Posts Tagged ‘Jonathan Chines’
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 […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 1 Comment
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
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, […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 1 Comment
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
Reality bites
Cycling and farmers markets go together like avocado and toast. Wakefield’s Farmers Market even offers a bike valet service for the convenience of its cycling customers during the market season. And now, Wakefield‘s first true bike lane begins right next to the Farmers Market location at Hall Park. A match made in heaven, right? Perhaps […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Community, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 2 Comments
Tags: advocacy, ambulance, AnnMarie Gallivan, automobiles, avocado toast, bicycle, bicycle lanes, bicycles, bike, bike lane, bikes, cars, commuter rail, COVID, cycling, cyclists, farmers' market, Humor, Jonathan Chines, Mark Sardella, motorists, North Avenue, Opinion, Politics, road, safety, street, Town Council, train, vehicles, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA
Thickly settled
If there’s one thing the public has made abundantly clear of late, it’s that they hate overdevelopment and especially all the new multifamily housing being built around town. The discussion of overdevelopment dominates conversation in the public square, the local coffee shops and on social media. It’s a far greater concern than potholes or a […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 1 Comment
Tags: affordable housing, Anne Danehy, building, by right, Chapter 40A, construction, density, development, district, Edward Dombroski, EOHLC, Erin Kokinda, globalism, Greenwood, housing, Jim Hogan, Jonathan Chines, Julie Smith-Galvin, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, MBTA communities, Michael McLane, multi-family, Opinion, over-development, overdevelopment, Politics, population, residential, units, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, West Side, 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
Flagging allegiance
What happens when a community deserts its wounded warriors in favor of social justice warriors? The town of Wakefield, Massachusetts is in the process of finding out. On May 16, the Veterans Advisory Board (VAB) voted 7-0 to request that the town honor Flag Day “by flying only the American flag” from public flagpoles on […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Community, History, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 2 Comments
Tags: activists, Ed Dombroski, election, flag American Flag, Flag Day, flagpole, Jonathan Chines, Juneteenth, Old Glory, Pride flag, progressive, Stars & Stripes, Town Council, VAB, veterans, Veterans Advisory Board, voter turnout, voters, Wakefiekd MA, Wakefield Human Rights Commission, WHRC, woke
The price of apathy
Last Saturday’s Special Election, which saw 18 percent of the voters give 100 percent of Wakefield homeowners a hefty tax increase, brought back a hazy memory from about 40 years ago. As a member of the Board of Assessors in the 1980s, Paul Faler was a fierce advocate for residential taxpayers. As I recall it, […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, History, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 5 Comments
Tags: bike lanes, Blosoms at the Beebe, Board of Assessors, education, election, electorate, homeowners, Humor, Jonathan Chines, League of Women Voters, LWV, Mark Sardella, Mike Conley, Opinion, Paul Faler, People's Paradise, Phil Porter, Phyllis Hull, Politics, Proposition 2 1/2, Sam Benedetto, schools, solar panels, special election, TAW, taxes, taxpayers, Taxpayers Association of Wakefield, Town Council, townies, voters, voting, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield High School, Wakefield MA, Wakefield natives, WMHS, Yes for WMHS
Here comes Santa Claus
I’ve taken to heart recent advice from readers that I should “do a little investigative journalism.” And since it’s my firm conviction that the public has a constitutional right to know what their local officials and others will be receiving in their stockings and under their trees on Christmas morning, my digging has uncovered Santa’s […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Humor, Nature & Wildlife, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | Leave a Comment
Tags: Amy McLeod, Beatles, Christmas, copyright, Donald Trump, Dr. Douglas Lyons, Fence Viewers, Humor, Jason Lewis, Jeff Kehoe, Jonathan Chines, MAGA, Mark Sardella, Mehreen Butt, News, Northeast Metro Tech, Ohio State University, Politics, Sam Stella, Santa Claus, Shaun F. Beasley, Smart Brevity, Taxman, Unitarian Universalist, Voke, voters, Wakefield Bowladrome, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield High School, Wakefield Human Rights Commission, Wakefield Police Department, Wakefield Public Schools, Wakefield Town Council, Warrior logo, Winter Solstice, WMHS
Magic bus
Like most of you, I had never heard of “transportation equity” until a week or so ago. It’s one of those terms that members of the Woke Community toss around in casual conversation believing everybody knows what it means, because everybody they know does. You probably thought “equity” was the value of your home minus […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Community, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 4 Comments
Tags: Amesbury, Boston, bus, Cambridge MA, Cambridge Mayor, electric vehicles, equity, Everett, EVs, fare-free bus service, free bus service, Humor, Jonathan Chines, letter, Malden, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, MBTA, Medford, Mehreen Butt, Melrose, Newburyport, Newton, Opinion, pilot program, Politics, public transportation, Rowley, Somerville, Sumbul Siddiqui, taxpayers, Town Councilor, Town Meeting, transit, transportation equity, Wakefield, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Town Council, Watertown, Winchester, Worcester
That’s entertainment!
“How do you do it?” is a question I am frequently asked. “How do you sit through all those boring government meetings?” I should probably answer that I selflessly attend these meetings in order to be your eyes and ears. I should say that I go to these meetings so that you don’t have to. […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, theater, Wakefield | Leave a Comment
Tags: agenda, Ann Santos, Common Street, control, Edward Dombroski, entertainment, government, Humor, Jonathan Chines, Julie Smith-Galvin, Mark Sardella, meetings, Mehreen Butt, Opinion, Paul DiNocco, Peter May, Politics, soap opera, Stephen P. Maio, theater, Town Council, town hall, Wakefield MA, warrants
Mark Sardella 