It would be tedious and boring if it weren’t so dangerous.
Another anti-Israel article will appear on Monday’s Annual Town Meeting warrant as a result of a citizens’ petition. It’s the third consecutive Wakefield Town Meeting that such an article has appeared on the warrant. 
The first one appeared on last year’s Annual Town Meeting warrant. It was back again on the Regular Town Meeting warrant last fall. Neither measure passed, but voters were forced to sit through excruciating presentations full of Hamas talking points and anti-Israel propaganda.
Which I suppose is the point.
The local Friends of Hamas know they have zero chance of getting these measures passed, just as their heroes in Gaza know they have no chance of defeating Israel. But the latter keep lobbing rockets and launching Oct. 7-type attacks anyway. And we keep getting these Town Meeting articles.
Continue reading ‘Fear and loathing at Town Meeting’
Filed under: Columns & Essays, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 2 Comments
Tags: antisemitism, BDS, boycott, citizens petition, divestment, Gaza, Hamas, hate, Israel, Israelis, Mark Sardella, Middle East, October 7, Opinion, Palestine, Politics, propaganda, sanctions, terrorists, Town Meeting, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Human Rights Commission, Wakefield MA, warrant
A hero remembered
There are heroes walking among us, but the true heroes don’t go around seeking recognition for their deeds. We lost another one of those authentic heroes last week. I count myself fortunate for having known World War II veteran Alfred Willett. Al was 85 years old in 2010 when I had the honor and privilege of interviewing him about his experience on Omaha Beach as part of the D-Day Invasion of Normandy. During our conversation that day, Al mentioned several times that he planned to live to be 100. I remember thinking at the time that if anyone had earned a long life, it was this man.
Al Willett passed away on April 19, 2025. He was 100 years old.
Below, read Al’s story of bravery, which originally ran in the September 20, 2010 Wakefield Daily Item.
…
WORLD WAR II VET AL WILLETT RECALLS NORMANDY INVASION
In October of 1942, Wakefield’s Alfred Willett was an 18 year-old Maine farm boy. Twenty months later, he was storming Omaha Beach with the United States Army in the Invasion of Normandy.
When the draft notice arrived, young Willett was working at Commonwealth Shoe & Leather Company in Gardiner, ME in addition to his chores on the family farm where he lived with his parents and five siblings. His father told him that he could get a six-month deferment if he took a full-time job on another farm. But young Alfred wanted no part of that.
“I said, ‘Everybody else is going to go, so I’m going to go,’” Willett recalls.
Continue reading ‘A hero remembered’
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Feature stories, History, Wakefield | 4 Comments
Tags: 29th Artillery Division, Al Willett, Alfred Willett, D-Day, Daily Item, Normandy, Omaha Beach, United States Army, US Army, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Mass, Wakefield Massachusetts, World War 2, World War II
Mean streets
I’m told that my last column was insensitive to those who despise Elon Musk and Tesla with every fiber of their being.
So, allow me to make amends and start off today’s column by saying something positive. Last Saturday was International Tesla Takedown Day, but unlike their brothers and sisters in arms, our local protesters have not been firebombing Tesla dealerships.
That demonstrates maturity, and if there’s one quality that our home-grown dissidents have in abundance it’s maturity, although you’re not supposed to notice anything at all about these folks standing in the public square doing their very best to be noticed.
Their vitriol is aimed primarily at Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who now heads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). We all know people who just a few months ago would swoon at the mere sight of a Tesla. But those days are in the rearview mirror since their former hero’s defection to the Dark Side. Now, the people who want you to stop burning fossil fuels are torching Teslas. That’ll show the climate deniers.
Continue reading ‘Mean streets’
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 2 Comments
Tags: cars, Climate Change, DOGE, electric vehicles, Elon Musk, EV, fossil fuels, Humor, Mark Sardella, opimion, Politics, protesters, Resistance, Tesla, Tesla Takedown, Wakefield Daily Item, WakefieldMA
Senior movement
If you ventured to downtown Wakefield last Saturday morning, you may have thought you’d stumbled upon an open-air AARP meeting. In reality, it was a couple of dozen Woodstock alumni holding handmade (or is it handmaid?) signs proclaiming their disapproval of the current administration in Washington.
Continue reading ‘Senior movement’
Filed under: Columns & Essays, History, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 4 Comments
Tags: 1776, 1960s, AARP, activists, demonstration, Donald Trump, Elon Musk, handmaids, History, Humor, Kamal Harris, MA, Malrose MA, Mark Sardella, Medicaid, News, Occupy Wall Street, Oligarchy, Opinion, paddles, Politics, protest, Resistance, signs, Sixties, Tesla, virtue signaling, Wakefield, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, Washington, Woodstock
Environmental justice
Monday’s Wakefield Town Council meeting felt like karma. And you know what they say about karma.
On Monday, the Town Council pulled the plug on the “Decarbonization Roadmap.” Creating the Roadmap was key step in the process of joining the state’s “Climate Leader Communities” program.
To appreciate why this is so delicious, return with me, if you will, to April 8, 2024.
Among the items slated for discussion at the April 8 Town Council meeting was one listed simply as “Climate Leaders,” which then-Town Councilor Julie Smith-Galvin had asked Chairman Jonathan Chines to place on the agenda.
Continue reading ‘Environmental justice’
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 1 Comment
Tags: Attorney General, boondoggle, Climate Change, Climate Leader Communities, Decarbonization Roadmap, Ed Dombroski, electric cars, environmental justice, Environmental Sustainabilty Committee, Global Warming, Humor, Joe Wakefield, Jonathan Chines, Joseph Conway, Julie Smith-Galvin, karma, Mark Sardella, Mike McLane, net-zero, Open Meeting Law, Opinion, Politics, Scot McCauley, taxpayers, Town Council, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Town Council
More Executive Orders
After the outpouring of love following my first round of Executive Orders, as a Valentine’s Day gift to my readers I am issuing a new list of decrees sure to warm the hearts of the Compassionate Community.
When it comes to issuing Executive Orders, I can’t possibly keep up with the new president. Still, I don’t want DOGE on my case, so I’ll get right to it.
Our society’s decline can be traced to 1971, when the voting age was lowered to 18. So, I hereby order the voting age to be raised to 30. The kids on Wakefield’s Youth Council want to lower the voting age to 16 in local elections. I can think of no better argument than that for raising it to 30.
In a related action, I am banning the word “like” at all public meetings, which should shorten the length of Youth Council meetings by, like, at least half.
I also order the immediate adoption of voter ID. You have to show ID to buy cold medicine, and the integrity of Our Democracy is at least as important as controlling your sniffles. There is no conceivable reason to oppose voter ID unless you plan to cheat.
Continue reading ‘More Executive Orders’
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Humor, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | Leave a Comment
Tags: barthroom, baseball, Benjamin Franklin, bicyclists, Board of Aldermen, cent, DOGE, Donald Trump, early voting, election, Elon Musk, Executive Orders, gender neutral, Greenwood, Hall of Fame, Humor, Joe Jackson, like, mail-in voting, Mark Sardella, Opinion, Our Democracy, penny, Pete Rose, Politics, railroad crossing, restroom, select board, selectmen, Sudafed, Super Bowl, toilet seat, Town Council, Town Counsel, Valentine's Day, Voter ID, voting age, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, Youth Council
My executive orders
As you are no doubt aware, the new president wasted no time issuing a flurry of Executive Orders, which have the usual suspects clutching their pearls.
He has restored Mt. McKinley to its rightful name. He has ordered that the Gulf of Mexico will henceforth be the Gulf of America. He has ordered all federal employees to return to in-person work.
But why should the president have all the fun?
I have decided to get in on the act and issue my own Executive Orders. Anyone who doubts my authority to do so can impeach me.
First, I order the elimination of all bicycle lanes. Roads are for motor vehicles. Bicycles are for children. If you want to ride a bike, use the sidewalk.
