Maine Currents | WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives

Maine Currents 11/13/25: MAKA – Make America Kind Again

WERU-FM 89.9 — Thu, 13 Nov 2025 21:30:43 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Deborah “Dee” Tonken and Elaine Parke, founders of MAKA – the “Make America Kind Again” movement About the Host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices and Maine Currents, she also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and the First Place 2017 Radio News Award from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.

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Maine Currents 10/23/25: U.S./El Salvador Sister Cities- Strong Connections & Shared Threats to Human Rights

WERU-FM 89.9 — Thu, 23 Oct 2025 20:03:34 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne The relationships forged between local Mainers and folks in El Salvador have been strengthened over the decades, built on mutual respect and learning from each other. In addition to the PICA/Bangor Sister City relationship with the town of Carasque, WERU has a Sister Station, Radio Sumpul, and MOFGA has built connections with farming organizations there. Today both countries seem to be on the same path to authoritarianism, justified in both places as a crack down on crime. Long-time volunteers and staff from U.S./El Salvador Sister Cities weigh in on where we may be headed. Guests: Kelly Calles, Jon Falk, Olivia Petipas, Zulma Tobar, and Karen Volckhausen About the Host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices and Maine Currents, she also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and the First Place 2017 Radio News Award from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.

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Maine Currents 7/8/25: “In the Shadow of the Eagle” at the Abbe Museum

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 08 Jul 2025 20:00:34 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne A new exhibition at the Abbe Museum in Bar Harbor is named for Donna Loring’s 2008 book, “In the Shadow of the Eagle: A Tribal Representative in Maine”, and curated by Donna (who also hosts Wabanaki Windows here on WERU) and her regular contributor Professor Darren Ranco, among others. A group of folks involved with the exhibition sat down recently to talk about what went into putting it together, the connections with Donna’s book, and how decolonization efforts at the museum are going. Click on the links below for more information about each of the guests. Guests: Donna Loring, former tribal representative to the Maine legislature, Veteran, author/researcher, and award-winning host of Wabanaki Windows on WERU-FM Betsy Richards, Executive Director, Abbe Museum Dr. Aaron Miller, Luce Curator of Exhibits, Abbe Museum Dr. Darren Ranco, Professor of Anthropology and Coordinator of Native American Research and co-curator of the exhibition James Francis, Penobscot Nation’s Director of Cultural and Historic Preservation, Tribal Historian, Chair of Penobscot Tribal Rights and Resource Protection Board, and artist whose work is part of the exhibition Wabanaki Windows archives About the Host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices and Maine Currents, she also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and the First Place 2017 Radio News Award from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.

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Maine Currents 5/28/25: Sears Island Update

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 28 May 2025 21:30:26 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Chris Buchanan, David Italiander, Donna Gold and Jill Howell, residents of Searsport and neighboring towns, have been working on efforts to protect Sears Island permanently. They’re here today with an update FMI: Campaign to Protect Sears Island / Wahsumkik Sears Island Stories Friends of Sears Island About the Host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices and Maine Currents, she also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and the First Place 2017 Radio News Award from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.

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Maine Currents 4/9/25: Coverage of “Hands Off” rallies in Augusta and Belfast, Maine on 4/5/25

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 09 Apr 2025 22:37:19 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Other credits: Matt Murphy – Augusta rally Coverage of the April 5th, 2025 “Hands Off” rallies in Augusta and Belfast, Maine FMI: www.handsoff2025.com About the Host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices and Maine Currents, she also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and the First Place 2017 Radio News Award from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.

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Maine Currents 5/29/24: Checking in with our sisters in El Salvador

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 29 May 2024 20:00:17 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Other credits: Audio segment contributed by John and Katie Greenman. This part of Maine has strong connections with El Salvador dating back several decades. Bangor has a sister city there, Carasque; MOFGA has a sister farming community organization, CCR; and WERU has a sister station, Radio Sumpul in El Salvador. Many people from this area have traveled to El Salvador on delegations coordinated by Sister Cities, PICA and MOFGA over the years, including today’s guests (and the host). Members of the most recent delegation talk about what they witnessed earlier this year, and the shift in the country under an authoritarian president. Guests: Karen and Paul Volkhausen, Katie Greenman and Willie Marquart FMI: Sister Cities: www.elsalvadorsolidarity.org/ PICA: www.pica.ws/ or www.facebook.com/PICAinMaine Maine Organic Farmers and Gardener’s Sister Organizations: Association of Communities for the Development of Chalatenango (CCR), and the Foundation for Cooperation and Development (CORDES). These organizations foster a unique relationship, exchanging information and methods of farming, in addition to facilitating conversations about agricultural globalization and fair trade: www.mofga.org/mofgas-el-salvador-sistering-committee/ WERU’s Sister Station Radio Sumpul: www.facebook.com/asociacion.Acopsumpul radiosumpul.org/ weru.org/about/radio-sumpul-werus-sister-station-in-el-salvador/ Organizations working in/with El Salvador: www.elsalvadorsolidarity.org/cripdes/ www.equipomaiz.org.sv/ Legal support organization, human rights violations including arbitrary arrests, inhumane treatment in detention centers: www.tutelalegalmariajh.org.sv/ Museo de La Palabra y Imagen (Museum of the Word and Image) for the preservation of historic memory: www.museo.com.sv Online Resources News Media (Latin America): www.wola.org/ elfaro.net/en/202405/el_salvador/27420/us-tries-not-to-offend-bukele-in-annual-human-rights-report reportfortheworld.org/ gatoencerrado.news/ Books recommended by today’s guests: robertolovato.com/unforgetting/ uwpress.wisc.edu/books/5754.htm#pk About the Host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices and Maine Currents, she also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and the First Place 2017 Radio News Award from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.

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Maine Currents Special 3/29/24: Sears Island, Part 2 of 2

WERU-FM 89.9 — Fri, 29 Mar 2024 20:00:18 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne A discussion between reps from local environmental groups that are often on the same side on issues. On the topic of industrializing Sears Island, a 940-acre undeveloped island in Searsport, the groups are split. Today they sit down together and explain their positions, and learn where they agree — and where they don’t. Guests: Francis Eanes, Maine Labor Climate Council Steve Miller, Islesboro Islands Trust Jack Shapiro, NRCM Rolf Olsen, Friends of Sears Island Links and events that were mentioned by guests or callers: https://allianceforsearsisland.org/about/ friendsofsearsisland.org www.searsport.maine.gov www.mcht.org/story/a-community-embraces-sears-island/ www.mainelegislature.org/legis/bills/display_ps.asp?ld=1895&PID=1456&snum=131 FB page: Protect Wahsumkik Email: protectwahsumkik@protonmail.com maineaflcio.org/news/legislature-advances-compromise-strengthen-labor-wage-standards-offshore-wind About the Host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices and Maine Currents, she also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and the First Place 2017 Radio News Award from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.

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Maine Currents Special 3/28/24: Sears Island, Part 1 of 2

WERU-FM 89.9 — Thu, 28 Mar 2024 21:00:26 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne A discussion of Governor Mills’ recent announcement that undeveloped Sears Island in Searsport is the state’s preferred location to build an offshore wind terminal. What do people who have worked to protect the island from threats in the past think about this proposal? For the guests who were part of the planning process, what are your feelings about that? If not Sears Island, where? Guests: Steve Miller, Islesboro Islands Trust Jack Shapiro, NRCM Francis Eanes, Maine Labor Climate Council Becky Bartovics, Maine Chapter of the Sierra Club Rolf Olsen, Friends of Sears Island Chris Buchanan, Searsport resident Links and events that were mentioned by guests or callers: www.islesboroislandstrust.org/ www.nrcm.org/ www.mainelaborclimate.org/ friendsofsearsisland.org www.sierraclub.org/maine https://allianceforsearsisland.org/about/ www.mcht.org/story/a-community-embraces-sears-island/ www.mainelegislature.org/legis/bills/display_ps.asp?ld=1895&PID=1456&snum=131 FB page: Protect Wahsumkik Email: protectwahsumkik@protonmail.com maineaflcio.org/news/legislature-advances-compromise-strengthen-labor-wage-standards-offshore-wind About the Host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices and Maine Currents, she also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and the First Place 2017 Radio News Award from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.

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Maine Currents 12/5/23: Mainers Calling for Peace in Gaza

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 05 Dec 2023 21:00:56 +0000

Host: Amy Browne Engineers: Pepin Mittelhauser, John Greenman, Matt Murphy This month: We speak with three local residents– 2 of whom are Jewish and 1 who is Palestinian — about their goals, anti-Semitism vs criticizing the actions of the Israeli government, and what they think about the mainstream media coverage and messaging. Guests: Abdullah Al-Fdeilat, a Muslim Palestinian refugee who grew up in Jordan and immigrated to the US over 30 years ago. Jamila Levasseur is of Jewish descent and lost most of her family in the Holocaust. She is a long time supporter of Palestinian rights and was arrested in November for occupying Jared Golden’s office demanding he support a ceasefire and stop military aid to Israel. Larry Dansinger from Bangor is Jewish and has family in living in Israel. Larry identifies as both pro-Jewish and pro-Palestinian, pro peace and anti-violence of all kinds. Links and events that were mentioned by guests or callers: Weekly rally in Blue Hill to support Justice for Palestinians every Saturday from 12:30 to 1:00, along the street in front of the town hall. “We try to raise awareness about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and urging a permanent ceasefire in Gaza”. Rally in Ellsworth, on the bridge, every Sunday from 12-1. People can sign up for notices at bangorforpalestine@googlegroups.com to get announcements of upcoming events. Maine Voices for Palestinian Rights mvprights.org Boycott, Sanction, Divest bdsmovement.net electronicintifada.net mondoweiss.net Standing Together www.standing-together.org/en is a grassroots movement mobilizing Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel in pursuit of peace, equality, and social and climate justice. While the minority who benefit from the status quo of occupation and economic inequality seek to keep us divided, we know that we — the majority — have far more in common than that which sets us apart. When we stand together, we are strong enough to fundamentally alter the existing socio-political reality. The future that we want — peace and independence for Israelis and Palestinians, full equality for all citizens, and true social, economic, and environmental justice — is possible. Because where there is struggle, there is hope. Combatants for Peace cfpeace.org/ We are a group of Palestinians and Israelis who have taken an active part in the cycle of violence in our region: Israeli soldiers serving in the IDF and Palestinians as combatants fighting to free their country, Palestine, from the Israeli occupation. We – serving our peoples, raised weapons which we aimed at each other and saw each other only through gun sights – have established Combatants for Peace on the basis of non-violence principles. CFP’s mission is to build the social infrastructure necessary for ending the conflict and the occupation: communities of Palestinians and Israelis working together through nonviolent means to promote peace. We believe that such communities can serve as a role model for both people, demonstrating through action that there is a real alternative to the cycle of violence. We believe that disseminating such activities widely can and will affect attitudinal change at the societal level and policy change at the political level. We envision Combatants for Peace as a strong, significant, influential bi-national community – a community that exemplifies viable cooperation and coexistence between Palestinians and Israelis. It is a movement based upon nonviolent activism designed to advance the termination of the occupation and to provide a foundation for relations between the two peoples subsequent to a peace agreement. Our Ultimate Goal is to end the occupation and the establishment of a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders; two states living side by side in peace and cooperation or any other just solution agreed upon in negotiations. Combatants for Peace, founded in 2006, is a non-profit, volunteer organization of ex-combatant Israelis and Palestinians, men and women, who have laid down their weapons and rejected all means of violence. We are working together to end the occupation of Palestine, bring just peace to the land, and demonstrate that Israelis and Palestinians can work and live together. The Parents Circle – Families Forum www.theparentscircle.org/en/pcff-home-page-en/ is a joint Israeli-Palestinian organization of over 600 families, all of whom have lost an immediate family member to the ongoing conflict. Moreover, the PCFF has concluded that the process of reconciliation between nations is a prerequisite to achieving a sustainable peace. The organization thus utilizes all resources available in education, public meetings and the media, to spread these ideas. Our vision: To work towards an end to violence and towards achieving an accepted political agreement. About the Host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices and Maine Currents, she also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and the First Place 2017 Radio News Award from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.

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Maine Currents 11/7/23: Word Literary Arts Festival 2023: “A.O. Scott in conversation with Alicia Anstead”

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 07 Nov 2023 21:00:59 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Audio recorded by Matt Murphy This month: “A.O. Scott in conversation with Alicia Anstead”, recorded by Matt Murphy on October 21st. at the annual Word Literary Arts Festival in Blue Hill. WERU is a media sponsor of the annual festival. Guest: A.O. Scott, critic at large for the New York Times Book Review. FMI: www.wordfestival.org/ www.nytimes.com/by/a-o–scott Sponsored by the Word Festival and Blue Hill Books Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices and Maine Currents, she also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and the First Place 2017 Radio News Award from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.

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Maine Currents Special 10/31/23: Background on Question 6 from a Tribal Perspective

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 31 Oct 2023 20:00:41 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne This month: Donna Loring on the Maine tribe’s support of Question 6 on the ballot this November. Recorded on September 30th at an Issues Forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Maine. FMI: www.lwvme.org/ Wabanaki Windows archives (new shows air on the 4th Tuesday of each month, 4-5pm) Democracy Forum archives (new shows air on the 3rd Friday of each month, 4-5pm) Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices and Maine Currents, she also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and the First Place 2017 Radio News Award from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.

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Maine Currents 10/3/23: Author Ann Patchett speaking in Blue Hill

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 03 Oct 2023 20:00:14 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Audio recorded by Matt Murphy This month: A lively and often humorous discussion with Ann Patchett, celebrated author of “Bel Canto” and eight other novels, and Lynn Boulger, executive director of The Authors Guild Foundation recorded August 4, 2023 in Blue Hill. Sponsored by the Word Festival and Blue Hill Books Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices and Maine Currents, she also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and the First Place 2017 Radio News Award from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.

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Maine Currents 9/5/23: Glampgrounds, Shaw Institute, Healthy Options, and Bucksport Landfill

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 05 Sep 2023 20:00:21 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne This month: Segment 1: Moratorium on “glampgrounds” in Lamoine — and lessons for other towns, with organizer Amy Morley of “Growing Lamoine Responsibly” Segment 2: Meet the new director of the Shaw Institute in Blue Hill, Charles Rolsky, PhD Segment 3: A profile of WERU’s Healthy Options show and producers Rhonda Feiman and Petra Hall Segment 4: Don White, one of the Bucksport residents fighting the reopening of a problematic landfill, joins us with an update About the host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices and Maine Currents, she also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and the First Place 2017 Radio News Award from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.

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Maine Currents 8/1/23: Behind the Scenes – Donna Loring of Wabanaki Windows & Tom Yaroschuk of Cosmic Curator

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 01 Aug 2023 20:00:04 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne This month: As we continue to profile some of WERU’s public affairs and spoken work hosts, we talk with Donna Loring of Wabanaki Windows & Tom Yaroschuk the Cosmic Curator about their lives, what brought them to WERU and what goes into putting their shows together. FMI Wabanaki Windows archives Cosmic Curator archives About the host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices and Maine Currents, she also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and the First Place 2017 Radio News Award from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.

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Maine Currents 7/4/23: Interview with Jim Campbell

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 04 Jul 2023 20:00:19 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne This month: An interview with the late Jim Campbell, one of the station’s founders and long- time on-air presence, recorded days before his recent death. Jim talks about the early days at the station, what went into producing Notes from the Electronic Cottage, and his recent series on AI. FMI Notes from the Electronic Cottage Maine: The Way Life Could Be About the host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices and Maine Currents, she also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and the First Place 2017 Radio News Award from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.

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Maine Currents 4/4/23: The Democracy Forum & the League of Women Voters of Maine

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 04 Apr 2023 20:00:04 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne This month: One of the things we’re going to be doing on Maine Currents this year is taking a peak behind the scenes at some of WERU’s public affairs shows- what they cover, how they are produced, the experience and background of the hosts, how you can send in questions, or, in some cases, even get involved. We’re starting with the Democracy Forum, which began as an election season special before becoming a monthly program year ’round. Ann Luther hosts, but there is a whole team from the League of Women Voters behind her, and some of them joined us when we spoke in late March Guests: My guests are from the League of Women Voters of Maine – Ann Luther and Judi Lyles are from the Downeast Chapter. Ann is host of the Democracy Forum on the 3rd Friday of every month, 4-5pm, and Judi is one a member of the team that helps plan the shows, along with other events. Will Hayward is the Advocacy Program Coordinator for the state chapter. FMI League of Women Voters of Maine Maine State Legislature About the host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices and Maine Currents, she also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and the First Place 2017 Radio News Award from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.

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Maine Currents 3/7/23: Climate Change, Landfills – Ways to Learn More & Get Involved

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 07 Mar 2023 21:00:43 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne This month: Segment 1: An interview with Ridgely Fuller, Tom Mikulka, and Chuck Spranger of Third Act’s new Maine working group They are holding a day of action in Portland and Belfast on 3/21/23 FMI: email 3rdactmaine@gmail.com or 3rdactmidcoastmaine@gmail.com Segment 2: Bucksport residents have teamed up with neighbors upriver who have been dealing with Juniper Ridge, and will hold an informational forum as the town considers a proposal to reopen a problematic landfill. Organizer Don White joins us with details of event, which will be held at 6:30 pm, 3/7, at Brown Hall (corner of Elm & Franklin Streets, Bucksport) Segment 3: Naomi Albert of A Climate to Thrive on their Climate Ambassador program Guests: see above FMI see above About the host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices and Maine Currents, she also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and the First Place 2017 Radio News Award from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.

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Maine Currents 2/7/23: Multinational Corporation Requests Bucksport Reopen Problematic Landfill

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 07 Feb 2023 21:00:22 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne This month: Last fall, a representative of American Iron & Metal (AIM), the multinational scrap metal company that owns part of the former mill site in Bucksport, raised the possibility of partnering with the town to reopen the mill’s old landfill to accept construction and demolition debris. Though they own the property, as a private company they are required under Maine law to partner with a municipality or the state. Since they floated the idea verbally in October, no official written proposal has been received, but the as town officials and concerned residents have explored the issue, new issues have come to light — not only about reopening the old landfill, but about the condition of that existing site, which it as it turns out, has been out of DEP compliance for years. In January we spoke with several concerned residents and Town Manager Susan Lessard. NOTE: The January public meeting at Brown Hall has been postponed Guests: Tracey Hair, Ralph Chapman, Don White, Bill Tymoczko, Hans Krichels, Susan Lessard FMI Bucksport Town Council Bucksport Town Council Agendas About the host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices and Maine Currents, she also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and the First Place 2017 Radio News Award from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.

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Maine Currents Returns! 1/3/23: Will Maine Industrialize Sears Island for “Clean” Energy?

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 03 Jan 2023 20:00:39 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne This month: We’re kicking off 2023 with a topic that I suspect we may be spending a lot of time on this year, the pending decision on where to build a staging facility for off-shore wind power turbines in this area. Theoretically, 3 different sites are being considered: Eastport, Sears Island or Mack Point in Searsport, but some of those close to the project suspect that developing Sears Island is the real goal of the ME DOT. Guests: Steve Miller, Islesboro Islands Trust Rolf Olsen, Friends of Sears Island Becky Bartovics, Sierra Club Maine FMI Islesboro Islands Trust Maine Chapter of the Sierra ClubFriends of Sears Island Offshore Wind Project Resources page Study of Searsport to Support and Develop Offshore Wind, State of Maine, Governor’s Energy Office Maine DOT Offshore Wind Port Advisory Group (OSWPAG) Governor Mills Announces Assessment of Mack Point Terminal in Searsport to Support Growth of Renewable Energy Industry in Maine, Office of Governor Janet Mills, March 2020 SEARS ISLAND WETLAND ENFORCEMENT CASE SETTLED, EPA, 11/13/1996 About the host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices and Maine Currents, she also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and the First Place 2017 Radio News Award from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.

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Maine Currents Special 7/20/22- Sears Island: The Latest Threat

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 20 Jul 2022 20:00:57 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Sears Island, located near Searsport, is a 940 acre island connected to the mainland since the late 80s by a causeway. Though it is near industrialized areas, it is mostly undeveloped and currently uninhabited by humans. Many people use the island recreationally, year ’round. Over the decades, people who care about the island have protected it from one proposed development after another- and the island may be under threat again. Today we’ll hear about the latest development proposed for the island- from some of the folks who have been involved over the years. Guests: Steve Miller of Islesboro Islands Trust Susan White & Rolf Olsen of Friends of Sears Island Becky Bartovics & Matthew Cannon of Sierra Club Maine FMI (including reports referenced on the show) Friends of Sears Island Offshore Wind Project Resources page About the host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices and Maine Currents, she also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and the First Place 2017 Radio News Award from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.

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Maine Currents 12/7/21: Word Festival Interview with Bob Keyes, author of a new book on Robert Indiana

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 07 Dec 2021 20:00:30 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne On this month’s edition of Maine Currents, we bring you to the Word Festival in Blue Hill in October 2021. Reading from their website: “Every October, Word brings together readers, writers, and tellers of tales to celebrate the written and spoken word—fiction and non-fiction, children’s literature, poetry, drama, nonfiction, storytelling and more. The festival takes place in Blue Hill, Maine where a literary tradition of great thinkers and artists extends over two hundred years and includes Jonathan Fisher, Mary Ellen Chase, and E.B. White to name a few. Many writers continue to call the Blue Hill peninsula home as does a large community of passionate readers. To celebrate this rich heritage, Word presents three days of author readings, a poetry crawl, writing workshops, panel discussions, school events, and spoken word performances to sold out crowds.” One of the events this year was an interview with Bob Keyes, author of the new book, Isolation Artist: Scandal, Deception, and the Last Days of Robert Indiana, conducted by Paul Sacaridiz, Executive Director of Haystack Mountain School of Crafts. The talk was recorded via zoom by festival organizers, and we thank them for making it available to our listeners. About the host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices and Maine Currents, she also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and the First Place 2017 Radio News Award from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.

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Maine Currents 10/5/21: “Truth Tellers” – the new Kane-Lewis film based on Americans Who Tell the Truth

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 05 Oct 2021 20:00:58 +0000

Producer/Editor/Host: Amy Browne Our guests today are artist Robert Shetterly, the creator of the “Americans Who Tell the Truth” portrait series. His latest book is called Portraits of Racial Justice: Americans Who Tell the Truth, and filmmaker / documentarian Richard Kane, of Kane Lewis Productions. They have just released a new film called Truth Tellers, about Robert Shetterly’s work. Cameo by co-producer Melody Lewis-Kane Tune in to hear some clips from the new film, which debuted at the recent Camden International Film Festival, as well as a discussion of Shetterly’s latest book. About the host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices and Maine Currents, she also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and the First Place 2017 Radio News Award from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.

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Maine Currents 9/7/21: 20 Years Post-9/11 – Listening Back to WERU’s Coverage

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 07 Sep 2021 20:00:05 +0000

Producer/Editor/Host: Amy Browne Some of the historic segments on today’s show were coproduced with Meredith DeFrancesco NOTE: The time of the 9/11 vigil in Bucksport has been changed to 9:30 The 20th anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy is this coming Saturday, so this week we take a listen back at how the WERU community responded, what was happening behind the scenes at the station in the hours and days that followed, and how our news coverage was impacted—and we’ll hear from David Weeda, one of the organizers of an event in Bucksport this coming September 11th. We start with a chat with WERU’s General Manager Matt Murphy and Program Director Joel Mann About the host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices and Maine Currents, she also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and the First Place 2017 Radio News Award from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.

