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

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. The post Maine Currents 4/9/25: Coverage of “Hands Off” rallies in Augusta and Belfast, Maine on 4/5/25 first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

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. The post Maine Currents 5/29/24: Checking in with our sisters in El Salvador first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

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. The post Maine Currents Special 3/29/24: Sears Island, Part 2 of 2 first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

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. The post Maine Currents Special 3/28/24: Sears Island, Part 1 of 2 first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

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. The post Maine Currents 12/5/23: Mainers Calling for Peace in Gaza first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

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. The post Maine Currents 11/7/23: Word Literary Arts Festival 2023: “A.O. Scott in conversation with Alicia Anstead” first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

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. The post Maine Currents Special 10/31/23: Background on Question 6 from a Tribal Perspective first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

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. The post Maine Currents 10/3/23: Author Ann Patchett speaking in Blue Hill first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

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. The post Maine Currents 9/5/23: Glampgrounds, Shaw Institute, Healthy Options, and Bucksport Landfill first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

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. The post Maine Currents 8/1/23: Behind the Scenes – Donna Loring of Wabanaki Windows & Tom Yaroschuk of Cosmic Curator first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

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. The post Maine Currents 7/4/23: Interview with Jim Campbell first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

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. The post Maine Currents 4/4/23: The Democracy Forum & the League of Women Voters of Maine first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

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. The post Maine Currents 3/7/23: Climate Change, Landfills – Ways to Learn More & Get Involved first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

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. The post Maine Currents 2/7/23: Multinational Corporation Requests Bucksport Reopen Problematic Landfill first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

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. The post Maine Currents Returns! 1/3/23: Will Maine Industrialize Sears Island for “Clean” Energy? first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

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. The post Maine Currents Special 7/20/22- Sears Island: The Latest Threat first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

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. The post Maine Currents 12/7/21: Word Festival Interview with Bob Keyes, author of a new book on Robert Indiana first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

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. The post Maine Currents 10/5/21: “Truth Tellers” – the new Kane-Lewis film based on Americans Who Tell the Truth first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

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. The post Maine Currents 9/7/21: 20 Years Post-9/11 – Listening Back to WERU's Coverage first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

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. The post Maine Currents 7/6/21: Colin Woodard on his latest book, Union: The Struggle to Forge the Story of United States Nationhood first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

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. The post Maine Currents 6/1/21: “Celebrate Progress for the Penobscot River” – River Restoration Reflections first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

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. The post Maine Currents 5/4/21: Universal Healthcare in Maine? first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

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. The post Maine Currents 4/6/21: Dennis Chinoy on The Deep Roots and Bitter Fruits of White Supremacy first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

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. The post Maine Currents 3/2/21: The State of Hate first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

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. The post Maine Currents 2/2/21: “Being Black in Maine: Lived Experience and the Prospect for Change” first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

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. The post Maine Currents 1/19/21: Inauguration Eve Special first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

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. The post Maine Currents 1/5/21: “Remembering Maine” at the 2020 Word Festival in Blue Hill first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

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. The post Maine Currents 12/15/20 Elections 2020 Edition: The Finale first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

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. The post Maine Currents 11/17/20 Elections 2020 Edition: Election Outcomes, Polling Fails, and Where Things Go From Here first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

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. The post Maine Currents 11/3/20: Mark Potok on Hate Groups in the US first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

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. The post Maine Currents 10/20/20 Elections 2020 Edition: Debates, Voting Deadlines, Voter Suppression and more first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

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. The post Maine Currents 10/6/20: Hate Groups in Maine first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

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. The post Maine Currents 9/15/20 Elections 2020 Edition: Senate Debate, Election Safety, RCV & more! first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

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. The post Maine Currents 9/1/20: Confronting Racial Bias in Maine Schools first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

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. The post Maine Currents 8/18/20: Elections 2020 Edition first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

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. The post Maine Currents 8/4/20: Immigrant Experiences in Maine Schools first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

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. The post Maine Currents 7/21/20: Elections 2020 Edition first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

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. The post Maine Currents 7/7/20: Decolonization first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

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. The post Maine Currents 6/2/20: Digital Media Literacy first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

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. The post Maine Currents 5/19/20: Elections 2020 Edition first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

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. The post Maine Currents 5/5/20: WERU Public Affairs Producers Zoom Roundup first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

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. The post Maine Currents 4/21/20: Elections 2020 Edition first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

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. The post Maine Currents 4/7/20: “From SARS to COVID-19: My Life With Pandemic Response” first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

WERU News & Public Affairs Manager Amy Browne with the latest local news and mutual aid resources. The post WERU Coronavirus Updates 3/31/20, 2:30pm first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

WERU News & Public Affairs Manager Amy Browne with the latest local news and mutual aid resources. The post WERU Coronavirus Updates 3/26/20 2:30pm first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

WERU News & Public Affairs Manager Amy Browne with the latest local news and mutual aid resources. The post WERU Coronavirus Updates 3/25/20 2:30pm first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

WERU News & Public Affairs Manager Amy Browne with the latest local news and mutual aid resources. The post WERU Coronavirus Updates 3/24/20 2:30pm first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

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. The post Maine Currents Special 3/17/20 Coronavirus: Community Response, Elections, WERU first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

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. The post Maine Currents Special 3/3/20: Prison Reform & Super Tuesday first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

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. The post Maine Currents Special 2/25/20: Immigration Law in These Challenging Times first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

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. The post Maine Currents 2/18/20: Elections 2020 Edition first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.