Posts Tagged ‘Town Meeting’
Minor party
I’m here to provide your periodic update on the effort to allow children to vote in local elections. The Wakefield Youth Council had planned to get an article on the Nov. 8 Regular Town Meeting warrant, but there “wasn’t enough time.” Too much homework, I guess. But after listening to a recent Youth Council meeting, […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Humor, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | Leave a Comment
Tags: children, Columbia University, cursive, elections, Humor, legislature, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, Opinion, petition, Tom Mullen, Town Counsel, Town Meeting, vote, voting, voting age, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Youth Council, Zohran Mamdani
One child, one vote
Don’t be surprised if you see an article on the fall Regular Town Meeting warrant aimed at lowering the voting age in local elections to 16. The Youth Council voted in June to push Town Meeting for a home rule petition to that effect.
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 1 Comment
Tags: athletes, children, elections, government, Humor, kids, Mark Sardella, Opinion, Politics, polling, President, School Committee, students, teachers, teenagers, Town Council, Town Meeting, turnout, vote, voters, voting age, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield High School, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Youth Council, Warrior logo
It would be tedious and boring if it weren’t so dangerous. Another anti-Israel article will appear on Monday’s Annual Town Meeting warrant as a result of a citizens’ petition. It’s the third consecutive Wakefield Town Meeting that such an article has appeared on the warrant. The first one appeared on last year’s Annual Town Meeting […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 2 Comments
Tags: antisemitism, BDS, boycott, citizens petition, divestment, Gaza, Hamas, hate, Israel, Israelis, Mark Sardella, Middle East, October 7, Opinion, Palestine, Politics, propaganda, sanctions, terrorists, Town Meeting, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Human Rights Commission, Wakefield MA, warrant
Lean and green
It’s both humbling and gratifying when one’s advice is taken to heart, even if it’s for the wrong reasons and after the horse has left the barn. In this space last June, I wrote: “One of the Environmental Sustainability Committee’s Guiding Principles is, ‘Reduce, reuse, recycle and compost.’” I added, “They could start by reducing […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 4 Comments
Tags: advice, climate, compost, drill, education, electric vehicle, environmental, green business, Green Space, Humor, Mark Sardella, net-zero, Open Meeting Law, Opinion, policy, Politics, recycling, reduce, reuse, Scot McCauley, subcommittees, sustainability, Town Council, Town Meeting, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA
Much of the attention at Saturday morning’s Town Meeting will be focused on Article 4, the town’s latest plan to comply with the state’s so-called MBTA Communities Act, mandating by-right multifamily zoning in all Massachusetts communities served by the MBTA. Also sure to spark some discussion is a plan to put solar panels on the […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, History, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 1 Comment
Tags: anti-Semitism, antisemitism, Article 8, BDS, Fight Hate, Gaza. Middle East, Israel, Mark Sardella, MBTA Cmmunities Act, Oct. 7, October 7, Opinion, Palestine, Politics, solar panels, Town Meeting, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Human Rights Commission, Wakefield Massachusetts, WHRC
A simple plan
Ignorance of the law is no excuse, the old saying goes. And willful ignorance of the law combined with arrogance is inexcusable. Exhibit A: the recent ruling by the Attorney General’s Office that the Wakefield Planning Board violated the Open Meeting Law. The Planners convinced themselves that the superiority of their MBTA Multifamily Zoning compliance […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Humor, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 3 Comments
Tags: activists, agenda, Attorney General, board, Climate Change, committee, commuter rail, housing, Humor, James Hogan, magical thinking, Mark Sardella, Masschusetts, Matthew Lowry, MBTA, MGL Chapter 40A, multifamily housing, open government, Open Meeting Law, Opinion, Politics, public transit, public transportation, secret, Theo Noell, Town Meeting, train, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Planning Board, walkable communities, zoning
No means no
Wakefield has now joined the growing ranks of Massachusetts cities and towns that have decided to “just say no” to the state meddling in local zoning. Town Meeting voters outright refused to comply with the state’s mandate forcing MBTA communities to allow multifamily housing as of right near public transportation. Last week, Town meeting rejected […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 5 Comments
Tags: citizens petition, development, housing, law, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, MBTA, MBTA Communities Act, multifamily, News, Opinion, Planning Board, Politics, public hearings, public transit, residents, state, town, Town Meeting, transit, voters, Wakefield, Wakefield Daily Item, zoning
Hate globally, act locally
I’ve never been so glad that I got to experience Wakefield as a normal, working-class town, before the Home of the Warriors turned into the home of the social justice warriors. Wakefield’s official slogan used to be “the most enterprising community north of Boston.” (Try to imagine a time when capitalism was considered a good […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, History, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 12 Comments
Tags: Amherst, anti-Semitism, Cambridge, Climate Leader Communities, colonizers, Concord, Gaza. Middle East, Hamas, housing, immigrants, Israel, Mark Sardella, October 7, Opinion, Palestine, petition, Pledge of Allegiance, Politics, social justice, Specialized Energy Code, terrorism, Town Council, Town Meeting, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Human Rights Commission, Wakefield MA, Wally Moccia, war, Warriors
Designing density
We haven’t seen this level of hubris in an elected board since the Wakefield School Committee got rid of the Warrior logo even as a solid majority of residents voted in favor of keeping it. Now, the Wakefield Planning Board is doing its best to ignore the huge public outcry against its plus sized MBTA […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 3 Comments
Tags: buildings, elections, houses, Humor, legislature, mandate, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, MBTA, Multifamily district, Opinion, Planning Board, Politics, public opinion, School Committee, Town Meeting, voters, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Warrion, Warrior logo, zoning, Zoning Board
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
Mark Sardella 