talk of the towns

Producer/Hosts: Ron Beard 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: Interview with Roxana Robinson author of Leaving, published by W.W. Norton and Company, 2024 – What is the context and overall plot for Leaving? – Leaving, like your other novels, explores bonds that hold within families, and the forces that test those bonds…. What is your curiosity about families that keeps you returning to them in your writing? – The main characters Sarah and Warren are late middle age, each with claims made on them by life, family, jobs… as they reconnect after more than 30 years, they each contend with these claims, providing the major tension in the story – Sarah and Warren also have strong connections to place… Sarah to her home outside of New York City, Warren to his summer home on Mount Desert Island… what is the nature of the claims that these places have on Sarah and Warren – You are known both as a writer of fiction, and as the biographer of Georgia O’Keefe. That book was recently republished with a new foreward … what led you to research and write O’Keefe’s story? Guest/s: Roxana Robinson www.roxanarobinson.com About the hosts: Ron Beard is producer and host of Talk of the Towns, which first aired on WERU in 1993 as part of his community building work as an Extension professor with University of Maine Cooperative Extension and Sea Grant. He took all the journalism courses he could fit in while an undergraduate student in wildlife management and served as an intern with Maine Public Television nightly newscast in the early 1970s. Ron is an adjunct faculty member at College of the Atlantic, teaching courses on community development. Ron served on the Bar Harbor Town Council for six years and is currently board chair for the Jesup Memorial Library in Bar Harbor, where he has lived since 1975. Look for him on the Allagash River in June, and whenever he can get away, in the highlands of Scotland where he was fortunate to spend two sabbaticals. Liz Graves joined Talk of the Towns as co-producer and co-host in July 2022, having long admired public affairs programming on WERU and dreamed of getting involved in community radio. She works as the Town Clerk for the Town of Bar Harbor, and is a former editor of the Mount Desert Islander weekly newspaper. Liz grew up in California and came to Maine as a schooner sailor.

The post Talk of the Towns 2/14/24: Roxana Robinson, author of Leaving first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Producer/Hosts: Ron Beard and Liz Graves 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: – Many towns, business owners and home owners think about and plan for the future in some way… how has the issue of climate sharpened focus on the need to plan for and adapt to sea level rise and warming? – What does “climate resilience” look like from each of your perspectives… what examples provide you with inspiration? – What are the key challenges you face as you engage your communities and plan for climate resilience? Who do you get to answer sceptics? – Where can other communities get help with these challenges? Other examples of working within and across town boundaries, etc. Guest/s: Kathleen Billings, Town Manager, Stonington Susie Arnold, director Center for Climate and Community Resilience, Island Institute Carla Guenthher, Senior Scientist, Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries Linda Louise Nelson, Director of Community Development, Stonington FMI:  www.stoningtonmaine.org coastalfisheries.org www.islandinstitute.org/priorities/climate-solutions/ www.aclimatetothrive.org About the hosts: Ron Beard is producer and host of Talk of the Towns, which first aired on WERU in 1993 as part of his community building work as an Extension professor with University of Maine Cooperative Extension and Sea Grant. He took all the journalism courses he could fit in while an undergraduate student in wildlife management and served as an intern with Maine Public Television nightly newscast in the early 1970s. Ron is an adjunct faculty member at College of the Atlantic, teaching courses on community development. Ron served on the Bar Harbor Town Council for six years and is currently board chair for the Jesup Memorial Library in Bar Harbor, where he has lived since 1975. Look for him on the Allagash River in June, and whenever he can get away, in the highlands of Scotland where he was fortunate to spend two sabbaticals. Liz Graves joined Talk of the Towns as co-producer and co-host in July 2022, having long admired public affairs programming on WERU and dreamed of getting involved in community radio. She works as the Town Clerk for the Town of Bar Harbor, and is a former editor of the Mount Desert Islander weekly newspaper. Liz grew up in California and came to Maine as a schooner sailor.