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Maine Currents 7/6/21: Colin Woodard on his latest book, Union: The Struggle to Forge the Story of United States Nationhood

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 06 Jul 2021 20:00:13 +0000

Producer/Editor/Host: Amy Browne Recorded by: Matt Murphy Maine-based New York Times best-selling author Colin Woodard speaking in Blue Hill on June 24th, 2021, about his latest book, Union: The Struggle to Forge the Story of United States Nationhood FMI: www.colinwoodard.com About the host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices and Maine Currents, she also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and the First Place 2017 Radio News Award from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.

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Maine Currents 6/1/21: “Celebrate Progress for the Penobscot River” – River Restoration Reflections

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 01 Jun 2021 20:00:43 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne 9 years ago we covered the removal of the Great Works Dam on the Penobscot River. It was one of the dams removed from the river as part of an effort that had taken years and much coalition building. On May 20th of this year, some of those involved in the Penobscot River Restoration project got together to talk about how the river ecosystem has changed over the years since the dams were removed. We’ll hear the panel, titled “Celebrate Progress for the Penobscot River” today, but first we take a quick trip back to June of 2012.. Panelists: John Banks, Director, Department of Natural Resources, Penobscot Indian Nation Laura Rose Day, Former Director, Penobscot River Restoration Trust Kate Dempsey, State Director, The Nature Conservancy in Maine Pete Didisheim, Advocacy Director, Natural Resources Council of Maine Andy Goode, Vice President, U.S. Programs, Atlantic Salmon Federation WERU thanks the Natural Resources Council of Maine for making the recording of the “Celebrate Progress for the Penobscot River” panel available for broadcast. It was edited by Amy Browne to fit this format and time slot. About the host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices and Maine Currents, she also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and the First Place 2017 Radio News Award from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.

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Maine Currents 5/4/21: Universal Healthcare in Maine?

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 04 May 2021 20:00:57 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne The group Maine Healthcare Action, affiliated with Maine AllCare, is working on a citizens’ referendum that would instruct the Maine legislature to enact universal health care. Along with a group of social work students from the University of Maine, they held an online town hall on the issue on April 22nd. With their permission, we bring that discussion to you today. About the host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices and Maine Currents, she also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and the First Place 2017 Radio News Award from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.

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Maine Currents 4/6/21: Dennis Chinoy on The Deep Roots and Bitter Fruits of White Supremacy

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 06 Apr 2021 20:00:25 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne We continue our series on racism and hate groups with a recent presentation sponsored by the Maine Multicultural Center. From their website: “The Maine Multicultural Center is a community-driven group representing Bangor-area business, cultural, and educational organizations. We promote community enrichment and economic growth by attracting, retaining, supporting, and integrating people of diverse cultures and backgrounds into greater Bangor. Since Fall 2016, we have provided welcoming services for New Mainers, while celebrating and promoting the racial, cultural, and ethnic diversity that already exists in the region. The Maine Multicultural Center offers presentations, conversations, community and teacher workshops, a database of resources, and opportunities for those in and around Bangor to meet neighbors and new friends, whether they are recent immigrants or longtime residents.” Presenter Dennis Chinoy is a cofounder of PICA (Power in Community Alliances), a group that focuses on economic and social justice. Among other things, PICA has been a driver behind the Bangor sister city relationship with Carasque, El Salvador, MOFGA’s partnership with farmers in El Salvador, and WERU’s sister station relationship with Radio Sumpul, a community radio station in that county – and Dennis Chinoy has played a role in all of those endeavors. His presentation last month, sponsored by the multicultural center, was titled “The Deep Roots and Bitter Fruits of White Supremacy”. It has been edited to fit in this time slot. View the entire, unedited presentation here About the host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices and Maine Currents, she also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and the First Place 2017 Radio News Award from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.

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Maine Currents 3/2/21: The State of Hate

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 02 Mar 2021 20:00:36 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Today, nearly 2 months after the insurrection in DC, we’re talking with Andy O’Brien and Nathan Bernard, reporters for Mainer covering far right extremism and hate groups in the state. Some of the articles discussed in this program, include: Anti-Maskers Waging “Spiritual War” Statewide Maine White Nationalist Charged in Capitol Attack Shares Racist Views of State GOP Leaders Chief of Maine’s Capitol Police Radicalized by Far-Right Conspiracies Disgraced Capitol Chief Abused His Power to Police Protests About the host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices and Maine Currents, she also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and the First Place 2017 Radio News Award from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.

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Maine Currents 2/2/21: “Being Black in Maine: Lived Experience and the Prospect for Change”

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 02 Feb 2021 20:00:25 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Today we bring you a panel discussion, “Being Black in Maine: Lived Experience and the Prospect for Change”, recorded on MLK Day 2021 via zoom. The speakers were Daryl Fort, leadership development consultant (moderator)’ Tonya Bailey-Curry, Clinical Social Worker at Bates College; Nancy Dymond, SAD 22 educator; Madison “Madi” Hemingway, UMaine Student; Ricky Hall, USDA/NRCS Civil Engineering Technician; and Tessa Solomon, UMaine student. The event was cosponsored by the UMaine Alumni Association and the Bangor Area Chapter of the NAACP This recording was lightly edited to address audio quality issues in place. About the host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices and Maine Currents, she also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and the First Place 2017 Radio News Award from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.

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Maine Currents 1/19/21: Inauguration Eve Special

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 19 Jan 2021 20:00:55 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne We’re joined once again by our Elections 2020 panel: Professor Amy Fried, Chair of the Political Science Department at the University of Maine and columnist for the Bangor Daily News, former State Representative Ralph Chapman Ann Luther, board member for the League of Women Voters of Maine, and host of the Democracy Forum here on WERU, and Will Hayward, Advocacy Program Coordinator for the League of Women Voters We’ve invited them back to get their thoughts about what has been (and is) happening around the transfer of power in DC. About the host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices and Maine Currents, she also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and the First Place 2017 Radio News Award from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.

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Maine Currents 1/5/21: “Remembering Maine” at the 2020 Word Festival in Blue Hill

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 05 Jan 2021 20:00:34 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne “Remembering Maine” with authors Kerri Arsenault (Mill Town: Reckoning with What Remains) and Monica Wood (When We Were the Kennedys). Recorded at the online 2020 Word festival in Blue Hill, in October 2020. The moderator was Laura Miller About the host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices and Maine Currents, she also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and the First Place 2017 Radio News Award from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.

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Maine Currents 12/15/20 Elections 2020 Edition: The Finale

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 15 Dec 2020 20:14:02 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne It’s the 3rd Tuesday of the month, so it’s once again time for our Elections 2020 edition of Maine Currents, with guests, Professor Amy Fried, Chair of the Political Science Department at the University of Maine, former State Representative Ralph Chapman Ann Luther, board member for the League of Women Voters of Maine, and host of the Democracy Forum here on WERU, and Will Hayward, Advocacy Program Coordinator for the League of Women Voters, joining us for a discussion of Trump’s efforts to overturn the election results, the Electoral College meeting under heavy security, the possibility that Trump will attempt to pardon himself, the status of the Maine legislature, and where things go from here Taped via Zoom on Tuesday, December 15th, 2020 About the host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices and Maine Currents, she also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and the First Place 2017 Radio News Award from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.

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Maine Currents 11/17/20 Elections 2020 Edition: Election Outcomes, Polling Fails, and Where Things Go From Here

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 17 Nov 2020 20:00:50 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne It’s the 3rd Tuesday of the month, so it’s once again time for our Elections 2020 edition of Maine Currents, with guests, Professor Amy Fried, Chair of the Political Science Department at the University of Maine, former State Representative Ralph Chapman Ann Luther, board member for the League of Women Voters of Maine, and host of the Democracy Forum here on WERU, and Will Hayward, Advocacy Program Coordinator for the League of Women Voters, joining us for a discussion of the election outcomes, polling fails, and where things go from here Taped via Zoom on Tuesday, November 17th, 2020 About the host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices and Maine Currents, she also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and the First Place 2017 Radio News Award from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.

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Maine Currents 11/3/20: Mark Potok on Hate Groups in the US

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 03 Nov 2020 20:00:33 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne We’re continuing our series on hate groups this month, with a talk by Mark Potok sponsored by the Maine Jewish Film Festival, the Jewish Community Alliance, the Maine Jewish Museum and the Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine. He spoke about hate groups in the US and the current political climate on October 7th, 2020. An excerpt from Mark Potok’s bio: “Mark Potok is an internationally renowned expert on the American radical right who for 20 years helped lead the legendary Southern Poverty Law Center in exposing hate groups, right-wing terrorism, and the rapidly increasing infiltration of extremist ideas into the political mainstream. In that role, Potok faced numerous death threats from white supremacists and constant vilification by leaders of the far-right media — a remarkable measure of just how effective his work was. Potok has been described in one book on social justice activists as having ‘a reputation as the preeminent editorial commentator who follows the American radical right’ In 2018, a year after leaving SPLC, he joined the Centre for Analysis of the Radical Right as a Senior Fellow. As the director of the SPLC’s Intelligence Project and, later, Senior Fellow at the SPLC and Editor in Chief of its award-winning Intelligence Report investigative magazine, Potok was a key spokesman for the SPLC, a civil rights organization based in Alabama. He has testified before the U.S. Senate, the United Nations High Commission on Human Rights, the Helsinki Commission, and in other key venues. An acclaimed and dynamic speaker, he has given scores of keynote talks in university, government and other settings throughout the United States and Europe. They include such prestigious forums as the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.” Potok was featured in the award-winning 2018 film “Alt-Right: Age of Rage” Barbara Merson, Executive Director of the Maine Jewish Film Festival was the moderator About the host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices and Maine Currents, she also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and the First Place 2017 Radio News Award from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.

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Maine Currents 10/20/20 Elections 2020 Edition: Debates, Voting Deadlines, Voter Suppression and more

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 20 Oct 2020 20:00:52 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne It’s the 3rd Tuesday of the month, so it’s once again time for our Elections 2020 edition of Maine Currents, with guests, Professor Amy Fried, Chair of the Political Science Department at the University of Maine, former State Representative Ralph Chapman Ann Luther, board member for the League of Women Voters of Maine, and host of the Democracy Forum here on WERU, and Will Hayward, Advocacy Program Coordinator for the League of Women Voters, joining us for a discussion of the recent debates and town halls, voting deadlines, ballots, efforts to prevent voter suppression and intimidation, and more! Have an election or voter question? Call or text the League of Women Voters of Maine Hotline at 207-558-3333 or email vote@lwvme.org More information is also available on the Maine Secretary of State’s website Maine Attorney General Frey’s Advisory Concerning Poll Monitoring and Voter Intimidation can be viewed here Taped via Zoom on Monday, 10/19/20 About the host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices and Maine Currents, she also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and the First Place 2017 Radio News Award from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.

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Maine Currents 10/6/20: Hate Groups in Maine

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 06 Oct 2020 20:00:01 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne CORRECTION: Shenna Bellows previously worked for the ACLU, not the AFL-CIO On this edition of Maine Currents, we embark on a series of discussions about hate groups in Maine Guests: Crash Barry is an investigative journalist, author, and podcaster. He is the former editor-at-large for Mainer News and has worked as a print, radio and web reporter for over 25 years, with a focus on the seamy side of Maine life. First as a muckraker for Portland alt-weeklies, then as a news-talk show producer, followed by a stint as a national correspondent for a radio network. During the early 2000s, Crash went undercover for a series of stories for the now-defunct Casco Bay Weekly, staying in homeless shelters, working day labor, cleaning nasty apartments, and for a brief period, flipping burgers at McDonalds. (His first shift started at noon, on September 11, 2001.) From 2005 onwards, he contributed films, investigative cover stories and columns to The Bollard, a Portland alt-monthly and wrote extensively about Maine’s path to cannabis liberation for leafly.com. Crash is the author of three books, the rollicking novel Sex, Drugs and Blueberries, the gritty memoir Tough Island and the true story Marijuana Valley. Crash is also a filmmaker and directed the adaptation of his novel Sex, Drugs and Blueberries. View his work here Andy O’Brien is a former state legislator, former managing editor of the Free Press in Rockland and the current communications director for the Maine AFL-CIO. His writings have been published in Down East, Huffington Post, Labor Notes and Mainer Magazine. He is also the co-founder of O’Chang Studios, which produces the popular cartoon web series Temp Tales as well as animations for a variety of businesses, government agencies, educational institutions and nonprofits. He also does freelance reporting on far-right groups in Maine. Links to some of his recent related work is below “related articles from Mainer News” section Shenna Bellows is the Executive Director of the Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine Shenna joined the Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine in June, 2018. Shenna is also a State Senator for Senate District 14 in Kennebec County. Shenna led the ACLU of Maine as Executive Director for eight years and served as Interim Executive Director for LearningWorks. Most recently, Bellows owned a nonprofit consulting firm providing services to a range of nonprofit organizations ranging from the Maine Women’s Lobby to the Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition. She was a key leader on the successful 2012 marriage equality campaign and co-chaired the successful 2011 statewide ballot campaign to restore same day voter registration. She served as a volunteer with the Peace Corps in Panama and AmeriCorps VISTA in Nashville. Steve Wessler founded the Civil Rights Unit in the Maine Attorney’s Office in 1992 and led the Unit for 7 years. In 1999 he left the formal practice of law and founded the Center for the Prevention of Hate. The Center worked in Maine and across the USA. Since 2011 he has been teaching and consulting on human rights issues in colleges and around the world. He is also the host of Change Agents on WERU-FM, the 1st Thursday of every month at 4pm Related articles from Mainer News: Hatebook – The Facebook group that promoted violence and death threats against Safiya Khalid, the first Somali-American elected to the Lewiston City Council Leaks Show Mainer’s Online Radicalization By Neo-Nazi Terrorist Cult UMaine College Republicans Caught in MAGA Civil War Maine GOP Leadership Goes to Bat for White Nationalistic College Club About the host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices and Maine Currents, she also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and the First Place 2017 Radio News Award from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.

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Maine Currents 9/15/20 Elections 2020 Edition: Senate Debate, Election Safety, RCV & more!

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 15 Sep 2020 20:00:59 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne It’s the 3rd Tuesday of the month, so it’s once again time for our Elections 2020 edition of Maine Currents, with regular guests, Professor Amy Fried, Chair of the Political Science Department at the University of Maine, and former State Representative Ralph Chapman Ann Luther, board member for the League of Women Voters of Maine, and host of the Democracy Forum here on WERU is with us again today, along with Will Hayward, Advocacy Program Coordinator for the League of Women Voters, for a discussion of election safety issues, the current status of ranked choice voting, and more! Taped via Zoom on Monday, 9/14/20 About the host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices and Maine Currents, she also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and the First Place 2017 Radio News Award from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.

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Maine Currents 9/1/20: Confronting Racial Bias in Maine Schools

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 01 Sep 2020 20:00:27 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Today we bring you another presentation organized by the Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine, on the topic of bias and racism. The presentation “Students Speak: Confronting Bias in Maine Schools” was taped via zoom on August 13 before a live audience filled with teachers. The featured speakers, Sophia Williams, Alexa Allen, Jamaica Ford and Isaiah Reid talked about their experiences as Black students in Maine schools and their hopes and efforts for change. Shenna Bellows- who in addition to being a Maine State Senator, is also the Executive Director of the center, is the moderator Sophia Williams’ “Open letter to the American Ghetto and its disenfranchised” can be found here About the host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices and Maine Currents, she also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and the First Place 2017 Radio News Award from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.

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Maine Currents 8/18/20: Elections 2020 Edition

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 18 Aug 2020 20:00:10 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne NOTE: Taped via Zoom on Monday, 8/17/20 It’s the 3rd Tuesday of the month, so it’s once again time for our Elections 2020 edition of Maine Currents, with regular guests, Professor Amy Fried, Chair of the Political Science Department at the University of Maine, and former State Representative Ralph Chapman Our guests weigh in on many elections-related topics currently in the news, including what’s happening with the Maine state legislature and Congress -both currently recessed; Trump, the Post Office and mail-in voting; Biden’s selection of Karmala Harris as a running mate; the latest challenge to Ranked Choice Voting; and the Maine Supreme Court’s ruling against the CMP corridor referendum that was to appear on November’s ballot. About the host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices and Maine Currents, she also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and the First Place 2017 Radio News Award from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.

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Maine Currents 8/4/20: Immigrant Experiences in Maine Schools

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 04 Aug 2020 20:00:56 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne The Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine recently hosted a panel discussion on the Immigrant Experience in Maine Schools. Several people who came to Maine from other countries as children spoke about their experiences in the schools here. While they are mostly from the Portland and Lewiston areas, the experiences they shared are important for all of us who want to be part of a welcoming community. The moderator was Shenna Bellows, Executive Director of the HHRC, in addition to her work as a State Senator. The panel was recorded via zoom, and lightly edited. Our thanks to the Holocaust and Human Rights Center for making this, as well as a video of the event available to WERU listeners Panelists: Saharla Farah is a rising sophomore at Emmanuel College, having graduated from Deering High School in 2019 and serving two terms as the student representative on Portland’s Board of Education. Safiya Khalid serves as a Lewiston city councilor and works as the community coordinator for Gateway Community Services. Safiya and her family left Somalia when she was 7 years old and settled in Lewiston after spending a few months in New Jersey. After high school, she received her degree psychology from the University of Southern Maine. Hawo Mohamed is the Greater Portland Restorative Coordinator. She was born in Kenya and immigrated to the United States with her family in 1995, settling in Portland, Maine. Since then, she has called Maine her home. Hawo has had a great interest in social justice since high school, where she organized her fellow classmates to participate in the first school-wide protest against police brutality in 2012, shortly after the death of Trayvon Martin. Mohamad Nur was born and raised in Portland, Maine as the son of Somali refugees. He is an alum of Portland Public Schools and graduated from Bowdoin College with a double major in government & legal studies and Africana studies, with a minor in education. He is the legislative director for the Maine People’s Alliance. About the host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices and Maine Currents, she also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and the First Place 2017 Radio News Award from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.

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Maine Currents 7/21/20: Elections 2020 Edition

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 21 Jul 2020 20:00:54 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Regular guests Professor Amy Fried and former State Representative Ralph Chapman weigh in on local and national politics, and we’re joined by Lisa Savage for US Senate , Tiffany Bond and Matthew McDonald for the Max Linn campaign (website under development). They explain why they’ve teamed up together to demand access to the US Senate debates with Sara Gideon and U.S. Senator Susan Collins Guests: Professor Amy Fried, Chair of the Political Science Department at the University of Maine Former State Representative Ralph Chapman, and Ann Luther, board member for the League of Women Voters of Maine Recorded via Zoom on 7/20/2020 About the host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices and Maine Currents, she also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and the First Place 2017 Radio News Award from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.

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Maine Currents 7/7/20: Decolonization

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 07 Jul 2020 20:00:36 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne A discussion of decolonization, with specific examples from the University of Maine, and the Abbe Museum, with guests: Darren Ranco, PhD, a citizen of the Penobscot Nation, an Associate Professor of Anthropology and Chair of Native American Programs at the University of Maine. He has a Masters of Studies in Environmental Law from Vermont Law School and a PhD in Social Anthropology from Harvard University. His research focuses on the ways in which indigenous communities in the United States resist environmental destruction by using indigenous science, diplomacies, and critiques of liberalism to protect natural and cultural resources. He teaches classes on indigenous intellectual property rights, research ethics, environmental justice and tribal governance. Hailey Cedor, a rising senior in the Honors College at the University of Maine, Orono. She is a History major with a minor in Environmental Horticulture. She is a member of All Maine Women, an undergraduate Research Assistant with the Holocaust Geographies Project, and a Fellow with the McGillicuddy Humanities Center. She has been working to get the University to rename a building on campus that was named for a former university president who was also the president of the American Eugenics Society. John Bear Mitchell, a citizen of the Penobscot Nation from Indian Island. He presently serves as the UMaine System Office Native American Waiver and Educational Program Coordinator, University of Maine’s Wabanaki Center Outreach and Student Development Coordinator, as well as, a Lecturer of Wabanaki Studies and Multicultural Studies at the University of Maine in Orono. He has served on numerous museum and educational boards throughout the state with missions based on Maine’s Wabanaki people. For 15 years John visited schools in Maine as a Maine Touring Artist delivering an Arts in Education program. During that time, he visited over 150 schools. While working his way through college, he toured with the Native American Storytellers of New England. He presented a traditional and contemporary program in Native American Stories and Song. His singing and storytelling can be heard in many Maine PBS, tribal-sponsored awareness videos, independent film, HBO Lionsgate TV, and many documentaries with topics on Maine’s Native People. Starr Kelly is the Curator of Education at the Abbe Museum in Bar Harbor. Her responsibilities focus on education through dialogue in a decolonizing context. Starr leads the museum’s education and public programs work, including program development and delivery, teacher training, and educational resource development. She is a member of the Algonquin First Nation of Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg in Quebec About the host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices and Maine Currents, she also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and the First Place 2017 Radio News Award from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.

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Maine Currents 6/2/20: Digital Media Literacy

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 02 Jun 2020 20:00:39 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Hannah Cyrus, Assistant Director at the Blue Hill Public Library, with a presentation on Digital Media Literacy, recorded on May 20th, and a news report by host Amy Browne. The video of the BHPL presentation is available here Our thanks to the Blue Hill Public Library for providing the audio and video of the presentation About the host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices and Maine Currents, she also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and the First Place 2017 Radio News Award from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.

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Maine Currents 5/19/20: Elections 2020 Edition

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 19 May 2020 20:00:23 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Regular guests for the Elections 2020 series: Professor Amy Fried, Chair of the Political Science Department at the University of Maine Former State Representative Ralph Chapman Today we talk with Democrats Betsy Sweet and Bre Kidman, Independent Green Lisa Savage, and Independent Tiffany Bond — all of whom are hoping to challenge incumbent Susan Collins in the 2020 U.S. Senate race. About the host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices and Maine Currents, she also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and the First Place 2017 Radio News Award from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.

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Maine Currents 5/5/20: WERU Public Affairs Producers Zoom Roundup

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 05 May 2020 20:00:24 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Several WERU public affairs producers/hosts join us with reports related to the pandemic, and the topics their shows cover: Rhonda Feiman is a licensed acupuncturist and host of Healthy Options, which airs on the 1st Wednesday of each month at 4pm Ann Luther hosts the Democracy Forum, produced in collaboration with the League of Women Voters of Maine, where she also serves as a board member. Democracy Forum airs on the 3rd Friday of each month at 4pm Natalie Springuel hosts Coastal Conversations, in collaboration with the University of Maine Sea Grant, where she is a Marine Extension Associate. Coastal Conversations airs on the 4th Friday of each month at 4pm Ron Beard hosts one of WERU’s longest running public affairs shows, Talk of the Towns, which airs on the 2nd Wednesday of each month at 4pm Dr. John Hunt is a retired veterinarian and host of Let’s Talk Animals and the short feature Pet Sounds. Let’s Talk Animals airs on the 4th Thursday of each month at 4pm, and Pet Sounds airs on Sunday mornings at 7:30 About the host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices and Maine Currents, she also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and the First Place 2017 Radio News Award from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.

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Maine Currents 4/21/20: Elections 2020 Edition

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 21 Apr 2020 20:00:21 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne A discussion of politics and elections during the COVID-19 pandemic Guests: Professor Amy Fried, Chair of the Political Science Department at the University of Maine Former State Representative Ralph Chapman Ann Luther, host of the Democracy Forum program here on WERU, in partnership with the League of Women Voters of Maine, where she serves on the Board of Directors. About the host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices and Maine Currents, she also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and the First Place 2017 Radio News Award from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.

