WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives
Audio archives of spoken word broadcasts from Community Radio WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill (weru.org)
Producer/Host: Donna Loring
Issue: River case, East West Highway and the Settlement Act
Program Topic: River Case/Environment
Key Discussion Points:
a) Where are we now with the River Case?
b) How does the East West Highway issue connect with the River Case?
c) How does the Settlement Act affect the case?
Guest: Sherri Mitchell, Director of the Land Peace Foundation
Producer/Host: Amy Browne
Engineer: John Greenman
Segment 1: Monday’s public hearing before the Environmental & Natural Resources Committee for LD 750 “An Act To Allow Regulated Metal Mining in Maine”. LD750 is sponsored by Representative Ralph Chapman of District 133, which includes Blue Hill, Brooklin, Brooksville, Castine, Sedgwick and Surry – areas where they have some experience with what can go wrong with mining.
Segment 2: Another piece of legislation sponsored by local Representative Ralph Chapman is LD506, “An Act to Improve Public-private Transportation Partnerships”, which will be discussed and likely voted on by the Transportation committee tomorrow. We have 2 guests with us in the studio to explain why this bill is considered so important to opponents of an E/W corridor. Jane Crosen and Hendrik Gideonse are members of STEWC (Stop the E/W Corridor) & a local spin off group called Advocates for Sustainable Futures Downeast.
We also open the phone lines for calls, and hear from Amy Hughes Scaccia, the coordinator of this year’s HOPE Festival, and annual event sponsored by the Peace and Justice Center of Eastern Maine.
Producer/Host: Amy Browne
Segment 1: An update on the East-West corridor issue from Chris Buchanan, Statewide Coordinator of “Stop the E/W Corridor”, as the group marks it’s 2nd anniversary
Segment 2: It was announced Monday that the EPA is proposing new carbon-reduction rules that would bring the rest of the country in line with standards already in place in Maine, and help address climate change.
Emily Figdor, the Director of Environment Maine, called the announcement “historic” on a conference call Monday, organized by Environment Maine and the Natural Resources Council of Maine.
Dr. Mark Green, Environment Sciences Professor, St. Joseph’s College, weighed in on the impact climate change has already had on the ocean. Special thanks to Judy Berk of NRCM for making a recording of that call available to us.
Producer/Host: Amy Browne
Part 1 of 2
Individuals/groups that were in the news on WERU in 2013, look ahead to 2014. Today: Chris Buchanan of Stop the East-West Corridor, Sarah Bigney of the AFL-CIO, Ron Huber of Friends of Penobscot Bay, Ilze Petersons of the Peace & Justice Center of Eastern Maine, Judy Berk of the Natural Resources Council of Maine
Producer/Host: Meredith DeFrancesco
Issue: Environmental and Social Justice
Program Topic: Maine’s proposed Omnibus Energy Bill and it’s connection to gas fracking; expedited wind corridor; moratorium on dump expansion passed
Key Discussion Points:
a) today we look at the Maine legislature’s Energy Omnibus Bill, which would accelerate and subsidizes the development of natural gas infrastructure in the state, which would increase the demand for fracked gas. Gas fracking has proved to be profoundly destructive extractive process, use has proliferated. Despite proponents heralding natural gas as transitional green fuel, today’s guests underscore that burning natural gas hydrocarbons contributes, as well, to climate change.
b) We also look at plans for an expedited wind power corridor with parallels to the East West Corridor and a legislative effort to re-initiate community rights to comment projects in currently expedited areas.
c)We also look at the passage of a bill which puts a year moratorium on dump expansions in Maine.
d) And we give a brief update on a First Nation action yesterday to oppose gas fracking at Elsipogtok, Big Cove , New Brunswick.
Guests:
Glenn Brand, Sierra Club Maine Chapter Director
Hillary Lister, Maine activist and independent researcher, who has worked on monitoring legislation and organizing around trash dumping and incineration issues, the East West Corridor, industrial wind, gas pipeline development and democratic process and participation.
Producer/Host: Amy Browne
Audio recorded by John Greenman
Opponents of the proposed East-West Highway/Corridor, spoke at the University of Maine last week, outlining their concerns about the project- and the lack of information that is being provided to the public.
Yesterday we heard from 2 of the speakers: John Banks of the Penobscot Nation, and Chris Buchanan of the “Stop the East-West Corridor” coalition. Today we’re going to hear Gene Ripley, an organic farmer from Dover-Foxcroft, as well as some excerpts from the question and answer session that followed — as the community tries to share what information they have been able to piece together. Maria Girouard of the Wabanaki Center at UMO, facilitated
Producer/Host: Amy Browne
Audio recorded by John Greenman
Opponents of the proposed East-West Highway/Corridor, spoke at the University of Maine last week, outlining their concerns about the project- and the lack of information that is being provided to the public. Today we’re going to hear from 2 of the speakers: John Banks of the Penobscot Nation, and Chris Buchanan of the “Stop the East-West Corridor” coalition. Maria Girouard of the Wabanaki Center at UMO, facilitated
Producer/Host: Amy Browne
In Augusta yesterday, the Judiciary Committee held a public hearing on LD311 “An Act To Protect Landowners from the Exercise of Eminent Domain in Energy Infrastructure Corridors”. LD311 is one of at least 3 bills that are being considered this session to address concerns about eminent domain that have been raised in light of the secrecy surrounding the proposed East-West Highway / Corridor. Ron Huber of WRFR in Rockland provided the News Report with audio from the hearing