The post Talk of the Towns 1/10/24: Town Planning for Climate Resilience first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Producer/Hosts: Ron Beard and Liz Graves Theme music for Talk of the Towns Theme music for Talk of the Towns is a medley from Coronach, on a Balnain House Highland Music recording. Talk of the Towns: Local Community concerns and opportunities This month: Profiles of three community music organizations: Bagaduce Music, Ellsworth Community Music Institute, and Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Maine. – Signature programs of each organization? How has each organization evolved? – Make up of “faculty” and creative leaders? Target participants and audiences? – What is your organization’s mix of teaching and performance? – What is your mix of local talent and inspiring musicians from away? – How does making music benefit those involved? – How does making music build community? (examples of collaboration?) – How is each organization led and funded? – Where might listeners learn more about your organizations and how to get involved? Guest/s: Bennett Konesni, Executive Director, Bagaduce Music Nancy Colter, founder, Ellsworth Community Music Institute Pepin Mittelhauser, Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Maine FMI:  www.bagaducemusic.org www.ellsworthcommunitymusic.org www.gilbertsullivanmaine.org About the hosts: Ron Beard is producer and host of Talk of the Towns, which first aired on WERU in 1993 as part of his community building work as an Extension professor with University of Maine Cooperative Extension and Sea Grant. He took all the journalism courses he could fit in while an undergraduate student in wildlife management and served as an intern with Maine Public Television nightly newscast in the early 1970s. Ron is an adjunct faculty member at College of the Atlantic, teaching courses on community development. Ron served on the Bar Harbor Town Council for six years and is currently board chair for the Jesup Memorial Library in Bar Harbor, where he has lived since 1975. Look for him on the Allagash River in June, and whenever he can get away, in the highlands of Scotland where he was fortunate to spend two sabbaticals. Liz Graves joined Talk of the Towns as co-producer and co-host in July 2022, having long admired public affairs programming on WERU and dreamed of getting involved in community radio. She works as the Town Clerk for the Town of Bar Harbor, and is a former editor of the Mount Desert Islander weekly newspaper. Liz grew up in California and came to Maine as a schooner sailor.

The post Talk of the Towns 12/13/23: Making Music, Making Community in Maine first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Producer/Hosts: Ron Beard and Liz Graves Theme music for Talk of the Towns Theme music for Talk of the Towns is a medley from Coronach, on a Balnain House Highland Music recording. Talk of the Towns: Local Community concerns and opportunities This month: – What are some of the differences and commonalities of these forms of governing: selectboards, town and city councils? – What motivated our guests to seek an elected position in their community, what do they find satisfying about that role, what are some of the challenges? – What are some of the issues and concerns in Belfast, Blue Hill and Bar Harbor, and what is the role of elected officials in dealing with them? – How does what used to be known as “common civility” play out in your community… how does your selectboard or council manage dialogue with citizens? Have you any techniques or projects that have improved public discourse? Guest/s: Jill Goldthwait, former Council Member, Town of Bar Harbor Eric Sanders, Mayor, City of Belfast Jim Dow, Selectboard member, Town of Blue Hill FMI:  www.cityofbelfast.org bluehillme.gov www.barharbormaine.gov About the hosts: Ron Beard is producer and host of Talk of the Towns, which first aired on WERU in 1993 as part of his community building work as an Extension professor with University of Maine Cooperative Extension and Sea Grant. He took all the journalism courses he could fit in while an undergraduate student in wildlife management and served as an intern with Maine Public Television nightly newscast in the early 1970s. Ron is an adjunct faculty member at College of the Atlantic, teaching courses on community development. Ron served on the Bar Harbor Town Council for six years and is currently board chair for the Jesup Memorial Library in Bar Harbor, where he has lived since 1975. Look for him on the Allagash River in June, and whenever he can get away, in the highlands of Scotland where he was fortunate to spend two sabbaticals. Liz Graves joined Talk of the Towns as co-producer and co-host in July 2022, having long admired public affairs programming on WERU and dreamed of getting involved in community radio. She works as the Town Clerk for the Town of Bar Harbor, and is a former editor of the Mount Desert Islander weekly newspaper. Liz grew up in California and came to Maine as a schooner sailor.

