Posts Tagged ‘Town Meeting’
Flock, we hardly knew ye
Wakefield is less safe today than it was a week ago. This week, the Wakefield Police Department reluctantly decided to pull the plug on their use of Flock Safety cameras as a tool to solve crimes and keep the community safe. Not because the cameras aren’t effective. They are. And not because the Flock cameras […]
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Tags: ALPR, automobile, Big Brother, cameras, carjacking, cars, civil liberties, crime, criminals, Facebook, Flock cameras, Flock Safety, law enforcement, license plate, Lynn MA, Mark Sardella, mass surveillance, Opinion, police, Politics, social media, technology, Town Meeting, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Police Department, WPD
Stars, stripes and a shrug
What a difference five decades make. Those who were around in 1976 remember that the nation’s Bicentennial was a big, big deal. Everywhere you looked, there was something to remind you of our nation’s 200th birthday. Bicentennial logos appeared on everything from cereal boxes to beverage bottles and cans. Everything had a red, white and […]
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Tags: 1976, America, America 250, American flags, anti-Americanism, Bicentennial, culture, History, Humor, Independence Day, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, No Kings, Opinion, patriotism, Politics, self-loathing, Town Meeting, United States, Vietnam War, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, Weekend Insurrectionists
Call me Nostradamus
I would like to thank the voters of Wakefield – or should I say, the non-voters – for making a prophet out of me. Two weeks ago in this space, I boldly predicted that you would stay away from the polls in droves on Election Day. You didn’t let me down. Fully 90 percent of […]
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Tags: apathy, AWOL, Brian Fox, budget, deficit, election, FY2027, high school, Humor, knitting, Mark Sardella, Nostradamus, Opinion, Politics, prophet, taxes, Town Councilm Ami Wall, Town Meeting, voters, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Public Schools
Minority rule
Tuesday is Town Election Day, and if past is prologue, fully 10-15 percent of Wakefield’s registered voters will exercise the right that President Jimmy Carter called, “the foundation of our democracy.” The remaining 85-90 percent of you will be on social media railing about the condition of the roads, overdevelopment and wondering how we ended […]
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Tags: Ami Ruehrwein Wall, bicycle lanes, Brian Fox, children, COVID, democracy, development, Donald Trump, Election Day, Facebook, Humor, James Cerone, Jimmy Carter, Mark Sardella, No Kings, Opinion, overdevelopment, Politics, President, Rada Frohlchstein, roads, School Committee, social media, Town Election, Town Meeting, vote, Voter ID, voters, voting, voting age, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Youth Council, Warrior logo
Future tense
If you thought 2025 brought a lot of troubling changes, you ain’t seen nothing yet! But as the old saying goes, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” So, for my first column of the New Year, here are some bold predictions for 2026. The town can reconfigure all the intersections it […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Humor, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 1 Comment
Tags: 2025, 2026, Christmas, crystal ball, development, Donald Wong, driving, Edgewater Park, election, English, Fence Viewers, forecast, Forest Glade Cemetery, Hamas, housing, Humor, intersection, Israel, Jason Lewis, Jonathan Chines, Juneteenth, Kate Lipper-Garabedian, land acknowledgement, Mark Sardella, Moby Dick, New Year, No Kings, Opinion, Pleasure Island, Pledge of Allegiance, Politics, predictions, Pride, protest, radical chic, Sachem, Saugus MA, stop sign, Town Meeting, voting age, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Human Rights Commission, Wakefield MA change, Wakefield Public Schools, Wakefield School Committee, William Carroll, wreaths, Youth Council
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, […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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
