The real ‘No Kings Day’
On July 4th, throngs of people will line the sidewalks of downtown Wakefield, but they won’t be holding “No Kings” signs.
No, this crowd will be proudly celebrating their country’s founding and the brave men who fought for independence from a real monarch.
What a difference a quarter of a millennium makes.
Continue reading ‘The real ‘No Kings Day’’
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Tags: America, American Revolution, celebtation, Dan Hicks, Donald J. Trump, England, fireworks, Founding Fathers, Fourth of July, George W. Bush, Humor, Independence Day, July 4, July Fourth, King George III, Mark Sardella, monarch, No Kings, Opinion, Parade, patriots, Politics, President, Revolutionary War, teachers, Uncle Sam, United States, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA
Royal pains
Last Saturday was something called “No King’s Day,” a nationwide protest brought to you by those who have convinced themselves that the White House is currently occupied by a man who would be king.
He must be a very benevolent monarch, since he allowed the hundreds of protests against him last weekend to go on unhindered.
Deep down, even the protestors know the whole “king” thing is nonsense – just a slightly less offensive label than “dictator” or “Hitler.” But it’s fun to play pretend, and they hope to fool a few gullible people with their hysterical histrionics.
Continue reading ‘Royal pains’
Filed under: Columns & Essays, History, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 1 Comment
Tags: business, Constitution, democracy, demonstration, Donald Trump, Hart's Hardware, History, Home Depot, Humor, ice, immigration, Mark Sardella, Market Basket, No Kings, Opinion, parking, Politics, President, protest, protestors, signs, stores, The Farmland, United States, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA
Retreat to paradise
One of your new Town Councilors wants Wakefield to be more like Lexington, Northampton and Georgetown. Another would like the Council to think about “scaling back” the public’s online access to meetings via Zoom.
And although the “T” word was never uttered, most councilors are very worried about “what’s going on in Washington” and how that could impact grants and other funding, including federal dollars that are funneled through the state.
This all came to light at a special meeting of the Town Council held on Tuesday, May 20, in the first-floor conference room at Town Hall. This space used to be known as the “Selectmen’s Meeting Room,” before we realized that “selectmen” was a bad word.
The very special meeting was called by Town Council chair Mehreen Butt. (“Chairman” is now also a forbidden term, whether the holder of the position uses “she/her” or “he/him” pronouns).
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Tags: affordable housing, bicycle network, Disabilities Commission, economic development, Georgetown, goals, Housing Production Plan, John Crisley, Jonathan Chines, Lexington, marketplace, Massachusetts, Mehreen Butt, Michael McLane, mom and pop, Northampton, Open Meeting Law, priorites, public participation, retreat, selectmen, single-family home, Stephen Maio, Town Council, Town Planner, traffic, transportation, Wakefield MA, Wakefield School Committee, Washington DC, Zoom
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’
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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’
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Mark Sardella 