The post Talk of the Towns 11/8/23: Elected: What Is It Like to Serve as a Member of Local Town Government first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Producer/Hosts: Ron Beard and Liz Graves Theme music for Talk of the Towns Theme music for Talk of the Towns is a medley from Coronach, on a Balnain House Highland Music recording. Talk of the Towns: Local Community concerns and opportunities This month: – Background on the work of Maine Municipal Association and the apprenticeship program of Maine Department of Labor – With Maine municipalities facing a wave of retirements, what opportunities are there for folks new to the workforce and those with experience who might want to change careers? – What is the range of jobs and careers within municipal government? – What are some of the more traditional pathways into careers in municipal service? – How does the Maine Apprenticeship Program work? Can you actually get paid while apprenticing in a job in your town government? What are the other advantages to participating in apprenticeships? Guest/s: Peter Osborne, Director of Educational Services, Maine Municipal Association Rebecca Dansereau, Career Center Consultant, Maine Apprenticeship Program, Maine Department of Labor FMI:  www.mainehometowncareers.org www.mainehometowncareers.org/videos.php www.maine.gov/labor/jobs_training/apprenticeship/ About the hosts: Ron Beard is producer and host of Talk of the Towns, which first aired on WERU in 1993 as part of his community building work as an Extension professor with University of Maine Cooperative Extension and Sea Grant. He took all the journalism courses he could fit in while an undergraduate student in wildlife management and served as an intern with Maine Public Television nightly newscast in the early 1970s. Ron is an adjunct faculty member at College of the Atlantic, teaching courses on community development. Ron served on the Bar Harbor Town Council for six years and is currently board chair for the Jesup Memorial Library in Bar Harbor, where he has lived since 1975. Look for him on the Allagash River in June, and whenever he can get away, in the highlands of Scotland where he was fortunate to spend two sabbaticals. Liz Graves joined Talk of the Towns as co-producer and co-host in July 2022, having long admired public affairs programming on WERU and dreamed of getting involved in community radio. She works as the Town Clerk for the Town of Bar Harbor, and is a former editor of the Mount Desert Islander weekly newspaper. Liz grew up in California and came to Maine as a schooner sailor.

The post Talk of the Towns 10/11/23: Hometown Careers and Apprenticeships Linking Mainers with Jobs in Public Service first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Producer/Hosts: Ron Beard and Liz Graves Theme music for Talk of the Towns Theme music for Talk of the Towns 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 the history and mission of Island Readers and Writers (IRW)? Offer some examples of how authors have connected with student readers, using their books to inspire student readers to become writers as well. Where does reading and writing fit into the aspirations of pre Kindergarten to 8th grade education in Maine? IRW belief in essential role of reading to foster the healthy development of children as confident, curious, and engaged learners, and empathetic and active citizens. How does IRW connect with classroom teachers and their schools? What is the engagement before, during and after the visit by authors? What is life like for classroom teachers and their students in the present day? Expectations, aspirations and realities? How did Covid impact teachers, what are the lingering effects? What are your hopes for the October 2023 Dear Teacher conference? Guest/s: Kelsey Buckley, Director of Communications, Island Readers and Writers. Alison Johnson, Director of School Programs, Island Readers and Writers. Deb Jamison, Principal, Pembroke Elementary School. Stephen Costanza, author of The King of Ragtime: the Story of Scott Joplin, illustrator and musician, toured IRW partner schools. FMI: islandreadersandwriters.org About the hosts: Ron Beard is producer and host of Talk of the Towns, which first aired on WERU in 1993 as part of his community building work as an Extension professor with University of Maine Cooperative Extension and Sea Grant. He took all the journalism courses he could fit in while an undergraduate student in wildlife management and served as an intern with Maine Public Television nightly newscast in the early 1970s. Ron is an adjunct faculty member at College of the Atlantic, teaching courses on community development. Ron served on the Bar Harbor Town Council for six years and is currently board chair for the Jesup Memorial Library in Bar Harbor, where he has lived since 1975. Look for him on the Allagash River in June, and whenever he can get away, in the highlands of Scotland where he was fortunate to spend two sabbaticals. Liz Graves joined Talk of the Towns as co-producer and co-host in July 2022, having long admired public affairs programming on WERU and dreamed of getting involved in community radio. She works as the Town Clerk for the Town of Bar Harbor, and is a former editor of the Mount Desert Islander weekly newspaper. Liz grew up in California and came to Maine as a schooner sailor.

