Weru 89.9 Fm Blue Hill, Maine Local News And Public Affairs Archives

Host/Producer: Amy Browne Suzanne Kelly joins us with news about Faith Linking in Action’s 4th annual MLK celebration, coming up on Sunday, January 18th at 3pm at the First United Methodist Church, 703 Essex Street, Bangor Reggie Harris will perform, tell stories and lead sing-a-longs, and Robert Shetterly will be there with some of the portraits from his Americans Who Tell the Truth series. Maine Immigrant Rights Coalition Resource Hub Their hotline is 207-544-9989 Photos and videos can be sent to them at info@maineimmigrantrights.org About the host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices, Maine Currents and Maine: The Way Life Could Be, Amy also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced se

Producer/host: Adina Salmansohn Other credits: Theme music written and performed by Ariel Chapman. A monthly show exploring Maine‘s culture, art and crafts that enrich our lives and bring us joy. The episode covers Maine photographers past and present. Listeners will learn about wildlife photography, train photography, and historic pictures. Guest/s: Chris L’Abbe, Wildlife photographer @wildlife_by_chris Joey Kelley, Train photographer www.joeykelleyphoto.com/ Kevin Johnson, Photo Archivist, Penobscot Marine Museum penobscotmarinemuseum.org/ About the Host: Adina Salmansohn started learning to play the trombone at the age of 8.  Her undergraduate years were at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she studied with Robert F. Boyd of the Cleveland Orchestra.  After returning to her native New York, she played freelance in the NY Metro area, including multiple orchestras, big bands, and a 17 year stint with The Soundview Brass Quintet, which she founded in 1980. In addition, she had

Host: Wilson Haims This week: Climate and Community continues the conversation with Isi Munoz, learning more about the structure of the Designing the Future Program and why Isi believes community-driven climate action is essential. About the Host: Wilson Haims is from Portland, Maine and earned her bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies from Wellesley College in 2023. Upon graduating, Wilson contributed to climate and conservation-related field work, policy and community engagement work in New England and the Pacific Northwest. Now, Wilson is the Manager of Community Engagement and Resilience at A Climate to Thrive and spends her time hiking, running, making art and cooking on Mount Desert Island.   Johannah, Beth, Wilson, Gus, Alison and Angie are the team at A Climate to Thrive, a nonprofit working to build a model of community-driven, solutions-focused climate action. Since its origins around a potluck table as concerned neighbors gathered to take action on climate change, A Climate to Thrive, or

Host/Producer: Amy Browne US – El Salvador Sister Cities statement on Trump’s actions in Venezuela Applications are now open for Maine Initiative’s 2026 Immigrant-Led Organizations Fund About the host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices, Maine Currents and Maine: The Way Life Could Be, Amy also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club of Maine, and Maine As

Producer/Hosts: Ron Beard and Liz Graves College of the Atlantic provides help with production. Engineering by Joel Mann of WERU Community Radio. Theme music for Talk of the Towns Theme is a medley from Coronach, on a Balnain House Highland Music recording. Talk of the Towns: Local Community concerns and opportunities This month: What is College of the Atlantic’s focus on human ecology and its approach to education? What are the results of a recent study of College of the Atlantic’s contribution to the regional economy and cultural landscape? How has College of the Atlantic benefited from an ongoing relationship with United World Colleges and it’s scholarships for international students? What has led to the success of College of the Atlantic’s decade long Summer Institute? How is College of the Atlantic responding to challenges facing higher education, including the shrinking number of traditionally-aged college students? Guest/s: Dr. Sylvia Torti, President, College of the Atlantic FM

Host: Peter Neill Producer: Trisha Badger ABOUT THIS EPISODE This week on World Ocean Radio we’re exploring an extraordinary museum in Marrakesh, Morocco that celebrates the long history of the sustenance and management of water in the region, from the mountain ranges to the desert to the coastal plain, displaying the nature of water through systems of engineering, communal participation, spiritual dimension, and governance. It is the first such museum in Africa and is part of a UNESCO International Network of Water Museums that collectively document the hydraulic focus of societies, past and present. This episode is part two of a four-part series dedicated to Morocco and it’s relationships to ocean and fresh water. WORLD OCEAN RADIO 5-minute weekly insights dive into ocean science, advocacy and education hosted by Peter Neill, lifelong ocean advocate and maritime expert. A catalog of more than 730 episodes offering perspectives on global ocea

Host/Producer: Amy Browne The Maine State Legislature’s Taxation committee will hold a public hearing this morning at 10 for LD 382 “An Act to Establish a System of Revenue Sharing for the Use and Management of Coastal Resources”(concept draft), and LD 1939 “An Act to Close Maine’s Tax Loophole for Offshore Profit Shifting” Live Stream of Taxation Committee public hearing About the host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices, Maine Currents and Maine: The Way Life Could Be, Amy also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatc

