Posts Tagged ‘Board of Selectmen’

Annual Town Meeting is over but November’s Regular Town Meeting will be here before you know it. Since there are always new people moving into Wakefield and new people reaching voting age, a few observations and helpful tips may be in order. You’ll of course want to bookmark this column for future reference. First, a […]


WAKEFIELD – The Board of Selectmen passed away with little fanfare this week after a bout with a virulent strain of political correctness. It was 371 years old. Born in 1647, the Board of Selectmen was the child of Lynn Village and Redding. It was later adopted by Reading, South Reading and Wakefield. The Board […]


Terms that perfectly capture their intended meaning sometimes end up as clichés. They get overused because no other words serve the purpose quite so well. The term “politically correct” is a perfect example. It’s status as a cliche is used as cover by those accused of politically correctness. They dismiss the charge on the grounds […]


There was a time, not so very long ago, when Wakefield residents of sound mind would hear about towns like Concord banning plastic water bottles, roll their eyes and think, “There but for the grace of God…” Then Wakefield Town Meeting banned plastic bags. And as long as they had the troops mustered, the forces […]


Being a panelist on two local candidates’ debates last week got me thinking about the role that local media plays in town. Televised debates for political office in Wakefield go back to the days before WCAT, to what I call the Dark Ages of public access TV. That was my first brush with local media […]


Opioid fix

15Mar18

I wanted to know what could be done about the opioid epidemic, so I decided to seek out some public policy experts. Unfortunately, Wakefield High School was closed yesterday. Meanwhile, the Board of Selectmen in Wakefield, MA is doing something. They have decided that the town will join hundreds of municipalities nationwide in filing lawsuits […]


That’s it. I’m never going on vacation again. Last September, while I was in France for two weeks, the Board of Selectmen voted to end a 400-year tradition and start calling themselves the “Town Council.” Now, I come back on Tuesday from four days in Florida only to learn that town officials have completely changed […]


It’s my favorite photo of Phyllis Hull. It’s Veterans Day, 2011, and she’s standing at the podium on Veterans Memorial Common, about to make her dedication speech in front of the just unveiled, brand new World War II Monument. She’s beaming, and she had every right to be proud. She was the first to say […]


It’s late December in Wakefield, and you know what that means. Santa has made his list and checked it twice. But it no longer matters if you’ve been naughty or nice, because it’s 2017 and Santa doesn’t make moral judgments. Who is Santa to determine bad or good for anyone else? That being said, and […]


Short and sweet

01Dec17

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 […]