Wakefield MA | Mark Sardella

Posts Tagged ‘Wakefield MA’

Wakefield author Bob McLaughlin publishes history of ‘Magic Mountain’

07May16

By MARK SARDELLA It all started when he purchased nine Pleasure Island postcards at a local church antiques show. Since then, Wakefield’s Robert McLaughlin has written five books and turned himself into one of the country’s leading experts on American theme parks. His latest book, Magic Mountain was published last week and tells the story […]

Filed under: Columns & Essays, Feature stories, History, Profiles, Reviews, Wakefield | Leave a Comment
Tags: amusement parks, Arcadia Publishing, Baby Boomers, Bob McLaughlin, C.V. Wood, Colorado, Disneyland, Freedomland, Golden Colorado, Heritage Square, Magic Mountain, Marco Engineering, Mark Sardella, New York City, Pleasure Island, Robert McLaughlin, theme parks, trolly parks, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, Walt Disney, Walter F. Cobb, westerns

Special effects

06May16

If you are one of those who thought last week’s election meant that you could finally count Phyllis Hull out, a) You don’t know Phyllis Hull very well and, b) you might want to cork the Champagne, at least for now. Hull was defeated in her bid to be re-elected to the Board of Selectmen […]

Filed under: Columns & Essays, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | Leave a Comment
Tags: Board of Selectmen, campaign, candidate, debt exclusion, dissent, election, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, money, Opinion, override, Phyllis Hull, politicians, Politics, Proposition 2 1/2, special election, taxes, taxpayers, veterans, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, World War II

QP brings Horovitz’s ‘My Old Lady’ home

04May16

Directed by Nancy Curran Willis By MARK SARDELLA Israel Horovitz’s play “My Old Lady” is set in Paris but in Quannapowitt Players upcoming production there are Wakefield connections galore. Most obvious is the fact that Horovitz is a Wakefield native who grew up on Elm Street and graduated from Wakefield High School in 1956. On […]

Filed under: Art, Columns & Essays, Community, Feature stories, News, Profiles, theater, Wakefield | Leave a Comment
Tags: comedy, David Kimmelman, drama, France, Gloucester Stage, Israel Horovitz, Kevin Kline, Kim Anton Myatt, Kristin Scott Thomas, Lake Quannapowitt, Liz Robbins, Maggie Smith, Mark Sardella, My Old Lady, Nancy Curran Willis, play, playwright, Quannapowitt Players, theater, viager, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield High School, Wakefield MA

Wakefield honors first responders

02May16

By MARK SARDELLA If you encounter a police officer, a firefighter, an EMT or a paramedic in your travels around town, you might want to say “thank you.” The week of April 25, 2016 through May 1, 2016 was “First Responder Week” in Wakefield, as proclaimed by the Board of Selectmen. Many Wakefield Police officers, […]

Filed under: Columns & Essays, Feature stories, News, Wakefield | Leave a Comment
Tags: Action Ambulance, Ann Santos, Betsy Sheeran, Dave Rando. first responders, EMT, Fire Chief Michael Sullivan, firefighters, Lt. Lou Sardella, Mark Sardella, Mike Woronka, paramedic, Pat Glynn, police, Police Chief Rick Smith, selectmen, Tiz Doto, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Fire Department, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Police Department

Wakefield Police officers train for “active shooter” situation

25Apr16

By MARK SARDELLA WAKEFIELD — The scenario is this: Wakefield Police receive a call reporting a disturbance at Acme Corp., a company of 50 employees located at the end of a cul-de-sac in Wakefield. The company is headquartered in Israel and has been threatened in the past by radical Islamic groups. The threats have come […]

Filed under: Columns & Essays, Community, Feature stories, News, Wakefield | 1 Comment
Tags: active shooter, Detective Kenneth Silva, guns, hostage, Lt. Steve Skory, Mark Sardella, Northeast Metro Tech High School, Officer Clifford Perry, Officer David Rando, police, Sgt. Jonathan Burnham, Sgt. Sean Beede, Steve Maio, terrorism, training, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Police Department

Red and white blues

15Apr16

It’s happening everywhere. The forces of political correctness have been picking off one innocent tradition after another. It hit Wakefield this week. The School Department announced that for this year’s High School graduation ceremonies, graduates will wear “gender neutral” gowns instead of the traditional red for boys and white for girls. No, this is not […]

Filed under: Columns & Essays, News, Opinion, Politics | 4 Comments
Tags: commencement, Core Values, gender, gender neutral, gender neutral graduation gowns, graduates, graduation, learning, Mark Sardella, political correctness, Richard Metropolis, School Department, senior class, students, teaching, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield High School, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Warriors

Debatable questions

08Apr16

The recent candidates debates at WCAT once again proved to be a valuable tool in informing the voters about the candidates and issues in advance of the April 26 Town Election. I was happy once again to have had the privilege of serving on the press panel that posed questions, in two separate debates, to […]

Filed under: Columns & Essays, News, Opinion, Politics, Television, Wakefield | Leave a Comment
Tags: Ann McGonigle Santos, Board of Selectmen, Bronwyn Della-Volpe, cable, candidates, Dan Benjamin, David Watts Jr., debate, election, Mark Sardella, Peter May, Phyllis Hull, Politics, Television, Tony Longo, Town Clerk, TV, Wakefield Civic League, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, WCAT, William Carroll

Art crime expert Anthony Amore entertains Sweetser audience

06Apr16

by MARK SARDELLA For nearly two hours, Anthony Amore entertained the packed audience at The Savings Bank Theater with tales of art theft and the sometimes colorful but often inept characters that perpetrate such crimes. Amore was the opening speaker in the 2016 Sweetser Lecture Series in Wakefield, Massachusetts. As head of security and chief […]

Filed under: Art, Columns & Essays, Feature stories, History, Reviews, Wakefield | Leave a Comment
Tags: Anthony Amore, Art, art crime, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, paintings, Rembrandt, Stealing Rembrandts, Sweetser Lecture Series, The Art of the Con, The Savings Bank Theater, Vermeer, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, Worcester Art Museum

Self-watering planters coming to downtown Wakefield

03Apr16

Thanks to ‘Wakefield Main Streets’ program By MARK SARDELLA WAKEFIELD — You’ve seen the flower barrels currently along Main Street in the downtown filled with colorful plantings from spring through summer. Starting in May, look for some new additions to that downtown beautification effort. The Wakefield Main Streets program will be providing four new self-watering […]

Filed under: Columns & Essays, Community, Feature stories, News, Wakefield | 1 Comment
Tags: Board of Selectmen, downtown beautification, flower barrels, John Ross, Main Street USA, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, National Trust for Historic Preservation, Paul DiNocco, self-watering planters, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Main Streets

Identity crisis

26Mar16

Identity theft is big business – not only for the thieves but for a host of companies that have sprung up to help consumers thwart those who would steal the identities of others. But increasingly, identity theft is being committed in connection with other crimes, like drug trafficking. Police are all too aware of this […]