Posts Tagged ‘Town Meeting’
The Simple Art of Voting
Every time there’s a low-turnout local election or Town Meeting (or both, as we recently had in Wakefield) talk inevitably turns to ways to improve voter turnout and participation. On the surface, it seems like a noble idea. “How can we make voting easier?” people wonder, as if voting were a task akin to climbing […]
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Tags: apathy, elections, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, Politics, Town Meeting, vote, voting, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA
Trashing Automated Collection
For better or worse, automated trash collection started in Wakefield, MA on Sept. 29. And for better or worse, it’s here to stay – at least for as long as the current trash contract is in effect. I’m not interested in arguing the merits pro or con of automated trash collection. But I am fascinated […]
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Tags: automated trash collection, Bill Carroll, DPW, Facebook, Mark Sardella, social media, Steve Maio, Town Meeting, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA
No Parking: Pot Zone
Over 900 Wakefield voters showed up at Monday’s opening Annual Town Meeting session to vote on a $3 million parking garage. Thursday night’s continued session opened with Article 3, the $79 million FY 2015 town budget. Math has never been my strong suit, so my fitness to be a Town Meeting teller would probably be […]
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Tags: Assisted Living, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, medical marijuana, parking garage, Town Meeting, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA
Information Pleas
Call it the calm before the storm. The fiery debate that raged in Wakefield, MA over the downtown parking garage issue up to the April 1 special election has of late been reduced to glowing embers. But it is beginning to heat up again in anticipation of the May 5 Annual Town Meeting. The hot […]
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Tags: Assisted Living, election, free press, Galvin Middle School, information, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, parking garage, Town Meeting, vote, voter apathy, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, William Carroll
One Issue Wonders
Every time a special interest group manages to pack Town Meeting to ram their pet measure through, local government geeks find themselves wondering if there will be some long-term residual benefit, some lasting silver lining to this cynical exercise. Surely, they imagine, out of this great mass of people here to vote on their one […]
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Tags: ballot, ballot question, debt exclusion, election, Galvin Middle School, Galvinize, Galvinize Wakefield, June 9, Mark Sardella, new Galvin Middle School, property tax, Proposition 2 1/2, rebuild, school, school building project, school construction, schools, taxes, Town Meeting, vote, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Mass, Wakefield Massachusetts
Signs of the Times
It happened two weekends ago. Seemingly, if not literally, overnight, political yard signs sprung up like crocuses all over the town of Wakefield. Along main roads and side streets and especially on the coveted corner lots, each sign installation proclaimed a resident’s allegiance to a candidate or candidates in the April 24 Town Election. Some […]
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Tags: ballot, Brian Falvey, candidate, candidates, Daily Item, election. elections, Galvin Middle School, Greg Liakos, Paul DiNocco, Phillip Renzullo, Phyllis Hull, political signs, Politics, Town Meeting, vote, voters, Wakefield, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Mass, Wakefield Massachusetts
How to Galvinize Wakefield
The campaign to sell the town of Wakefield a new Galvin Middle School is already gathering steam and is likely to continue unabated through the May Annual Town Meeting and beyond. It’s going to be a hard sell. With a $74,740,254, price tag, building a brand new, state-of-the-art middle school is going to require the […]
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Tags: Annual Town Meeting, ballot, building, building project, buildings, campaign, classroom, classrooms, construction, Daily Item, debt exclusion, debt exclusions, election, Gallvin Middle School Wakefield MA, Galvin, Galvin Middle School, Galvin Middle School Wakefield, Galvin Middle School Wakefield Mass, Galvinization, Galvinize, Galvinize Wakefield, home, Massachusetts School Building Authority, MSBA, override, overrides, plan, plans, project, Proposition 2 1/2, referendum, renovate, renovation, school, school building, school building project, schools, site, student, students, teacher, teachers, town, Town Meeting, Wakefield, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Mass, Wakefield Massachusetts
Total Recall
Massachusetts town solves voter apathy problem Outraged that only 145 voters showed up at Wakefield‘s Annual Town Meeting session to vote on the town’s $67 million FY’11 operating budget, a group of local citizens has filed a petition to recall Wakefield’s remaining 16,301 registered voters.
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Tags: apathy, budget, budgets, Daily Item, election, elections, government, Mark Sardella, municipal budget, municipal government, municipalities, municipality, Open Town Meeting, recall, recall effort, recall efforts, recall election, recall petition, recall petitions, tax, taxes, town, Town Meeting, Town Meetings, towns, vote, voter, voter apathy, voters, voting, Wakefield, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Mass, Wakefield Massachusetts
Taxing Times
Wakefield, Massachusetts votes itself a new tax The 2009 Regular Town Meeting proved to be a taxing one – and not just for those who hung in for the entire three and a half hours. Town Meeting backed two new local taxes: one that will bring the tax on a restaurant meal in Wakefield to […]
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Tags: Daily Item, hotel tax, John Carney, local option, local option meals tax, local taxes, MA, Marc Luca, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, meals tax, tax, taxation, taxes, Town Meeting, Wakefield, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Mass, Wakefield Massachusetts
Mark Sardella 