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John Lewis went to Oxford Hills High School and wanted to leave rural Maine. He had dreams of the big city where the action was and he did not want to go to college. Turns out he graduated from the University of Maine and now runs a business that helps manufacturers and wandering high school graduates looking for a different path to a bright future that side steps a bachelors degree. My guest this week is John Lewis, former Republican candidate for state senate in District 29 covering Cape Elizabeth and South Portland, Maine, in 2022 who lost that race but remains in the game as a player with a message for Cape residents: It's about the issues! Vote.

Is it a fact the Cape Elizabeth School Board has been underfunding the Capital Improvement Plan to the tune of $7.2M? Yes. Is it true putting $9.3 M into the CIP budget to cover essential repairs at the high school and elementary school will result in no tax increase? No. Tim Reiniger has facts and the evidence to back up his position. Too bad the Cape Courier, the local paper with its thumb on the issue, isn't interested. Are you? Listen up!

Former US Senate Sergeant at Arms and local political legend Larry Benoit is voting "no" on the Cape Elizabeth $94.7M school bond come November 5th for a lot of very good reasons. The bottom line? The tax burden for residents far outweighs any educational benefits. And claims by the local school board that the proposed alternative $42M bond to cover the cost of essential renovations and repairs has not been vetted? "Disingenuous," Benoit says. "Utter nonsense."

Come November, Cape Elizabeth voters will have $94.7M bond on the ballot to build a new middle school - and for the first time thanks to a new law will know who is backing it. What will not be on the ballot is housing at Gull Crest. The American dream delayed but not denied.

Cape School Board Relents - $94.7M bond headed for November ballot by Cynthia Dill

How much money do Cape Elizabeth Schools need to educate kids? And what is it about free speech the Cape Elizabeth Democrats are afraid of? It's time for the Cape Underground. The latest podcast

"Smoke and mirrors" is what Cape Elizabeth Town Council Chair Tim Reiniger calls the latest legal threats by fanatics in this leafy community who hired a law firm to stop a bond measure of $42M for essential school repairs if the $90M "Middle Ground" proposal fails. Plus, breaking news! The campaign to re-elect Reiniger begins now.

The Supreme Court decision in Trump v. United States "highlights the hypocrisy of this version of the Supreme Court," legal scholar Marshall Tinkle says. And how about a little Herbie Hancock? An interesting conversation with an interesting guy.

News reporter and editor Gina Hamilton joins the show to give her take on the shooting yesterday of Donald Trump by 20 year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks at a Pennsylvania campaign rally. She's not surprised it happened, and lays the blame partly at the feet of violent rhetoric used by Trump and his campaign. Joe Biden, she says, reacted presidentially to the incident, and reminded people what leadership looks like. Biden called Mr. Trump, canceled campaign events, acknowledging the victims and their families, and strongly denounced political violence. Trump, on the other hand, continues to be all about himself, Hamilton says. So what about the conventions in Chicago and Milwaukee? Is past prologue?

Donald Trump took a bullet for democracy. That might do the trick for some swing voters, plus the public safety failure, Maine's Second Congressional District and more. Maine senior political analyst Phil Harriman joins the show the day after Donald Trump was shot. What does it mean for us?

Cape Elizabeth Schools, the Supreme Court and Happy Birthday America by Cynthia Dill

Larry Benoit has spent hundreds of hours working as finance chair of the Cape Elizabeth School Building Advisory committee. He is not confident in the latest $105 million project dubbed the "Middle Ground" being peddled by the school board. Why? It's voodoo math.

You might think removing a portion of Sawyer Road that connects Cape Elizabeth with Scarborough, Maine is a good idea. You would be wrong. Find out why.

Host Cynthia Dill talks about Tuesday's primary in which she is a candidate in a tight 3-way primary using ranked choice voting, the importance of the new Cape Elizabeth Ad Hoc Privacy Advisory Committee, and how the liberal media fuels the culture wars.

After last night's workshop of the Cape Elizabeth Town Council on the new school proposal concepts voted on by the School Building Advisory Committee (SBAC) to the tune of between $80 - 114 million dollars, Michael Hussey thinks a deal is in the air. Find out why.

It almost seems like the Cape Elizabeth School Board is holding students at the high school and elementary school hostage. Okay, maybe that's melodramatic but compared to what? Unless it gets a brand new middle school, much needed repairs impacting the safety, comfort and security of students, staff and visitors are being delayed. And the fight is personal! These new parents who fled the big city during COVID want new schools NOW! So what's a small community to do? A coup, merci beaucoup.

Michael Hussey is a successful businessman, husband, father and member of Cape Elizabeth's SBAC - the ad hoc School Building Advisory Committee charged with putting a new school project out to the voters in November. He joins the show to talk about the 5/4 vote at the SBAC for "Option B," a $80 million dollar project, revelations from last night's school board workshop, and his letter to the editor in today's Cape Courier.

Saturday Night Talk From My Home Town by Cynthia Dill

Tonight's show is about Cape Elizabeth local politics - schools, housing and the race for state representative. What else matters?

Wednesday Night Gab - Housing Referendum, POD Babies, Blowhards and English Majors by Cynthia Dill

Saturday Night Talk. Kirk Minihane to RI, Snell stamped, and Cape POD by Cynthia Dill

Politics is an art, not a science. To create something of value takes guts, a good idea and people capable of opening their minds. And having a laugh on occasion.