The post Talk of the Towns 9/13/23: Island Readers and Writers and the Dear Teacher Conference in October 2023 first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Producer/Hosts: Ron Beard and Liz Graves Theme music for Talk of the Towns Theme music for Talk of the Towns is a medley from Coronach, on a Balnain House Highland Music recording. Talk of the Towns: Local Community concerns and opportunities This month: What are the ways in which landscape inspires these writers.. one often starts with an experience and then looks for facts, the other starts with a fact and looks for ways to put it into context… both pay close attention to landscape and spark their readers’s own powers of observation and curiosity. What was the inspiration for Linda Cracknell to write about Erraid, off the west coast of Scotland and the setting for the opening chapters of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Kidnapped? How did Catherine Schmitt come to write The President’s Salmon, and the story of restoration of Maine’s Penobscot River? What do these writers hope readers take from reading about landscapes that we inhabit or visit? What are the ways these writers teach others about writing? Guest/s: Linda Cracknell, author of Writing Landscape, published by Saraband Books, 2023 Catherine Schmitt, author of The President’s Salmon, published by Downeast Books, 2015 About the hosts: Ron Beard is producer and host of Talk of the Towns, which first aired on WERU in 1993 as part of his community building work as an Extension professor with University of Maine Cooperative Extension and Sea Grant. He took all the journalism courses he could fit in while an undergraduate student in wildlife management and served as an intern with Maine Public Television nightly newscast in the early 1970s. Ron is an adjunct faculty member at College of the Atlantic, teaching courses on community development. Ron served on the Bar Harbor Town Council for six years and is currently board chair for the Jesup Memorial Library in Bar Harbor, where he has lived since 1975. Look for him on the Allagash River in June, and whenever he can get away, in the highlands of Scotland where he was fortunate to spend two sabbaticals. Liz Graves joined Talk of the Towns as co-producer and co-host in July 2022, having long admired public affairs programming on WERU and dreamed of getting involved in community radio. She works as the Town Clerk for the Town of Bar Harbor, and is a former editor of the Mount Desert Islander weekly newspaper. Liz grew up in California and came to Maine as a schooner sailor.

The post Talk of the Towns 8/9/23: Writing and Landscape first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Producer/Hosts: Ron Beard and Liz Graves Theme music for Talk of the Towns Theme music for Talk of the Towns is a medley from Coronach, on a Balnain House Highland Music recording. Talk of the Towns: Local Community concerns and opportunities This month: Overview of College of the Atlantic’s Summer Institute, in collaboration with the National Geographic Society Reflections on what “exploration” means in the 21st century Preview of sessions led by Nadia Rosenthal on the science of viruses and implications for global health Preview of session led by Kim Stanley Robinson, on Space: Our Last Great Commons Guest/s: Darron Collins, President of College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor Nadia Rosenthal, Scientific Director, The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor Kim Stanley Robinson, author of The Ministry for the Future, science fiction writer Other links: Summer Institute at College of the Atlantic Can Science Fiction Wake Us Up to Our Climate Reality? – The New Yorker, January 24, 2022 About the hosts: Ron Beard is producer and host of Talk of the Towns, which first aired on WERU in 1993 as part of his community building work as an Extension professor with University of Maine Cooperative Extension and Sea Grant. He took all the journalism courses he could fit in while an undergraduate student in wildlife management and served as an intern with Maine Public Television nightly newscast in the early 1970s. Ron is an adjunct faculty member at College of the Atlantic, teaching courses on community development. Ron served on the Bar Harbor Town Council for six years and is currently board chair for the Jesup Memorial Library in Bar Harbor, where he has lived since 1975. Look for him on the Allagash River in June, and whenever he can get away, in the highlands of Scotland where he was fortunate to spend two sabbaticals. Liz Graves joined Talk of the Towns as co-producer and co-host in July 2022, having long admired public affairs programming on WERU and dreamed of getting involved in community radio. She works as the Town Clerk for the Town of Bar Harbor, and is a former editor of the Mount Desert Islander weekly newspaper. Liz grew up in California and came to Maine as a schooner sailor.

