspaper, Wakefield newspapers
A BAD START FOR VERIZON
A major corporation comes to town and says whatever it needs to say so that local officials will let them do business here, and then waits for the town to threaten legal action before living up to its agreement. I know–it’s shocking. But that’s exactly what communications mega-giant Verizon did to the town of Wakefield, […]
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Tags: cable television, cable TV, Daily Item, Jim McGrail, PEG channels, Phyllis Hull, public access television, selectmen, verizon, Wakefield, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Mass, Wakefield Massachusetts, Wakefield news, Wakefield newspaper, Wakefield newspapers, WCAT
Stoneham production features forty Cohan tunes I wonder how many students in school drama and musical theater classes today even know who George M. Cohan was. After all, Cohan wrote and performed in musicals that reflected patriotism and old-fashioned, traditional American values — themes that now seem out of favor, not just in academia, but […]
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FRED’S FRANKS MUST GO
The arrival of summer also signals the return of transient vendors to the areas around Lake Quannapowitt in Wakefield, Massachusetts–most visibly, Fred’s Franks, the hot dog stand at the head of the Lake. This seems like as good a time as any to review the recent history of that part of town. When the old […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Community, Opinion, Wakefield | 39 Comments
Tags: Fred Rex, Fred's Franks, hot dog, Lake Quannapowitt, peddlers, transient vendors, Wakefield
PEDESTRIANS IN PERIL
Boston Police are going after motorists who don’t stop for pedestrians in crosswalks. According to a report on WHDH 7News, cops have set up a sting operation where a plain-clothesfemale officer posing as a young mother, using the crosswalk, attempts to cross the street with a doll in her stroller. The Channel 7 report showed […]
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Moonbatmobile
Why isn’t this person driving a Prius?
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LET’S GET IT RIGHT ON 9/11
On September 11, 2007, it will be have been six years since the terrorist attacks. Call me picky, but can we please not hear that date referred to in speech as “nine one one”?
Filed under: Columns & Essays, History, Opinion, Politics | 1 Comment
NEW MONOPOLIES
I never thought I’d say it, but I’m starting to miss the cable companies. Whipping boys don’t grow on trees, you know.
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SUPPORTING THE TROOPS?
As we approach another Memorial Day with our country at war, it will be interesting to watch the attendance at events around the country. We often hear from those in the anti-war ranks that they oppose the war but “support the troops.” And yet, when I attended last November’s Veterans’ Day observance in my hometown […]
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Mark Sardella 