Local Public Affairs
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Big Night
Producers: Hazel Stark & Joe Horn
Host: Hazel Stark
Photos, a full transcript, references, contact information, and more available at thenatureofphenology.wordpress.com.
When weather conditions are just right for the first time in the spring—temperatures above 40, rain, or especially high humidity—over half of the breeding population of many of our local amphibians migrate to their breeding pools on what is referred to as “Big Night.”
Producer/Host: Anu Dudley
Production Assistant: John Welles
Easter
Citizen Initiatives: The Devil’s in the Details
Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine, www.lwvme.org
Engineer: Amy Browne
Key Discussion Points:
the historical origins of the initiative provisions,
how initiatives actually work in Maine,
our contemporary experience with them, their effect on politics and elections,
the tension between direct and representative democracy, and
proposals for reform, many of which are being debated in the Maine State Legislature right now.
Guests:
Joshua Dyck, Associate Professor of Political Science and Co-Director of the Center for Public Opinion at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. www.uml.edu/fahss/political-science/faculty/dyck-joshua.aspx
Michael Franz, Professor of Government and Legal Studies at Bowdoin College and co-director of the Wesleyan Media Project. mikemfranz.com/
To learn more about this topic:
– Initiatives without Engagement A Realistic Appraisal of Direct Democracy’s Secondary Effects, Joshua J. Dyck and Edward L. Lascher, Jr., 2019
– Ballot Questions in Maine, Polling Edition, Michael Franz, April, 2019.
– Miller-Rose Initiative Database at the Rose Institute of State and Local Government, Claremont McKenna College.
– Seizing the Initiative: A Short History of Direct Democracy in America Nick Johnson, April, 2018.
– American Voters Are Turning to Direct Democracy, Vann Newkirk, Atlantic April 2018.
The all-volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Ann Luther, Maryann Ogonowski, Pam Person, Leah Taylor, Linda Washburn
FMI re League of Women Voters of Maine: www.lwvme.org
Producer/Host: Rob McCall
Production Assistance: Rebecca McCall
“Blood of Earth”
An unedited recording of the third Local Lore Locavore Night at The Gatherings in Surry on March 23, 2019, featuring neighbors “telling tall tales of Surry from some old timers. True or nearly so.”
Production: Matt Murphy
What was it like for Surry in the 1970’s to suddenly have the old Hattie Morgan Farm on the East Blue Hill Road become the center of a Zen community, its barn a theater and concert hall? Listen to the stories of pre -zendo time told by Joy Small and Audrey Carter. Charles Guilford talks about the Zendo community and Bill Raiten of the New Surry Theater take the stage to reminisce from a rich backlog of unforgettable stories.
Internet Big Picture 2
Producer/Host: Jim Campbell
What do tech expert Bill Joy and Pope Francis have in common? You may be surprised.
Here is the link to the Bill Joy article mentioned today: www.wired.com/2000/04/joy-2
