One of the oldest and largest manufacturers of flying model airplane toys in the world, Paul K. Guillow, Inc. is located in Wakefield.

However, the prosecution asserted that the killings were motivated by his employer's garnishing of his wages to the IRS, as he failed to pay back taxes.

On July 3, 2021, armed members of the group "Rise of the Moors" were approached by police resulting in a standoff, blocking traffic along a section of I-95 that runs through Wakefield.

[23] Reading (northwest), Melrose (south), Stoneham (southwest), Lynnfield (northeast) and Saugus (southeast) border Wakefield.

Lake Quannapowitt, meanwhile, is used for a wide variety of recreational activities, including boating, windsurfing, kayaking, and fishing, and is the primary source of the Saugus River.

Long regarded as "Wakefield's greatest natural resource," Lake Quannapowitt covers an area of 247 acres (1.00 km2; 100 ha).

[28] In 2020, Wakefield suffered significant impacts from two major storms: firstly, on August 24, 2020, the town took the brunt of an exceptionally severe thunderstorm cell that included a microburst.

Downed power lines, snapped trees, and a house fire caused by a lightning strike were reported,[29] with damage being especially heavy in the town's Greenwood section.

The Town Council consisted of, as of January 2025, Chair Jonathan Chines, Vice-Chair Michael J. McLane, Mehreen N. Butt, John F. Carney, Douglas S. Butler, Edward F. Dombroski, Jr., and Robert E.

[3][6][7][8] 2012 Brian Falvey replaced Albert Turco, who did not seek re-election, in a Selectmen's seat in town elections of April 24, 2012,[48][3][49] and Paul R. DiNocco renewed a term for three years.

[50] Vice Chair Tiziano Doto was reelected to a three-year term while former Board of Health member Ann Santos won a seat.

The candidates to fill the vacancy were announced as Daniel L. Benjamin, Jr., Mehreen N. Butt, Christopher J. Callanan, Nathaniel David Gayman, Allyson Gael Houghton, and Phyllis J.

Hull won the election by 31 votes, avenging her defeat of three months prior and filling a vacant seat on the Board of Selectmen.

Both cruised to re-election in a race in which each ran virtually unopposed, with no competition except for write-in candidates,[59] and renewed their terms through 2023.

Town Councillor Julie Smith-Galvin and Finance Committee member Anne P. Danehy received a plurality of votes, knocking hopeful Brandon Flanagan out of the race.

The 2021 election also featured a heated ballot question over whether or not to keep the Wakefield Warriors logo and mascot; voters chose to maintain the status quo, 2,851–2,337.

[60][61] 2022 Newcomer Robert E. Vincent was voted onto the Town Council in 2022, and incumbents Jonathan Chines and Michael J. McLane were re-elected, renewing their terms through 2025.

[62] 2023 In 2023, Wakefieldians voted in a three-way race that pitted incumbents Mehreen N. Butt and Edward F. Dombroski, Jr., in a re-election campaign against newcomer Christopher J. Carino.

The second open seat, being vacated by Julie Smith-Galvin,[65] was contested between John F. Carney and Allyson Gael Houghton.

The fifteen-member committee is composed of, as of January 2024,[67] Chairman James Sullivan,[67] Vice Chairman Douglas S. Butler,[67] Joseph Bertrand,[67] Tarae Howell,[67] Edward Bean,[67] Brian Cusack,[67] Dennis Hogan,[67] William J. Boodry, Jr.,[67] Stefan Chase,[67] Lorri Wheeler,[67] Donald Ravenelle,[67] Evan Kenney,[67] Aimee Forsythe,[67] Daniel W. Sherman,[67] and Ellie Zuccaro.

[67] The Wakefield Board of Appeals, alternately known as the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA), holds hearings on the second and fourth Wednesday of every month[68] and as of January 2024 consisted of five members, James H. McBain,[68] Joseph Pride,[68] David Hatfield,[68] Charles Tarbell,[68] and Chairman Thomas Lucey,[68] with Michael Feeley, Gregory McIntosh, and Kasumi Humphries[68] as associate members.

As of June 2023, John Sofia,[69] Paul Torraca,[69] and Holly Lenhardt[69] serve as fence viewers in Wakefield.

The Town of Wakefield tasked a fifteen-member committee[70] headed by Selectwoman Phyllis Hull[70] to oversee the construction of a World War II Veterans' Memorial on the Upper Common.

[71] The creation of the committee overseeing the project was authorized in 2007,[71] and the memorial was completed in 2011 and unveiled on Veterans Day, November 11, 2011.

As of June 2023, the three-member board is composed of Chair Laurel Skinder Gourville, Vice-Chair Elaine M. Silva, and Secretary Candace Linehan.

[76][73] Like much of Massachusetts, Wakefield conducted largely successful public health and safety campaigns regarding quarantining and mask wearing, and achieved a high percentage of immunity once vaccines were rolled out beginning in 2021.

A former Boston and Maine Railroad station located east of this line is now on the National Register of Historic Places.

Several MBTA buses on Route 137 run to surrounding communities, including the nearby Oak Grove stop as well as Malden Center, both rapid transit stations on the Orange Line.

The Wakefield Memorial High School has a newspaper, written by the students, recently renamed "WHS exPRESS".

Young athletes in Wakefield can choose to play baseball, basketball, lacrosse, football, soccer, hockey, dance, cheerleading, and softball, among other team sports.