Filed under: baseball, Columns & Essays, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 3 Comments
Tags: Alaska, American Flag, automobiles, ballplayer, baseball, bicyc;es, bike lanes, cars, Cleveland Indians, coal, Daylight Saving Time, designated hitter, Donald Trump, Eastern Time, electricity, Executive Orders, Fighting Irish, flag poles, flagpoles, flags, football, ghost runner, Gulf of America, Gulf of Mexico, heat, Humor, Indians, Major League Baseball, Mark Sardella, Melrose Red Raiders, MLB, motor vehicles, mountain, Mt. Denali, Mt. McKinley, names, National Football League, Native American, natural gas, NFL, Notre Dame, oil, Opinion, paper bags, pitch clock, plastic bags, Politics, POW-MIA, President, re-useable bags, roads, sidewalks., softball, Standard Time, Stop & Shop, streets, time zones, United States, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Warriors, Washington Redskins
Subject matter experts
When you attend a lot of municipal meetings, you come to learn that each board has its own pet buzzwords and phrases. But one phrase favored across the board by local government bodies is the term “subject matter experts.”
Town boards and committees rely on these subject matter experts to inform and validate their actions and decisions.
When it comes to public safety, the town’s subject matter experts are the police and fire chiefs. But if any Town Councilors thought that their two high-profile employees would back them up and support the new North Avenue redesign, they miscalculated.
Councilor Mehreen Butt had insisted that Police Chief Steven Skory and Fire Chief Michael Sullivan attend the Jan. 13 Town Council meeting and provide their take on the new North Avenue bicycle lane and flex posts.
Filed under: Columns & Essays, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 2 Comments
Tags: automobiles, Bicycle lane, bicycles, bike, bikes, cars, Climate Change, cyclists, drivers, election, Fire Chief, Mark Sardella, Mehreen Butt, Michaek Sullivan, motor vehicles, North Avenue, Opinion, Police Chief, Politics, road, Safe Streets Wakefield, safety, Steven Skory, street, subject matter experts, Town Council, Town Councilors, travel lanes, voters, Wakefield Daily Item
Normalizing Inauguration Day
Monday, January 20 is Inauguration Day, and while many of you will be celebrating, please try to have some consideration for those who are mourning the Death of Democracy.
Continue reading ‘Normalizing Inauguration Day’
Filed under: Columns & Essays, History, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 8 Comments
Tags: America, Canada, Capitol, D.C., democracy, Donald Trump, elections, Germany, Greenland, Harry S. Truman, History, Humor, inaguration, John F. Kennedy, joke, Mark Sardella, Opinion, Politics, President, Television, TV, United States, unity, Wakefield Daily Item, Washington, White House
Reality bites
Cycling and farmers markets go together like avocado and toast. Wakefield’s Farmers Market even offers a bike valet service for the convenience of its cycling customers during the market season.
And now, Wakefield‘s first true bike lane begins right next to the Farmers Market location at Hall Park.
A match made in heaven, right?
Perhaps not.
A few weeks ago, the town installed a line of 4-foot-tall flex posts as a visual barrier between the new bike lane and the now shrunken automobile travel lanes on North Avenue. The idea was to give residents a taste of the North Avenue redesign before the posts were taken down for the winter to facilitate snow plowing.
As fate would have it, the flex posts were still in place on Saturday, Dec. 14, during the Holiday Farmer’s Market, affording market management and attendees a chance to become acquainted with the new bike lane.
You might say things got off to a bumpy start.
Continue reading ‘Reality bites’
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Community, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 2 Comments
Tags: advocacy, ambulance, AnnMarie Gallivan, automobiles, avocado toast, bicycle, bicycle lanes, bicycles, bike, bike lane, bikes, cars, commuter rail, COVID, cycling, cyclists, farmers' market, Humor, Jonathan Chines, Mark Sardella, motorists, North Avenue, Opinion, Politics, road, safety, street, Town Council, train, vehicles, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA
Mark Sardella 