Talk of the Towns | WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives

Host: Ron Beard, University of Maine Cooperative Extension Studio Engineer: Amy Browne Issue: Community concerns and opportunities Program Topic: Cleaner Elections in Maine Key Discussion Points: What is the current picture of what it takes to run for legislative and state-wide offices in Maine? What led to Maine’s original Clean Election Law? What has been the track record? What rulings by the US...

Host: Ron Beard, University of Maine Cooperative Extension Studio Engineer: John Greenman Issue: Community concerns and opportunities Program Topic: The Present and Future of Community Newspapers Key Discussion Points: What traditional roles do local newspapers fulfill? (News, Public Notice, Editorial, Access to Customers, role of “free press” in a democracy, etc) How do different sectors of the c...

Host: Ron Beard, University of Maine Cooperative Extension Studio Engineer: Amy Browne Program Topic: Employee owned Cooperatives retain local businesses and jobs Key Discussion Points: Background on Cooperatives from Rob and Mark Orient listeners to variety of cooperatives (producers, consumers, employee-ownership) There are various forms of ownership for businesses… what is different about coope...

Guest host: Ron Beard Studio Engineer: Amy Browne Issue: Community concerns and opportunities Program Topic: Conversation with William Irvine, painter, and Carl Little, writer Key Discussion Points: Bill grew up in the village of Troon, where it could be said he looked west, the sun setting over the Isle of Arran, and now he lives in Brooklin Maine, where it could be said that he looks east, with...

Guest host: Ron Beard Studio Engineer: Amy Browne Program Topic: Employee owned Cooperatives retain local businesses and jobs Key Discussion Points: Background on Cooperatives from Rob and Mark Orient listeners to variety of cooperatives (producers, consumers, employee-ownership) There are various forms of ownership for businesses… what is different about cooperative ownership and operation? Examp...

Guest host: Ron Beard Studio Engineer: Amy Browne Issue: Community concerns and opportunities Program Topic: Sharing the Landscape: People and Wildlife Key Discussion Points: Jim tells a a bit about his career and connection to Maine…and what factors led to his interest in the increasingly fractious interactions between people and wildlife, leading him to write Nature Wars Jim explains some of the...

Guest host: Ron Beard Studio Engineer: Amy Browne Issue: Community concerns and opportunities Program Topic: Community Support for Local Libraries Key Discussion Points: What are some of the roles that “your” libraries play in the life of your communities? With yours as example, what difference does a local public library mean for its patrons? How do community members let you know of the importanc...

Guest host: Natalie Springuel, University of Maine Sea Grant Studio Engineer: Amy Browne Program Topic: A Consumer’s Guide to Sea Vegetables Key Discussion Points: a) What are sea vegetables? b) How do you harvest and prepare seaweed? c) Sea vegetables and the Maine local sustainable food movement. Guests: Sarah Redmond, University of Maine Sea Grant and Cooperative Extension Liz Solet, Maine Coas...

Producer/Host: Ron Beard Studio Engineer: Amy Browne Issue: Community concerns and opportunities Program Topic: Islands and Energy: Connecting Maine and Samso Island in Denmark Key Discussion Points: 1. What is the basic approach (human ecology) by which COA frames its education… with others contributing how approach has played out in their own experience with courses and students at College of th...

Producer/Host: Ron Beard Studio Engineer: Amy Browne Program Topic: Island Readers and Writers inspires passion for reading and learning Key Discussion Points: Jan Coates describes the origins and evolution of Island Readers and Writers IRW has many examples of engaging young minds… share examples and what elements make them successful What has been the involvement of teachers and parents in IRW p...

Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel, University of Maine Sea Grant Studio Engineer: Amy Browne Program Topic: Hands on Learning through Eastern Maine Skippers Program Key Discussion Points: Overview of the Skippers Program and how it came to be How it is connected/separate from Deer Isle/Stonington’s Marine Pathways program Other schools involved in the Skippers program Goals, hopes, vision What make...

Producer/Host: Ron Beard Studio Engineer: Amy Browne Issue: Community concerns and opportunities Program Topic: Community Response to Domestic Violence Key Discussion Points : What is domestic abuse? • Define • Tactics of abuse What is Extent of the problem in Hancock and Washington Counties • Next Step statistics • Other statistics and information • Other trends from the perspective of law enforc...

