Author: Community Radio WERU FM

The Nature of Phenology 1/19/19

Producers/Hosts: Hazel Stark and Joe Horn

Frogs in Winter

Photos, a full transcript, references, contact information, and more available at thenatureofphenology.wordpress.com.

May and June are two months that are almost entirely defined by frogs—their cheery chorus sounds from vernal pools and along pond edges hoping to entice a mate to come for a swim. This time of year, however, we instead sit in relative quiet but for the howl of wind, the rattle of bare tree branches, the roar of a woodstove, the moan of ice, and the somber call of a raven. During this time of year, one might wonder the fate of the subject of today’s episode, our flipper-footed friends: frogs.

Democracy Forum 1/18/19

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine
Engineer: Amy Browne

Cyber Attacks on Democracy: Social Media, Fake News, and Voter Responsibility

Key Discussion Points:
We’ll talk about cyber attacks on elections, weaponizing misinformation, social media, and disinformation.
Is this the new normal?
Can democracy survive?

Guests:
Kathleen Hall Jamieson, Director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center and author of the new book, Cyber War: How Russian Hackers and Trolls Helped Elect a President – What We Don’t, Can’t, and Do Know www.asc.upenn.edu/people/faculty/kathleen-hall-jamieson-phd
Jamie McKown, Faculty, Government & Polity at the College of the Atlantic and James Russell Wiggins Chair in Government and Polity. coa.edu/live/profiles/1179-jamie
mckown/templates/details/faculty.php

To learn more about this topic:
Can Mark Zuckerberg Fix Facebook Before It Breaks Democracy?, Evan Osnos in The New Yorker, September, 2018.
Machine Politics, Fred Turner in Harpers Magazine, January, 2019.
Secret campaign to use Russian-inspired tactics in 2017 Ala. election stirs anxiety for Democrats, Washington Post, January, 2019.
New Report on Russian Disinformation Prepared for the Senate shows the Operations Scale and Sweep, Washington Post, December, 2018.
New Studies Show Pundits Are Wrong About Russian Social-Media Involvement in US Politics, Aaron Maté, The Nation, December, 2018.
The most underplayed story of the 2016 election is voter suppression, Rachelle Hampton, The New Republic, January, 2019. Call In Program: Yes

The all-volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Sheila Kirby, Ann Luther, Maryann Ogonowski, Pam Person, Leah Taylor, Linda Washburn

FMI re League of Women Voters of Maine: www.lwvme.org

RadioActive 1/17/19

Producer/Host: Meredith DeFrancesco

Land Use Planning Commission Poised to Open 1.3 million Acres of Maine Woods to Development

The Maine Land Use Planning Commission (LUPC) is poised to make the biggest proposed policy change in Commission history. Their plan to change adjacency criteria, eliminating the so-called “one mile rule”, would open up over 1.3 million acres of the Maine woods to residential subdivisions. 800,000 of those acres would also be opened to commercial development. This would open an unspecified number of class 3 lakes to development.
Opponents say, the policy change would also reverse a 2001 legislative ban on large residential subdivisions of 25 acres (so called, kingdom lots), and would allow subdivisions of up to 14 lots and 30 acres to meet only limited environmental review on approximately 400,000 acres.
The LUPC is accepting written comments on their proposed development changes until January 22. Email comments to Benjamin.Godsoe@maine.gov

Guest:
Cathy Johnson, Senior Staff Attorney, Forest and Wildlife Director, Natural Resources Council of Maine
www.nrcm.org/projects/forests-wildlife/maine-north-woods-protection-lupc/lupc-adjacency-principle-maines-north-woods/
www.nrcm.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/2018-one-mile-rule-general-factsheet-post-hearing.pdf
www.nrcm.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/NRCMadjacencytestimony62018.pdf
www.nrcm.org/projects/forests-wildlife/maine-north-woods-protection-lupc/

Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry’s Maine Land Use Planning Commission
Proposed Rules Revisions: Revised Applications of Adjacency Principle and Subdivision Standards : www.maine.gov/dacf/lupc/projects/adjacency/rulemaking/Adj_Sub_PublicCommentDraft_Dec2018.pdf

Today’s program was produced with the Sunlight Media Collective.

Notes from the Electronic Cottage 1/17/19

Producer/Host: Jim Campbell

Bits & Bytes

One of the things that the Electronic Cottage hopes to do is to offer listeners a bit more information about the digital world we all inhabit these days. Every now and then, we figure it’s a good idea to go back to basics for a few minutes – back to really basis basics, so here, once again, is a discussion of what a “bit” is and what a “byte” is. They are, after all, the basic basis for every computer, smart watch, digital assistant, or any other electronic device that we use.