Snowbound snowflakes
They don’t make snow days like they used to.
I don’t know when everything changed. Maybe it was the Blizzard of ’78 that traumatized us to the point where we no longer take any chances.
Way back in the 20th century, when I was a youth, we never had the luxury of knowing 24 hours ahead of time that school was cancelled. Back then, we still had to get up early for school and huddle around the wireless, listening intently through practically the entire alphabet, hoping that when they got to “W” we heard the word “Wakefield.”
Continue reading ‘Snowbound snowflakes’
Filed under: Columns & Essays, History, Humor, News, Opinion, Wakefield | 2 Comments
Tags: blizzard, bus stop, Climate Change, driveway, Internet, Lake Quannapowitt, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, radio, school, school bus, shoveling, sled, snow, snow blower, snow day, snowboard, snowflake, storm, technology, Television, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Public Schools, winter
Short and sweet
Dunkin’ Donuts announced recently that it is considering shortening the name on all of its stores to simply, “Dunkin’.” A few select stores around the country are now testing the truncated name, including one in Boston.
This move could have serious implications for a town like Wakefield, which has a Dunkin’ Donuts on every corner (and thankfully not one Starbucks).
Continue reading ‘Short and sweet’
Filed under: Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | Leave a Comment
Tags: Academy Award, Board of Selectmen, Boston, Clark Gable, Darling Ingredients, Dunkin' Donuts, General Mills, Gingerbread Construction Company, Gone With the Wind, Hattie McDaniel, Honey Dew Donuts, Lord and Taylor, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, Oscars, Pleasure Island Road, Ralph Lauren, Robert Half Comany, Starbucks, Vivien Leigh, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield High School, Wakefield MA, Wakefield School Department
Where’s the outrage?
One thing that there’s no shortage of on social media is outrage. Democrats are outraged about Trump. Republicans are outraged about Hillary (and Trump).
And apparently everybody’s outraged about underground power lines.
Whether on social media or real life, sometimes it seems that there isn’t enough outrage where it’s truly warranted. That’s why it was encouraging recently to see some genuine outrage from the Board of Selectmen when they got the results of the 2017 Youth Risk Behavior Survey for Wakefield.
Wakefield’s Substance Abuse Prevention Coordinator Catherine Dhingra was at the selectmen’s meeting to go over the latest Youth Risk Behavior Survey results.
There were a number of alarming statistics that came out of the 2017 YRBS, not the least of which is that regular marijuana use spiked 10 percent among Wakefield High School students in the past year. And 25 percent of WHS students admit to driving while stoned. Continue reading ‘Where’s the outrage?’
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Community, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | Leave a Comment
Tags: Board of Selectmen, Brian Falvey, Catherine Dhingra, drugs, Ed Dombroski, Facebook, Humor, legalization, marijuana, Mark Sardella, Opinion, outrage, parents, Politics, pot, power lines, social media, teachers, teens, Tony Longo, WAKE UP, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield High School, Wakefield MA, weed, Youth Risk Behavior Survey, youth teenagers
Town Meeting alibis
It’s almost time for that biannual funfest known as Town Meeting, so start dusting off your excuses now.

“Nobody told me about it.”
“I have to work that day.”
“I have kids.”
Wow, with extenuating circumstances like those, it’s a wonder anyone ever shows up.
All kidding aside, nobody gives a rodent’s hindquarters whether you show up or not, least of all me. The only reason the excuses come up at all is because somebody complains about something that resulted from a Town Meeting action.
Then someone else (like me) asks the obvious question: Which way did you vote when this came up at Town Meeting?
You know the responses (see above).
Continue reading ‘Town Meeting alibis’
Filed under: Columns & Essays, History, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | Leave a Comment
Tags: attendance, Betsy Sheeran, electronic voting, Facebook, Humor, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, municipal government, newspaper, Opinion, Politics, Town Clerk, Town Meeting, voting, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, web site


