The post Talk of the Towns 7/12/23: Preview of Reimaging Exploration, College of the Atlantic’s Summer Institute July 31-August 4 2023 first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Producer/Hosts: Ron Beard Theme music for Talk of the Towns Theme music for Talk of the Towns is a medley from Coronach, on a Balnain House Highland Music recording. Talk of the Towns: Local Community concerns and opportunities This month: What happens to students when they are engaged to learn out of doors?   (Tell some stories!) Do you incorporate learning beyond “science”?    (literature, history, art?) What have been the responses to bringing education out of doors—from students, from other teachers, from parents? What are the challenges you face in offering/promoting education outdoors?  (e.g. costs, transportation, insurance, resistance, hesitation from teachers who feel they do not have adequate experience or skills? Note 2022 Census of Community-Based Outdoor and Environmental Learning?) Where do you get support for teaching out of doors?  Teach ME Outside and other educational resources and networks, philanthropy, etc. What else would you advise for teachers, school leaders and parents about making the most of educating out of doors? Guest/s: Hazel Stark, Maine Outdoor School, Milbridge (and producer of The Nature of Phenology on WERU) Tiara Woods, Middle Level Classroom Teacher, Lamoine Consolidated School Landere Naisbitt, Education Coordinator, Blue Hill Heritage Trust Other links: Maine Outdoor School Creative STAR Learning About the hosts: Ron Beard is producer and host of Talk of the Towns, which first aired on WERU in 1993 as part of his community building work as an Extension professor with University of Maine Cooperative Extension and Sea Grant. He took all the journalism courses he could fit in while an undergraduate student in wildlife management and served as an intern with Maine Public Television nightly newscast in the early 1970s. Ron is an adjunct faculty member at College of the Atlantic, teaching courses on community development. Ron served on the Bar Harbor Town Council for six years and is currently board chair for the Jesup Memorial Library in Bar Harbor, where he has lived since 1975. Look for him on the Allagash River in June, and whenever he can get away, in the highlands of Scotland where he was fortunate to spend two sabbaticals. Liz Graves joined Talk of the Towns as co-producer and co-host in July 2022, having long admired public affairs programming on WERU and dreamed of getting involved in community radio. She works as the Town Clerk for the Town of Bar Harbor, and is a former editor of the Mount Desert Islander weekly newspaper. Liz grew up in California and came to Maine as a schooner sailor.

