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

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 HOM...

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 ex...

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...

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 im...

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 t...

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. The post Maine Currents 12/30/15 first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives .

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&#8...

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...

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 t...

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”. The post Maine Currents 11/25/15 first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives...

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 Koe...

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 Rockl...

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...

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 .

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 Chronica...

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 indust...

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 w...

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-...

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...

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...

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 Ma...

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 webs...

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...