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Maine Currents 4/7/20: “From SARS to COVID-19: My Life With Pandemic Response”

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 07 Apr 2020 20:00:18 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Last week The Jackson Laboratory and Ellsworth Public Library presented a webinar for the local community entitled, “From SARS to COVID-19: My Life With Pandemic Response” featuring Jackson Lab President and CEO Edison Liu. Dr. Liu led the scientific response for Singapore during the SARS crisis in 2003, and spoke last week about the science of COVID-19, how to slow the spread of the virus, and what the scientific community is doing to address the public health crisis. And we do want to alert listeners that part of that discussion includes research on animals. Nadia Rosenthal, Ph.D., JAX’s scientific director in Bar Harbor, moderated, and a question and answer session followed. There are a few references to slides, but they are explained well enough that it does not detract from the presentation on audio. If you would like to view the video of the webinar, we will post a link to that on WERU’s social media and along with the archives of today’s program. Used with their permission, here is the presentation, recorded March 31st. You may view the video of the presentation, here About the host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices and Maine Currents, she also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and the First Place 2017 Radio News Award from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.

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WERU Coronavirus Updates 3/31/20, 2:30pm

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 31 Mar 2020 18:30:30 +0000

WERU News & Public Affairs Manager Amy Browne with the latest local news and mutual aid resources.

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WERU Coronavirus Updates 3/26/20 2:30pm

WERU-FM 89.9 — Thu, 26 Mar 2020 18:30:45 +0000

WERU News & Public Affairs Manager Amy Browne with the latest local news and mutual aid resources.

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WERU Coronavirus Updates 3/25/20 2:30pm

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 25 Mar 2020 18:30:32 +0000

WERU News & Public Affairs Manager Amy Browne with the latest local news and mutual aid resources.

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WERU Coronavirus Updates 3/24/20 2:30pm

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 24 Mar 2020 18:30:34 +0000

WERU News & Public Affairs Manager Amy Browne with the latest local news and mutual aid resources.

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Maine Currents Special 3/17/20 Coronavirus: Community Response, Elections, WERU

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 17 Mar 2020 20:00:12 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Studio Engineer: Joel Mann This is the Elections 2020 edition of Maine Currents, so we start off with a discussion of how the coronavirus is impacting the campaigns and how it might affect the general election in November. We’ll also look at what Professor Amy Fried calls the “delegate math” following the Maine primaries. Later in the program station manager Matt Murphy pops to talk about the measures we’re taking here at the station to keep everyone safe and the station on the air. We also talk with Cass Clem, founder of a facebook group that’s helping community members help each other, and we open the phone lines to hear how listeners are coping with the crisis. Guests: Professor Amy Fried is the Chair of the Department of Political Science at the University of Maine. She also oversees the Maine Policy Scholar Program at UMaine, and has researched and written extensively about public opinion. Ralph Chapman served 4 terms as the State Representative for Blue Hill and several surrounding towns in Hancock County. He served first as a Democrat, then as an Independent and finally as a Green party member. WERU Station Mgr Matt Murphy Cass Clem, founder of the Maine Coronavirus Community Support group that has popped up on facebook, and took off overnight with community members offering help to others, or coming to the page looking for assistance. Maine People’s Alliance coronavirus response website (that was mentioned on the show). About the host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices and Maine Currents, she also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and the First Place 2017 Radio News Award from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.

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Maine Currents Special 3/3/20: Prison Reform & Super Tuesday

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 03 Mar 2020 20:00:21 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Studio Engineer: John Greenman Part 1: (Approx 6 minutes) “Reducing Jail Populations in Maine”, a workshop to be held in Bangor on 3/28/20. We talk with Doug Dunbar, one of the organizers. FMI: www.nopenobscotjailexpansion.com Part 2: Station Manager Matt Murphy and Studio Engineer join me, and we open the phone lines for a Super Tuesday call in- and start an informal radio “exit poll” About the host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices and Maine Currents, she also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and the First Place 2017 Radio News Award from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.

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Maine Currents Special 2/25/20: Immigration Law in These Challenging Times

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 25 Feb 2020 20:00:19 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Audio recorded by: Matt Murphy Production assistance: Zoe Sifnakis “Immigration Law in These Challenging Times”, a talk sponsored by the MDI Racial Equity Working Group, recorded at the Jesup Memorial Library in Bar Harbor on February 12th. The panelists were Anna Welch, Sam L Cohen Refugee and Human Rights Clinical Professor at the University of Maine School of Law, and Felix Hagenimana, Asylum Outreach Attorney with the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project. The moderator was Dave Feldman, of the MDI Racial Equity Working Group, and faculty member at the College of the Atlantic. There are 2 more upcoming events in the MDI Racial Equity Working Group’s Winter Speakers Series: On March 18th, Myron Beasley, Associate Professor of American Studies at Bates College will give a presentation on “Dreamers, Dreams and Tall Tales: Malaga and Maine’s ‘Unspoken’ History”. And on April 15th, Abdi Nor Iftin, will speak about his memoir “Call Me American”, based on his childhood in war-torn Mogadishu and his eventual escape. Both events will be held at the Jesup Memorial Library in Bar Harbor at 7pm. Click here for more information About the host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices and Maine Currents, she also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and the First Place 2017 Radio News Award from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.

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Maine Currents 2/18/20: Elections 2020 Edition

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 18 Feb 2020 20:00:11 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Studio Engineer: John Greenman Our monthly discussion of Elections 2020 related issues. Today we also discuss the League of Women Voters – celebrating their 100th anniversary this year- with Ann Luther. Guests: Professor Amy Fried is the Chair of the Department of Political Science at the University of Maine. She also oversees the Maine Policy Scholar Program at UMaine, and has researched and written extensively about public opinion. Ralph Chapman served 4 terms as the State Representative for Blue Hill and several surrounding towns in Hancock County. He served first as a Democrat, then as an Independent and finally as a Green party member. Ann Luther, Treasurer (and past-President) of the League of Women Voters of Maine, leader of the their Advocacy Team, and host of Democracy Forum, which airs here on WERU at 4pm on the 3rd Friday of every month, and is produced in collaboration with the league. About the host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices and Maine Currents, she also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and the First Place 2017 Radio News Award from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.

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Maine Currents 2/4/20: A Few Concerned Citizens vs Larry Lockman

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 04 Feb 2020 20:00:18 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne On January 28th, the Penobscot County Commissioners (PCC) unanimously passed a resolution in support of refugee resettlement in the county. The vote comes at a time when there are no plans to resettle refugees in the area, and likely would have not taken place had State Rep Larry Lockman (R-Bradley) not raised the issue at the commission’s previous meeting- where he encouraged them to take the opposite action. At the PCC’s January 14th meeting, Lockman asked the commission to oppose refugee resettlement. At that meeting the commission took no action on his request, which came at a time when Trump’s 2019 Executive Order , which would have allowed local governments to reject refugees, was being reviewed by the federal court. The day after Lockman appeared before the PCC, the US District Court blocked Trump’s order. Area residents who attended the PCC’s January 28th meeting said they heard about Lockman’s proposal, and felt the PCC’s decision to not take action did not go far enough. They asked the commissioners to consider a resolution in support of refugee resettlement, should there be plans for that in the future. Today we have some background on Lockman’s attempts to pass anti-immigration legislation in the state. We talk to Crash Barry, an investigative journalist for Mainer (formerly The Bollard), who went undercover in 2018 to expose Lockman’s Maine First Project, and we listen in on the testimony and deliberations at the PCC’s January 28th meeting. Rep. Lockman did not respond to our request for a comment. FMI: The Bollard: First Maine Mania, Crash Berry The Tipping Point: Maine Rep. Lawrence Lockman’s decades-long history of extremism, Mike Tipping The Marshall Project: Is There a Connection Between Undocumented Immigrants and Crime? Maine Currents, 4/26/17: Anti-immigration bills introduced in Maine, Amy Browne About the host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices and Maine Currents, she also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and the First Place 2017 Radio News Award from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.

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Maine Currents 1/21/20: Elections 2020 & Impeachment

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 21 Jan 2020 20:00:15 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Studio Engineer: John Greenman Call in show discussion of the upcoming 2020 elections and the ongoing impeachment process. Some subject areas covered include: What are your thoughts about how the impeachment process is going to impact the 2020 elections? Should the 1st primaries be held in states more diverse than Iowa and NH? Primaries vs caucuses In which elections will Ranked Choice Voting be used here in Maine? Guests: Professor Amy Fried is the Chair of the Department of Political Science at the University of Maine. She also oversees the Maine Policy Scholar Program at UMaine, and has researched and written extensively about public opinion. Ralph Chapman served 4 terms as the State Representative for Blue Hill and several surrounding towns in Hancock County. He served first as a Democrat, then as an Independent and finally as a Green party member. About the host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices and Maine Currents, she also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and the First Place 2017 Radio News Award from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.

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Maine Currents 1/7/20: CMP Corridor Draws Opposition from Across the Political Spectrum

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 07 Jan 2020 20:00:09 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Studio Engineer: John Greenman Production assistance: Meredith DeFrancesco, WERU-FM & Sunlight Media Collective Audio provided by: North American Megadam Resistance NOTE: The first audio file (below) is this program, and the second is a full, unedited recording of the Megadam Resistance tour speakers in Augusta in November 2019, used with their permission. If you come from a politically mixed family here in Maine, chances are there was one topic you were able to discuss over the holidays without anyone getting disowned. The New England Clean Energy Connect – or the CMP Corridor as it is widely known- is drawing opposition from all over the political spectrum. Building the corridor would involve cutting 53 miles through undeveloped forest in Western Maine. According to the Natural Resources Council of Maine, the damage would fragment the largest contiguous temperate forest in North America and perhaps the world. The corridor would traverse Maine to bring pricier energy, that supporters call “green”, from HydroQuebec dams in Canada to Massachusetts. Maine Governor Janet Mills supports the project, after, she says, she negotiated with HydroQuebec and “insisted that the project include electric vehicle charging stations, provisions to support renewable energy, broadband access, and heat pumps, as well as cash relief for ratepayers over and above the benefits of lower electricity prices”. Many towns that initially were in support have changed their minds, as has the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine after realizing that a majority of their members were in opposition. The guests on this program represent some of the different parts of the political spectrum that oppose the project. Dawn Neptune Adams is a member of the Penobscot Nation, a narrator and citizen-journalist with Sunlight Media Collective, Wabanaki liaison to the Maine Independent Green Party, and a Racial Justice Consultant to the Peace and Justice Center of Eastern Maine. She met with the Cree and Innu People from the North American Megadam Resistance speaking tour in November to learn more about the situations in their territories. We hear some clips from their presentation during this program as well. And joining us by phone, from arguably what is usually the other end of the political spectrum, is Tom Saviello, former Republican State Senator Franklin County and former State Representative for 6 towns in Franklin County including his home town of Wilton. He is the former Chair of the joint Standing Committee on the Environment and Natural Resources. He has a BS degree in Forestry from the University of Tennessee, and an MS in Agronomy & a PHD in Forest Resources from UMO. He has worked for 33 years in the forest industry starting as a research forester and retiring as the environmental manager at the Androscoggin Mill. FMI: Say No to NECEC Northeast Megadam Resistance Natural Resources Council of Maine CMP Transmission Line Proposal: A Bad Deal for Maine Sierra Club of Maine CMP Transmission Line RadioActive 11/14/19 Indigenous Resistance to Megadam Power in Canada New England Clean Energy Connect Governor Janet Mills’ statement on NECEC Catch the award-winning Maine Currents, independent local news, views and culture, on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of each month, 4-5pm on WERU-FM, streaming live at www.weru.org and on the WERU app About the host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices and Maine Currents, she also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and the First Place 2017 Radio News Award from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.

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Maine Currents 12/5/19: Terry Tempest Williams Speaking in Blue Hill

WERU-FM 89.9 — Thu, 05 Dec 2019 14:00:29 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Audio recorded by Phelan Gallagher Award-winning author Terry Tempest Williams, speaking about, and reading from, her new collection, called “Erosion: Essays of Undoing”, on November 16th, 2019 at an event sponsored by Blue Hill Books, the Bay School, and WERU-FM. Catch the award-winning Maine Currents, independent local news, views and culture, on the 1st Thursday of every month, 10-11 a.m. on WERU-FM and streaming live at www.weru.org

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Maine Currents 11/7/19: Vijay Gupta Keynote at Belfast Arts in Action

WERU-FM 89.9 — Fri, 08 Nov 2019 14:00:49 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Audio recorded by Matt Murphy and edited by Amy Browne Last weekend the Belfast Creative Coalition and Restorative Art Works (RAW) held the first of what they hope will become an annual, Arts in Action Conference at the University of Maine Hutchinson center in Belfast, Maine. The focus was “summoning the power of the arts to address our opioid epidemic”. Today on Maine Currents, we have the keynote presentation by Vijay Gupta, founder of Street Symphony, a Los Angeles based non profit organization serving prisoners and people on skid row. Gupta answers the question: “What’s art got to do with it?” Catch the award-winning Maine Currents, independent local news, views and culture, on the 1st Thursday of every month, 10-11 a.m. on WERU-FM and streaming live at www.weru.org

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Maine Currents 9/5/19: Voices from Still Mill

WERU-FM 89.9 — Thu, 05 Sep 2019 14:00:39 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Audio recorded by John Greenman and edited by Amy Browne Storytelling fans and local history buffs are in for a treat today as we bring you some of the “Voices from Still Mill”, recorded on July 21st at the Alamo Theatre in Bucksport, Maine. The event was based on the book, STILL MILL, Poems, Stories & Songs of Making Paper in Bucksport, Maine 1930-2014 edited by Patricia Smith Ranzoni, Bucksport’s Poet Laureate and published by North Country Press. [Copyright © and registered with Library of Congress 2017. Used by permission of Patricia Smith Ranzoni, Editor] Mel Allen, Editor of Yankee magazine and author of the 2018 article “Bucksport, Maine The Town That Refused to Die” was the facilitator. A song by Chris Soper was featured (view the youtube video of the song here ) Catch the award-winning Maine Currents, independent local news, views and culture, on the 1st Thursday of every month, 10-11 a.m. on WERU-FM and streaming live at www.weru.org

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Maine Currents Special 8/29/19: Part 2 of 2- Patrisha McLean’s “Finding Our Voices”

WERU-FM 89.9 — Thu, 29 Aug 2019 14:00:13 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Note: Maine Currents will return to our regular time slot – the 1st Thursday of each month at 10, in September. PLEASE BE ADVISED: This program features women telling their stories of surviving domestic abuse. Some of the descriptions of abuse and violence are graphic. According to the Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence, here in Maine a domestic violence assault is reported to law enforcement roughly every 2 hours. And according to a 2018 report by the Maine Domestic Abuse Homicide Review Panel, for more than 10 years, almost half of the homicides in Maine were caused by domestic violence. 16 of the 37 people who were murdered in Maine from 2016 to 2017, were killed by a family member or intimate partner. My guest on this program is Patrisha McLean. You may know her as an accomplished photographer– and you may also know parts of her personal story as a survivor of domestic violence, as they have played out in the media. Her abuser is a celebrity, so her story was shared far and wide. While that spotlight may have caused some of us to withdraw, Patrisha instead picked up her camera and a recorder and went out to help other women tell their stories on a website and traveling multimedia exhibition, called Finding Our Voices Today we pick up our conversation where it left off on the program that aired yesterday, and we open the phone lines and email to listeners. The Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence website has resources, including confidential help lines, if you or someone you know would like to talk with someone about domestic abuse/violence. There are links to resources at www.findingourvoices.net as well. The Statewide Domestic Abuse Helpline is: 1-866-834-HELP Hearing Impaired: 1-800-437-1220 The Penobscot Nation’s Domestic & Sexual Violence Advocacy Center’s hotline number is (207) 631-4886 Catch the award-winning Maine Currents, independent local news, views and culture, on the 1st Thursday of every month, 10-11 a.m. on WERU-FM and streaming live at www.weru.org

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Maine Currents 8/28/19: Part 1 of 2- Patrisha McLean’s “Finding Our Voices”

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 28 Aug 2019 14:00:22 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Note: We were off the air on 8/1/19 when this originally was scheduled to air. Maine Currents will return to our regular time slot – the 1st Thursday of each month at 10, in September. PLEASE BE ADVISED: This program features women telling their stories of surviving domestic abuse. Some of the descriptions of abuse and violence are graphic. According to the Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence, here in Maine a domestic violence assault is reported to law enforcement roughly every 2 hours. And according to a 2018 report by the Maine Domestic Abuse Homicide Review Panel, for more than 10 years, almost half of the homicides in Maine were caused by domestic violence. 16 of the 37 people who were murdered in Maine from 2016 to 2017, were killed by a family member or intimate partner. My guest on this program is Patrisha McLean. You may know her as an accomplished photographer– and you may also know parts of her personal story as a survivor of domestic violence, as they have played out in the media. Her abuser is a celebrity, so her story was shared far and wide. While that spotlight may have caused some of us to withdraw, Patrisha instead picked up her camera and a recorder and went out to help other women tell their stories on a website and traveling multimedia exhibition, called Finding Our Voices The Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence website has resources, including confidential help lines, if you or someone you know would like to talk with someone about domestic abuse/violence. There are links to resources at www.findingourvoices.net as well. The Statewide Domestic Abuse Helpline is: 1-866-834-HELP Hearing Impaired: 1-800-437-1220 The Penobscot Nation’s Domestic & Sexual Violence Advocacy Center’s hotline number is (207) 631-4886 Catch the award-winning Maine Currents, independent local news, views and culture, on the 1st Thursday of every month, 10-11 a.m. on WERU-FM and streaming live at www.weru.org

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Maine Currents 7/4/19: Mainers Standing Up to General Dynamics/BIW

WERU-FM 89.9 — Thu, 04 Jul 2019 14:01:39 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Studio Engineer: Joel Mann Guests Connie Jenkins, Meredith Bruskin, Dud Hendrik, Robert Shetterly and Russell Wray are members of an affinity group that has been engaging in what they call “civil resistance”, as well as using other strategies, to call attention to the impact of the war ships built at General Dynamic’s Bath Iron Works – including their “carbon boot print”. Hear why, and what alternatives they are proposing, on this edition of Maine Currents. Catch the award-winning Maine Currents, independent local news, views and culture, on the 1st Thursday of every month, 10-11 a.m. on WERU-FM and streaming live at www.weru.org

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Maine Currents 6/6/19: “Connecting Our Struggles: Corporations or Communities?”

WERU-FM 89.9 — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 14:00:43 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Audio recorded by: Meredith DeFrancesco Last week a panel of Maine-based activists spoke in Belfast at an event called “Connecting Our Struggles: Corporations or Communities?” Panelists Nickie Sekera of Community Water Justice; Matt Wagner of No to NECEC; Ellie Daniels of Local Citizens for SMART Growth; and John Banks, Natural Resources Director for the Penobscot Nation, talked about tensions between corporate interests and efforts to protect and preserve communities. This morning on Maine Currents we have the first part of the panel discussion. Part 2 will air on RadioActive this afternoon at 4:30. Catch the award-winning Maine Currents, independent local news, views and culture, on the 1st Thursday of every month, 10-11 a.m. on WERU-FM and streaming live at www.weru.org

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Maine Currents 5/2/19: Green New Deal Proposed for Maine

WERU-FM 89.9 — Thu, 02 May 2019 14:00:28 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Listen as Representative Chloe Maxmin, sponsor of LD 1282 “An Act To Establish a Green New Deal for Maine”, presents the bill at a public hearing before the legislature’s Joint Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology last week, and members of the public testify, followed by updates from the subsequent work session and a comment from Maxmin on where things stand now. Read the bill text here More information about the Joint Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology, and contact information for committee members can be found here

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Maine Currents 4/4/19

WERU-FM 89.9 — Thu, 04 Apr 2019 14:30:45 +0000

An Americans Who Tell the Truth Event: Bree Newsome and Maulian Dana on the legacy of systemic racism in the US and what can be done to dismantle it Producer/Host: Amy Browne Audio Recorded by: Matt Murphy Bree Newsome, then 30 years old, became famous in June of 2015 when she climbed the flagpole outside the State House in Columbia, South Carolina and took down the Confederate Flag. Maulian Dana is Tribal Ambassador of the Penobscot Nation, who has – among other things- been a leader in the movement to discontinue the use of Indian mascots in Maine. They spoke about the legacy of systemic racism in the US and what can be done to dismantle it, at an event in Blue Hill last weekend sponsored by Americans Who Tell the Truth. WERU was among the co-sponsors of the event. Today on Maine Currents we bring you the first hour of their talk. A recording of the entire 2 hour event, which included a Q&A session, is also included in the links below. Robert Shetterly of Americans Who Tell the Truth was the moderator Catch the award-winning Maine Currents, independent local news, views and culture, on the 1st Thursday of every month, 10-11 a.m. on WERU-FM and streaming live at www.weru.org

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Maine Currents 3/7/19

WERU-FM 89.9 — Thu, 07 Mar 2019 14:00:25 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Studio Engineer: John Greenman Maine AllCare – Working to Bring Universal Healthcare to Maine A call-in show discussion of universal healthcare: how it works, how it’s paid for, and how it might be implemented, with Lynn Cheney (Board Member) and Phil Bailey (Executive Director) of Maine AllCare. FMI: maineallcare.org/ www.facebook.com/MaineAllCare/ Catch the award-winning Maine Currents, independent local news, views and culture, on the 1st Thursday of every month, 10-11 a.m. on WERU-FM and streaming live at www.weru.org

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Maine Currents 2/7/19

WERU-FM 89.9 — Thu, 07 Feb 2019 14:00:55 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne An Ambitious Plan to Address Homelessness in Maine Mainers may have a chance in November to vote on a bond issue that would authorize $15 million to build housing for homeless people in the state: LD 48, “An Act To Authorize a General Fund Bond Issue To Invest in Housing for Persons Who Are Homeless”. The plan is to expand a “Housing First” model that has proven successful in Portland to other parts of the state. We speak with Representative Michael Brennan of Portland, who is also a former mayor of the city and an adjunct professor of social work, the sponsor of LD 48, and Donna Yellen, Deputy Director of Preble St. in Portland- the agency that oversees the “housing first” programs there. And we listen in on testimony at the January 22nd public hearing on LD 48, before the legislature’s Appropriations and Financial Affairs committee. More information about LD 48, the Appropriations and Financial Affairs committee and contact info for legislators is available on the State Legislature’s website

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Maine Currents 12/6/18

WERU-FM 89.9 — Thu, 06 Dec 2018 14:00:12 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Studio Engineer: John Greenman Ranked Choice Voting in Maine: Bruce Poliquin’s legal challenges to the process, and what would be involved in extending RCV to statewide races. A call-in show discussion of yesterday’s hearing on Poliquin et al’s case in the US Superior Court in Bangor, and where things could go from here. Guests: Ann Luther of the League of Women Voters of Maine, and host of Democracy Forum here on WERU. Reading from their mission statement: “The League of Women Voters of Maine is a nonpartisan political organization that encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy.” They endorsed RCV back in 2011 and have been working to educate the public about how it works. John Brautigam, Senior Advisor and Counsel for the League of Women Voters of Maine, as well as Former Assistant Attorney General and State Representative (2004-2008). Kathleen McQuaid, Professor of Political Science Emeritus with a PH.D. in Political Science from Temple University. Member Hancock County Democrats, and a supporter of adopting RCV for all levels of elections both here in Maine and nationally. Kyle Bailey, Campaign Manager for the Yes On 1 and Yes On 5 campaigns to win and protect Maine’s Ranked Choice Voting election law Amy Fried, Professor and Chair of the Department of Political Science at the University of Maine. Attorney Kim Tucker, Employed by the Florida attorney general during the Bush/Gore election crisis and helped draft their Supreme Court brief Listen to the award-winning Maine Currents- independent local news, views and culture, on the 1st Thursday of each month, 10-11 a.m. on WERU-FM and www.weru.org

