Talk of the Towns 1/13/17

Host: Ron Beard, University of Maine Cooperative Extension
Studio Engineer: Amy Browne

Issue: Community concerns and opportunities

Program Topic: Making Age Friendly Communities in Maine

Key Discussion Points:
As people the world over grow older, there is more attention paid to making their communities “age friendly”… what might be a good working definition of “age friendly community”?
How did the Bangor, Ellsworth and Bar Harbor decide to sign on as partners in the AARP Age Friendly Community Network? …
What are some of the opportunities / problems you would like to address?
Who is involved in your community (characterize the network within your towns)?
What challenges and successes are you finding in your work?
What are your hopes for the future of your communities and Maine as we create communities that are more “age friendly?”

Guests:
Patricia Oh, LMSW, MS Livable, Age-Friendly Communities Consultant AARP Maine
Jo Cooper, Executive Director, Friends in Action, Ellsworth
Doreen Willett, Executive Director, Island Connections, Bar Harbor
Patty Hamilton, APRN, City of Bangor Public Health and Community Service

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RadioActive 1/12/17

Producer/Host: Meredith DeFrancesco

Issue: Environmental and Social Justice

Program Topic: Governor LePage’s proposal to build a privately run mental healthcare facility in Maine

Key Discussion Points:

1) Today we take a closer look at Governor LePage’s proposal to build a privately run mental healthcare facility in Maine, and what that could mean for quality and continuity of of patient care, transparency and legislative oversight
2) There is a national trend towards the privatization of mental healthcare. One of the bidders for the Maine facility id Correct Care Solution who has be criticized for it record in for profit prison facilities.
3) We also look at other labor issues in the state, including the implementation of this elections referendums on the minimum wage and income tax reform.

Guests by name and affiliation:
Shelby Moreau, mental health worker at Riverview Psychiatric Center, Vice-president of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, local 1814
Sarah Bigney, Maine AFL-CIO

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Notes from the Electronic Cottage 1/12/17

Producer/Host: Jim Campbell

We recently looked at what author Cathy O’Neil calls “Weapons of Math Destruction,” big data algorithms that are impacting our lives but that we often don’t know exist, and certainly don’t have the means to examine those algorithms to see how they work and whether they are treating us fairly. A recent “beauty contest” judged by machines has become a poster child for what can go wrong with biased algorithms.

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Maine Currents 1/11/17

Producer/Host: Amy Browne
Studio Engineer: Joel Mann

Martin Luther King day is just a few days away and it’s clear that the spirit of political dissent and non-violent civil disobedience is alive and well. We’re joined by Eliza Townsend of the Maine Women’s Policy Center; Genevieve Morgan and Suzanne Moreshead – two of the organizers of the Bangor-based group, and Nicolle Littrell from the Belfast-based group of people planning to travel to the upcoming Women’s March on Washington; Ambureen Rana, Payton Amero & Annabelle Osborne, organizers of the Youth and Nonviolence Workshops that will be taking place at the Maine Discovery Museum on MLK day; and Dud Hendrick and Russell Wray of the Zumwalt 12 – who are heading to court soon for charges stemming from engaging in civil disobedience at BIW last year. And we open the phone lines for questions/comments from listeners.

FMI:

Maine Women’s Policy Center: www.mainewomenspolicycenter.org
Maine Women’s Lobby: www.mainewomen.org

Women’s March on Washington:
www.womensmarch.com/
www.mainemarch.com/
Bangor group’s FB page: www.facebook.com/groups/1336919613036887/
Belfast group’s FB page: www.facebook.com/groups/328251367540934/
General Maine FB page: www.facebook.com/WomensMarchOnWashingtonMaine/?fref=ts
Maine rides/tickets FB page: www.facebook.com/groups/1299356526796364/

Youth and Nonviolence Workshops:
www.mainediscoverymuseum.org/Programs/Special-Events/Youth-and-Nonviolence-Workshops.aspx
FB event page: www.facebook.com/events/1693902657589519/

Zumwalt 12: www.vfpmaine.org/

Maine Currents- independent local news, views & culture on WERU-FM 89.9 Blue Hill, 99.9 Bangor, Maine and www.weru.org, Wednesdays 4-5pm Eastern

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