Posts Tagged ‘economy’
School choice
Most of us know at least one person who grew up in Wakefield, attended Wakefield Public Schools and then had to reluctantly leave his hometown as it became increasingly unaffordable. Well, living in Wakefield is about to get even more expensive, if the current plans for a new high school go through.
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Tags: 1960, Andy Bray, ballot committee, building, building project, cost, Dolbeare School, economy, Galvin Middle School, inflation, Ken Duval, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, Michael Scollo, Opinion, Politics, Robert Bradley, senior citizens, taxes, Television, Town Election, Town Meeting, TV, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield High School, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Public Schools, WMHS, Woodville School, working families, Yes for WMHS
High school math
Let’s start by stipulating that there will be a new Wakefield Memorial High School. And it will be fabulous. We know this because the local education lobby is very motivated and highly coordinated. We saw it in the recent Town Election. The three School Committee winners were all educators or former educators. And all three […]
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Tags: ageism, debt exclusion, Douglas Lyons, economy, education, electric, energy, environment, fossil fuels, Galvin Middle School, gasoline, groceries, Humor, inflation, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts School Building Authority, Mike Conley, MSBA, Opinion, override, Phyllis Hull, Politics, schools, sustainability, taxes, taxpayers, townies, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield High School, Wakefield MA, WMHS
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
Data-driven derangement
Who knew that rioters and looters were covered under Phase 1 of the re-opening plan? High school graduation ceremonies with 260 students are still verboten, but if you and several thousand of your comrades want to get together and torch a church or flip over a few police cruisers, no one’s going to stop you […]
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Tags: Black Lives Matter, BLM, coronavirus, COVID-19, data-driven, demonstrations, destruction, economy, graduation, Humor, ice cream, lockdown, looting, Mark Sardella, masks, Opinion, Politics, protests, re-opening, restaurants, riots, shopping, social distancing, sports, supermarkets, unmute, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, Zoom
Cruel choices
The choice, apparently, is a binary one. You can have economic devastation or death. You can have your livelihood or your life. There are no other options, so take your pick. That’s the way it’s being framed by amateur epidemiologists on social media, who can always find some “study” on the internet to justify expanding […]
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Tags: business, CDC, Climate Change, coronavirus, COVID-19, death wish, economy, epidemiologists, fear, Humor, lockdown, Mark Sardella, martial law, Opinion, optimism, pandemic, Politics, restrictions, science, shutdown, silver lining, suicide pact, sunlight, Wakeield Daily Item
Many ways to care
Let me see if I understand. Either you want everybody to live under lockdown indefinitely (if you call that living) or you care more about Wall Street and corporate profits than human life. Have I got that about right? If you express any concern about the economy, it’s not because you hope small business owners, […]
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Tags: alcoholism, business, coronavirus, corporations, COVID-19, depression, drug addiction, economics, economy, employment, health, jobs, lockdown, Mark Sardella, money, Opinion, Politics, recession, revenue, small businesses, suicide, unemployment, virus, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, workers
March into madness
Out of an abundance of misanthropy, I have decided to self-quarantine until further notice. No, I’m not reacting to the coronavirus. I’m responding to the sheer panic that has overtaken the human population in the last week, including some normally level-headed leaders. I’m in Stop & Shop about every other day under normal circumstances. But […]
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Tags: Boston Marathon, bottled water, cancelations, Charlie Baker, closings, colleges, coronavirus, COVID-19, disease, economy, epidemic, hand-sanitizer, hoarding, Humor, hysteria, illness, Mark Sardella, misanthropy, News, Opinion, pandemic, panic, parks, Politics, quarantine, restaurants, schools, sickness, social distancing, Stop & Shop, supermarket, toilet paper, Town Meeting, virus, WakefieldMA
Pretty Vacant
“Isn’t it a shame about all the empty storefronts downtown?” “Which ones are empty?” “Well, I haven’t been downtown lately. Nobody goes there anymore because there’s too much traffic and not enough parking.” “Oh.” There’s one myth almost as persistent as the one that Wakefield has become so overdeveloped that there’s no room for an […]
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Tags: Boys & Girls Club, business, economy, hippies, John Devlin, Main Street, Mark Sardella, Molise, myth, Nonnos, Piece O Pizza, Procol Harem, Sixties, social media, storefronts, stores, Tommy James & the Shondells, vacancy, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, Yogi Berra
Running down the downtown
“Wakefield has such a pretty downtown,” my friend in the passenger seat said as we drove past The Rockery on the right, with its rows of bright red and white tulips leading up to the Hiker Statue. It was a few weeks ago and the fountain hadn’t been turned on yet. “That’s not what our […]
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Tags: Albion Cultural Exchancge, business development, business district, commercial, downtown, economic revitalization, economy, ghost town, Lake Quannapowitt, Main Street, MAPC, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, merchants, parking, real estate, restaurants, retail, stores, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Main Streets
Twilight Zoning
Well, as it stands right now, there will not be a parking garage in downtown Wakefield, Massachusetts and based on recent developments, you might want to hold off on that down payment on an assisted living unit. It’s been anything but dull in our sleepy little town over the last few weeks. There’s blame being […]
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Tags: Assisted Living, Brightview Senior Living, economy, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, parking garage, Politics, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA
Mark Sardella 