Posts Tagged ‘Town Meeting’
Straw man
PREDICTION: On or about June 30, 2021, someone will post on one of the local Facebook groups the following tale of woe: Tonight, I picked up takeout for the family at [local restaurant.] Imagine my frustration when I got home and there were no utensils and no straws in any of the paper bags! I […]
Filed under: Humor, Opinion, Wakefield | 1 Comment
Tags: Arlington, ban, businesses, Chamber of Commerce, Climate Change, composting, consumers, containers, dolphins, elections, environment, Environmental Sustainability Committee, Facebook, Global Warming, globalism, Humor, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, Opinion, packaging, plastic, plastic bags, Politics, pollution, polystyrene, recycling, restaurants, sea turtles, storesCambridge, straws, styrofoam, Town Meeting, utensils, voting, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA
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 […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | Leave a Comment
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
Reasons to be cheerful
If you approached the 2020 Annual Town Meeting with a touch of trepidation, you certainly weren’t alone. There were several articles on the warrant that had the potential to make Wakefield a less safe and more restrictive community.
Filed under: Columns & Essays | 1 Comment
Tags: bias, Black Lives Matter, BLM, businesses, coronavirus, COVID-19, Humor, Mark Sardella, merchants, Opinion, plastic bags, plastic straws, police, Politics, prejudice, School Resource Officer, Town Meeting, transparency, voters, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield High School, Wakefield Human Rights Commission, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Police Department, WHRC, woke, WPD
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 […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 2 Comments
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
The cost of learning
If there is one group of individuals about whom a discouraging word must never be uttered, it’s public school teachers. Wakefield teachers have been without a contract since last summer, which you’ve probably heard as their supporters have been using social media and other means to spread the word.
Filed under: Columns & Essays, History, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 1 Comment
Tags: budget, class size, contract, DPW, education, Galvin Middle School, Greenwood School, Humor, Mark Sardella, negotiations, Norma Rae, Opinion, police, Politics, Public Safety Building, salary, School Committee, School Department, schools, students, taxpayers, teachers, Town Meeting, union, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Education Association, Wakefield High School, Wakefield MA, Walton School, WEA
Condo Condescension
Since it’s the New Year and a new decade, it seems like a good time for your periodic reminder that Wakefield is not in fact turning into “Condoville” or “Malden” or any of the other haughty labels that the snobs on social media like to toss around. What’s wrong with condos? Or for that matter, […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, History, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | Leave a Comment
Tags: apartments, buildings, business, condominiums, condos, development, downtown, factories, factories of Appeals, Greewood, housing, industrial, Malden, Mark Sardella, Master Plan, mixed-use, New Year, Opinion, Politics, revitalization, Tonno, Town Meeting, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Station, West Side, Zoning Board, Zoning Bylaw
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
Envision bike lanes
I have some bad news and some worse news. The bad news: Bike lanes are coming to Wakefield Square. The worse news: There’s not a thing you can do about it. Why, you ask? The answer can be expressed in one word: money. The town wants $15 million from the state for a Main Street […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, History, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 5 Comments
Tags: automobiles, bicycles, bike lanes, cars, design, downtown, Envision Wakefield, Humor, infrastructure, Main Street, Mark Sardella, millennials, money, Opinion, parking, Politics, roads, sidewalks., stakeholders, Town Meeting, traffic, VHB, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Square, WakefieldMA
Taxation without occupation
First, they came for your plastic bags. Now, they’re back for your property rights. Article 26 on the April 29 Annual Town Meeting warrant proposes a new bylaw that would pertain to vacant storefronts. Under the proposed bylaw, property owners of first-floor storefronts that are vacant for more than 90 days would have to register […]
Filed under: Art, Columns & Essays, Humor, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | Leave a Comment
Tags: Americans for the Arts, Art, building, business, bylaw, commercial property, fee, Humor, landlord, Main Street, Mark Sardella, Opinion, plastic bags, private property, profit, property tax, public art, real estate, rent, retail, store, storefront, taxes, Town Council, Town Meeting, vacancy, Wakefield Cultural Council, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA
