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: Amy Browne
Today we take you to the banks of the Penobscot River, where hundreds of people gathered yesterday, and planes flew overhead, bearing witness to the historic removal of the Veazie Dam. There has been a dam of one sort or another in that location for roughly 200 years, and the removal – which is expected to take several months to complete – will restore access to fish species that have been unable to navigate up the river,
FMI: www.penobscotriver.org
Producer/Host: Donna Loring
Studio Engineer: Amy Browne
Program Topic: Duties of a Tribal Chief/ Contemporary issues of the Penobscot Nation
Key Discussion Points:
a) Chief’s oath of office
b) Past challenges
c) Penobscot Nation’s future
Guest: Chief Kirk Francis of the Penobscot Nation
Call In Program: No
Producer/Host: Amy Browne
Program Topics: Segment 1: Environmentalists Issue New Report on Tar Sands Pipeline in Maine; Segment 2: Penobscot Nation Receives Maine Initiatives Award
Key Discussion Points:
a) Portland-Montreal pipeline
b) Tar sands
c) Penobscot Nation
Guests:
Dylan Voorhees, Clean Energy & Global Warming Project Director, Natural Resources Council of Maine (www.nrcm.org)
Recorded audio from Maine Initiatives Awards, featuring John Dieffenbacher-Krall, Penobscot Nation Chief Kirk Francis and Natural Resources Director John Banks (www.penobscotnation.org, www.maineinitiatives.org)
(Audio recorded by: Matt Murphy)
Call In Program: no
Producer/Host: Amy Browne
Program Topic: We take you to the banks of the Penobscot River in Bradley on Monday morning, where removal of the 200 year old Great Works Dam was about to get underway. You’ll hear the Penobscot Nation Chief, Representatives Mike Michaud and Chellie Pingree, US Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, and others, explaining the significance of the Penobscot River Restoration project.
Key Discussion Points:
a) Background on the dam removal
b) Reasons for removing the dam
c) Next steps in the Penobscot River Restoration Project
Call In Program: No
Producer/Host: Meredith DeFrancesco
Issue: Environmental and Social Justice
Program Topic: Penobscot River Restoration Project, with John Banks of the Penobscot Nation: Great Works at Old Town going down.
Key Discussion Points:
a) On Monday, work began to remove the Great Works dam on the Penobscot River in Old Town. It is the first step in re-opening 1000 miles of the river to sea run fish, including alewives, herring, sturgeon and Atlantic salmon. In 2013, the Veazie Dam is scheduled to be removed. The Milford and Howland dams will install new fish lifts and by passes.
b) The Penobscot River Restoration Project has been called one of the largest fishing restoration projects in the history of the country, and now serves as a global model for cooperative conservation efforts. The project includes conservation groups, utilities, government entities, including the Penobscot Indian Nation.
c)The Penobscot Nation, which has been on the ground floor of this project, has offered instrumental perspective and leadership on the project, based on their unique relationship with the Penobscot River
Guests:
A) John Banks, tribal member, Director of the Department of Natural Resources for the Penobscot Nation, founder and member of the Penobscot River Restoration Project www.penobscotriver.org/
Call In Program: no
Producer/Host: Amy Browne
Issue: Independent local news
Program Topics: Great Works Dam Removal and Searsport Planning Board Reviews LPG Plans
Key Discussion Points:
a) Monday’s historic kick off of the removal of a 200 year old dam on the Penobscot River.
b) Impacts on the Penobscot Tribe
c) The discussions between the Searsport Town Planning Board and representatives from DCP Midstream, re: the proposed LPG tank
Guests: n/a
Recorded audio: Penobscot Chief Kirk Francis; Searsport Planning Board officials, DCP representatives
Call In Program: No
Producer/Host: Donna Loring
Studio Engineer: Joel Mann
Topic: Penobscot Nation Police Department
What does the Police Department do? How does it operate? What are some of the new projects?
Guest: Bob Bryant, Police Chief
Producer/Host: Meaghan LaSala
Studio Engineer: Amy Browne
Topics: First, a brief interview with Charlene Francis about the Penobscot Nation’s hosting of the Mother Earth Water Walk that will pass through the Bangor area on Sunday 5/8 on its way from Machias to Bad River, Wisconsin. Then, a conversation about the recent contract agreement between Eastern Maine Medical Center and unionized nurses.
Guests:
Charlene Francis, of the Penobscot Nation organizing events for the Mother Earth Water Walk.
Coralee Giles, President of the Maine State Nurses Association
Jessie Mellott, Eastern Maine Medical Center nurse, Med/Surg floor
Jack McKay, Director of Food and Medicine, Worker Rights Board of Eastern Maine