Producer/Host: Ron Beard Studio Engineer: Amy Browne Issue: Community concerns and opportunities Program Topic: Getting food to people in need in Hancock County Key Discussion Points: 1. Katie provides context for Healthy Acadia’s overall work on food systems, the notion of food security, and how that led to their support for gleaning, food pantry networking and the food drive 2. Hannah describes...

Producer/Host: Ron Beard Studio Engineer: Amy Browne Issue: Community concerns and opportunities Program Topic: Serving in local town government Key Discussion Points: 1. Each guest is asked for a thumbnail description of their town: geography, rough description of make of town population, main economic activities 2. What first inspired you to serve, and has that inspiration changed any over the y...

Producer/Host: Ron Beard Studio Engineer: Amy Browne *special date Issue: Community concerns and opportunities Topic: Practical approaches to local economic development Guests: Jacquelyn Hewitt, consultant to Town of Mount Desert Roger Bergen, Stonington Economic Development Committee Rick Armstrong, Castine Economic Development Committee Give us a thumbnail sketch of your town, what you know abou...

Producer/Host: Ron Beard Studio Engineer: Amy Browne Issue: Community concerns and opportunities Program Topic: Where is Poverty Now? Key Discussion Points: a. CAP agencies were established as one of the key strategies in the war on poverty, declared by President Lyndon Johnson in January, 1964… what was their basic role? b. What do we know about poverty today… are there differences that have emer...

Producer/Host: Ron Beard, University of Maine Cooperative Extension Studio Engineer: Amy Browne Issue: Community concerns and opportunities Program Topic: Maine Legislative Action: Looking Back, Looking Ahead Key Discussion Points : • Each guest provides background on themselves, what motivated them to serve in the Legislature, what committees they serve on… • What were the highlights of the first...

Producer/Host: Ron Beard, University of Maine Cooperative Extension Studio Engineer: Amy Browne Program Topic: Connecting youth to out of school experiences to support Science, Math, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education Key Discussion Points: • What do we know about the ways in which young people make lasting connections to the knowledge base and applications of science, technology, engine...

Producer/Host: Ron Beard, University of Maine Cooperative Extension Studio Engineer: Amy Browne Issue: Community concerns and opportunities Program Topic: Scallops—Trying to Sustain the Fishery Key Discussion Points: a) Share a profile of scallops as much sought after public fisheries resource… their biology, habitat requirements, two methods of catching (dragging and diving), and anything else th...

Producer/Host: Ron Beard, University of Maine Cooperative Extension Studio Engineer: Amy Browne Program Topic: Strengthening Rural Transportation Resources Key Discussion Points 1. Outline of the purpose of November 6 Transportation Summit in Machias and how it was organized to learn more, share successes and identify opportunities for collaboration. 2. An overview of the elements of our current c...

Producer/Host: Ron Beard Studio Engineer: Amy Browne Issue: Community concerns and opportunities Program Topic: Slow Money Maine: Connecting Farmers & Food Entrepreneurs to Financing Key Discussion Points: A) a) Describe Slow Money Maine, and its connection to the Slow Money “movement” fostered by Woody Tasch (author of Inquiries into the Nature of Slow Money), and to the broader Slow Foods m...

Producer/Host: Ron Beard Studio Engineer: Amy Browne Program Topic: Schoodic Community Fund – Investments in the Future Key Discussion Points: a) Describe the assets and the challenges of the Schoodic Peninsula… (history, economy, natural resources, people, organizations, etc) b)Other examples of community members working to solve problems, take advantage of opportunities? c)What is the Schoodic C...

Producer/Host: Ron Beard Studio Engineer: Amy Browne Issue: Community concerns and opportunities Program Topic: Saving Special Community Spaces Key Discussion Points: a) What motivates people to save special places (land, buildings, scenic views, trails) in their communities? b)What benefits stem from “place saving” efforts and campaigns, including the obvious benefit from saving the “place”? c)Al...

Producer/Host: Ron Beard Studio Engineer: Amy Browne Program Topic: Maine as Muse: Inspiration for Science Writers Key Discussion Points: a) In response to questions from Ron, each guest shares some background about their work and their writing… then each shares a published piece (saving the second piece to close to the end of the show) and shares “lightly”, any context and source of inspiration f...

Producer/Host: Ron Beard Studio Engineer: Amy Browne Program Topic: Maine as Muse for historians Key Discussion Points: a) Each guest provides brief background on themselves and what led to their interest in writing about Maine, using historical lenses… b)Each guest offers a short reading from their own published work, a page or a passage that you are proud of, that invites readers to share your p...