Posts Tagged ‘Opinion’

By MARK SARDELLA What does it take to create art? Is it education, discipline and skill? Or is it raw talent and real-life experience? It often takes some of both, as we witness in Sam Shepard’s True West, currently in production at Gloucester Stage. Set in their mother’s home 40 miles east of Los Angeles, […]


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 […]


I’ll resist calling it “entertaining,” but it has been fascinating to watch the ongoing feud between the Wakefield Farmers Market and The Bread Shop. A year ago, Farmers Market manager Wendy Dennis initially denied The Bread Shop’s application to have a table at the Wakefield Farmers Market but later grudgingly relented after The Bread Shop […]


The vaping lot

24May18

It’s been an open secret for some time that vaping is a serious problem at Wakefield High School and at high schools everywhere. Vaping, if you don’t already know, is short for “vaporizing,” in which cartridges containing nicotine or even THC concentrate from marijuana, are vaporized rather than smoked. This is what e-cigarettes do. There […]


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 […]


Just rewards

03May18

I’m a big believer in giving back. So, I would like to repay a debt that is long overdue. Social Justice Warriors (SJWs) have been giving me advice for longer than I can remember (and that’s a long time, as they often kindly remind me). Whether it comes in the form of writing tips or […]


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 […]


Since when have one-sided political protests been sanctioned during class time in Wakefield Public Schools? Next Wednesday at 10 a.m., at least some students plan to “walk out” of Wakefield Memorial High School “to protest Congress’ inaction to do more than tweet thoughts and prayers in response to gun violence plaguing our schools and neighborhoods.” […]


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 […]


One thing that there’s no shortage of on social media is outrage. Democrats are outraged about Trump. Republicans are outraged about Hillary (and Trump). And apparently everybody’s outraged about underground power lines. Whether on social media or real life, sometimes it seems that there isn’t enough outrage where it’s truly warranted. That’s why it was […]