The post Talk of the Towns 5/10/23: Take it Outside: Maine educators teaching out of doors first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Producer/Hosts: Ron Beard and Liz Graves Theme music for Talk of the Towns Theme music for Talk of the Towns is a medley from Coronach, on a Balnain House Highland Music recording. Talk of the Towns: Local Community concerns and opportunities This month: Advocacy and Non-violent Direct Action: A conversation with George Lakey and Sue Inches. How do we make change in the face of policies that seem wrong, either because they harm people or the earth? Some situations call for building relationships with policy makers and using the art of persuasion. But if persuasion doesn’t work, a backup plan might include non-violent direct action, confronting those in power and stirring the public as a result of media attention. Our conversation with two activists and authors help us understand these choices and how they fit into today’s landscape of change. Topics include: What is the connection between advocacy and non-violent direct action, with one or two examples and lessons learned along the way? In your writing, you have both illuminated the need for vision that leads to strategy that leads to the hard slog of change… talk more about the importance of vision and strategy in any campaign for change. You have also written about the importance of community, as a grounding force, as a source of support… say more about the ways in which you see “community building” as part of your work. How do you understand our present moment and what has brought us here? Are there some key events or trends in our history that help us understand where we have come to? Each of you have been energized by engagement with young people, in your classrooms and in your campaigns. Are there attributes of the rising generation that are particularly inspiring? Guest/s: George Lakey author of Dancing with History: A life for peace and justice, Seven Stories Press, 2022. See also: www.georgelakeyfilm.com Sue Inches, author of Advocating for the Environment, North Atlantic Books, 2021. See also sueinches.com About the hosts: Ron Beard is producer and host of Talk of the Towns, which first aired on WERU in 1993 as part of his community building work as an Extension professor with University of Maine Cooperative Extension and Sea Grant. He took all the journalism courses he could fit in while an undergraduate student in wildlife management and served as an intern with Maine Public Television nightly newscast in the early 1970s. Ron is an adjunct faculty member at College of the Atlantic, teaching courses on community development. Ron served on the Bar Harbor Town Council for six years and is currently board chair for the Jesup Memorial Library in Bar Harbor, where he has lived since 1975. Look for him on the Allagash River in June, and whenever he can get away, in the highlands of Scotland where he was fortunate to spend two sabbaticals. Liz Graves joined Talk of the Towns as co-producer and co-host in July 2022, having long admired public affairs programming on WERU and dreamed of getting involved in community radio. She works as the Town Clerk for the Town of Bar Harbor, and is a former editor of the Mount Desert Islander weekly newspaper. Liz grew up in California and came to Maine as a schooner sailor.

The post Talk of the Towns 4/12/23: Local Community Concerns and Opportunities first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Producer/Hosts: Ron Beard and Liz Graves Theme music for Talk of the Towns Theme music for Talk of the Towns is a medley from Coronach, on a Balnain House Highland Music recording. Talk of the Towns: Local Community concerns and opportunities This month: While many individual organizations have cultural heritage as part of their mission, the new Cultural Alliance of Maine, begun in 2020, is highlighting the many aspects of culture in our state, including the celebration of Cultural Heritage Week in Maine, March 15-22. -What is culture? And what are some of the more easily understood elements of culture in Maine? What elements are now coming into focus in our state, or those overlooked? -What led to the creation of the Cultural Alliance of Maine? -Who are the constituents of the Cultural Alliance of Maine? -What is the work of the Cultural Alliance of Maine? -Why is this work important, both to your constituents, and to the state as whole? -How does culture intersect with business, health, community-building, education, quality of life? -What is Cultural Heritage Week in Maine (March 15-22) and who/what will you showcase? Guest/s: Molly Cashwell, Co- Director, Cultural Alliance of Maine, prior work with cultural organizations internationally and in the US, board member of MDI Historical Society and Jesup Library, Lamoine Ekhlas Ahmed, Co-Director, Cultural Alliance of Maine, former educator, human rights activist, resettled to Maine in 2005, a refugee from Sudan, board member for Portland Public Library and Mayo Street Arts, Windham Stu Kestenbaum, Steering Committee and co-founder, Cultural Alliance of Maine Senior Advisor, Monson Arts, former Poet Laureate, former director of Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Deer Isle About the hosts: Ron Beard is producer and host of Talk of the Towns, which first aired on WERU in 1993 as part of his community building work as an Extension professor with University of Maine Cooperative Extension and Sea Grant. He took all the journalism courses he could fit in while an undergraduate student in wildlife management and served as an intern with Maine Public Television nightly newscast in the early 1970s. Ron is an adjunct faculty member at College of the Atlantic, teaching courses on community development. Ron served on the Bar Harbor Town Council for six years and is currently board chair for the Jesup Memorial Library in Bar Harbor, where he has lived since 1975. Look for him on the Allagash River in June, and whenever he can get away, in the highlands of Scotland where he was fortunate to spend two sabbaticals. Liz Graves joined Talk of the Towns as co-producer and co-host in July 2022, having long admired public affairs programming on WERU and dreamed of getting involved in community radio. She works as the Town Clerk for the Town of Bar Harbor, and is a former editor of the Mount Desert Islander weekly newspaper. Liz grew up in California and came to Maine as a schooner sailor.

