Posts Tagged ‘Climate Change’
Zoned out
While you’ve been busy arguing over whether Donald Trump or Joe Biden is the worse tyrant, our local mandarins have been busy pushing a new zoning bylaw that will alter the complexion of the town. If they can get it through the spring Annual Town Meeting, it will be an even bigger boondoggle than the […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 2 Comments
Tags: activists, Chapter 40A, Climate Change, developers, district, Donald Trump, EOHLC, housing, Humor, Joe Biden, mandate, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, Massachusetts General Laws, MBTA, multifamily, Opinion, Planning Board, Politics, public hearings, Section 3A, Specialized Energy Code, three-story, Town Meeting, triple decker, voters, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, zoning
The wrong track
The idea that if you create more housing near public transportation the masses will give up their cars and flock to the infinitely superior public transit system is an unquestioned article of faith amongst our collectivist cognoscenti. Do these “folks” know any actual Americans?
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Community, Humor, News, Politics, Wakefield | 3 Comments
Tags: 40A, Americans, automobiles, bicycles, bus, business, cars, central planning, Climate Change, collectivism, commuter rail, density, depot, district, downtown, education, Farmland, gridlock, Henry Ford, housing, Humor, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, MBTA, Model-T, multifamily, Opinion, parking, Politics, public, public transit, Range Rover, school, shopping, station, SUV, traffic, train, transportation, triple decker, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Planning Board, walking, zoning
Idle thoughts
For sheer entertainment value, last week’s Wakefield Town Council meeting had it all: pathos, bathos, drama and farce. And they say there’s nothing good on TV anymore. Let’s dive right in with the most contentious issue of the evening. Chairman Jonathan Chines had ordered eight “NO IDLING” signs to be put up on Main Street […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 3 Comments
Tags: bathrooms, bicycle path, bike lanes, cars, Climate Change, climate equity, cultural, democracy, education, environmental justice, floating wetland island, historic, Honey Dew, Humor, Jonathan Chines, Lake Quannapowitt, MAPC, Mark Sardella, men women, No Idling, Opinion, parking, Politics, resilience, restrooms, Route 128, Route 95, signs, Town Council, transparency, Veteran's Field, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA
The new one percent
You probably remember the term “one percent” or “one-percenter,” which became popularized during the “Occupy Wall Street” movement. Theoretically, it referred to the richest one percent of the population, who are said to have most of the money, property, and power in society. In reality, it was used to demonize any productive individual who had the audacity to earn and accumulate any quantity of wealth. […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 8 Comments
Tags: 1 percent, 40A, automobiles, bicycle, Bicycle lane, bike, bike lanes, cars, Climate Change, commuting, cycle, cyclist, developers, driving, Erin Kokinda, housing, Humor, Julie Smith-Galvin, Lake Quannapowitt, MAPC, Mark Sardella, Marxism, Massachusetts, MBTA, one percent, one-percenter, Opinion, parking, pedestrian, Politics, Safe Streets Working Group, schools, spandex, SSWG, transit, transportation, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, walking, wealth, zoning
All aboard the Equity Express!
The plan to get you out of your single-family home and private vehicle is proceeding apace as we forge ahead toward our collective future. The latest phase in this great leap forward has been promulgated by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, which is in the process of forcing it on local cities and towns with MBTA […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Community, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 8 Comments
Tags: apartments, automobiles, bicycle, bike, Board of Appeals, building, bus, by right, Cabot Cabot & Forbes, Cambridge, carbon, carpooling, cars, Climate Change, commuter rail, construction, cycling, developers, DHCD, emissions, energy, equity, Erin Kokinda, Fabians, home prices, home values, housing, housing prices, Humor, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, MBTA, Mike Kenneally, MTA, multi-family housing, Opinion, pedestrian, Politics, private property, railroad, ride-sharing, roads, social justice, suburbs, TDM, train, train station, trains, transit, transportation, Transportation Demand Management, Wakefield Daily ItemNew York, Wakefield MA, Watertown, zoning
A very Special Town Meeting
In just over a week, Phase 1 of the campaign for a new Wakefield Memorial High School will be complete. On Saturday, Jan. 28, the Special Town Meeting will be called to order and hundreds of people will pack the high school field house to hear school administrators and other town officials drone on at […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 10 Comments
Tags: accreditation, Central Committee, Climate Change, cost, Critical Race Theory, CRT, curriculum, development, Dolbeare School, education, educators, Greenwood School, home values, housing, Mark Sardella, natural gas, NEASC, Opinion, Politics, School Committee, schools, special election, students, taxes, teachers, Town Meeting, voters, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Memorial High School, Wakefield Warrior Logo, WHS, WMHS, Yes for WMHS
Developing a climate plan
The state of Massachusetts wants more control over municipal decision-making and is threatening to withhold state funding from cities and towns that do not comply with its social and climate goals disguised as zoning. New state guidelines based on a law passed by the legislature and signed by Gov. Charlie Baker last January require that […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, History, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 11 Comments
Tags: automobiles, batteries, building, bus lines, buses, cars, Charlie Baker, China, Climate Change, commuter rail, developers, development, electric vehicles, environmentalists, EVs, forced labor, fossil fuels, housing, Humor, lithium mining, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, Massachusetts Legislature, MBTA, Mike Kennealy, multi-family, Opinion, parking, Politics, public transportation, railroad, Town Meeting, traffic, trains, transit, Wakefield Daily Item, zoning
Straw man
PREDICTION: On or about June 30, 2021, someone will post on one of the local Facebook groups the following tale of woe: Tonight, I picked up takeout for the family at [local restaurant.] Imagine my frustration when I got home and there were no utensils and no straws in any of the paper bags! I […]
Filed under: Humor, Opinion, Wakefield | 1 Comment
Tags: Arlington, ban, businesses, Chamber of Commerce, Climate Change, composting, consumers, containers, dolphins, elections, environment, Environmental Sustainability Committee, Facebook, Global Warming, globalism, Humor, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, Opinion, packaging, plastic, plastic bags, Politics, pollution, polystyrene, recycling, restaurants, sea turtles, storesCambridge, straws, styrofoam, Town Meeting, utensils, voting, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA
Sustainability theater
Good things, as they say, come to those who wait. Unfortunately, so do bad things. You may recall that on last spring’s Annual Town Meeting warrant, there were a couple of articles aimed at expanding the town’s plastic bag ban and prohibiting certain types of food packaging. These measures were sponsored by the same folks […]
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Tags: ban, businesses, Climate Change, compost, consumer, containers, economy, environmentalism, food, Global Warming, Humor, lockdown, Mark Sardella, merchants, Opinion, plastic bags, plastics, Politics, polystyrene, prohibition, recycling, restaurants, shopkeepers, stores, styrofoam, sustainable, Town Meeting, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA
The worst summer
Monday is Labor Day, meaning that the Summer of 2020 will finally, mercifully, be over. So long, COVID Summer. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out. It was the summer of face coverings, cancellations and quarantines, as opposed to concerts, camp and cookouts. Everything was canceled, including local favorites like the Fourth […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Humor, Nature & Wildlife, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | Leave a Comment
Tags: 1816, arctic, August, cancellations, climate, Climate Change, COCID-19, cold, concerts, Connecticut, coronavirus, crops, fireworks, fossil fuels, frost, Global Warming, heat, Humor, July, June, Mark Sardella, masks, Massachusetts, Mother Nature, New England, New Hampshire, Opinion, Parade, Politics, Red Sox, snow, summer, Vermont, volcano, Wakefield cold, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, Waltham, weather
Mark Sardella 