Gorski Gate by Cynthia Dill

Friday Night Talk - the weekly rundown from Cape Elizabeth by Cynthia Dill

Alba Vinajero left El Salvador at the age of 16 and walked to America in search of a dream. The journey was perilous - and she spent years living in a dilapidated old trailer with no heat and a leaky roof while working tow jobs and raising three beautiful girls - but she made it. Find out how this week with a live interview with a happy ending.

Host Cynthia Dill has a view about the proposal at the Maine Legislature to amend the state constitution to protect "every person's" right to reproductive autonomy. What are men's rights?

This week our host gives three reasons Cape Elizabeth voters should send a nonbinding housing referendum question to the ballot. Plus, the State of Maine is about to join the Interstate Compact to Elect the President by National Vote. Why Now? Good question. Maybe because you want to re-elect Donald Trump.

The latest political news from Maine's prettiest town.

Rain or shine we will see you tomorrow at one of the world's most beautiful spots to grow families, plus what to expect from Councilor Susan Gillis in April in Cape Elizabeth.

Maine's "Clean Election" financing for candidates comes wrapped with a giant bow made of red tape. Is it worth it to spend hundreds of hours chasing $5 contributions that require two signed receipts and several trips to town hall? Plus, Cape Elizabeth's gossipy private Facebook page has members apoplectic. Why?

You've heard of regulatory capture? The same thing is happening in small towns all over America in the housing market. Finance Bros showing up on boards and at meetings with a message to their neighbors. "Shucks, folks. The housing crisis is darn shame! I've run the numbers and what we actually need is a Wall Street-backed Section 8 housing project that will make my clients a lot of money," he says in his fleece vest and khakis. "You're damn right!" chimes in the lobbyist for the bankers and real estate developers who make millions betting on the bleak housing market. "And anyone opposed is racist." The latest podcast on Cape Elizabeth housing politics.

Dill for House District 123. An update, plus a site walk at Gull Crest. by Cynthia Dill

Harold Pachios on the state of things political by Cynthia Dill

Cape Elizabeth Politics - Gull Crest Housing Referendum Redux by Cynthia Dill

"We don't have to take the affordable housing medicine Wall Street is prescribing."

Dill for House District 123. It's Happening. by Cynthia Dill

Donald Trump: Patriotism or Politics? Ethan Strimling on the Challenge Facing Voters in Maine by Cynthia Dill

Why Independent Maine Senator Angus King is disappointed in Susan Collins for supporting a good woman to run as a Republican against him, Prayers for Nikki Haley in New Hampshire and why Affordable Housing for kids in Cape Elizabeth might just make it on the ballot in November.

The Mobile Home Replacement Initiative works so well the Maine State Housing Authority canceled it - plus a site walk in Cape Elizabeth on February 11, 2024. Building affordable housing is the topic of this podcast. Enough reports! Enough bleak housing. Make American homes beautiful again!

Former City of Portland Mayor, Democratic State Senator and media personality Ethan Strimling joins the podcast tonight to talk about why he challenged the qualifications of Donald Trump to appear on the Maine primary ballot of March 5th as a Republican candidate for president and other political news.

The Maine legislature is back in session following the deadly shooting in Lewiston that killed 18 people and seriously wounded 13 others on October 26, 2023. Will gun safety laws pass? Is the legislature distracted by the bold action taken by Shenna Bellows to remove Donald Trump off the ballot? Tune in!

A New Years Day show about the road ahead. "A voice of moderation and common sense fighting fringe and the Welfare-Industial Complex at home and abroad." Buckle up and stay tuned!

The Colorado Supreme Court's decision to deny Donald Trump ballot access because he engaged in an insurrection could impact Maine - but should it? Gina Hamilton ( 6:15) thinks Maine's open primary may be the better route to defeating the Republican firebrand who likely will gain strength under fire. And guess who wants to now build affordable housing on Cape Elizabeth athletic fields? The same crowd who opposes it. All this craziness and more this week. Don't miss it.

New Cape Elizabeth Town Councilor Stephanie Anderson on what she just did about housing by Cynthia Dill

Friday Night Talk, Cape Elizabeth Housing Bombshell by Cynthia Dill

For the first time in 2024 Maine primary voters will be able to cast a ballot for any party candidate on Super Tuesday. Some moderate Democrats like host Cynthia Dill have plans to use the semi-open primary law strategically to block Trump by voting for Nikki Haley. Will the plan work? Phil Harriman, former Republican state senator and political commentator weighs in.

Friday Night Talk - Congratulations to Cape Elizabeth Winners and Community Housing by Cynthia Dill

Nine days after the shooting in her home town of Lewiston, Maine, where a deadly shooting took the lives of 18, seriously injured 13 and traumatized countless others, State Representative Margaret Craven is back at trying to get better laws passed to address responsible gun ownership. "We can't allow people who are so attached to their weapon to have the last word." Margaret Craven

Lewiston, Maine is still under lock down following the mass shooting that killed 18 and injured 13 Wednesday night, and Robert Card, the alleged killer, is still on the lam armed and dangerous. So what has changed? State Rep Margaret Craven joins us again to discuss the about face her Congressman, Jared Golden, made last night in a surprise announcement.

The biggest manhunt in Maine history is underway searching for the killer who killed 18 people and wounded at least 13 others with an assault weapon in Lewiston, Maine. The suspect, Robert Card, remains at large despite the presence of 350 law enforcement officers and reported to be armed and dangerous. The City of Lewiston is in lock-down. Joining Cynthia by phone is State Representative Margaret Craven who spoke by phone from her home in Lewiston at 4:30 pm.

Open the Courthouse Doors! An interview with Don Fontaine - and Housing Winners in Cape Elizabeth by Cynthia Dill