Producer/Host: Larry Dansinger About the host: Larry Dansinger (no pronouns) of Bangor came to Maine in 1974 and has been here ever since. Some of Larry’s activities since then: Done community organizing on numerous issues through INVERT and then Resources for Organizing and Social Change (ROSC), committed civil disobedience several times, grown a garden yearly since 1977, joined various food cooperatives and two men’s groups, refused to pay federal income taxes for war, lived on a community land trust for 23 years, and met a wonderful partner whom Larry has loved for over 40 years. Larry has produced Outside the Box features on WERU since 2007 and continues to look for unique ways of seeing almost any problem or situation. The post Outside the Box 1/13/26: “Gender Identity” first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host/Producer: Amy Browne Author and AI expert Jeff Pennington will give a presentation called “You Teach the Machines: From Virtual Hearts to Smarter Harbors” at the Jesup Memorial Library in Bar Harbor Wednesday from 6-7pm, in-person only. Registration is encouraged. Seaweed Valentine workshop, Saturday, Jan. 24 at 10 a.m, at College of the Atlantic’s Dorr Museum of Natural History in Bar Harbor, led by Ecologist and seaweed expert Jordan Chalfant ’12 of the Maine Natural History Observatory. Registration required. The Ellsworth Public Library series of Creative Winter Programs for Kids, this week: Afterschool Beach Party, “a lighthearted program that brings summer vibes indoors through games, activities, and relaxed afterschool fun”, Friday, January 16 at 3:30 PM Winnie-the-Pooh Birthday Picnic, a cozy and cheerful gathering honoring A.A. Milne’s classic stories, Saturday, January 17th at 11 About the host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affair

Host/Producer: Amy Browne LD1671 – An Act to Establish Disclosure Requirements Regarding Law Enforcement Officer Credibility Information. A public hearing was held last week and a work session is scheduled for Wednesday starting at 9:45 am (along with 2 other bills). Read the text of LD1671 Bill tracker: Bill sponsors, testimony from the public, history of the bill Maine State Legislature Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety – Live stream, contact information, schedule About the host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices, Maine Currents and Maine: The Way Life Could Be, Amy also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech

Producer/Host: R.W. Estela Hi, I’m RW Estela: Since 1991, I’ve been presenting A Word in Edgewise, WERU’s longest-running short feature, a veritable almanac of worldly and heavenly happenings, a confluence of 21st-century life in its myriad manifestations, international and domestic, cosmopolitan and rural, often revealing, as the French say, the more things change, the more they stay the same — though not always! Sometimes in addressing issues affecting our day-to-day lives, in this age of vagary and ambiguity, when chronological time is punctuated elliptically, things can quickly turn edgy and controversial, as we search for understanding amid our dialectic. Tune in Monday mornings at 7:30 a.m. for an exciting journey through space and time with a few notable birthdays thrown in for good measure during A Word in Edgewise . . . About the host: RW Estela was raised as a first-generation American in Colorado by a German mother and a Corsican-Basque father who would become a three-war veteran for the US Army, s

Host: Logan Parker Producer: Glen Mittelhauser In this episode, Logan shares nighttime experiences studying whip-poor-wills in Maine’s barrens, describing the shifting soundscape, dense scrub oak nesting sites, and the remarkable protection these habitats offer to ground-nesting nightjars. He also highlights other rare wildlife that depend on these young forests, from Black Racers to New England Cottontails, underscoring the importance of conserving these resilient but vulnerable landscapes. More information about Maine Natural History can be found at mainenaturalhistory.org. About the hosts: Glen Mittelhauser founded Maine Natural History Observatory (MNHO) in 2003 to fill the need for an organization that specializes in collecting, interpreting, and maintaining datasets for understanding changes in Maine’s plant and wildlife populations.  Glen received his Bachelor’s in Human Ecology from College of the Atlantic in 1989 with a focus in the biological sciences and received his Master of Science degree i

CJ Kenna | Producer + Writer/Reader The post Esoterica 1/11/26: Krampus + Kirk first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

What’s the Word on Maine Street?, hosted by Sarah Pebworth, is a weekly short feature Saturdays at 9:30am looking at local literary and visual arts events and offerings! FMI: BHPL.org wendellgilleymuseum.org witherlelibrary.net pullingcorksmaine.com About the host: Sarah Pebworth leads the steering committee for Word—a Blue Hill Literary Arts Festival, founded in 2017 and held each October. She serves on the boards of the Cultural Alliance of Maine and Lawrence Family Fitness Center YMCA. Since February 2023 Sarah has written “Shared Seas and Common Grounds,” a column published in the Penobscot Bay Press’s Weekly Packet. She and her wife Julie Jo Fehrle live in Blue Hill. Theme music: Ross Gallagher is a bassist who grew up in East Blue Hill, ME, and currently lives between Bath, ME and Brooklyn, NY, where he works with a wide variety of musical artists. Infinite Blues is a cut from his recently released neon night, an excursion into an ambient/electronic musical world built around rh

