Archive for the ‘Politics’ Category

Taxing Times

26Nov09

Wakefield, Massachusetts votes itself a new tax The 2009 Regular Town Meeting proved to be a taxing one – and not just for those who hung in for the entire three and a half hours. Town Meeting backed two new local taxes: one that will bring the tax on a restaurant meal in Wakefield to […]


Next Wednesday, Nov. 11, Wakefield, Massachusetts observes Veterans Day with ceremonies beginning at 11 a.m. in the Galvin Middle School Auditorium. While Memorial Day each spring focuses on honoring deceased veterans, Veterans Day is intended to honor and thank all US military personnel who served in all wars, particularly living veterans and those currently serving […]


Canoe race raises $660 for World War II Memorial in Wakefield, MA It was billed as the “War on the Water,” a contest where youth would challenge age in a canoe race on Lake Quannapowitt, with the more “seasoned” Wakefield Board of Selectmen taking on the relatively youthful School Committee members. In the end, age […]


In a column earlier this year, I apparently offended a few people when I offered the following observation. “For too many Americans the emotional memory of the horror and outrage of 9/11 has faded.” On the eighth anniversary of September 11, 2001, it seems an appropriate time to address the matter of how we remember […]


Vandals Deface World War II Monument in Wakefield, Massachusetts I considered ignoring the recent spate of vandalism that has seen the World War II Monument on the Common desecrated and the bandstand marred by graffiti. The pacifist criminals spray painted “War is not the answer,” and a peace symbol on the World War II monument. […]


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 […]


Runs through Nov. 9, 2008 Each of the characters in Colin Teevan’s “How Many Miles to Basra,” it seems, has a debt to settle. The current offering at Stoneham Theatre follows an Irish radio journalist, Ursula (played by Eve Kagan), as the British military unit in which she’s embedded struggles to survive an unauthorized journey […]


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 […]


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 […]