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Maine Currents 10/31/18

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 14:00:29 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Studio Engineer: Joel Mann Maine’s Ballot Question 1: Home Care for All or “Scam”? Ballot Question 1 reads “Do you want to create the Universal Home Care Program to provide home-based assistance to people with disabilities and senior citizens, regardless of income, funded by a new 3.8% tax on individuals and families with Maine wage and adjusted gross income above the amount subject to Social Security taxes, which is $128,400 in 2018?”. Our guests today represent both sides of the issue: Mike Tipping is the Communications Director of Mainers for Home Care, the coaltion promoting Question 1. Jeff Austin is the Vice President of the Maine Hospital Association (MHA). MHA is a member of a coalition of home care, health care and business groups that are opposed to Question 1, and are behind the “Stop the Scam” campaign. We open the phone lines for listener’s questions. FMI: www.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/citizens/uhcleg.pdf ballotpedia.org/Maine_Question_1,_Payroll_and_Non-Wage_Income_Taxes_for_Home_Care_Program_Initiative_(2018) www.facebook.com/mainersforhomecare/ mainersforhomecare.org www.facebook.com/NoOnQ1Maine/ www.stopthescammaine.com Listen to award-winning Maine Currents for independent local news, views and culture, on the 1st Thursday of each month, 10-11 am on WERU-FM and www.weru.org

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Maine Currents Special 10/24/18

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 24 Oct 2018 14:00:40 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne The Impact of Trump’s Economic Policies on Maine Garrett Martin, Executive Director of the Maine Center for Economic Policy (MECEP), speaking at the University of Maine on October 11th. More information about MECEP can be found at mecep.org

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Maine Currents Special 10/17/18

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 17 Oct 2018 14:00:33 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Studio Engineer: John Greenman Local journalist Lawrence Reichard joins us with a report back from his recent trip to the home of Nordic Aquafarms. He traveled to Norway and Denmark to learn more about the company that plans to build a giant land based salmon aquaculture facility in Belfast. We hear what he discovered, and take questions and comments from listeners. Reichard’s column, Bricks and Mortars appears in the Republican Journal, and can be found online at waldo.villagesoup.com FMI or to sign up to receive Bricks and Mortars via email, contact Lawrence Reichard at lreichard@gmail.com

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Maine Currents 9/6/18

WERU-FM 89.9 — Thu, 06 Sep 2018 14:00:14 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne The Public Speaks at “Maine Speaks on Climate and Cars: The Citizens’ Hearing”, an NRCM event held in Bangor on August 28th, 2018 In August, the EPA announced plans to weaken fuel efficiency standards by freezing them at current levels– rather than following rules passed during the Obama administration that would make them tougher over time. The plan would also prevent states from setting their own stronger standards (as many already have, including Maine). The stated rationale is that small cars are not as safe as bigger vehicles, and that stronger standards make vehicles more expensive. Critics of the proposal argue that pollution and climate change demand stronger, not weaker, laws. A 60 day period for public comment on the proposal is currently underway. Last week the Natural Resources Council of Maine held an event in Bangor called “Maine Speaks on Climate and Cars: The Citizens’ Hearing”, and recorded public comments to be shared with the EPA. Today on Maine Currents we bring you there. This meeting was held on an evening when poor air quality warnings had been issued for the following day here in Maine, a fact you’ll hear mentioned by some of the speakers. FMI: More info from the NRCM: Critics in Maine Decry Trump Administration Plan to Ease Rules for Auto Emissions and Efficiency- NRCM More info from the EPA, including instructions for submitting comments: The Safer Affordable Fuel Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles Proposed Rule for Model Years 2021-2026 -EPA

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Maine Currents 8/2/18

WERU-FM 89.9 — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 14:01:37 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Audio recorded by Matt Murphy Americans Who Tell the Truth presentation featuring Robert Shetterly, Kelsey Juliana and poets from George Stevens Academy Recorded in Blue Hill, Maine on June 3rd, 2018 by Matt Murphy FMI: www.americanswhotellthetruth.org/portraits/kelsey-juliana

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Maine Currents Special 7/25/18

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 25 Jul 2018 14:00:30 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Studio Engineer: John Greenman Questions and concerns about the proposed salmon aquaculture facility in Belfast Guests: Ellie Daniels, Belfast business owner, abutting property owner and member of Local Citizens for SMART Growth Lawrence Reichard, freelance columnist whose column Bricks and Mortars appears in the Republican Journal , lreichard@gmail.com Note: Nordic Aquafarms and a Belfast City Council member who supports this proposal were invited to participate in this program but declined. Previous coverage of local salmon aquaculture proposals on Maine Currents can be found at the following links: archives.weru.org/maine-currents/2018/03/maine-currents-112117-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2/ archives.weru.org/maine-currents/2018/04/maine-currents-112117-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2/ archives.weru.org/maine-currents/2018/06/maine-currents-112117-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2/

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Maine Currents Special 6/20/18

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 20 Jun 2018 14:00:43 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Audio recorded by Matt Murphy John Hodgman speaking in Blue Hill, Maine about his most recent book, Vacationland: True Stories from Painful Beaches which was just released in paperback Actor, humorist, author and podcaster John Hodgman summers here in this part of Maine- which is how the area became the subject of his most recent book Vacationland: True Stories from Painful Beaches. The crowd at the Blue Hill Library on May 29th were very appreciative and immediately called off their plans for that special trip to the Blue Hill fairgrounds. (Shhh! Don’t tell!) FMI: www.johnhodgman.com/

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Maine Currents 6/7/18

WERU-FM 89.9 — Thu, 07 Jun 2018 17:40:18 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Studio Engineer: John Greenman Supporters and Opponents Weigh in on the Nordic Aquafarms Proposal to Build a Facility in Belfast On recent Maine Currents programs we’ve done some reporting on the proposals to build land-based salmon aquaculture facilities in Bucksport and Belfast. Today we follow up with a closer look at the Belfast proposal which seems to be drawing a lot more controversy. Guests: Ellie Daniels, Belfast business owner and resident Mike Hurley, Belfast City Councilor Jim Merkel, Belfast resident, author of Radical Simplicity Small Footprints on a Finite Earth (2003) Ted O’Meara, Nordic Aquafarms spokesperson FMI: Nordic Aquafarm’s “Belfast Questions and Answers” Local Citizens for SMART Growth facebook page City of Belfast’s Nordic Aquafarms project info page The Big Weird World of Salmon Aquafeed – Free Press article by Christine Parrish that was briefly mentioned on the show Nordic Aquafarms will host a public informational meeting featuring a panel discussion on aquaculture and Maine fisheries at the Hutchinson Center in Belfast on Tuesuday, 06/12/2018 at 6:00pm. See PenBay Pilot for more information

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Maine Currents Special 5/30/18

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 30 May 2018 14:00:32 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Audio recorded by Matt Murphy The Unveiling of Robert Shetterly’s “Americans Who Tell the Truth” Portrait of Rob McCall in Blue Hill, Maine on May 12th, 2018 For more information on Americans Who Tell the Truth and to see the portrait of Rob McCall: www.americanswhotellthetruth.org/portraits/rob-mccall Awanadjo Almanack airs at 7:30 a.m. every Friday on WERU-FM (and can also be heard on our live stream at www.weru.org). Listen to past episodes at: archives.weru.org/category/awanadjo-almanack/ For more information on the Blue Hill Heritage Trust: bluehillheritagetrust.org/

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Maine Currents Special 5/29/18

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 29 May 2018 15:36:35 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Audio recorded by John Greenman Waldo Indivisible’s recent forum featuring the Democrats who are vying to be that party’s gubernatorial candidate in the June 12th primary. Moderated by Ben Chin. Recorded in Belfast, Maine on 5/21/18 by John Greenman. Edited to fit this time slot.

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Maine Currents 5/3/18

WERU-FM 89.9 — Thu, 03 May 2018 14:00:12 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Maine Gubernatorial Candidates Forum Hosted by Penobscot Nation Recorded on Indian Island on April 25th, 2018. All 7 of the Democrats who are running attended. Republican Mary Mayhew declined. Some of the other invited candidates cited other obligations. Penobscot Ambassador Maulian Dana reports that Republicans Shawn Moody and Ken Fredette, and Independent Terry Hayes did not respond to the invitation. The 7 candidates who did attend answered questions on a range of issues for more than 2 hours. Today we’re bringing you the first hour of the forum. We’ve also archived the full event along with today’s show so you can hear the rest. Dr. Darren Ranco was the facilitator. NOTE: Below you will find links to today’s show and to the full unedited forum. If listening to the full forum please note that there are some audio quality issues in the 1st 20 minutes (low volume which we are unable to boost due to a blower in the background. The audio improves drastically at about the 20 minute mark. Listen to the award-winning Maine Currents- independent local news, views and culture with host Amy Browne- on the first Thursday of each month, 10-11a.m. on WERU-FM or via our live stream at www.weru.org

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Maine Currents 4/5/18

WERU-FM 89.9 — Thu, 05 Apr 2018 19:24:11 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Studio Engineer: John Greenman Segment 1: Belfast Salmon Aquaculture Proposal Raises Concerns Segment 2: Removing Guns From Mainers Deemed to be a Risk — Mainers Weigh in on “Red Flag” Bill Segment 1: As listeners may be aware, plans are underway for Nordic Aquafarms to build a large land-based aquaculture facility in Belfast. The proposed site is partly owned by the local water district and would need to be rezoned. The benefits of such a project would be a probable decrease in taxes and more jobs in the area, but some local residents also have concerns and believe the approval process is moving too quickly, with a vote on zoning possibly taking place this month. Belfast residents Joanne Moesswilde and Ellie Daniels are with me in the studio this morning to share some of their concerns. (NOTE: We plan to follow up with a full show dedicated to land-based salmon aquaculture in the near future. If you are involved in the issue and would like to possibly be part of that show, please contact Amy Browne at news@weru.org) FMI: These are the links Ellie Daniels mentioned on the show, along with her descriptions of each: www.salmonfarming.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/ISFA_LandFarmingreport_web.pdf “This is a comprehensive report from the International Salmon Farmers Association.” www.maine.gov/dep/water/nutrient-criteria/index.html “This is on the ME DEP site, and summarizes the issues associated with excess phosphorous or nitrogen in discharge water.” www.aqauaculturenorthamerica.com “This is a trade site that follows the industry.” Segment 2: A crowd with strong opinions on both sides of the issue testified at a public hearing on LD 1884 “An Act To Create a Community Protection Order To Allow Courts To Prevent High-risk Individuals from Possessing Firearms” in Augusta Tuesday. If passed, this “Red Flag” bill would allow guns to be temporarily taken away from people who are deemed to pose a threat to themselves or others. Today on Maine Currents we listen in as LD 1884 is introduced by Senator Mark Dion, and then we hear some of the public testimony from both sides: FMI: To follow the progress of the bill: www.mainelegislature.org/legis/bills/display_ps.asp?paper=SP0719&snum=128&PID=1456 For info on how to contact your legislators: www.legislature.maine.gov Listen to the award-winning Maine Currents- independent local news, views and culture with host Amy Browne- on the first Thursday of each month, 10-11a.m. on WERU-FM or via our live stream at www.weru.org

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Maine Currents 3/27/18

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 27 Mar 2018 20:00:35 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Our thanks for contributing audio for today’s program goes out to: Sonja Katharine Birthisel, Tracey Hair, Jeanne Curran, John Greenman Segment 1: “March for Our Lives” audio collage Segment 2: Salmon Aquaculture Proposed at Abandoned Mill Site in Bucksport 1: A collage of audio clips from local “March for Our Lives” events on 3/24/18. First we hear Stillwater Youth chanting, recorded by Sonja Katharine Birthisel, followed by a few clips of the speakers at the Bangor rally, recorded by Tracey Hair, and then some person in the street interviews in Bangor, recorded by Jeanne Curran. 2: Large salmon aquaculture companies are planning to build facilities in Belfast and Bangor, raising hopes and concerns in both communities. Whole Oceans, the company planning to locate at the abandoned Bucksport mill site held a public meeting recently. John Greenman recorded the event, and today we have some clips from the company’s presentation, followed by some of the question and answer session. NOTE: Maine Currents is moving to the 1st Thursday of each month, 10-11 a.m. Be sure to tune in then for independent local news, views and culture on WERU-FM!

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Maine Currents 3/20/18

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 20 Mar 2018 20:00:49 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Studio Engineer: John Greenman Opposition to Maine Taxpayers Funding “Corporate Welfare” for Military Contractor General Dynamics In February we reported on a proposal to give a $60 million tax break to Bath Iron Works at the expense of Maine taxpayers. Those who support the measure say it protects jobs, but those who oppose it see it as corporate welfare for defense contractor General Dynamics, the company that owns BIW. Today we follow up with some of the activists involved in the issue, including Bruce Gagnon who was with us last month, as well as Bob Klotz and Lisa Savage. We’re also joined by Alex Nunes, an investigative reporter at nunesweekly.com. He has exposed details about what is going on behind the scenes of this deal. Columnist Lawrence Reichard, joins us in the studio. He’s covered the issue in his weekly column “Bricks and Mortars” which runs in the Waldo County based Republican Journal and the Coastal Journal in Bath. Later in the program we check in with Jessica Stewart, one of 3 women who were arrested at Senator Collin’s office last December where they were protesting her support of the tax bill. They are heading to federal court tomorrow. Note: Activist Mark Roman was scheduled to be with us but was unable to join us due to technical difficulties. He sent the following comment: “In the taxation committee testimony, BIW VP, John Fitzgerald was asked by a committee member if he would open BIW books to the committee to help determine the need for the tax break. Mr Fitzgerald said quite loudly and quite clearly NO! we will not do that. It seems that the state is not to question the subsidiary of General Dynamics Corporation, the fifth largest weapons maker on the planet. The $45 million being requested would just cover the annual compensation of the top four officers of General Dynamics. I believe that the people of Maine need that money for education, infrastructure repairs and health care for our citizens. I would ask listeners to call their representatives and tell them to vote no on LD- 1781. I want to thank WERU for being the voice of the people” FMI: Follow the proposed legislation at: legislature.maine.gov/LawMakerWeb/summary.asp?ID=280067362 Contact info for your legislators is available at: legislature.maine.gov/ To receive Lawrence Reichard’s “Bricks and Mortars” column via email, contact him at lreichard@gmail.com From Alex Nunes of www.nunesweekly.com: Here are a few links that may be of interest to your audience. This is the original General Dynamics stock buyback story for The Providence Journal: www.providencejournal.com/news/20171103/defense-firms-spend-big-on-lucrative-stock-buybacks This is an op-ed I wrote for The Day newspaper in New London, Conn., about General Dynamics seeking state subsidies in New England. I talk about Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Maine: www.theday.com/article/20180204/OP03/180209865 These are two stories from a multi-part series about economic development in Rhode Island and Connecticut centered around building the Navy’s next generation of nuclear-armed submarines. The first story addresses the corporate welfare/economic development aspects of it. The second looks at the reaction from the peace community: www.providencejournal.com/news/20170915/ri-invests-millions-for-job-training-in-public-private-partnership-with-eb www.providencejournal.com/news/20170915/question-beneath-electric-boats-ascent-why-do-we-need-these-ships Investigative reporting from The Bollard was also mentioned on the show and can be found here: thebollard.com/2018/02/06/ship-of-fools/ Bruce Gagnon blogs at space4peace.blogspot.com/ Lisa Savage blogs at went2thebridge.blogspot.com/

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Maine Currents 3/6/18

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 06 Mar 2018 20:00:57 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Studio Engineer: John Greenman Non-binary Gender Identities & the work of the Health Equity Alliance Guests: Nik Sparlin, graduate of the New England School of Communications at Husson University, currently working on a second degree at the University of Maine; Ambureen Rana, Health Equity Center Coordinator at the Health Equity Alliance, and the Vice President of MaineTransNet; Maddy Magnuson, LGBTQ+ Community Organizer at the Health Equity Alliance; Hannah Ruhlin LGBTQ+ Community Organizer with Health Equity Alliance. Daily Beast article mentioned on show: How the Non-Binary Revolution Hit the West Coast

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Love Stories by Mainers – event recorded 2/14/18

WERU-FM 89.9 — Fri, 02 Mar 2018 17:17:57 +0000

Love Stories by Mainers, a storytelling event hosted by WERU-FM and Wednesday on Main, was held at the Alamo Theater in Bucksport, Maine on 2/14/18. Storytellers Becky and Rob McCall, David Weeda, Anu Dudley, Amy Roeder, Brook Minner, Carol Visser, Jonathan Fulford and Naomi Graychase took the stage to share their stories. Amy Browne of WERU-FM was the emcee. John Greenman recorded the event. Some of these stories aired on WERU’s Maine Currents on 2/27/18 and on a WERU Special on 2/28/18. Instead of archiving those show separately, here you will find the entire storytelling event unedited, as well as the individual stories available for listening online or downloading. The files attached below are in order: -The full show -Amy Roeder -Anu Dudley -Brook Minner -Carol Visser -David Weeda -Jonathan Fulford -Becky & Rob McCall -Naomi Graychase

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Maine Currents 2/20/18

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 20 Feb 2018 20:00:07 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Maine legislature considers restrictions on the discredited practice of “conversion therapy” On February 14th, the state legislature’s Labor, Commerce Research and Economic Development committee held a public hearing on LD 912, a bill that would prohibit licensed professionals from practicing “conversion therapy” on children. The practice– which claims to change sexual orientation– is widely considered to be unethical among mental health professionals but some defend it as being within their “biblical world view”. Today on Maine Currents we listen to the bill’s presentation to the committee, and some of the testimony on both sides.

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Maine Currents 2/13/18

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 13 Feb 2018 20:00:14 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Contributor/Engineer: John Greenman Does General Dynamics Need $60 Million From the Pockets of Maine Taxpayers? The Maine legislature is considering a proposal to give a huge tax break to a military contractor. At the request of BIW, Representative Jennifer DeChant, a Democrat from Bath is sponsoring LD1781, “An Act To Encourage New Major Investments in Shipbuilding Facilities and the Preservation of Jobs”. In introducing the bill she testified that it would provide tax incentives to keep BIW competitive in its marketplace and retain a large number of quality jobs in the state. The bill has several cosponsors from both parties, but it also has drawn harsh criticism from those who see it as corporate welfare that BIW’s parent company, General Dynamics, certainly doesn’t need from the pockets of Mainers. A public hearing for the bill was held before the legislature’s Committee on Taxation a few weeks ago. We’re going to start today listening to clips from that public hearing, recorded by documentary filmmaker Regis Tremblay, and then he and activist Bruce Gagnon will be joining us for an update on where things stand now. FMI: thebollard.com/2018/02/06/ship-of-fools/ nunesweekly.com/2018/02/09/maine-state-rep-jennifer-dechant-sought-corporate-talking-points-to-counter-activists/ www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1DP7YYS2b0&feature=em-subs_digest www.facebook.com/space4peace/videos/10156020240713608/

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Maine Currents 2/6/18

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 06 Feb 2018 20:00:01 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Contributor/Engineer: John Greenman Segment 1: Immigrant’s Rights Rally at Bangor Bus Station Segment 2: CMP Draws Complaints Over Billing Increases & Storm Response Several Mainers braved the bitter cold on Saturday to attend a rally in Bangor calling attention to recent reports of Border agents asking bus passengers in Bangor where they were born, the possible upcoming deportation of a Waterville resident, and DACA recipients in Maine. (Recorded by John Greenman) A large number of customers are taking to social media to complain that their Central Maine Power (CMP) bills doubled or tripled in January. Jennifer Gamage of Dixmont joins us to tell her story, and we hear the response from CMP and the Public Utilities Commission (PUC). In addition, representatives from several rural towns complained today to the state legislature’s Energy, Utilities and Technology committee about CMP’s response following the October wind storm.

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Maine Currents 1/30/18

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 30 Jan 2018 20:00:28 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Forum: Congressional District 2 Democrats, Part 2 of 2 Candidates vying to be the Democratic challenger running against Bruce Poliquin in Congressional District 2 later this year drew a standing room only crowd at a forum in Belfast on Sunday, January 21st. The event was sponsored by the Belfast , MidCoast and Head of the Tide Indivisible groups and the Waldo County Chapter of Maine AllCare. The 5 candidates answered questions on topics ranging from indigenous rights to campaign financing to universal healthcare. Today we take you there. (Part 2 of 2)

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Maine Currents 1/23/18

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 23 Jan 2018 20:00:42 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Forum: Congressional District 2 Democrats Candidates vying to be the Democratic challenger running against Bruce Poliquin in Congressional District 2 later this year drew a standing room only crowd at a forum in Belfast on Sunday, January 21st. The event was sponsored by the Belfast , MidCoast and Head of the Tide Indivisible groups and the Waldo County Chapter of Maine AllCare. The 5 candidates answered questions on topics ranging from indigenous rights to campaign financing to universal healthcare. Today we take you there. (Part 2 will air on Tuesday, 1/30/18 at 4pm)

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Maine Currents 1/16/18

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 16 Jan 2018 20:00:22 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Back to the Legislative Drawing Board on Marijuana Legalization in Maine As the state legislature returns for the January session, one of the things they are working on is setting up the rules that will govern legalized recreational marijuana in the state. After several months of bipartisan work, their last attempt was vetoed by the Governor and the legislature failed to overturn the veto. So despite Mainers voting in support of legalization in 2016, the committee is going into 2018 still trying to craft a package of rules that LePage will sign – or that will at least garner enough votes to override his next veto. This is complicated by the recent announcement by US Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinding the 2013 Cole memo which had indicated that the federal government would in most cases not be focusing on enforcing marijuana laws. So the Committee on Marijuana Legalization Implementation held a public hearing on the latest proposed regulations, LD 1719 “An Act To Implement a Regulatory Structure for Adult Use Marijuana” last week. The public packed the meeting room and overflowed into an adjoining room, and testimony lasted for several hours. Today we bring you some key excerpts. FMI: legislature.maine.gov/LawMakerWeb/summary.asp?ID=280067229

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Maine Currents 1/9/18

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 09 Jan 2018 20:00:17 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne The 6th Annual Unity Rally at the Statehouse For the last 6 years Maine legislators returning for the January session have been greeted at the Statehouse by the Alliance for the Common Good. Their annual Unity Rally brings together a wide range of groups and individuals who want to make sure the issues they are working on in the state are not forgotten. Today on Maine Currents we’ll bring you to this year’s rally, which was held on January 3rd. Due to time limitations we can’t bring you all of the speakers on Maine Currents today, but a video of the entire rally can be viewed on the WERU facebook page: facebook.com/werufm/videos/10155392663367987/

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Maine Currents 12/19/17

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 19 Dec 2017 20:00:15 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Audio recorded by: John Greenman & Matt Murphy Democrats Eyeing Poliquin’s Congressional Seat Meet with Voters (Part 2 of 2) Four of the Democratic challengers for Bruce Poliquin’s CD2 congressional seat were in Orland last week speaking on a panel organized by the Maine Common Good Coalition. Jonathan Fulford, Jared Golden, Tim Rich and Lucas St. Clair took questions from a packed audience for close to 2 hours. A 5th candidate, Craig Olson, was unable to attend due to illness. Note: Part 1 is now available on the Maine Currents archives at weru.org Maine Currents- independent local news, views and culture, Tuesdays at 4pm on WERU-FM and weru.org