Producer/Host: Anu Dudley About the host: Rev. Dr. Anu Dudley is an ordained Pagan minister and a retired history professor. She continues to teach classes, including the three-year ordination curriculum at the Temple of the Feminine Divine, and others such as History of the Goddess, Paganism 101, Ethical Magic, and Introduction to the Runes. Currently she is writing a book about how to cast the runes using their original Goddess meanings. She lives in the woods off-grid in a small homesteading community in Central Maine. The post Earthwise 1/10/26: The Sign of Capricorn first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Producer/Host: Patrisha McLean Production Assistance: Tammy Oropesa Music: Jackie Lee McLean Let’s Talk About It: Conversations with Survivors of Domestic Abuse Topics: 1. No accountability for DV perps 2. Sexual abuse 3. Impact on family Guests: Katherine Erbes About the host: Patrisha McLean is the founder/president of Finding Our Voices, the grass roots survivor-powered non profit organization breaking the silence of domestic abuse one conversation and community at a time all across Maine. The post Let’s Talk About It 1/9/26 first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host/Producer: Amy Browne Frenchman Bay Conservancy has some good news to share! Maine Immigrant Rights Coalition’s Immigrant Resource Hub and Hotline Information is available in several languages. Hotline: 207-544-9989 About the host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive, Voices, Maine Currents and Maine: The Way Life Could Be, Amy also produced and hosted the WERU News Report for several years. She has produced segments for national programs including Free Speech Radio News, This Way Out, Making Contact, Workers Independent News, Pacifica PeaceWatch, and Live Wire News, and has contributed to Democracy Now and the WBAI News Report. She is the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Environmental Journalism Award from the Sierra Club

Host/s: Catherine Besteman Editor: Sarah Johnson Music: Samuel James Justice Radio is a WMPG production. Justice Radio: Tackling the hard questions about our criminal legal system in Maine. This week: Catherine interviews the cast of the Freedom & Captivity performance. FMI: www.freedom-captivity.org/ About the hosts: The Justice Radio team includes: Catherine Besteman is an abolitionist educator at Colby College. Her research and practice engage the public humanities to explore abolitionist possibilities in Maine. In addition to coordinating Freedom & Captivity, she has researched and published on security, militarism, displacement, and community-based activism with a focus on Somalia, post-apartheid South Africa, and the U.S. She has published nine books, contributed to the International Panel on Exiting Violence, and received recent fellowships from the American Council of Learned Societies and the Guggenheim and Rockefeller Foundations. MacKenzie Kelley is a formerly incarcerated woman in long ter

Host: Wilson Haims This week: Climate and Community speaks with Isi Munoz, a graduate of the College of the Atlantic and Just Me for Just Us rural youth organizer. In this segment, Isi shares what inspired her to pursue facilitating community-driven climate resilience and introduces us to the program she created called Designing the Future. About the Host: Wilson Haims is from Portland, Maine and earned her bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies from Wellesley College in 2023. Upon graduating, Wilson contributed to climate and conservation-related field work, policy and community engagement work in New England and the Pacific Northwest. Now, Wilson is the Manager of Community Engagement and Resilience at A Climate to Thrive and spends her time hiking, running, making art and cooking on Mount Desert Island.   Johannah, Beth, Wilson, Gus, Alison and Angie are the team at A Climate to Thrive, a nonprofit working to build a model of community-driven, solutions-focused climate action. Since its origins ar

Host/Producer: Amy Browne The state legislature’s Energy, Utilities and Technology committee held a work session this week for LD 343. The original title of the bill (and the title still posted on the legislature’s website as of Wednesday afternoon, was “An Act to Direct the Public Utilities Commission to Seek Informational Bids Regarding Small Modular Nuclear Reactors in the State”, but the committee chair noted that the name was changed by amendment last October to “An Act to Ensure Periodic Assessment for Clean Energy Technology”. Here are some clips from the discussion at the work session. You can listen to/watch the entire meeting, archived here About the host: Amy Browne started out at WERU as a volunteer news & public affairs producer in 2000, co-hosting/co-producing RadioActive with Meredith DeFrancesco. She joined the team of Voices producers a few years later, and has been WERU’s News & Public Affairs Manager since January, 2006. In addition to RadioActive