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

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...

“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 Indivisibl...

“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...

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/ The post Maine Currents 3/1/17 first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Aff...

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...

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 becaus...

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 cl...

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 (I...

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 Littrel...

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 The post Maine Currents 1/4/17 first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local...

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 o...

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 Ho...

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...

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 The post Maine Currents 12/7/16 first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local Ne...

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 Joini...

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,...

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...

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 Garr...

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 individua...

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. Recorde...

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...

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 expl...

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 listen...

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 (&#822...

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 annivers...