RadioActive 3/10/11

Producer/Host: Meredith DeFrancesco

Today we examine the court challenge to the Plum Creek Development plan.

We talk with Phil Worden. He is the attorney for Forest Ecology Network and RESTORE: The Maine Woods, who are fighting to repeal the Land Use Regulatory Commission’s approval of the massive development plan in the Moosehead Lake region, which would include 1000 house lots and 2 large resorts. The development required the rezoning of close to 16,000 acres. Included in the proposal is the setting aside of approximately 600,000 acres for so-called conservation, though commercial logging and gravel and water extraction would be allowed there.

Initially, the Land Use Regulatory Commission was not satisfied with Plum Creek’s plan, and made changes before they approved it. They did not, however, re-open the new plan to the public adjudicatory hearing, which allowed interested parties to cross examine and present their own arguments. This is one of the main points of the suit. On February 24th, the Maine Superior Court heard final arguments on the merits of the case.

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RadioActive 2/17/11

Producer/Host: Meredith DeFrancesco

Topics: Today we follow up with members of the Joint Committee on Regulatory Fairness and Reform,as they contemplate what to include in LD 1, including the governor’s proposed environmental and health rollbacks. And we talk more about the drastic cuts Congress is poised to make to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) funds -which community radio stations, like WERU, rely on.

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RadioActive 2/10/11

Producers: Carolyn Coe and Lindsey Saunders
Host: Amy Browne

Topic: Santurban mine, a proposed gold and silver mine in Colombia

Report highlights the uniqueness and importance of the paramo of Santurban, resistance to Greystar Resources application for an environmental license to extract mineral resources from the area, and community perceptions of the short and long-term effects of a large-scale mining project in the region.

Featured speakers:
Tatiana Rodriguez Maldonado of Friends of the Earth Colombia
Deputy Roberto Schmalbach, president of the department (state)-level assembly of Santander
Andres Fabian Ita, student at the Industrial University of Santander and a member of the ecological collective La Nawal
along with people interviewed at a bus station in Bucaramanga, Colombia

Report by Carolyn Coe and Lindsey Saunders

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RadioActive 2/3/11

Producers/Hosts: Amy Browne & Meredith DeFrancesco

Segment 1:
We’ve been reporting in recent weeks, both here on RadioActive, as well as on Voices and on our new WERU News Report, about the outcry over Governor LePage’s wishlist of environmental and health legislation that he would like to rollback. While the names of those who helped him draft the wishlist are still not known, author and award-winning journalist Colin Woodard was been on the trail of Governor LePages “secret bankers”. Here is what he’s found. FMI: “LePage’s Secret Bankers”, January 19th edition of the Portland Phoenix: portland.thephoenix.com/news/114354-lepages-secret-bankers
www.colinwoodard.blogspot.com

Segment 2:
Regulatory Reform Meeting in Machiaa

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RadioActive 1/13/11

Producer/Host: Meredith DeFrancesco

Today we hear about a new study on who in Maine receives TANF – the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families- and why.

On Tuesday researchers, advocates and recipients of TANF will present a study titled “Families in Focus-Moving beyond Anecdotes : Lessons for Legislators from a 2010 Survey of TANF Recipients”. The LaPage administration has indicated state social services will be examined for cuts, and has expressed the intention to limit the time period a state resident can receive assistance. The Maine Heritage Policy Center, a conservative think tank working closely with the administration, has also taken target at the state’s poverty program recipients. Today we hear from Anna Hickes with Maine Equal Justice Partners and Sarah Standiford with the Maine Women’s Lobby.

What are the findings of the study “Families in Focus-Moving Beyond Anecdotes: Lessons for Legislators from a 2010 Survey of TANF Recipients” ? What are some concerns about the direction the LePage administration in poverty programs, including limiting the time someone can be on TANF? What are some of the experiences of individuals, particularly women and children, on TANF? What are common struggles?

For a copy of the report go to www.mejp.org

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