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Maine Currents 12/12/17

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 12 Dec 2017 20:00:53 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Audio recorded by: John Greenman & Matt Murphy Democrats Eyeing Poliquin’s Congressional Seat Meet with Voters (Part 1 of 2) Four of the Democratic challengers for Bruce Poliquin’s CD2 congressional seat were in Orland last week speaking on a panel organized by the Maine Common Good Coalition. Jonathan Fulford, Jared Golden, Tim Rich and Lucas St. Clair took questions from a packed audience for close to 2 hours. A 5th candidate, Craig Olson, was unable to attend due to illness. We’ll bring you part 2 on Maine Currents next week, Tuesday 12/19 at 4pm Maine Currents- independent local news, views and culture, Tuesdays at 4pm on WERU-FM and weru.org

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Maine Currents 12/5/17

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 05 Dec 2017 20:00:21 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Studio Engineer: John Greenman Local Reaction to Tax Reform Bill Speakers at the rally outside Senator Susan Collin’s office in Bangor, Maine and coverage of the sit in that followed, and we open the phone lines so listeners can weigh in as well. Maine Currents- independent local news, views and culture, Tuesdays at 4pm on WERU-FM and weru.org

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Maine Currents 11/21/17

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 21 Nov 2017 20:00:31 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne FOUR FOUNDATIONAL THEORIES OF LABOR ACTIVISM IN MAINE: THE KNIGHTS OF LABOR, THE AFL, THE IWW, AND THE SOCIALIST PARTY OF EUGENE DEBS – a presentation by Marc Cryer, Director of the Bureau of Labor Education, the University of Maine, recorded at UMaine on 11/16/17. This was the final in the fall semester Marxist and Socialist Studies lecture series. Maine Currents- independent local news, views and culture, Tuesdays at 4pm on WERU-FM and weru.org

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Maine Currents 11/14/17

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 14 Nov 2017 20:00:17 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne “THE ELECTION OF TRUMP: ONE YEAR LATER” – a panel discussion held at the University of Maine on 11/9/17. The panelists were Kimberly Hammill, of the Bangor Racial and Economic Justice Coalition, Maia Dendinger of the Socialist Party of Maine, and Doug Allen, a Professor of Philosophy and peace activist who also moderated the discussion Maine Currents- independent local news, views and culture, Tuesdays at 4pm on WERU-FM and weru.org

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Maine Currents 10/31/17

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 31 Oct 2017 20:00:19 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Audio recorded by Matt Murphy, edited by Amy Browne Poets and storytellers recorded at the recent Word Festival in Blue Hill, Maine FMI: wordfestival.org Maine Currents- independent local news, views and culture, Tuesdays at 4pm on WERU-FM and weru.org

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Maine Currents 10/24/17

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 24 Oct 2017 20:00:55 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne “Assessing the First Year of an Unconventional Presidency” – the 2017 Cohen Lecture at the University of Maine The 2017 Cohen Lecture at the University of Maine, recorded on October 13th. The topic was “Assessing the First Year of an Unconventional Presidency”. Panelists were Former Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen, Ambassador Marc Grossman, former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, and Andrew H. Card Jr., former Chief of Staff to President George W. Bush. The moderator was Felicia Knight. This presentation was brought to you courtesy of UMaine’s Cohen Institute for Leadership and Public Service, and with assistance from WERU volunteer John Greenman Maine Currents- independent local news, views and culture, Tuesdays at 4pm on WERU-FM and weru.org

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Maine Currents 10/20/17

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 17 Oct 2017 20:00:40 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Studio Engineer: John Greenman Segment 1: An interview with award-winning “Bricks and Mortars” columnist Lawrence Reichard The biweekly column appears in the Republican Journal and VillageSoup.com To receive the column via email, contact Lawrence Reichard at lreichard@gmail.com Segment 2: Mainers Thought They Passed Ranked Choice Voting- Legislature Divided On Implementation After the Maine Supreme Court opined that the word “plurality” in the state’s constitution was problematic in implementing ranked choice voting for statewide elections, a bill was presented to amend the new law so that RCV could move forward in the non-impacted national elections. Testimony at a public hearing Monday lasted for several hours, almost exclusively in favor of passage. Today we hear some of that testimony and then learn from Ann Luther of the League of Women Voters that despite popular support, many legislators favor delaying or blocking implementation completely. Maine Currents- independent local news, views and culture, Tuesdays at 4pm on WERU-FM and weru.org

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Maine Currents 9/26/17

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 26 Sep 2017 20:00:08 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Audio recorded by Matt Murphy Maine Storytellers at the 2017 Common Ground Fair Stories by Anu Dudley, Jenny Tibbetts, Lesley Kristeller and Naomi Graychase Maine Currents- independent local news, views and culture, Tuesdays at 4pm on WERU-FM and weru.org

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Maine Currents 9/19/17

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 19 Sep 2017 20:00:57 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Audio recorded by John Greenman Activist and author George Lakey on “Building a Movement: the Big Picture Vision for the Climate” George Lakey’s keynote at the Sierra Club of Maine’s “Maine Grassroots Climate Action Conference” on Saturday, September 16th on the topic of “Building a Movement: the Big Picture Vision for the Climate”. He recently retired from Swarthmore College where he was Eugene M. Lang Visiting Professor for Issues in Social Change. While there he wrote his 9th book “Viking Economics: How the Scandinavians got it right and how we can, too:” after interviewing economists and others in the Nordic countries. All of his books have been about change and how to achieve it. As a young adult Lakey lived in Norway and worked there as well as in Denmark and Sweden. On returning to the U.S. he alternated academic positions with founding and leading organizations working for justice and peace. Later he returned to the global stage to found Training for Change. George Lakey has led over 1500 social change workshops on five continents. He received the Martin Luther King, Jr., Peace Award and the National Giraffe Award for Sticking his Neck out for the Common Good. FMI: www.facebook.com/George-Lakey-1721380654783824/ www.sierraclub.org/maine Maine Currents- independent local news, views and culture, every Tuesday at 4pm on WERU-FM and weru.org

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Maine Currents 9/12/17

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 12 Sep 2017 20:00:41 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Segment 1: Behind the scenes at the H.O.M.E. Co-op in Orland, with Executive Director Tracey Hair Maybe you’ve been to their auction or have heard that they house people when they are homeless, but you may be surprised at just how many things they actually do there. Tracey Hair took time out of her very busy schedule yesterday to speak with me and show me around. NOTE: As mentioned on the broadcast, due to time limitations we were unable to include the full tour of H.O.M.E. so we’re including that here on the archives. The 2nd file below is the tour. FMI: www.facebook.com/HOME-Inc-150844824961514/ www.homemmausa.org/ Segment 2: An interview with activist and author George Lakey George Lakey will give the keynote at the Sierra Club of Maine’s “Maine Grassroots Climate Action Conference” on Saturday, September 16th on “Building a Movement: the Big Picture Vision for the Climate”. He recently retired from Swarthmore College where he was Eugene M. Lang Visiting Professor for Issues in Social Change. While there he wrote his 9th book “Viking Economics: How the Scandinavians got it right and how we can, too:” after interviewing economists and others in the Nordic countries. All of his books have been about change and how to achieve it. As a young adult Lakey lived in Norway and worked there as well as in Denmark and Sweden. On returning to the U.S. he alternated academic positions with founding and leading organizations working for justice and peace. Later he returned to the global stage to found Training for Change. George Lakey has led over 1500 social change workshops on five continents. He received the Martin Luther King, Jr., Peace Award and the National Giraffe Award for Sticking his Neck out for the Common Good. He is also the co-founder of Earth Quaker Action Team (www.eqat.org/) We spoke with him by phone from his home in Pennslyvania, where he just returned after another trip to Norway. While in Norway he gave the keynote at a conference of 300 Nordic economists. FMI: www.facebook.com/George-Lakey-1721380654783824/ www.sierraclub.org/maine/maine-grassroots-climate-action-conference-2017 Maine Currents- independent local news, views and culture, every Tuesday at 4pm on WERU-FM and weru.org

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Maine Currents 9/5/17

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 05 Sep 2017 20:00:43 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Audio recorded by Carolyn Coe Bruce Gagnon on the “US Pivot to the Asia-Pacific” and ties with BIW here in Maine Bruce Gagnon is well known in Maine as the co-founder of the Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space, and as an active member of Veterans for Peace. He is also a senior fellow at the Nuclear Policy Research Institute and a member of the “Working Group for Peace and Demilitarization in Asia and the Pacific” and has traveled extensively in the area. He spoke in Deer Isle on August 3rd at an event sponsored by Island Peace and Justice, Peninsula Peace and Justice and Americas Who Tell the Truth. The topic was the “Pivot to the Asia-Pacific”. Gagnon talked about the U.S. military presence in the region, U.S. relations with N. Korea, S. Korea, Japan, China, and Russia, and ties with Bath Iron Works here in Maine Note: An excerpt from this talk aired on a previous edition of Maine Currents Maine Currents- independent local news, views and culture, every Tuesday at 4pm on WERU-FM and weru.org

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Maine Currents 8/29/17

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 29 Aug 2017 20:00:19 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Bangor City Council votes to recognize Indigenous People’s Day and approves a proposal “Urging the United States Congress to enact a Revenue Neutral Carbon Tax and Dividend” We take you to last night’s meeting of the Bangor City Council to listen in on the testimony from tribal council member Maulian Dana Smith, Chief Kirk Francis and others, and the council’s discussion and vote on these two issues. On today’s program you’ll also hear Maulian Dana Smith’s testimony in support of Indigenous People’s Day at Bangor’s Government Operations Committee Meeting earlier in the month, and some background on the Carbon Dividend issue from a 2015 edition of this program. Special thanks to the folks at www.townhallstreams.com Some of the audio in today’s program was recorded by them and used with their permission. Maine Currents- independent local news, views and culture, every Tuesday at 4pm on WERU-FM and weru.org

The post Maine Currents 8/29/17 first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Maine Currents 8/22/17

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 22 Aug 2017 20:00:53 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Studio Engineer: John Greenman Legalized Marijuana in Maine: Workplace Drug-testing, Federal Law vs State Law, and the Maine Legislature’s Marijuana Legalization Implementation Committee’s Progress Guests: Attorney Lynne Williams, worked on legalization efforts in Maine and serves on the legal panel for NORML Activist Paul McCarrier, worked on legalization efforts in Maine and monitors progress of the MLI Maine Currents- independent local news, views and culture, every Tuesday at 4pm on WERU-FM and weru.org

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Maine Currents 8/15/17

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 15 Aug 2017 20:00:21 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Contributing producers: Carolyn Coe, Denis Howard Segment 1: Bruce Gagnon on Korea, BIW and the US “Pivot to the Asia-Pacific” Maine-based peace activist Bruce Gagnon spoke in Deer Isle on August 3rd about what’s being called the US “Pivot to the Asia-Pacific”. Gagnon has traveled to South Korea and worked with peace activists there and elsewhere in the region who oppose US military bases in their countries. He has also made the connection with the destroyers being built here in Maine at Bath Iron Works and has been arrested for civil disobedience at BIW. Although he spoke before President Trump’s recent comments about “fire and fury” in North Korea, Gagnon’s views on the region provide insight not heard in the mainstream media. He is a senior fellow at the Nuclear Policy Research Institute, and is a member of the “Working Group for Peace and Demilitarization in Asia and the Pacific” a consortium of acclaimed scholars sharing a focus on the region. (Recorded by Carolyn Coe, edited by Amy Browne) UPDATE: We contacted Bruce Gagnon this week for a comment following the escalation of tensions in the region after he spoke in Deer Isle. Here is his response: “In a new report, published by the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, missile experts (including Ted Postol from MIT) write that North Korea does not have the rocket capability that Washington and the corporate media are claiming. They state, “The Hwasong-14 does not currently constitute a nuclear threat to the lower 48 states of the United States. The flight tests on July 4 and 28 were a carefully choreographed deception by North Korea to create a false impression that the Hwasong-14 is a near-ICBM that poses a nuclear threat to the continental US. The Hwasong-14 tested on July 4 and 28 may not even be able to deliver a North Korean atomic bomb to Anchorage, Alaska.” The US to this day refuses to sign a peace treaty with North Korea – thus the war legally continues. On July 27, 1953 the US signed an Armistice (ceasefire) with North Korea but that is it. Thus the continuous US-South Korean war games right along the North Korean border must make Pyongyang wonder – is this the real thing? Did the Pentagon decide to invade us for real this time like they have done in Vietnam, Yugoslavia, Granada, Panama, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, and Yemen? Embedded deep beneath North Korea’s mountainous zones are some 200 varieties of minerals, including gold, iron, copper, zinc, magnesite, limestone, tungsten, and graphite. Some of these stockpiles are among the largest in the world, and North Korea, a tiny and cash-strapped nation, frequently uses them to bring in additional revenue — no matter the laws against doing so. The total value of these minerals lies somewhere between $6 trillion and $10 trillion. Could much of this war hype be a plan to grab their resources? In the end I think it important to say that North Korea is really a foil – the US does not fear NK which only has 4 nuclear warheads while the US has 6,800 of them. Clearly the demonization and scare campaign around NK is intended to justify the US military ‘pivot’ of 60% of Pentagon forces into the Asia-Pacific to be aimed at China and Russia – the real prizes that Washington has on the regime change list.” Segment 2: WERU’s Denis Howard talks with Peter Alexander about his new rock opera “One Way Trip To Mars” — opening at the Waterville Opera House on August 24th. Tune in to hear what went into creating the project and get a sneak preview of the music! Maine Currents- independent local news, views and culture, every Tuesday at 4pm on WERU-FM and weru.org

The post Maine Currents 8/15/17 first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Maine Currents 8/8/17

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 08 Aug 2017 20:00:12 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Maine Storytelling On July 26th WERU held our 3rd annual Maine storytelling event at the Alamo Theatre in Bucksport, as part of that town’s Wednesday on Main summer series. The theme this year was “My Maine: The State as Experienced by Local Storytellers”. Today we bring you Act 2 which featured Amy Roeder, John & Katie Greenman, Brook Ewing Minner and Naomi Graychase. **The stories told by Brook Ewing Minner and Naomi Graychase were edited for length for the purposes of fitting into the Maine Currents time slot, but unedited versions of both of their stories are included here along with the archive of the Maine Currents show. The first file (below) is the complete show. The 2nd is Brook Ewing Minner’s unedited story and the 3rd is Naomi Graychase’s unedited story** Maine Currents- independent local news, views and culture, every Tuesday at 4pm on WERU-FM and weru.org

The post Maine Currents 8/8/17 first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Maine Currents 8/1/17

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 01 Aug 2017 20:00:16 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Maine Storytelling Last week WERU held our 3rd annual Maine storytelling event at the Alamo Theatre in Bucksport, as part of that town’s Wednesday on Main summer series. The theme this year was “My Maine: The State as Experienced by Local Storytellers”. Today we bring you Act 1 which featured Sandra Bowden Dillon, David Weeda, Anu Dudley and Lesley Kristeller. Maine Currents- independent local news, views and culture, every Tuesday at 4pm on WERU-FM and weru.org

The post Maine Currents 8/1/17 first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Maine Currents 7/25/17

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 25 Jul 2017 20:00:02 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Maine Storytelling WERU and Wednesday on Main are hosting our 3rd annual local storytelling event at the Alamo Theatre in Bucksport tomorrow evening (7/26/17) To get you in the mood for tomorrow night, I’ve selected some of my favorite stories from various local storytelling events over the past few years. Storytellers (recorded at past events and rebroadcast today): Stacy Coventry, Charlie Dufour, Amy Roeder, Mark Bridges Music, Ilze Petersons, Naomi Graychase Maine Currents- independent local news, views and culture, every Tuesday at 4pm on WERU-FM and weru.org

The post Maine Currents 7/25/17 first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Maine Currents 7/18/17

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 18 Jul 2017 20:00:21 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Contributing producers: Meredith DeFrancesco, Matt Murphy Segment 1: Penobscot Nation member and indigenous rights attorney Sherri Mitchell speaking at the Penobscot River Sovereignty Rally held on the Bangor waterfront on July 9th in response to the recent court decision against the tribe- produced by Meredith DeFrancesco Segment 2: Matt Murphy interviews former Senator George Mitchell about ways to apply what he has learned in his years as a diplomat to present day politics Segment 3: Matt Murphy interviews performance artist Judith Sloan about her latest project. FMI: www.earsay.org Maine Currents- independent local news, views and culture, every Tuesday at 4pm on WERU-FM and weru.org

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Maine Currents 7/11/17

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 11 Jul 2017 20:00:26 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Segment 1: The public comment period has closed and now those who care about Maine’s new National Monument are waiting to hear its’ fate. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke visited Katahdin Woods and Waters recently as part of a federal review. While his comments after touring the area seemed to indicate that he was favorably impressed, they are open to interpretation at this point. Governor LePage has been a vocal opponent of the monument, downplaying the beauty and historical significance of the area, and any potential economic benefits for the region. On Friday the Natural Resources Council of Maine held a press conference in Bangor to release the results of their analysis of the public comments that had been submitted so far, and to highlight the thoughts of some residents of the Katahdin Woods and Waters region. In our first segement today we’re going to listen in. FMI: Natural Resources Council of Maine Segment 2: Coming up on Wednesday, July 26th, WERU, in conjunction with Bucksport’s Wednesdays on Main will hold our third annual storytelling event at the Alamo Theatre. We hope to see you all there, and to give you a sample of what you can expect, today we’re bringing you an encore presentation of 3 of the storytellers from last year’s show who will be returning this year. FMI about the 7/26th event: My Maine: The State as Experienced by Local Storytellers Maine Currents- independent local news, views and culture, every Tuesday at 4pm on WERU-FM and weru.org

The post Maine Currents 7/11/17 first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Maine Currents 7/4/17

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 04 Jul 2017 20:00:19 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Contributor: Matt Murphy Yankee Magazine Editor Mel Allen on “The Power of Community” Longtime Yankee magazine editor Mel Allen spoke at the Alamo Theatre in Bucksport, Maine on June 21st in conjunction with that town’s “Wednesday on Main” summer series. His topic was “The Power of Community” and he commented on how that is at play in Bucksport and other towns in the region. FMI: Yankee Magazine Wednesday on Main Maine Currents- independent local news, views and culture, every Tuesday at 4pm on WERU-FM and weru.org

The post Maine Currents 7/4/17 first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Maine Currents 6/27/17

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 27 Jun 2017 20:00:09 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Engineer: John Greenman Contributor: Matt Murphy Segment 1: Katahdin Woods & Waters National Monument Our guests in the studio are recent visitors to Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument: Christina Perkins, an Orland resident who has hiked in KWW with friends and her dog Rye- and plans to return several times this summer; Don Duncan, a photographer from Southern/Midcoast Maine who is just returning from a trip to KWW and has visited and photographed the area in the past; and Roger Merchant, also a photographer, has been exploring, fishing, canoeing, hiking and taking photos in the area since the 60s when he was working as a forester. They talk about their experiences in KWW. Joining us by phone: Lucas St Clair, a member of the family that donated the land for the National Monument and an endowment to support it, gives an overview of the KWW National Monument and the current status of the designation, and Cathy Johnson, Senior Staff Attorney & Forests and Wildlife Project Director for the Natural Resources Council of Maine talks about the call to action they have issued to their members to protect the national monument’s designation. We also hear from Katie, a local resident who is part of a group that will be traveling to KWW in a few days. FMI: Friends of Katahdin Woods and Waters Federal Review of National Monuments, Public Comment Opportunity Natural Resources Council of Maine Segment 2: Nonviolent Communication Matt Murphy talks with local non-violent communication trainer Peggy Smith, and gets some tips for communicating with people with whom you seriously disagree FMI: www.opencommunication.org/about.html Maine Currents- independent local news, views and culture, every Tuesday at 4pm on WERU-FM and weru.org

The post Maine Currents 6/27/17 first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Maine Currents 6/13/17

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 13 Jun 2017 20:00:33 +0000

Guest Producer/Host: John Greenman Engineer: Amy Browne Avoiding and Mitigating Watershed pollution -What is “clean” water? -what’s the Section 319 grant? -Who can apply and get help? Guests: Zack Steele, Exec. Dir. Hancock Cty. S.W.C.District Chip Stubbs, Alamoosook Lake resident, past president of the Alamoosook Lake Association John Wedin, Watershed Stewart for the Ellsworth, ME Water District Art Grindle, Kennebec County Soil and Water Conservation District Maine Currents- independent local news, views and culture, every Tuesday at 4pm on WERU-FM and weru.org

The post Maine Currents 6/13/17 first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Maine Currents 6/6/17

WERU-FM 89.9 — Tue, 06 Jun 2017 20:00:56 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Will Maine’s New Ranked Choice Voting Law Survive the State Legislature? The Ranked Choice Voting law passed by Maine voters in November may soon be repealed by the legislature, based on a word that was changed in the state constitution back in the 1800s. The word “plurality” was substituted for “majority” after a contentious gubernatorial race in 1880. As a result, some races in the state can be (and often are) won by candidates who have the support of far less than a majority of the voters. The court’s opinion pertains to only some of the races that would be covered by the new ranked choice voting law. The remaining races could also be conducted via ranked choice voting if the state constitution were amended to read “majority” again rather than plurality. But some in the state legislature are taking the opportunity to throw out the new law entirely – and according to an analysis by Michael Shepard in today’s Bangor Daily News (bangordailynews.com/2017/06/06/the-point/maine-lawmakers-have-five-options-on-ranked-choice-voting-signs-point-to-repeal/), they may succeed, as some Democrats are considering voting with the Republicans. On Friday a public hearing was held on 2 competing bills- LD1624 which proposes to amend the state constitution to allow implementation of ranked choice voting, and LD1625 which would repeal the new ranked choice voting law altogether. The hearing drew an overflow crowd to the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee and testimony lasted more than 4 hours. Not a single member of the public spoke in support of overturning ranked choice voting. We’re going to listen in on some of the testimony today- as much as we can squeeze into an hour. UPDATE: As we went to air work sessions for these bills were posted. They will take place on Thursday, June 8th at 1pm. FMI: legislature.maine.gov/bills/phwksched.html?CODE=VLA&snum=128 Maine Currents- independent local news, views and culture, every Tuesday at 4pm on WERU-FM and weru.org

The post Maine Currents 6/6/17 first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Maine Currents 5/31/17

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 31 May 2017 20:00:19 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Engineer: John Greenman Conspiracy theory or healthy distrust of a corrupt system? How do you decide? A call-in show discussion of this issue and of Richard Otto’s book The Paradox of Our National Security Complex: How secrecy and security diminish our liberty and threaten our democratic republic with author Richard Otto and veteran journalist Peter Taber. Maine Currents- independent local news, views and culture, every Tuesday at 4pm on WERU-FM and weru.org NOTE: Maine Currents will be moving to Tuesdays (4-5pm) starting in June 2017

The post Maine Currents 5/31/17 first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Maine Currents 5/24/17

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 24 May 2017 20:00:09 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne 2nd segment audio recorded by John Greenman Minimum Wage Increase: Did Mainers Know What They Were Doing? Last November Mainers voted to gradually increase the state’s minimum wage from the (then) current rate of $7.50 an hour up to $12 an hour by 2020. After 2020 increases would be tied to inflation. Despite the fact that the measure drew strong support, several bills have been introduced in the state legislature that roll back the increases in various ways. In some cases the rate of increase is reduced. Other measures would tweak the formula for tipped staff or for younger workers or those in training. 9 such bills were presented in the legislature back in April, and yesterday the Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development Committee held a public hearing on yet another, LD1609 (“An Act To Support Maine’s Employers and Encourage Employers To Hire Young Workers”) and arguments on each side were reiterated. Some of those who advocate overturning the will of the voters have said Mainers didn’t understand the consequences of their vote. They argue that small businesses will be forced to lay off workers or limit hiring and will pass along costs to consumers. Supporters of the minimum wage increase say that even the slight increase makes a difference for low wage workers who are often forced into making tough choices with their limited pay. Matt Schlobohm, Executive Director of the Maine AFL-CIO told the committee that the $30 extra per week in one 70-year-old woman’s pocket had allowed her to purchase windshield wiper blades. She had lost her home and was forced to return to work when her husband became disabled, and before the first incremental increase in the minimum wage went into effect in January her budget was so tight that needing new wiper blades would have been a crisis. On this week’s Maine Currents we listen in as the debate continues Area Resident Weighs in on Bar Harbor Cruise Ship Pier Proposal An event in Bucksport last week brought together several environmental groups for a discussion of local issues. “The Future of Our Forests, Rivers, Lakes, Fields and Ocean” was hosted by Maine Common Good Coalition Renata Moise expressed concerns about a new cruise ship pier being proposed in Bar Harbor: Maine Currents- independent local news, views and culture, every Wednesday at 4pm on WERU-FM and weru.org NOTE: Maine Currents will be moving to Tuesdays (4-5pm) starting in June 2017

