Voices 10/07/08

Executive Producer/Host: Amy Browne

Contributors: Matt Murphy, Cynthia Swan

Segment 1: A Band-Stand In Memory of One of WERU’s Own, produced by Matt Murphy. Matt Murphy, WERU General Manager, interviews Alan Furth, Executive Director of the Cobscook Community Learning Center is Trescott, Maine about an upcoming event at the CCLC. On October 11, 2008, the new outdoor bandstand at the CCLC will be celebrated and dedicated with a full day of music and food. The Don Furth Memorial Bandstand was constructed this summer in memory of Alan Furth’s father. Don Furth was also a long-time WERU volunteer. The bandstand itself is a graceful, arching, post and beam structure with a trapezoid stage to represent a hammered dulcimer, the instrument Don loved and played.
Segment 2: An essay by Cynthia Swan (and/or her cat)

Segment 3: Penobscot Nation Cultural Historian Maria Girard speaking in Orono last week as part of a panel on the Penobscot River Restoration project. Recorded by Matt Murphy, edited by Amy Browne

Conversations thru the Ism Prism 10/07/08

Producer/Host: Anita Arnold

Topic: Racism in Maine

How does institutional racism differ from personal racism and what is the history of white supremacy?  What can individuals do to dismantle systems of oppression?  What is the mission of the NAACP?

Guests:

Joe Perry, President, NAACP Bangor Chapter, 207-548-2081

Rev. Dewey Fagerburg; John Gouse, Council, Maine Human Rights Commission, #51 State House Station, Augusta, Maine   04333,  207-624-6050,  www.maine.gov/mhrc
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Weekend Voices: Democracy Forum 10/04/08

Producer: Marge May,  Host: Ann Luther, Co-president, League of Women Voters of Maine

Topic: Case Study in Democracy:  Health Care Reform

How do things work that we don’t yet have universal coverage?  Other industrialized countries have universal health care systems which provide better health outcomes than ours at a lower cost.    What does our failure to enact meaningful health care reform say about the state of our democracy?  Describe the ongoing impasse within the Congress with respect to passage health care reform.  How is health care reform legislation is drafted?   Who are the key players?  How do the House and Senate differ in their treatment of legislation in this area?  Over the years, health care has become increasingly privatized and run for profit.  What role has this played in the decision making process?   How big a factor is campaign finance?   What can be done to get the health care reform most people want in the U.S.?

Guests:
Brian Biles, Professor in the Department of Health Policy at George Washington University.  In various roles, he has been helping to analyze and shape the nation’s health care policy for more than three decades. He spent much of that time in government service, having served as staff director of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health and later, as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health at the Department of Health and Human Services.
Trish Riley, currently serving as the Director of the Maine Governor’s Office of Health Policy and Finance.  Prior to joining the Governor’s staff, she served as president of the nonprofit Center for Health Policy Development and the executive director of its National Academy for State Health Policy.  She has served in appointive positions under four Maine governors and in numerous other leadership positions nationally and here in Maine in the field of health policy.
FMI: www.lwvme.org