Democracy Forum 6/15/18

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine  
Engineer: Amy Browne

State Preemption: From Guns to Garbage, Who’s Got the Power?

Key Discussion Points:
a) how federalism protects and constrains states’ rights and?
b) how states can both protect and commandeer local control.
c) from guns and garbage to water quality and pesticides, how much control do states and towns have to protect their assets or advance their values

Guests:
Garrett Crobin, a Legislative Advocate for the Maine Municipal Association https://www.memun.org/Legislative-Advocacy/Contact-Information
Lauren E. Phillips, newly-minted JD from Columbia Law and authored an important article on state pre-emption for the Columbia Law Review.

To learn more about this topic:
Impeding Innovation: State Preemption of Progressive Local Regulations, Lauren Phillips in the Columbia Law Review, Volume 117, No. 8, December 2017.
Blue Cities Want to Make Their Own Rules. Red States Won’t Let Them. more from TheUpshot at the New York Times, July, 2017.
From Fracking Bans To Paid Sick Leave: How States Are Overruling Local Laws, PR Watch’s Lisa Graves on Fresh Air with Terry Gross, April, 2016.
Soda And Fast Food Lobbyists Push State Preemption Laws To Prevent Local Regulation, Robb Waters in Forbes Magazine, June, 21, 2017.
Municipal Approaches in Maine to Reduce Single-use Consumer Products, Travis Wagner in the Maine Policy Review, 2016.
Preemption Watch Newsletter,
Preemption Doctrine, by Ellerbe P. Cole, Maine Municipal Association in Maine Townsman,” Legal Notes,” June 1991.

The all-volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes:
Starr Gilmartin
Maggie Harling
Linda Hoskins
Sheil Kirby
Ann Luther
Maryann Ogonowski
Pam Person
Leah Taylor
Linda Washburn

FMI re League of Women Voters of Maine: www.lwvme.org

Democracy Forum 5/18/18

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine  
Engineer: Amy Browne

Program Topic: Immigration: Can We Live Without It?

Key Discussion Points:
Immigration and jobs
Federal policy
Effect on economic development and workforce in Maine

Guests:
Dany Bahar, David M. Rubenstein Fellow in the Global Economy and Development program at the Brookings Institution www.brookings.edu/experts/dany-bahar/
Carla Dickstein, Senior Vice President for Research and Policy Development at the Coastal Enterprise Institute www.ceimaine.org/about/staff-directory/name/carla-dickstein/
Martha Searchfield, Executive Director of the Bar Harbor Chamber Commerce www.visitbarharbor.com/staff-board-of-directors

To learn more about this topic:
Immigrants’ Contribution to Maine’s Workforce and Economy, from the Coastal Enterprise Institute
Building Maine’s Economy: How Maine Can Embrace Immigrants and Strengthen the Workforce, more from CEI, 2016.
100 Years Ago, Maine’s Economy Was Powered by Immigrants reporting in the Bangor Daily News, September, 2017.
The Trump administration failed to study immigration vetting. So I did. David Bier from the Cato Institute in the Washington Post
Migrants and refugees: The unlikely key for economic development, Dany Bahar for Brookings.

The all-volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes:
Starr Gilmartin
Maggie Harling
Linda Hoskins
Sheila Kirby
Ann Luther
Maryann Ogonowski
Pam Person
Leah Taylor
Linda Washburn

FMI re League of Women Voters of Maine: www.lwvme.org

Coastal Conversations 5/26/17

Producer/Host: Natalie Springuel
Studio Engineer: Amy Browne

Issue: Maine coastal and ocean issues

Program Topic: Downeast Fisheries Partnership

Key Discussion Points:
1. What is the Downeast Fisheries Partnership and what is its vision for a future where Maine’s fishing communities keep fishing forever?
2. What are the changes related to fisheries ecology, economy, and policy that suggest a need for a new way of dealing with fisheries management?
3. What is the relationship between ocean fisheries and river fisheries?

Guests:
Robin Alden, Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries
Jacob van de Sande, Maine Coastal Heritage Trust
Charles Rudelitch, Sunrise County Economic Council
Anne Hayden, Manomet