Category: WERU News Report

WERU News Special Report 11/29/12

Producer/Host: Amy Browne

Searsport LPG Tank Public Hearings, Part 3

We are continuing our on-going of public hearings on the massive LPG tank proposed for Searsport with this report from last night, Wednesday, which was night 3 of the hearings. Tempers flared after police forcibly removed an elderly man from the public hearing for no apparent reason. The community responded by walking out of the meeting and confronting the police.

In other news from night 3 of the LPG public hearing process in Searsport, planning board chairman Bruce Probert stunned the audience when he remarked that Nancy Fannon, the author of the economic impact study commissioned by the town, had asked him which way they wanted the report slanted

Lawyers representing both sides had questions about Fannon’s report.

WERU News Report 11/28/12

Producer/Host: Amy Browne
Searsport LPG Tank Public Hearings, Part 2

Today we continue with our on-going coverage of the public hearings for DCP’s LPG tank proposal in Searsport. The proposal includes a 22.7 million gallon liquid propane gas tank and a pipeline at Mack Point. The Searsport town planning board is holding a series of meetings this week, before determining whether to approve the project. Last night’s meeting focused on DCP’s formal presentation, and then the board and designated “interested parties” were allowed to ask questions.

WERU News Report 11/27/12

Producer/Host: Amy Browne

Searsport LPG Tank Public Hearings, Part 1

Last night a standing-room-only crowd packed Searsport District High School for the 1st night of what will be at least 4 nights of public hearings. The board heard requests from members of the public who want to be designated as “interested parties” in the process, which would grant them the right to speak earlier and longer, and to ask questions of others who testify, including DCP. Today we listen in on that process.
DCP’s attorney objected to people from outside Searsport being given status, and several requests from residents of other towns were declined

WERU News Report 11/20/12

Producer/Host: Amy Browne
Audio recorded by: Carolyn Coe (and edited by Amy Browne)

Barbara Lubin of the Middle East Children’s Alliance, has been working for decades to bring attention to the plight of children in the Middle East spoke in Maine recently before heading back to Gaza with humanitarian aid. Today, in the first of a 2-part special, we’ll hear what she had to say. (FMI: www.mecaforpeace.org) But first we talk with investigative journalists from Naomi Schalit and John Christie of the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, about their latest story, just released today, on Representative John Martin’s finances. (FMI: www.pinetreewatchdog.org)

WERU News Report 11/14/12

Producer/Host: Amy Browne

The Maine Center for Public Interesting Reporting released a report today on their investigation of where things stand in the state of Maine in terms of preparing for the consequences of climate change. We talk with Kate McCormick, author of the report. (www.pinetreewatchdog.org)

Update: The Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting last week reported that the state Department of Environmental Protection had removed a climate change report from its web site in December, 2011. A DEP spokesman said this week that the report was restored in April, 2012, at the request of a citizen. The Center interviewed DEP Commissioner Patricia Aho about the report’s status in June, 2012, at which time she did not say it had been restored to the web site.

WERU News Report 11/7/12

Producer/Host: Amy Browne
Audio recorded by: John Greenman

Dr. Frances Fox Piven, Distinguished Professor of Sociology & Political Science at the City University of New York Graduate Center gave this year’s “Howard B. Schonberger Peace and Social Justice Memorial Lecture” at the University of Maine on October 25th

The topic was “How Protest Movements Change American History”. Today we bring you an excerpt. (NOTE: The 2nd file included here is the full, unedited talk)

WERU News Report 11/6/12

Producer/Host: Amy Browne
Audio recorded by: John Greenman

Topic: Professor Amy Fried of the Political Science Department at the University of Maine, spoke last week at the Socialist and Marxist Studies Lecture Series on the “The Stakes of the 2012 Elections: Maine And The Nation”, an appropriate topic for this Election Day. Here’s what she had to say

WERU News Report 10/31/12

Producer/Host: Amy Browne
Audio Recorded by: John Greenman

Program Topic: On October 16th, Larry Dansinger was the featured speaker at the “Take Back Democracy Brown Bag Lunch Discussion Series”, and he spoke about independent research that indicates that that Mainers would spend their tax dollars differently if they were allowed to choose. (Disclosure: Larry Dansinger is a WERU volunteer and short-feature producer, but his presentation was not affiliated with WERU)

FMI: The website for the National Priorities Project is http://nationalpriorities.org/ and the Bring Our War Dollars Home website is http://www.bringourwardollarshome.org/ For more information, including copies of the handouts that were used at this presentation, listeners may contact Larry Dansinger at rosc@psouth.net