Weekend Voices 11/03/07

Guest producer: Marge May Guest host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters

Topic: Term limits –Including the five key outcomes of research on the effects of term limits around the country and here in Maine:They did not lead to greater gender or ethnic diversity, as proponents hoped,
They did lead to less experienced legislatures, a loss of knowledge among legislators, and a more chaotic legislative process, They led to a loss of power in legislatures relative to the executive branch,
They do seem to have caused legislators to voter their conscience more often, relative to the wished of their constituents, and They do seem to have caused power to shift from the State House of Representatives to the State Senate.

Guests: Richard Powell, Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Maine. Professor Powell has conducted research on the effects of term limits in Maine. He co-authored the book, Changing Members: the Maine Legislature in the Era of Term Limits.
Karl T. Kurtz, Director of the Trust for Representative Democracy at the National Conference of State Legislatures. Karl has studied the effects of term limits on state legislatures around the country and co-edited the book, Institutional Change in American Politics: the Case of Term Limits, which takes a comprehensive look at the long-term effects of the 1990s wave of term limits legislation.

FMI:
More information on this topic is available at the National Conference of State Legislatures http://www.ncsl.org/programs/legismgt/ABOUT/termlimit.htm and at the League’s web site www.lwvme.org

RadioActive 11/01/07

Producers/hosts: Meredith DeFrancesco and Amy Browne

Topics:

Segment 1: An interview with Logan Perkins, of Food for Maine’s Future, about their “Eat Local Challenge”. FMI: www.foodformainesfuture.org www.belfast.coop

Segment 2: An interview with Judith Lawson, coordinator of local activities associated with the “Step it Up” campaign’s National Day of Climate Action this weekend. FMI: www.stepitup2007.org or (207) 326 – 8485

Doing Business 11/01/07

Producer/host: Jane E. Haskell, University of Maine Cooperative Extension

Topic: Incubators without Walls – Business Training in Your Neighborhood

Guests:

Jeff Ackerman, Small Business Coordinator
Washington Hancock Community Agency
248 Bucksport RD/PO Box 299
Ellsworth, ME 04605
(207) 664-2424 x 4470
jackerman@whcacap.org

Craig Gladstone, co-owner
Gladstone’s Under the Sun
41 High St., Ellsworth, ME  -4605
(207) 669-6046
gladstones@mainemunchies.com
www.mainemunchies.com

Charley Wentworth, Owner
Wo’s BBQ Grill, 87 Route 1
Verona ME 04416
(207) 469-2500
wosbbq@midmaine.com

Alexis Souders, Owner
Prospect Harbor Soap Company
PO Box 89, Prospect Harbor, ME  04669
(207) 963-7598
prospectsoap@wildblue.net
www.prospectharborsoapco.com

Notes from the Electronic Cottage 11/01/07

Producer/host: Jim Campbell

Topic:  Not so long ago, net neutrality was a big issue in Congress but then it seemed to fade from the scene. Now, after a series of gaffes by big telecommunications companies, it seems like the issue is rising from the ashes once more. What is net neutrality and what might it – or its absence -mean to Internet users? That’s the question we consider today.