Posts Tagged ‘Massachusetts’
Fixing elections
When any person or group tells you that they want to “reform” the way we conduct elections to make voting more “fair” and increase voter “participation,” your BS detector should go off. Because when it comes to elections, one thing and only one thing matters: winning. When proposals are advanced to change how elections are […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 1 Comment
Tags: Bob Dylan, Climate Change, Democrats, diversity, election reform, elections, ethnicity, gender, high school, Humor, ideas, journalism, legislature, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, MassForward, MassINC, newspapers, nonpartisan, NPR, Opinion, partisan, PBS, policy, Politics, press, problematic, race, ranked-choice voting, Republicans, study, taxes, Tisch College, Tufts University, voter fraud, voter registration, voters, voting
Charging forward
If you thought the local plastic bag ban passed by the town a couple of years ago was bad, take heart. It’s about to get a lot worse. The Massachusetts Legislature is considering a measure that would ban plastic bags statewide. The State Senate is now debating the legislation before it moves on to the […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Humor, Nature & Wildlife, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 1 Comment
Tags: ban, business, carbon tax, charging station, CVS, electric vehicles, electricity, environmentalists, EV, Farmland, flaring, food, fossil fuels, Humor, Karen Spilka, legislature, litter, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, MGLD, natural gas, Opinion, plastic, plastic bags, Politics, power, sea turtles, Senate, straws, Wakefield Daily Item, WakefieldMA, Walgreens
A simple plan
If you’re looking for someone to blame for bike lanes, look in the mirror. That’s in effect what the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) is saying in a recently released document called the Massachusetts Bicycle Transportation Plan. MassDOT has developed the Bike Plan “to be an actionable investment strategy to guide its decision-making and bicycle […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 5 Comments
Tags: America, automobiles, bicycle, bike lanes, bikes, biking, cars, Climate Change, emissions, environment, Global Warming, greenhouse gas, Humor, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, MassDOT, Opinion, planet, Politics, skydiving, soccer, solar, transportation, travel, United States, vehicles, wagonm Radio Flyer, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, windmills, yoga
Bad examples
Bad ideas seem to be finding their way to Wakefield with some regularity of late, which is why you should always be aware of what’s going on in nearby communities. Forewarned is forearmed as they say, and in Massachusetts there’s never a shortage of “initiatives” to be forewarned about. Let’s start with the least dubious […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 2 Comments
Tags: Board of Selectmen, Columbus Day, FDR, holiday, Humor, Indian, Indiginous Peoples Day, League of Women Voters, LWV, Marblehead, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, Native American, North Andover, Opinion, Politics, Somerville, Town Meeting, vaping, vote, voting, Wakefield, Wakefield Daily Item, white privilege
Fine for parking
It was heartening to see the Wakefield Town Council take an action recently that will benefit those who drive automobiles, because the trend across the Commonwealth and the nation in recent years has been to treat motorists as the scum of the earth.
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Community, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | Leave a Comment
Tags: automobiles, bike lanes, Boston, Burrage Yale, business district, Cambridge, cars, downtown, drivers, Ed Dombroski, Green New Deal, Harvard Square, Humor, infrastructure, Jame Hartshorne, Main Street, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, motorists, Opinion, parking, pedestrians, Politics, public meeting, social media, Town Council, upgrade, VHB, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA
Weeding out NIMBYism
Well, well, well. It seems that as the date approaches for the first recreational marijuana shops to open, more and more communities in Massachusetts are getting cold feet – including towns that voted overwhelmingly to legalize the bud. That includes Brookline, where they voted 17,803-11,066 to legalize recreational marijuana statewide. But now, in a community […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | Leave a Comment
Tags: accidents, ageism, Brookline MA, bud, car crashes, Colorado, Concord MA, election, hemp, herb, Humor, insurance, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, legalization, loitering, marijuana, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, medicine, Nevada, NIMBY, Opinion, Oregon, plastic bags, Politics, pot, prohibition, schools, vote, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, Washington, weed
Lost at the Fair
I try to make it to the Topsfield Fair once every 20 years. So, I checked my internal calendar and it turns out this was the year! Despite my infrequent visits, I like the idea of country fairs. They are authentic relics of traditional America. You can go there and get a taste of what […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays | Leave a Comment
Tags: agricultural fairs, America, animals, Bible, Columbus Day, corn, country fair, cows, flag, food pizza, God, Humor, jokes, livestock, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, Opinion, parking, pigs, poultry, pumpkin, rabbits, rain, sausage, sheep, Topsfield Fair, Topsfield MA, United States, Wakefield Daily Item
Street view
Monday was like Christmas in August for me. Did the town rescind the plastic bag ban? Did the Town Council go back to being the Board of Selectmen? Sadly, the answer to both of those questions is “no.” But something almost as good happened. The 2018 edition of my favorite book was released. I’m not […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, History, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | Leave a Comment
Tags: 1936, 2018, Board of Assessors, Board of Registrars, Board of Selectmen, books, Christmas, directory, female, genders, Humor, inclusivity, male, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, Opinion, Politics, residents, Street List, Town Council, voters, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, World War II Memorial
Meeting expectations
I’m starting a petition to ban petitions. Actually, I would never do that. First of all, I’m much too lazy and second, it would involve talking to people, which I try to avoid whenever possible. Saying that I want to start a petition against petitions is an attempt at irony. Not intended to be ironic […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | Leave a Comment
Tags: agendas, Board of Selectmen, branding, digital, downtown, Favermann Design, government meetings, Humor, kiosk, Mark Favermann, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, Open Meeting Law, Opinion, Politics, Town Council, transparency, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Main Streets, wayfinding, WCAT
Mark Sardella 