The post Maine Currents 5/24/17 first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Maine Currents 5/17/17

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 17 May 2017 20:00:55 +0000

Producer/Host: John Greenman Studio Engineer: Joel Matt & Matt Murphy Update on Maine’s Cuban Connections Program Topics: Embargo/Blockade and Guantanamo Key Discussion Points: Update on the effects of the decades-old embargo The latest on the US presence in Guantanamo Bay Guests: Judy Robbins, “Let Cuba Live” Dud Hendrick, Maine Veterans for Peace (just returned from Cuban conference on foreign military bases) Maine Currents- independent local news, views and culture, every Wednesday at 4pm on WERU-FM and weru.org

The post Maine Currents 5/17/17 first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Maine Currents 5/10/17

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 10 May 2017 20:00:45 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Studio Engineer: John Greenman “Building Bridges Through Political Diversity” & “Corinna and Charleston Residents Suspicious of a Maine Power Company’s Expansion Plans” Segment 1: A new discussion/support group called “Building Bridges Through Political Diversity” has started meeting in Belfast with the goal of “find(ing) common ground for people of all political persuasions to work on current issues that affect us all”. We talk with two of the organizers. Guests: Elliot Benjamin has Ph.Ds in mathematics and psychology and has published a number of books and articles on various topics in psychology, philosophy, mathematics, and progressive politics. Betty Sue Easton is a psychotherapist with a practice in Belfast. FMI: ben496@prexar.com or bemusic4ever@gmail.com Segment 2: Long-time residents of Corinna and Charleston explain why Maine Electric Power Company (MEPCO)’s plans have them concerned that that a gas pipeline might actually be in the works for what is being touted as a 70 mile electricity transmission line expansion from Chester to Pittsfield —and we hear MEPCO’s response. Guests: Alan Clemence lives in the town of Charleston near the new power line. Alan has been involved in utility issues, industrial engineering, and environmental activism since the late 1970’s. (Full disclosure: Alan has been a WERU volunteer in years past) Lorenzo Pizaaro is a retired Brooklyn, New York schoolteacher who now lives in Corinna full time and owns the Second Read used bookstore in Dexter. Lorenzo’s house would be 300 feet from the new transmission line, which he believes would forever change his beautiful homestead. Everett Simpson is a musician and lifelong resident of Corinna, where he owns farmland and forest. He reports that he is being pressured by MEPCO to sell easements for the new power line but is steadfastly refusing to do so. FMI:. 207-278-3542 Maine Currents- independent local news, views and culture, every Wednesday at 4pm on WERU-FM and weru.org

The post Maine Currents 5/10/17 first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Maine Currents 5/3/17

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 03 May 2017 20:00:00 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Studio Engineer: John Greenman Segment 1: Multi-partisan panel discussion on communicating with people with political differences Segment 2: Indivisible MDI’s April Town Hall for Senator Collins (who did not attend) Guests: Multi-partisan panel Renee Trust, Ken Gleason, Thomas White (Tim Wilson was unable to join us this week) WERU thanks Jeff Dobbs who provided us with a recording of the speakers at the Indivisible MDI Town Hall and Jennifer Booher who sent the photos from the event that are posted on WERU’s facebook page. FMI: Indivisible Guide: www.indivisibleguide.com/about-us/ MDI Indivisible group: www.facebook.com/groups/397472590586952/ Maine Currents- independent local news, views and culture, every Wednesday at 4pm on WERU-FM and weru.org

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Maine Currents 4/26/17

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 26 Apr 2017 20:00:59 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Anti-immigration bills introduced in Maine We take you to last week’s public hearing for LD 366 “An Act To Ensure Compliance with Federal Immigration Law by State and Local Government Entities”, LD 847 “An Act To Hold Refugee Resettlement Agencies Accountable to Maine People” and LD 1099, a resolve that would have “Required the State To Bring Suit against the Federal Government for Failure To Comply with the Federal Refugee Act of 1980”. All were introduced by Rep. Lawrence Lockman of Amherst. In breaking news just before we went to air, the Judiciary Committee voted “Ought Not to Pass” on LDs 1099 and 847, and tabled LD366. Update: We mentioned on the show that we had contacted Rep. Lockman to inquire about two issues that were raised during the hearing: His testimony that the City of Portland had redirected educational funding to refugee support, and the comments made by members of the public that he did not stay to hear their comments after introducing the legislation. We did hear back from him after the show. Here is his response: “I was there for most of the hearing, stepped out twice to do TV interviews, then had to attend my own committee.” And he provided this link to a 2015 article entitled “LePage to fight Portland over asylum seekers money”: www.centralmaine.com/2015/06/30/lepage-to-fight-portland-over-asylum-seekers-money/ Maine Currents- independent local news, views and culture, every Wednesday at 4pm on WERU-FM and weru.org

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Maine Currents 4/5/17

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 05 Apr 2017 20:00:31 +0000

Segment 1: Proposed Commission on the Status of Racial and Ethnic Populations in Maine Segment 2: Communities Coming Together for Civil Political Discourse Producer/Host: Amy Browne Engineer: John Greenman State Representative Rachel Talbot Ross of Portland is sponsoring LD1008, legislation that would create a “Permanent Commission on the Status of Racial and Ethnic Populations” in the state. We take you to the public hearing. And in the 2nd half of the show we open the phone lines as we talk with organizers of 2 of the many “civil discussion” type events popping up in the area. Stacy Leafsong from Mainers for Accountable Leadership & Standing for the Common Good is organizing a Community Listening Session in Orland this Saturday, and Craig Freshley of Good Group Decisions will fill us in on the “Make Shift Coffee Houses” he facilitates. The next one is coming up Friday night at Husson University. FMI: makeshiftcoffeehouse.com/ www.facebook.com/events/196440904180229/ www.facebook.com/events/285498321885744/ Maine Currents- independent local news, views and culture, every Wednesday at 4pm on WERU-FM and weru.org

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Maine Currents 3/29/17

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 29 Mar 2017 20:00:32 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Engineer: John Greenman A multi-partisan panel discussion of how personal experiences influence political beliefs, and how to communicate with people with different beliefs. Listeners call in and share their views as well. Guests: Renee Trust, Tim Wilson, Thomas White, Ken Gleason Note from Jennifer, one of the callers on today’s show, re “Bridging the Gap” group in Belfast: “I called in about a group that formed in Belfast this January, with Elliot Benjamin…as the originator. The initial concept was to bring “Trump and non-Trump” supporters together around a common belief of being opposed to hate crimes and hate discrimination. The mission is evolving as is the name. The next meeting is on Sunday April 2 at 6:30 in Belfast at 93 Main Street above Alexia’s Pizza. Anyone who is interested can call me at 469-2045.” Maine Currents- independent local news, views and culture, every Wednesday at 4pm on WERU-FM and weru.org

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Maine Currents 3/22/17

WERU-FM 89.9 — Thu, 23 Mar 2017 13:51:28 +0000

What’s Been Happening in Augusta While Attention Has Been on DC? We listen in on some of the public hearings held by the state legislature this week. Producer/Host: Amy Browne Segment 1: Monday the Committee on Taxation considered several bills that would overturn the results of Question 2 on Maine’s ballot last November, which was approved by voters. By passing Question 2, voters approved a 3 percent surcharge on household income over $200,000 a year, with the revenue earmarked to fund public education. Segment 2: LD 882, “An Act Prohibiting Public Entities from Contracting with, and Investing in, Companies That Boycott the State of Israel”. The bill targets the Boycott, Divest and Sanctions movement that successfully applied financial pressure to help end apartheid in South Africa –and has in recent years been focused on the government of Israel’s policies toward Palestinians. FMI: legislature.maine.gov/LawMakerWeb/summary.asp?ID=280063780 Segment 3: LD 914, “An Act To Establish Indigenous People’s Day”- a bill that would replace Columbus Day with an Indigenous People’s holiday statewide FMI: legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/bills_128th/billtexts/HP064201.asp For information about the legislature, including contact info: legislature.maine.gov/ Maine Currents- independent local news, views and culture, every Wednesday at 4pm on WERU-FM and weru.org

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Maine Currents 3/15/17

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 15 Mar 2017 20:00:43 +0000

“Democracy Lives in Truth” Rally & Welcoming City Resolutions in Maine Producer/Host: Amy Browne Engineer: Joel Mann Segment 1: Speakers at Saturday’s “Democracy Lives in Truth” rally in Bangor: Sean Faircloth, Kimberly Hammill, Stacy Leafsong and James Varner The rally and march that preceded it were hosted by Mainers for Accountable Leadership and cosponsored by Indivisible: Bangor, Standing For The Common Good, Bangor Racial and Economic Justice Coalition, Food AND Medicine Peace and the Justice Center of Eastern Maine. FMI: Mainers for Accountable Leadership www.facebook.com/groups/223438051414968/ Indivisible: Bangor www.facebook.com/groups/indivisiblebangor/ Standing for the Common Good www.facebook.com/groups/245994745824081/ Bangor Racial & Economic Justice Coalition www.facebook.com/BangorREJC/ Peace & Justice Center of Eastern Maine www.facebook.com/Peace-Justice-Center-of-Eastern-Maine-102131166536360/ Food AND Medicine: www.facebook.com/foodandmedicineme/ Segment 2: Several towns in Maine have joined others across the country in adopting what are known as “Welcoming City” resolutions. Today we’re going to talk with some of the organizers: Nicolle Littrell of Belfast, Becca Shaw Glaser of Rockland, Elisabeth Goodridge of Appleton and Betsy Sweet of Hallowell. FMI: Details on Belfast’s petition for a resolution: www.change.org/p/please-sign-to-support-adoption-of-this-resolution-to-make-belfast-maine-a-welcoming-city-for-all BelFem (group organizing Belfast’s efforts to pass a resolution): www.facebook.com/belfemgroup Village Soup article about Rockland’s resolution passing: knox.villagesoup.com/p/rockland-council-oks-diversity-resolve/1632942 Appleton’s Resolution reads: “Appleton is a home to people from all walks of life, whose heritage and origins are diverse, and is a community whose well-being depends on the security, serenity, and mutual respect of all its citizens. Therefore, Appleton is resolved to respect the dignity of all people, promote civil discourse, and honor diversity in all forms. We as a town and individuals will work to make our community a place where all people feel safe in their homes, on the streets, in our schools, and within the community at large. Appleton is resolved to be a community where all people are welcome.” Maine Currents- independent local news, views and culture, every Wednesday at 4pm on WERU-FM and weru.org

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Maine Currents 3/8/17

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 08 Mar 2017 20:00:04 +0000

“Our Rights At Risk- Why the Courts Matter”, a discussion held in Bangor last week, featuring panelists Andrea Irwin, Executive Director of the Mabel Wadsworth Center (mabelwadsworth.org), Eliza Townsend, Executive Director of the Maine Women’s Lobby (mainewomen.org/mwl), and Nicole Golden-Bouchard, Attorney, Spruce Run-Womancare Alliance (sprucerun.net) Producer/Host: Amy Browne Audio recorded by Abbie Strout and edited by Amy Browne Maine Currents- independent local news, views and culture, every Wednesday at 4pm on WERU-FM and weru.org

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Maine Currents 3/1/17

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 01 Mar 2017 20:00:38 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne When Maine’s Congressman Bruce Poliquin failed to respond to their request for a Town Hall meeting, Bangor’s Indivisible group decided to go ahead and hold one without him. Listen today and hear what he missed FMI: www.facebook.com/groups/indivisiblebangor/

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Maine Currents 2/22/17

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 22 Feb 2017 20:00:11 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Contributor: John Greenman Segment 1: Public hearings are being held this week on Governor LePage’s proposed 2018-2019 state budget, which would make dramatic cuts to several programs and services that serve some of Maine’s most vulnerable populations. Hospitals, municipalities, social services programs and clergy say they are already stretched beyond their capacities to serve Mainers who fall through the holes that already exist in Maine’s safety nets, and do not have the resources to deal with the consequences of the major cuts being proposed. The public hearings are drawing overflow crowds to the statehouse. We take you there. Segment 2: John Greenman reports back from 2 protests in Bangor today, held in conjunction with protests in Lewiston and Portland, calling on Sen. Susan Collins to hold a town hall meeting with her constituents. Segment 3: A brief update on the developing story at Standing Rock in North Dakota. Standing Rock water defenders were given a deadline of 2pm Mountain time today to leave one of their encampments but some have vowed to stay and continue to resist the Dakota Access Pipeline.

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Maine Currents 2/8/17

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 08 Feb 2017 20:00:55 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Segment 1: Maine’s highest court asked to weigh in on constitutionality of ranked choice voting. After several years of having a Governor that was elected with less than 50% of the vote, Mainers approved Ranked Choice Voting in November, but some legislators and the Maine Attorney General have called into question it’s constitutionality– primarily because the state constitution specifically mentions “plurality” as opposed to “majority”. Last week the state senate voted 24 to 10 in favor of asking the Maine Supreme Judicial Court to weigh in, in a process known as a “solemn occasion”. The move was proposed by Senate President Mike Thibodeau. In the first half of Maine Currents today, we listen in on the debate that ensued. Segment 2: On Monday the legislature’s Environmental and Natural Resources Committee held a public hearing on LD103, “An Act to Prohibit the Use of Certain Disposable Food Service Containers”. The containers the bill seeks to ban are polystyrene, commonly referred to by the brand name “Styrofoam”. This type of packaging has been banned in some municipalities across the state, including Freeport and more recently Portland and South Portland. Supporters of the ban cite environmental and health concerns and they say there are Maine-based paper companies that make an alternative product for hot foods and beverages. Lobbyists for the restaurant and grocery store industries downplay environmental impacts, question the health impacts, and say (in the words of Greg Dugle of the Maine Restaurant Association) that “simply put, [polystyrene] keeps hot food hot and cold food cold” better than any other product. LD103 was presented by Stanley Zeigler who represents several towns in Waldo County. Representative Zeigler said he was presenting it as a jobs bill, citing industries in Maine that could make the replacement packaging, and also the negative impact of polystyrene pollution on the environment, fisheries and tourism. Representative Deane Rykerson of Kittery spoke in support. Mark Bergeron of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, however, spoke in opposition. He said Maine DEP found some of the terminology in the bill regarding recycling and composting to be problematic. He also said that the department has concerns that they lack the resources to enforce the ban if it becomes law. Today we bring you some of the testimony in favor of, and in opposition to LD103. (A work session on the bill is scheduled for 2/13/17) FMI: legislature.maine.gov/LawMakerWeb/summary.asp?ID=280062594

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Maine Currents 2/1/17

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 01 Feb 2017 20:00:24 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Studio Engineer/Segment Producer: John Greenman President Trump’s actions in his first days in office have been met with protests around the world and right here in Maine- and they show no signs of letting up. Today on “Maine Currents” we’re going to look at the community response to Trump’s executive orders and cabinet nominees. We have a clip from the protest at Bangor International Airport over the weekend, we talk to some of the organizers of local events and then open the phone lines. Guests: Lisa Pohlmann, Executive Director, Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM), nrcm.org Susan Dickson-Smith, Founder/Organizer, Eastern Maine for Racial Justice (EMeRJ), facebook.com/emerjmaine , emerjblog.wordpress.com/ Sam Salvadore Portera, Bangor Area Organizer, Maine People’s Alliance, mainepeoplesalliance.org Karen Marysdaughter, Co-Coordinator, Peace & Justice Center of Eastern Maine, peacectr.org Matt Murphy, WERU General Manager, weru.org

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Maine Currents 1/25/17

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 25 Jan 2017 20:00:24 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Studio Engineer: John Greenman Segment 1: Our multipartisan panel reconvenes to discuss two topics they suggested themselves: “Labels”, and “Things We Can All Agree Upon”. Callers join the discussion. (See the list on the WERU Facebook page to add your own suggestions). Panelists: Renee Trust (Libertarian); Thomas White (Republican); Ken Gleason (Independent/Democrat); Tim Wilson (Green). Segment 2: Women’s March in Augusta on 1/21/17 – produced by Carolyn Coe. Maine Currents- independent local news, views & culture on WERU-FM 89.9 Blue Hill, 99.9 Bangor, Maine and www.weru.org, Wednesdays 4-5pm Eastern

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Maine Currents 1/11/17

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 11 Jan 2017 20:00:11 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Studio Engineer: Joel Mann Martin Luther King day is just a few days away and it’s clear that the spirit of political dissent and non-violent civil disobedience is alive and well. We’re joined by Eliza Townsend of the Maine Women’s Policy Center; Genevieve Morgan and Suzanne Moreshead – two of the organizers of the Bangor-based group, and Nicolle Littrell from the Belfast-based group of people planning to travel to the upcoming Women’s March on Washington; Ambureen Rana, Payton Amero & Annabelle Osborne, organizers of the Youth and Nonviolence Workshops that will be taking place at the Maine Discovery Museum on MLK day; and Dud Hendrick and Russell Wray of the Zumwalt 12 – who are heading to court soon for charges stemming from engaging in civil disobedience at BIW last year. And we open the phone lines for questions/comments from listeners. FMI: Maine Women’s Policy Center: www.mainewomenspolicycenter.org Maine Women’s Lobby: www.mainewomen.org Women’s March on Washington: www.womensmarch.com/ www.mainemarch.com/ Bangor group’s FB page: www.facebook.com/groups/1336919613036887/ Belfast group’s FB page: www.facebook.com/groups/328251367540934/ General Maine FB page: www.facebook.com/WomensMarchOnWashingtonMaine/?fref=ts Maine rides/tickets FB page: www.facebook.com/groups/1299356526796364/ Youth and Nonviolence Workshops: www.mainediscoverymuseum.org/Programs/Special-Events/Youth-and-Nonviolence-Workshops.aspx FB event page: www.facebook.com/events/1693902657589519/ Zumwalt 12: www.vfpmaine.org/ Maine Currents- independent local news, views & culture on WERU-FM 89.9 Blue Hill, 99.9 Bangor, Maine and www.weru.org, Wednesdays 4-5pm Eastern

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Maine Currents 1/4/17

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 04 Jan 2017 20:00:08 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Studio Engineer: John Greenman A 2016 year-in-review of some of the topics we’ve covered on Maine Currents, and a look ahead to 2017 Maine Currents- independent local news, views & culture on WERU-FM 89.9 Blue Hill, 99.9 Bangor, Maine and www.weru.org, Wednesdays 4-5pm Eastern

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Maine Currents 12/28/16

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 28 Dec 2016 20:00:33 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Studio Engineer: John Greenman Everything you need to know about Maine’s new recreational marijuana law. We’re joined by two of the primary organizers of the recently approved referendum question, Paul McCarrier and Lynne Williams, and open the phone lines for questions and comments from listeners. Maine Currents- independent local news, views & culture on WERU-FM 89.9 Blue Hill, 99.9 Bangor, Maine and www.weru.org, Wednesdays 4-5pm Eastern

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Maine Currents 12/21/16

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 21 Dec 2016 20:00:15 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Special thanks to Bill Solomon This Solstice edition of Maine Currents features stories about holidays, families and winter in Maine. Rev. Dr. Anu Dudley (host of WERU’s “Earthwise” feature which airs Saturdays at 7:30) kicks things off with a look at the history of Solstice celebrations, then we hear from storytellers Marjorie Longwood of Surry, Edee Howland of Blue Hill, Cathy Mink of Waldo and Roger Sprague of Belfast. We close out the hour with some voices from the past- a 2006 holiday special recorded at WERU. Maine Currents- independent local news, views & culture on WERU-FM 89.9 Blue Hill, 99.9 Bangor, Maine and www.weru.org, Wednesdays 4-5pm Eastern

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Maine Currents 12/14/16

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 14 Dec 2016 20:00:50 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Segment 1: Naomi Schalit, Senior Reporter for the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, and frequent guest here on Maine Currents, joins us to talk about what she discovered in a 9 month long investigation into poverty and single parenting in Maine – an investigation that resulted in a 5-part series which you can read at pinetreewatchdog.org Segment 2: A talk by Dud Hendrick, local Vietnam veteran and member of Veterans for Peace. He spoke earlier this month at the Reversing Falls Sanctuary in Brooksville, Maine. This piece was recorded and produced by WERU’s Carolyn Coe Maine Currents- independent local news, views & culture on WERU-FM 89.9 Blue Hill, 99.9 Bangor, Maine and www.weru.org, Wednesdays 4-5pm Eastern

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Maine Currents 12/7/16

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 07 Dec 2016 20:00:26 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Stories on the theme of family and holidays. Recorded at Queen City Cellar Tellers storytelling event in Bangor, Maine in December 2015 Maine Currents- independent local news, views & culture on WERU-FM 89.9 Blue Hill, 99.9 Bangor, Maine and www.weru.org, Wednesdays 4-5pm Eastern

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Maine Currents 11/30/16

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 30 Nov 2016 20:00:29 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Studio Engineer: John Greenman “Where Do We Go From Here?: How local groups and individuals are responding to Trump’s election and preparing for what’s to come”. Call-in show. Guests: Karen Marysdaughter, Peace & Justice Center of Eastern Maine Jane Crosen, local activist Jennifer Reifler, Great Pond Mountain Conservation Trust volunteer Joining us briefly by phone: Susan Dickson Smith, EMeRJ Maine Currents- independent local news, views & culture on WERU-FM 89.9 Blue Hill, 99.9 Bangor, Maine and www.weru.org, Wednesdays 4-5pm Eastern

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Maine Currents 11/16/16

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 16 Nov 2016 20:00:08 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Studio Engineer: John Greenman Audio recorded by Charlie Pizzarello Production assistance: Matt Murphy Editing: Amy Browne Topic: “The Gatherings: Fostering community through sharing, cooperation, learning and the arts” in Surry, Maine. A discussion of The Gatherings and clips from a recent local storytelling event held there with stories by Marjorie Longwood, Robert Stevens, Florence Reed and Margaret Baldwin. Guests: Florence Reed- President, Norman Mrozicki- Vice President and Marjorie Longwood- steering committee member & active volunteer, of The Gatherings FMI: www.surrygatherings.org www.facebook.com/groups/carryingplace/

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Maine Currents 11/9/16

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 09 Nov 2016 20:00:56 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Studio Engineer: John Greenman The Day After. Reaction to the outcome of the elections from our multi-partisan panel of local community members and listeners. The panel reflects on several months of civil discussions despite political differences in this last program of the series that start in March 2016. Guests: Trump supporter Thomas White of the Maine Maritime Academy Republicans; Former Libertarian/Johnson supporter (now undecided) Renee Trust; Democrat/Clinton supporter Ken Gleason; Green/Stein supporter Betsy Garrold; and “3rd degree Berner” now planning to vote for Stein, Tim Wilson.

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Maine Currents 11/2/16

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 02 Nov 2016 20:00:40 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Studio Engineer: John Greenman Our multi-partisan panel of local community members convenes for one last discussion of the elections prior to Election Day. Guests: Trump supporter Thomas White of the Maine Maritime Academy Republicans; Former Libertarian/Johnson supporter (now undecided) Renee Trust; Democrat/Clinton supporter Ken Gleason; Green/Stein supporter Betsy Garrold; and “3rd degree Berner” now planning to vote for Stein, Tim Wilson.

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Maine Currents 10/26/16

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 26 Oct 2016 20:00:57 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Studio Engineer: John Greenman Our multi-partisan panel tackle Question 3 on Maine’s ballot this November, with a supporter and an opponent of the measure joining us to answer questions from the panel and callers. Question 3 is a citizen initiative that reads: “Do you want to require background checks prior to the sale or transfer of firearms between individuals not licensed as firearms dealers, with failure to do so punishable by law, and with some exceptions for family members, hunting, self-defense, lawful competitions, and shooting range activity?” (FMI: www.state.me.us/sos/cec/elec/upcoming/index.html) Panel: Trump supporter Thomas White; Libertarian/Johnson supporter Renee Trust; Democrat/Clinton supporter Ken Gleason; Green/Stein supporter Betsy Garrold; and “3rd degree Berner” now planning to vote for Stein, Tim Wilson. Supporting Question 3: David Farmer, the campaign manager for “Mainers for Responsible Gun Ownership” (responsiblemaine.org/) Opposing Question 3: Bruce Ashmore of “Gun Owners of Maine” (www.gunownersofmaine.org/)

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Maine Currents 10/19/16

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 19 Oct 2016 20:00:36 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne “Rights At Risk” panel discussion featuring Andrea Irwin, JD, Executive Director of Mabel Wadsworth Center and Eliza Townsend, Executive Director of the Maine Women’s Lobby, discussing the impacts of court decisions on women’s reproductive rights here in Maine and across the country. Judy Kahrl of Grandmothers for Reproductive Rights facilitated. Recorded at the Bangor Public Library on September 29th, 2016. We also have a report on Friday’s announcement that a mining company’s lawsuit against the country of El Salvador was dismissed after 7 years of struggle. FMI: www.mabelwadsworth.org/ www.mainewomen.org/ www.grandmothersforreproductiverights.org/ www.stopesmining.org/ www.elsalvadorsolidarity.org/

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Maine Currents 10/12/16

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 12 Oct 2016 20:00:06 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Studio Engineer: John Greenman Our multi-partisan panel joins us again to discuss the upcoming elections, and Emily Cain, Democratic candidate for U.S. Congress for Maine’s 2nd District joins us for the first half hour to answers questions from the panel and callers. (Opponent Bruce Poliquin was invited but declined and did not respond to requests to send a campaign aide in his place). We also discuss referendum questions on Maine’s ballot and recent candidate scandals. Guests: Emily Cain, Democratic candidate for U.S. Congress for Maine’s 2nd District Congressional. (Opponent Bruce Poliquin was invited but declined and did not respond to requests to send a campaign aide in his place). Betsy Garrold, Green Party, Dr. Jill Stein supporter Tim Wilson, former Bernie Sanders supporter now supporting Stein Ken Gleason, Democrat, Hillary Clinton supporter Renee Trust, Libertarian, Gary Johnson supporter Republican Dave Gulya was absent this week.

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Maine Currents 10/5/16

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 05 Oct 2016 20:00:07 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Studio Engineer: John Greenman Today we welcome visitors from El Salvador and local residents who are working together through US-El Salvador Sister Cities. The right wing death squads in El Salvador’s civil war (1980-1992) were funded and trained by the US government, so alliances between citizens of these two countries may seem unlikely – but our guests explain how they are strong and mutually beneficial. We also look at some of the issues facing El Salvador today, and hear what Salvadorans are saying about the US presidential elections. Guests: Zulma Tobar, US-El Salvador Sister Cities staff, based in El Salvador Carly Roach, Volunteer with US-El Salvador Sister Cities, based in El Salvador Dennis Chinoy, PICA and City of Bangor Sister City Committee (with Carasque, El Salvador) Karen Volckhausen, Maine farmer and member of the MOFGA committee that has a sistering relationship with CCR, a rural communities organization in El Salvador Willie Marquart, WERU Finance Manager and former Sister Cities staff member- has worked with MOFGA committee and the sister stations WERU and Radio Sumpul in El Salvador Maine Currents is a weekly show featuring independent local news, views and culture. Catch us on WERU-FM every Wednesday at 4pm. Send story ideas, suggestions and comments to news@weru.org FMI: Home Welcome to PICA! www.mofga.org/Programs/MOFGAElSalvadorSisteringProject/tabid/371/Default.aspx weru.org/radio-sumpul Past WERU reporting on El Salvador may be found here: archives.weru.org/?s=el+salvador

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Maine Currents 9/28/16

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 28 Sep 2016 20:00:21 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Studio Engineer: John Greenman In November Mainers will have an opportunity to vote to legalize marijuana in the state– but the details of the ballot question are raising concerns for some folks who are otherwise pro-legalization. Today we continue the conversation about this topic from our Sept 7th show. We again hear from both sides and then take calls from listeners. Guests: Hillary Lister, advocate/activist, patient & caregiver Don Christen, Founder of the Maine Vocals Paul McCarrier, President of Legalize Maine FMI: www.state.me.us/sos/cec/elec/upcoming/index.html www.noon1.me/ legalizemaine.net/ mevocals.weebly.com/

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Maine Currents 9/21/16

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 21 Sep 2016 20:00:08 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Studio Engineer: Joel Mann Maine Currents-Independent local news, views and culture Today our multi-partisan panel of area residents once again meet to discuss upcoming the elections, the candidates and lying in politics, and we take calls from listeners Guests: Betsy Garrold (Green Party); Renee Trust (Libertarian Party); Ken Gleason (Democratic Party); Tim Wilson (“3rd degree Berner”/ Sanders supporter now supporting Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party). Absent this week: Dave Gulya, the regular Donald Trump supporter on the panel.

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Maine Currents 9/14/16

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 14 Sep 2016 20:00:04 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Studio Engineer: Joel Mann Today on “Maine Currents” we focus on ways local people are plugging into larger movements to create positive change. Guests Tracey Hair and Larry Dansinger report back from their trip to the World Social Forum in Canada this summer, we talk about the “End Violence Together” rally and march and events marking the anniversary of the Occupy movement in Bangor this coming weekend, as well as last weekend’s Wabanaki Solidarity with Standing Rock rally, and we invite listeners to call in with question and with their own stories of working to create positive change. Guests: Tracey Hair started working at HOME Inc in 12 years ago. For a brief time she worked in partnership with HOME at a homeless charity located in Harlem. She lived and worked in Harlem doing street outreach, handing out sandwiches and serving food from a pop up food pantry. In addition to street outreach, Tracey taught basic computer skills to undocumented and low-income women in the Bronx. She have since returned to HOME Inc here in Orland where she currently serves as Acting Director. In addition to working with homeless people, Tracey has spent time advocating for Immigration Rights for same sex couples and is also a member of the Board of St Francis Community / Mandala Farm where she lived and worked for two years. Mandala Farm is a homeless shelter where homeless people live and work together in community. FMI: www.homemmausa.org/ Larry Dansinger used to work with Resources for Organizing and Social Change and still volunteers with the group. Besides attending the most recent World Social Forum this summer in Montreal, Larry helped to organize a Social Forum here in Maine in 2006 and hopes there will be another in Maine soon. Larry was also active in the Occupy Bangor’s camp next to the Bangor Public Library in 2011 and is helping to plan a 5th anniversary event there on Saturday 9/17/16, 10-11:30 am (followed by a potluck) at the park next to the Bangor Public Library. FMI: www.facebook.com/OccupyBangor/?fref=ts Mary Ellen Quinn is the Co-coordinator of Pax Christi Maine and one of the organizers of the “End Violence Together” rally and march that will be taking place in Bangor on Saturday, 9/17/16 from 1-4pm at West Market Square (rain location: Columbia Street Church). FMI: www.facebook.com/events/1031435066943636/

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Maine Currents 9/7/16

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 07 Sep 2016 20:00:38 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Studio Engineer: Joel Mann Our multi-partisan panel of area residents returns to debate Question 1 on Maine’s ballot this November (“Do you want to allow the possession and use of marijuana under state law by persons who are at least 21 years of age, and allow the cultivation, manufacture, distribution, testing, and sale of marijuana and marijuana products subject to state regulation, taxation and local ordinance?”). Panelists: Renee Trust, Dave Gulya, Betsy Garrold and Tim Wilson talk about the issue with proponent Alysia Melnick, Esq., Political Director for “Yes on 1 Yes to Regulate and Tax Marijuana in Maine”. Don Christen, found of the Maine Vocals, joins us to talk about why some supporters of marijuana legalization do not support Question 1. Listeners call in and join the discussion. FMI: maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/upcoming/ www.regulatemaine.org/ www.facebook.com/RegulateMJinME/ www.facebook.com/MaineVocals/?fref=ts mevocals.weebly.com/

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Maine Currents 8/31/16

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 31 Aug 2016 20:00:16 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Studio Engineer: John Greenman Hal Crowther and Robert Shetterly debate “voting for the lesser of two evils” and listeners weigh in on that, and on recent news about Gov. LePage’s behavior. Guest bios: Rob Shetterly graduated in 1969 from Harvard, with a degree in English Literature. He was active at that time in the Civil Rights and the Anti-Vietnam War movements. He moved to Maine in 1970. For twelve years he did the editorial page drawings for The Maine Times newspaper, and illustrated National Audubon’s children’s newspaper, and more than 30 books. Rob’s paintings and prints are in collections all over the U.S. and Europe. For the past 10 plus years he has been painting the Americans Who Tell the Truth portrait series. The exhibit has been traveling around the country since 2003. In 2005, Dutton published an award-winning book of the portraits by the same name. The portraits have given Rob Shetterly an opportunity to speak with children and adults all over this country about the necessity of dissent in a democracy, the obligations of citizenship, sustainability, US history, and how democracy cannot function if politicians don’t tell the truth, if the media don’t report it, and if the people don’t demand it. He has engaged in a wide variety of political and humanitarian work with many of the people whose portraits he has painted – including environmental and social justice activists and whistleblowers. Since 1990, he has been the President of the Union of Maine Visual Artists (UMVA), and a producer of the UMVA’s Maine Masters Project, an on-going series of video documentaries about Maine artists. He has received numerous awards and honors. FMI: www.americanswhotellthetruth.org Hal Crowther has also received many awards and much critical acclaim for his work. Hal is a critic and essayist who lives in North Carolina and spends summers here in Maine. He is the author of An Infuriating American: The Incendiary Arts of H.L. Mencken which was published 2014. He is also a former syndicated columnist, screenwriter and newsmagazine editor, at both Time and Newsweek. His most recent collection of essays, Gather at the River, was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle prize in criticism. Crowther’s essays have been published in many magazines and newspapers, from Granta to the New York Times, and included in many anthologies, including the 2014 Pushcart Prize volume for The Joys of Obsolescence. Author and scholar Kirkpatrick Sale has praised Hal Crowther as “the best essayist working in journalism today”. FMI: www.halcrowther.com

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Maine Currents 8/24/16

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 24 Aug 2016 20:00:30 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Studio Engineer: John Greenman Our multi-partisan group of area residents once again join us to continue our discussion of the upcoming elections. Guests: Renee Trust (Libertarian), Dave Gulya (Republican/Trump supporter), Ken Gleason (Democrat/Clinton supporter) and Betsy Garrold (Green/Stein supporter).

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Maine Currents 8/17/16

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 17 Aug 2016 20:00:55 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Audio recorded by: Matt Murphy Grab a cold drink and a comfortable seat – we’ve got another hour of great local storytelling for you this week! First you’ll hear 2 stories that were told at our Maine Summertime stories event at the Alamo Theatre in Bucksport last month by local storytellers Naomi Graychase and Amy Roeder. In the 2nd half of the show Roger Sprague – a Belfast resident who was born in that town in 1929 will share some memories and reflect on some of the changes he’s seen over the years. We start at the Alamo Theatre.

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Maine Currents 8/10/16

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 10 Aug 2016 20:00:29 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Engineer: John Greenman Today our multipartisan panel of guests returns to Maine Currents. We’ve been meeting once or twice a month since last spring to talk about the upcoming elections and some of the issues that will be on the ballot here in Maine in November. This is the first time we’ve met since the Republican, Democratic and Green Party conventions, so we start off by checking in for everyone’s reactions. Guests: Betsy Garrold – Supporter of Dr. Jill Stein, Green Party Ken Gleason – Hillary Clinton supporter Dave Gulya – Donald Trump supporter Renee Trust – Libertarian / undecided re nominee Gary Johnson Tim Wilson- Bernie Sanders supporter

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Maine Currents 8/3/16

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 03 Aug 2016 20:00:49 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Audio recorded by Matt Murphy Some of the stories from the “Maine Summertime Stories” event held at the Alamo Theatre in Bucksport last week, cosponsored by WERU-FM, Wednesdays on Main and Northeast Historic Films/Alamo Theatre. Local storytellers featured today: Arielle Greenberg, Jonathan Fulford, Nolan Ellsworth, Sandra Dillon and Cara Oleksyk. Amy Browne emceed. (Part 2 will air on 8/17/16) www.oldfilm.org/content/alamo-theatre www.facebook.com/alamotheatre/?fref=ts sites.google.com/site/bucksportswednesdayonmain/ www.facebook.com/bucksportwom?ref=hl

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Maine Currents 7/13/16

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 13 Jul 2016 20:00:22 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Engineer: John Greenman The latest edition of our multipartisan political roundtable discussions of the upcoming elections, with a focus today on Question 5 on Maine’s ballot this fall, a citizen’s initiative that reads: “Do you want to allow voters to rank their choices of candidates in elections for U.S. Senate, Congress, Governor, State Senate, and State Representative, and to have ballots counted at the state level in multiple rounds in which last-place candidates are eliminated until a candidate wins by majority?”. Guests: Area residents Betsy Garrold (Green Party supporter), Dave Gulya (Trump supporter), Renee Trust (Republican-leaning Libertarian), Steve Godsoe (Clinton supporter) and Tim Wilson (Bernie Sanders supporter) — and (by phone) former State Senator Dick Woodbury, one of the promoters of the ranked choice voting question. FMI: maine.gov/sos/cec/elec/upcoming/ www.lwvme.org/RCV.html www.fairvote.org/rcv#how_rcv_works ballotpedia.org/Maine_Ranked_Choice_Voting_Initiative,_Question_5_(2016)

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Maine Currents 7/6/16

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 06 Jul 2016 20:00:31 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Engineer: John Greenman Candidate scandals and lies- it’s hard to keep up, but today we do some fact checking following Trump’s rally in Bangor last week, his recent controversial tweets and the FBI’s findings re Hillary Clinton’s email servers. Features audio clips from the FBI press conference and Trump’s rally. Guest commentator, cultural critic and former Ism Prism host Valentine King gives us his take.

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Maine Currents 6/22/16

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 22 Jun 2016 20:00:13 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Engineer: John Greenman Today we continue with our ongoing series of multi-partisan roundtable discussions / call-in shows re the upcoming presidential elections. Today’s guests represent a range of political backgrounds, but we are committed to keeping this discussion civil, keeping in mind that no matter who becomes president, we will all still be neighbors. Guests: Renee Trust- Libertarian-leaning Republican Tim Wilson- Bernie Sanders supporter Steve Godsoe- Hillary Clinton supporter Dave Gulya- Donald Trump supporter David Bright- Green-leaning Bernie Sanders supporter (filling in for Green Party rep Betsy Garrold)

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Maine Currents 6/15/16

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 15 Jun 2016 20:00:23 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Engineer: John Greenman Local communities respond to the recent mass shooting in Orlando. We bring you to vigils held this week in Bangor and Belfast, Maine and then we talk with long time activist and former “Ism Prism” host Valentine King and open the phone lines for your calls. Valentine King is a cultural maven and independent thinker who has been based in Sommesville, Maine for the past 8 years. Originally from Philadelphia, he was active in the independent arts and queer cultural movement in the 1980s, and was part of the movement fighting for recognition of AIDS as a national health crisis at that time. For many years, he was a youth development worker at the Youth Health Empowerment Project, an agency devoted to promoting HIV prevention and youth leadership.

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Maine Currents 6/8/16

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 08 Jun 2016 20:00:27 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Production Assistance: Bill Solomon Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman and her brother/co-author David Goodman, speaking at the UU Church in Bangor on May 14, 2016 at a fundraiser for WERU — part of their book tour for “Democracy Now! 20 Years Covering the Movements Changing America”. Part 2 of 2. Part 1 aired last week and is available on our archives.

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WERU Special: Orland Dam Removal Public Forum 6/3/16

WERU-FM 89.9 — Fri, 03 Jun 2016 14:00:09 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Production Assistance: John Greenman Today we have a special report on the proposal to remove the Orland Dam – a decision that regardless of which way it goes, will likely have impacts not only on that town, but on surrounding areas as well. Orland took over ownership of the dam from Verso in 2011. The dam has been found to have serious structural issues, has failed in the past, and currently salt water flows over the top periodically. It also blocks fish passage and the existing fish ladders are considered inadequate. The town will be voting on June 14th on a ballot question that gives 2 options: Keep the dam and have the town foot any associated costs, or move forward toward removal of the dam by working with NOAA fisheries and the Nature Conservancy to acquire available funding for removal of the dam and ancillary costs. NOAA is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, one of the major forces behind the Penobscot River Restoration project. In 2014 they designated the Penobscot River Watershed as a “Habitat Focus Area” — one of just two on the east coast –citing the environmental, cultural and recreational significance of New England’s second largest river, which provides habitat to many migratory fish species, including 3 that are listed as endangered. Those who oppose removing the dam are concerned about the impact on water front views, which would start changing with the tides, potential impacts of salt water on wells and bridges, and the need to find a new source of water for fire fighting (as the impoundment created by the dam has been used for that purpose)—and whether the grants the town might receive would cover those costs. The need to coordinate dam removal with the clean up of mercury in the river so as to not further mobilize a mercury hotspot just below the dam is also a concern. At a well-attended forum Wednesday night in Orland, experts who have been studying the issues and agencies offering funding for the project, provided updates and heard comments and questions from the public. The entire presentation last more than 2 hours. This morning we hear from some of the panelists and a few of the public comments. NOTE: The link to the full meeting (2+ hours in length) is also posted below. The 1st link is for today’s program, the second is the full meeting. FMI: orlandfutures.blogspot.com/ www.orlandme.org/Orland%20Dam.html www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov/protected/riverherring/tewg/presentations/river_herring_-_penobscot_hfa__september_3__2014_.pdf

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Maine Currents 6/1/16

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 01 Jun 2016 20:00:47 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Production Assistance: Bill Solomon Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman and her brother/co-author David Goodman, speaking at the UU Church in Bangor on May 14, 2016 at a fundraiser for WERU — part of their book tour for “Democracy Now! 20 Years Covering the Movements Changing America”. Part 2 will air in this time slot next week. (Wednesday, June 8th at 4pm)

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Maine Currents 5/25/16

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 25 May 2016 14:00:00 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Engineer: John Greenman The next installment in our series of round table discussions / call-in shows about the upcoming presidential elections. Guests: Republicans Renee Trust and Billy Bob Faulkingham, Democrats Bernie Sanders supporter Tim Wilson, and Hillary Clinton supporter Margaret Hannah, and Betsy Garrold of the Green Party.

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Maine Currents 5/18/16

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 18 May 2016 20:00:08 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Engineer: John Greenman Nearly 1400 people packed the Collins Center at the University of Maine Monday evening to let Senator Angus King and Jonathan Jarvis, Director of the United States National Park Service, know how they feel about a proposal to designate land east of Baxter State Park as a national monument. A national monument can be designated by the President, whereas a national park requires the approval of Congress. Roxanne Quimby’s family foundation is offering 87,500 acres of land for a “Katahdin Woods and Waters” national monument or park –and millions of dollars to support it. While a much smaller meeting in East Millinocket earlier in the day drew mostly opponents to the proposal, the audience at the Collins Center was overwhelmingly in support, as evidenced by a sea of pro-monument t-shirts. Today’s show features Lucas St. Clair presenting the proposal, some of the public comments pro and con, and Director Jarvis’ responses to questions. The full, unedited (3 hr, 16 min) meeting can be heard here: soundcloud.com/amy-browne-1/public-weighs-in-on-natl-monument-proposal

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Maine Currents 5/11/16

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 11 May 2016 20:00:28 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Engineer: John Greenman Audio contributed by Maxine Janerka A “tri-partisan” discussion of the upcoming presidential election with guests Betsy Garrold of the Green Party, Republicans Renee Trust and Representative Rich Malaby, Bernie Sanders supporter Tim Wilson, and Hillary Clinton supporter Steve Godsoe. Call in show.

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Maine Currents 5/4/16

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 04 May 2016 20:00:40 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Democracy Now! host and author Amy Goodman’s 2004 speech in Belfast. She will be returning to area with a fundraising event for WERU in Bangor on May 14th at 7pm. FMI/tickets: www.weru.org

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Maine Currents 4/27/16

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 27 Apr 2016 20:00:39 +0000

Producer/Editor/Host: Amy Browne Engineer: Joel Mann Topic: Governor LePage’s recent behavior and efforts to address it. Last night he stormed out of an event at UMaine Farmington, calling 2 protesters “idiots”. The previous day he held a meeting that legally should have been public, but access was denied to legislators, media and the public. He has declared the Natural Resources Council of Maine and the Maine People’s Alliance– 2 of the state’s largest environmental and social justice groups– “enemies”. Efforts to impeach him were defeated earlier this year, but his controversial behavior keeps those efforts alive. Meanwhile his supporters praise his “plain talking” style. On today’s call in show we’re asking “What do YOU think?” Guests: Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives Mark Eves FMI: www.speakereves.com/ Rebecca Halbrook, retired attorney working on impeachment efforts and a new group called “Mainers for Government Accountability”. FMI: www.facebook.com/ImpeachGovLePage/?fref=ts Mike Tipping, Communications Director for the Maine People’s Alliance, cohost of “The Beacon” podcast which airs on WERU Tuesday afternoons at 4 and author of As Maine Went: Paul LePage and the Tea Party Takeover FMI: www.mainepeoplesalliance.org/

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Maine Currents 4/20/16

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 20 Apr 2016 20:00:13 +0000

Producer/Editor/Host: Amy Browne Engineer: Denis Howard Audio recorded by Matt Murphy In celebration of Earth week, today we talk with Peter Neill of the World Ocean Observatory about his new book, The Once and Future Ocean: Notes Toward a New Hydraulic Society . Neill is the host of the weekly short feature “World Ocean Radio” which has aired here on WERU every Wednesday morning at 7:30 for several years. He is also the founder and director of the World Ocean Observatory FMI: worldoceanobservatory.org/ But first we kick things off with a short montage of poetry from the “Poets Respond to Climate Change” event, at the Reversing Falls Sanctuary in Brooksville last month (recorded by Matt Murphy). In order we’ll hear from: Margaret Brooks, Maira Vandiver, MacKenzie Tapley, Henry Finch, Hattie Fitzpatrick, Emily Eisenhauer, Ed Conte, Brooke Wentworth and Anne Ferrara

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Maine Currents 4/13/16

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 13 Apr 2016 20:00:27 +0000

Producer/Editor/Host: Amy Browne Audio recorded by Natalie Springuel Hundreds of people gathered in Northport last weekend for the Penobscot Watershed Conference which focused on heritage, challenges and the future of the watershed. WERU volunteer Natalie Springuel , host of Coastal Conversations, works for Maine Sea Grant, one of the conference sponsors. For those of you who were unable to attend the conference, she recorded the welcoming remarks by Chief Kirk Francis of the Penobscot Nation; Curt Spaulding, a regional EPA administrator; and US Representative Chellie Pingree, and the keynote presentation by UMaine Marine Sciences Professor Bob Steneck. Paul Anderson was the emcee.

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Maine Currents 4/6/16

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 06 Apr 2016 20:00:57 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Topic: LePage’s controversial BEP nominee confirmed In a nearly unanimous vote this morning, the Senate confirmed Kathleen Chase, Governor LePage’s nominee for the Board of Environmental Protection– an appointee so controversial that environmental groups that say they have never opposed a nominee, spoke in opposition at a public hearing yesterday. The only vote in against the confirmation came from Senator Dave Miramant, a Democrat from Camden. The Senate’s vote took less than 2 minutes, and was done with no discussion or debate. They devoted significantly more time this morning to honoring a middle school band and recognizing various visitors, than they did to making this decision. Today on Maine Currents we’re going to take a look at how this nomination was approved, starting with the confirmation hearing yesterday before the legislature’s Environment and Natural Resources Committee.

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Maine Currents 3/30/16

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 30 Mar 2016 20:00:29 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Engineer: John Greenman Today we return to our on-going community discussion of the upcoming presidential election. We have a returning guest in the studio today with us today, Bernie Sanders supporter Tim Wilson, of Belfast. Tim has a bachelor’s degree in political science and an MBA. In the 90s, he was a campaign volunteer for Ross Perot. In 2004 he and his fiancé walked from Concord, Mass to the Jefferson Memorial in DC for a “Healthy World of Sustainable Peace and Prosperity”. And joining us for the first time today is Blue Hill resident Margaret Hannah, a Hillary Clinton supporter. Margaret says she has memories of intensely watching national political campaigns on TV starting in 1956. She campaigned in New Hampshire in 1968 for Gene McCarthy; participated in civil rights marches in DC and NYC and throughout the country in marches against the Iraq war. Our Green Party representative who joined us last time was not available today. We reached out the Republican party and the Hancock County GOP group will hopefully be sending someone next time, but we were not able to have someone join us here in the studio today. Earlier this month on “Maine Currents” we asked the question we’ll be asking again today, and more as the election season continues: “which presidential candidate do you support, and why?”.

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Maine Currents 3/9/16

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 09 Mar 2016 20:00:47 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Contributing Producer: Carolyn Coe Engineer: Matt Murphy Segment 1: Produced by Carolyn Coe. we hear from members of Veterans for Peace from this area who recently toured US military bases under construction in Japan and South Korea. FMI: www.vfpmaine.org Segment 2: Interview and call in segment with local farmer and food rights activist Heather Retberg, about a proposed “right to food” amendment to Maine’s Constitution that will likely be taken up by the legislature next week. FMI: www.facebook.com/Food-for-Maines-Future-55928098548/

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Maine Currents 3/2/16

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 02 Mar 2016 20:00:09 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Engineer: John Greenman Today we’re opening the phone lines and asking “which candidate(s) do you support, and why?”. Our guests are local supporters of the Democratic and Green party candidates. (Numerous attempts were made to reach local supporters of the Republican candidates, by we received no response.) Guests: Betsy Garrold –past state party co-chair of the Maine Green Independent Party and currently serves as a Waldo County coordinator for the party. Steve Godsoe — campaigning for Hillary Clinton. Tim Wilson — volunteer supporting the Bernie Sanders Presidential Campaign.

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Maine Currents 2/24/16

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 24 Feb 2016 20:00:14 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Indigenous rights attorney Sherri Mitchell of the Penobscot Nation, has been a regular guest here on WERU, and if you were tuned in this morning at 10, you heard the new Pacifica network show she cohosts called “Love (and Revolution). Today on Maine Currents we’re bringing you to a talk Sherri Mitchell gave at the University of Maine last week called “Ending Conquest Activism”. FMI re “Love (and Revolution) radio”: us2.campaign-archive2.com/?u=52edd9c637ac7dc6228813e39&id=842fbb908f

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Maine Currents 2/17/16

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 17 Feb 2016 20:00:17 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Engineer: John Greenman Each year we kick off our live, overnight special coverage of the national Homelessness Marathon by checking in with folks from some of the local shelters to get an update on homelessness in this area. Today we’ll be talking what resources exist, how to access them, what is needed and what the community can do to help, with representatives from HOME in Orland and the Bangor Area Homeless Shelter Guests: Tracey Hair, Assistant Director and Gerald Botta, Shelter Dept., HOME Inc in Orland Rowena Griffen, Executive Director and Dennis Pegues, Overnight Worker, Veteran and former guest at Bangor Area Homeless Shelter FMI: www.homemmausa.org/ www.bangorareashelter.org/

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Maine Currents 2/10/16

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 10 Feb 2016 20:00:17 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne It has been called “NAFTA on steroids” and “the largest corporate power grab you’ve never heard of”. The Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, is the largest regional trade deal in history, encompassing 12 countries that control 40% of the world’s economy, including the US, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Australia and several other Pacific Rim countries. The TPP was negotiated in extreme secrecy for five years. Other than sections leaked by wikileaks, the public, the media and even elected officials were kept in the dark. President Obama had promised the public would have plenty of time to read it before he signed the agreement. The 6000+ pages long document was finally released in November, and Obama signed it last week. There is now a 2 year deadline by which the agreement must be ratified by the processes used in each country that signed on. In the US that means Congress needs to pass it. They voted last year to give the President fast track authority, which means they can now only vote “yes” or “no” on the agreement, having given up their power to make any amendments. Obama says the TPP will open new markets and create new jobs. Similar arguments were made for the passage of NAFTA in the 90s and history has proven that to not be the case. Here in Maine the impact of so-called “free trade” agreements has been seen in the massive loss of manufacturing jobs. It was with those years of experience with NAFTA, CAFTA and other “free trade” agreements that Mainers came out to express concerns about the TPP FMI: Full text of the TPP: ustr.gov/tpp/#text Maine’s Citizen Trade Policy Commission: www.maine.gov/legis/opla/citpol.htm The Presidential Candidate’s positions on the TPP: ballotpedia.org/2016_presidential_candidates_on_the_Trans-Pacific_Partnership_trade_deal

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Maine Currents 2/3/16

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 03 Feb 2016 20:00:26 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Audio contributed by John Greenman Segment 1: Bill Farrell, a University of Maine Ph.D. Candidate and Senior Advisor on Special Projects, for the international nonprofit Mercy Corps. speaking at the University last week on “The Syrian Refugee Crisis”. Segment 2: We bring you to last week’s town council meeting in Bucksport, where a vote was held on withdrawing the town’s legal support of the state in Penobscot Nation v Mills, a lawsuit between the state and the Penobscot Nation.

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Maine Currents 1/13/16

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 13 Jan 2016 20:00:39 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Tomorrow will be a historic day in Augusta, as orders to impeach Governor LePage will be introduced and debated by the Maine House of Representatives. And whether the impeachment order ultimately succeeds or not, supporters say LePage’s behavior must be addressed. Today on Maine Currents we’ll be talking with two of the grassroots organizers behind the efforts to impeach LePage, Rebecca Halbrook and Hendrik Gideonse. We’ll hear from Dawn Neptune Adams, the woman who was shouted down by LePage supporters as she tried to speak at a pro-impeachment rally last week. And we’ll talk with the sponsor of the impeachment order, Representative Ben Chipman of Portland. FMI re the grassroots efforts to impeach LePage: www.facebook.com/ImpeachGovLePage/?fref=ts

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Maine Currents 1/6/16

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 20:00:06 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Today we do a 2015 year in review with clips from stories about Divest UMaine, an investigation by the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, Kim Ervin Tucker, scientists and lobstermen opposing the Searsport dredging project, the fight over mining regulations in Maine, the NRDC and Maine People’s Alliance’s federal lawsuit over the mercury pollution in the Penobscot River, Mainers opposing the TPP, and a story by Naomi Graychase , recording at “Bucksport, Then and Now”, and more — and we look ahead to 2016!

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Maine Currents 12/30/15

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 30 Dec 2015 20:00:54 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Today we’re bringing you to the season finale of the Queen City Cellar Tellers storytelling series, held at the Fork and Spoon in Bangor on December 18th. This month the theme was “family”. Chris Roberts emceed.

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Maine Currents 12/23/15

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 23 Dec 2015 20:00:18 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Segment 1: Today we bring you Part 2 of Mainers speaking out at the Maine Citizen Trade Policy Commission’s Public Hearing on the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement (TPP), in Bangor on December 10th (more info re the TPP is below). Segment 2: We shift gears for some local storytelling from the “True Stories” event held by the Midcoast Actors’ Studio in Belfast earlier this month. If passed, the TPP would cover 12 countries with an estimated combined GDP totaling 40% of the world’s economy, For several years, the TPP was negotiated in extreme secrecy. When the text was released last month, the advocacy group Public Citizen responded that “In chapter after chapter, the final text is worse than expected, with the demands of the 500 official U.S. trade advisers representing corporate interests satisfied to the detriment of the public interest. The text reveals that the pact replicates many of the most controversial terms of past pacts that promote job offshoring and push down U.S. wages.” Congress is expected to vote on the agreement in 2016. The Maine Citizen Trade Policy Commission was created by Maine law in 2003 to “assess and monitor the legal and economic impacts of trade agreements on state and local laws, working conditions and the business environment; to provide a mechanism for citizens and Legislators to voice their concerns and recommendations; and to make policy recommendations designed to protect Maine’s jobs, business environment and laws from any negative impact of trade agreements.” The CTPC is composed of 6 legislators, 7 members from the private sector and 5 representatives of different state agencies. TPP text: ustr.gov/tpp/#text

The post Maine Currents 12/23/15 first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Maine Currents 12/16/15

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 16 Dec 2015 20:01:33 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Mainers speak out at the Maine Citizen Trade Policy Commission’s Public Hearing on the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement (TPP), in Bangor on December 10th. If passed, the TPP would cover 12 countries with an estimated combined GDP totaling 40% of the world’s economy, For several years, the TPP was negotiated in extreme secrecy. When the text was released last month, the advocacy group Public Citizen responded that “In chapter after chapter, the final text is worse than expected, with the demands of the 500 official U.S. trade advisers representing corporate interests satisfied to the detriment of the public interest. The text reveals that the pact replicates many of the most controversial terms of past pacts that promote job offshoring and push down U.S. wages.” Congress is expected to vote on the agreement in 2016. The Maine Citizen Trade Policy Commission was created by Maine law in 2003 to “assess and monitor the legal and economic impacts of trade agreements on state and local laws, working conditions and the business environment; to provide a mechanism for citizens and Legislators to voice their concerns and recommendations; and to make policy recommendations designed to protect Maine’s jobs, business environment and laws from any negative impact of trade agreements.” The CTPC is composed of 6 legislators, 7 members from the private sector and 5 representatives of different state agencies. TPP text: ustr.gov/tpp/#text

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Maine Currents 12/2/15

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 02 Dec 2015 20:00:13 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Engineer: Joel Mann While the world focuses on the climate talks in Paris, here in Maine people are taking things into their own hands, working together with their neighbors to reduce their carbon footprints and influence energy policy. A few weeks ago Maine Currents featured the Bangor chapters of 350.org and Citizen’s Climate Lobby. Today we’re talking with members of the Sierra Club of Maine, and taking your calls to hear what you are doing (or think should be done) about this issue. Guests: Glen Brand, Director, Maine Chapter of the Sierra Club Nancy Chandler, Sierra Club Climate Action Team- Phippsburg Marty Fox, Sierra Club Climate Action Team- Wiscasset Miriam Rubin, Chair of the Climate Action Team Advisory Committee FMI: www.sierraclub.org/maine/maine-climate-action-teams

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Maine Currents 11/25/15

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 25 Nov 2015 20:00:49 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Today we bring you to the final installment of the fall semester Marxist and Socialist Studies lecture series at the University of Maine last week, where Professor Michael Howard spoke about “Liberal Egalitarian Versus Marxist Concepts of Exploitation”.

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Maine Currents 11/18/15

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 18 Nov 2015 20:00:00 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Representatives from local chapters of 350.org and Citizens Climate Lobby spoke at the University of Maine last week about “Citizen Responses to Climate Change”. The panelists were Lyndy Rohman, cofounder of the Bangor chapter of Citizens Climate Lobby(CCL); Tim Godaire, a graduate student at UMaine’s Climate Change Institute and member of Citizens Climate Lobby; Glen Koehler, who also works with CCL in Bangor; and Hendrik Gideonse from 350 Bangor/350 Maine. They talked about what drew them to climate change activism and what each group is doing to address the issue.

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Maine Currents 11/11/15

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 11 Nov 2015 20:00:58 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne (Part 2 of 2) Rockland 2015 is starting to sound a bit like Searsport 2012. A large out of state corporation has spun off a local-sounding LLC – Rockland Energy Center Limited Liability Corporation – and is proposing to build a gas plant in the city. Few specifics have been released, leaving Rockland residents with many unanswered questions. “Renew Rockland”, a group that describes itself as “local residents who have come together to respond to changing energy needs and concerns about our local environment” compiled unanswered questions collected at the few previous meetings where this issue has been discussed, and held a forum last week to try to address them. Panelists at the forum on “Rockland’s Energy Future” had expertise in engineering gas plants, alternative energy, climate change and health. The resulting discussion has implications far beyond Rockland. Addendum: On Friday of last week the Bangor Daily News reported that city administrators met with representatives of the gas company on October 27th, just 2 days before this forum took place. As you’ll recall if you listened to part 1 of this special, one of the 1st questions that we asked at the forum was when was the last time the gas company was in contact with the city. City Councilor Larry Pritchett (who also serves on the city’s energy committee) responded “I think if you say ‘in contact’ you know, there’s been questions to city staff. There hasn’t been anything that looks like negotiations.” Stephen Betts of the BDN reported that the assistant city manager said city officials met with Rockland Energy on October 27th “to relay the concerns citizens had about issues such as emissions and noise. [The Asst City Mgr] said the city also informed the company that when it does submit its formal plans, the city will be hiring an independent party to review the proposal. She said the city would expect Rockland Energy Center to pay for that cost, and the company is amenable to that arrangement.” We asked City Councilor Larry Pritchett about this apparent discrepancy earlier today and he said he was unaware of the October 27th meeting and questioned the accuracy of the date as reported in the BDN. We attempted to reach the BDN reporter to confirm, but as of air time haven’t heard back. We’ll continue to follow up on this story.

The post Maine Currents 11/11/15 first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Maine Currents 11/4/15

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 04 Nov 2015 20:00:19 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Rockland 2015 is starting to sound a bit like Searsport 2012. A large out of state corporation has spun off a local-sounding LLC – Rockland Energy Center Limited Liability Corporation – and is proposing to build a gas plant in the city. Few specifics have been released, leaving Rockland residents with many unanswered questions. “Renew Rockland”, a group that describes itself as “local residents who have come together to respond to changing energy needs and concerns about our local environment” compiled unanswered questions collected at the few previous meetings where this issue has been discussed, and held a forum last week to try to address them. Panelists at the forum on “Rockland’s Energy Future” had expertise in engineering gas plants, alternative energy, climate change and health. The resulting discussion has implications far beyond Rockland. In a 2 part special, this week and next, we’ll take you there. FMI: www.facebook.com/renewthemidcoast/?fref=ts

The post Maine Currents 11/4/15 first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Maine Currents 10/28/15

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 28 Oct 2015 20:00:26 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Today we pay our monthly visit to the “Queen City Cellar Tellers” storytelling event in Bangor. This month the theme was “Ghost Stories” and the featured nonprofit was the Bangor Historical Society

The post Maine Currents 10/28/15 first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Maine Currents 10/21/15

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 21 Oct 2015 20:00:05 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Audio recorded by: John Greenman Steven Druker is a public interest attorney, the Executive Director of the Alliance for Bio-Integrity, and author of “Altered Genes, Twisted Truth”. He delivered a keynote speech at MOFGA’s Common Ground Fair in September, called “Why Genetically Engineered Foods Are Unacceptably Risky – and How Their Survival Has Been Chronically and Crucially Dependent on Fraud”. FMI: www.biointegrity.org/

The post Maine Currents 10/21/15 first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Maine Currents 10/14/15

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 14 Oct 2015 20:00:30 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Engineer: John Greenman Today we’re doing a sort of “where are they now” show with some of the 13 Mainers –from all across the state and different walks of life– who volunteered back in 2006 to have themselves tested for the presence of 71 chemicals in their bodies. As we reported in 2007 when the results were published in the “Body of Evidence” report, toxic industrial chemicals were found in every person tested. The group behind the project was the Alliance for a Clean and Healthy Maine, which included the Environmental Health Strategy Center, the Learning Disabilities Association of Maine, the Maine Labor Group on Health, the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, the Maine People’s Resource Center, the Maine Public Health Association, the Natural Resources Council of Maine, and Physicians for Social Responsibility/Maine Chapter. All project protocols were approved by the University of Southern Maine Office of Research Compliance and Institutional Review Board. Doctors Vincent Markowski and Richard Donahue, the project’s Principal Investigators, provided oversight of the study methodology, data collection, laboratory testing, and data analyses. 46 different toxic chemicals were found in the bodies of the 13 Mainers. The average body burden was 36 toxic chemicals detected in the blood, urine and hair of each participant. Guests: Emma Halas-O’Connor, Environmental Health Campaign Manager, Environmental Health Strategy Center/ Prevent Harm Hannah Pingree, former State Representative and study participant. After learning that PBDE flame retardants were being found in breast milk, she sponsored a bill that successfully phased out two of them back in 2004. In 2008 she was a sponsor of Maine’s “Kid-Safe Products Act”. In 2012 she testified at a hearing before the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, advocating for updating and strengthening the federal 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act. In 2013 she was featured in the HBO documentary “Toxic Hot Seat”. Steve Taylor, Project Manager for the Body of Evidence Report Regina Creeley, study participant FMI: www.cleanandhealthyme.org/bodyofevidencereport/tabid/55/default.aspx

The post Maine Currents 10/14/15 first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Maine Currents 10/7/15

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 07 Oct 2015 20:00:42 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Those of you who enjoy the witty commentary of Jim Hightower several times a week here on WERU are in for a treat– today we’re bringing you a full hour! The radio commentator, writer, public speaker, and author of several books, including his most recent: “Swim Against The Current: Even A Dead Fish Can Go With The Flow” gave 2 talks at the University of Maine last week. Thursday afternoon he participated in the weekly lecture series sponsored by the Marxist & Socialist Studies interdisciplinary minor and that evening he delivered the annual Howard B. Schonberger Peace and Social Justice Memorial Lecture. The first talk, which we’re bringing you today on Maine Currents was called “Corporate Elites and Their Small-minded Political Servants Are Creating the Increasingly Shrinking America”. FMI: www.jimhightower.com

The post Maine Currents 10/7/15 first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Maine Currents 9/30/15

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 30 Sep 2015 20:00:08 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne This week we have our monthly installment from the local storytelling scene, as we return to “Queen City Cellar Tellers” in Bangor. On the 3rd Friday evening of each month “Juice Cellar” owner Chris Roberts and his partner Renee Johnson invite the public to tell stories with a pre-selected theme associated with an area non-profit they are highlighting. This month the non-profit was Maine Farmland Trust and the theme was preservation.

The post Maine Currents 9/30/15 first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Maine Currents 9/23/15

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 23 Sep 2015 20:00:35 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Contributor: John Greenman On today’s show we bring you to the “End Violence Together” rally held in Bangor Saturday, we talk with one of the people planning to walk across the state in an upcoming peace walk, and we listen in as community members pay tribute to local long time peace activists Ilze Petersons and Doug Allen as they embark on their next adventure. FMI: www.campaignnonviolence.org , www.peacectr.org , www.facebook.com/events/452604561565994/

The post Maine Currents 9/23/15 first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Maine Currents 9/16/15

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 16 Sep 2015 20:00:55 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne According to a recent study* the decrease in carbon footprint from reduced reproduction is “huge” compared to lifestyle changes and conservation efforts. Yet people who choose not to have children are almost universally considered to be selfish or social outcasts. Despite this, the “childfree by choice” movement seems to be growing. Guests: Dr. Amy Blackstone, University of Maine Professor and Chair of the Sociology Department. Professor Blackstone studies childlessness and the childfree choice, childfree families, workplace harassment, and civic engagement. Her work has been published in a variety of peer-reviewed journals including American Sociological Review, Law & Society Review, Sociology Compass, and Gender & Society. Professor Blackstone’s research has been featured by various media outlets including the Katie show, MPBN Radio, NBC, Fox, Today.com, MSNBC, Marie Claire, Dame, Huffington Post, and other local and national venues, including WERU’s “Reproductive Left” with Abbie Strout (Listen to an archive of that program here: archives.weru.org/reproductive-left/2015/03/reproductive-left-3315/ ) Dr. Blackstone is also a founding Advisory Board member of Feminist Reflections, a blog hosted by The Society Pages. She has served as a Consulting Editor for Contexts and is author the textbook Principles of Sociological Inquiry: Qualitative and Quantitative Methods. She and her husband Lance, who is also with us today, blog about the childfree choice at werenothavingababy.com/ Lance Blackstone’s day job is managing software development. He enjoys all things tropical – in particular, snorkeling and scuba diving on tropical islands and, when not on a tropical island, propagating coral in his home reef aquariums. Karen Marysdaughter is a war tax refuser, climate activist, and the Office Manager at the Peace & Justice Center of Eastern Maine. Larry Dansinger, in addition to being the host of the WERU short feature “Outside the Box”, has been an organizer for many years on justice, peace, and environmental issues and formerly paid staff for Resources for Organizing and Social Change. He and Karen Marysdaughter have lived together as a couple since 1982.

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Maine Currents 9/9/15

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 09 Sep 2015 20:00:05 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne The Eastern Maine Labor Council and Food AND Medicine hosted their annual Labor Day Celebration at the Solidarity Center in Brewer Monday. This year’s theme was “When We Unite, We Win!”. In keeping with that theme, representatives from area unions talked about the successes they say have been brought about in recent months when workers acted in solidarity. Former Maine Senate Majority Leader Troy Jackson was the emcee: (NOTE: This is a special 30 minute edition of Maine Currents which was aired only via our internet stream while our transmitter was off-air for tower repairs. We’ll return to our regular hour-long format next week)

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Maine Currents 9/2/15

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 02 Sep 2015 20:00:42 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne Audio recorded by Abbie Strout On today’s show we take you to a “Women’s Equality Day” rally in Bangor, where speakers celebrated progress and looked to the work ahead, and then later, in the community event spotlight this week we talk with Astrig Tanguay about the upcoming annual Fiber College in Searsport (FMI: facebook.com/fiber.college and website: www.fibercollege.org/ , (207) 548-6059/)

The post Maine Currents 9/2/15 first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Maine Currents 8/26/15

WERU-FM 89.9 — Wed, 26 Aug 2015 20:00:58 +0000

Producer/Host: Amy Browne If you’re looking for the WERU News Report, you’re in the right place – we’re just changing the name to better reflect the ever-changing mix of independent news, views and culture that we feature every week. Some weeks we report on issues that are in the news and have guests in the studio that can answer questions from callers, and other times – like today- we’re going to be taking things in a different direction. Today we take you to “Queen City Cellar Tellers”, a monthly storytelling event in Bangor, where we hear stories told by Ilze Petersons, Einstein Hickman and Carol Rosinski on this month’s theme of “peace”, and then keeping with that theme, we talk with Dan Avener, one of the organizers of this weekend’s 2nd annual Belfast Peace Festival. FMI re the Queen City Cellar Tellers: info@thejuicecellar.com , www.facebook.com/groups/cellartellers/ FMI re the Belfast Peace Festival: www.belfastpeacefestival.org/ , www.facebook.com/pages/Belfast-Peace-Festival/753172141392720?fref=ts

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