The post Talk of the Towns 3/8/23: Cultural Alliance of Maine & Cultural Heritage Week first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Producer/Hosts: Ron Beard and Liz Graves Theme music for Talk of the Towns Theme music for Talk of the Towns is a medley from Coronach, on a Balnain House Highland Music recording. Talk of the Towns: Local Community concerns and opportunities This month: Using current examples from Jonesport, Blue Hill and Bar Harbor, our guests discuss the importance of comprehensive planning to set out goals for the future, including where growth will be encouraged and where citizens hope to discourage sprawl in more rural areas. We learn how they have engaged community members in the process of creating or updating their town comprehensive plans, and how comprehensive plans also provide a foundation for land use zoning ordinances, economic development and capital investments. What is a comprehensive plan is and how does it relate to elements of town governance (planning and zoning, infrastructure and capital investment, economic development, etc? What is the relationship between elected officials and the planning board and the comprehensive planning process? How is comprehensive planning different from routine Planning Board work? What are the various stages in creating a comprehensive plan? How are community members engaged in the process? What have you learned (or had confirmed) so far about your town? What advice would you have for other communities as they contemplate creating or updating comprehensive plan? Guest/s: Harry Fish, Selectman, Jonesport Diane Smith, Planning Board Member, Jonesport Michele Gagnon, Town Planner, Bar Harbor Sarah King, Comprehensive Plan Committee, Blue Hill About the hosts: Ron Beard is producer and host of Talk of the Towns, which first aired on WERU in 1993 as part of his community building work as an Extension professor with University of Maine Cooperative Extension and Sea Grant. He took all the journalism courses he could fit in while an undergraduate student in wildlife management and served as an intern with Maine Public Television nightly newscast in the early 1970s. Ron is an adjunct faculty member at College of the Atlantic, teaching courses on community development. Ron served on the Bar Harbor Town Council for six years and is currently board chair for the Jesup Memorial Library in Bar Harbor, where he has lived since 1975. Look for him on the Allagash River in June, and whenever he can get away, in the highlands of Scotland where he was fortunate to spend two sabbaticals. Liz Graves joined Talk of the Towns as co-producer and co-host in July 2022, having long admired public affairs programming on WERU and dreamed of getting involved in community radio. She works as the Town Clerk for the Town of Bar Harbor, and is a former editor of the Mount Desert Islander weekly newspaper. Liz grew up in California and came to Maine as a schooner sailor.

The post Talk of the Towns 2/8/23: The Importance of Comprehensive Planning first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Producer/Hosts: Ron Beard and Liz Graves Theme music for Talk of the Towns Theme music for Talk of the Towns is a medley from Coronach, on a Balnain House Highland Music recording. Talk of the Towns: Local Community concerns and opportunities This month: We look at the recent “forever wild” protection of 3200 acres of land near the Whalesback, along Route 9 in Aurora, featuring Aaron Dority, Executive Director, Frenchman Bay Conservancy, Malcolm Hunter, donor, for-ever wild conservation easement, Aurora, and Sophie Ehrhardt, coordinator of the Wildlands Partnership Program. This protection also helps with climate change by allowing the forest to store carbon as the forest continues to grow and change naturally. -What is the (brief) history of land conservation in Maine? -What do we (society) gain from protecting or conserving land? What are “environmental services” how are they promoted in “forever wild protection”? What benefits do wildlife derive from large land tract protection/corridors? What other tangible and intangible benefits do humans derive from conserved land? -What led to the protection of the Whalesback in Aurora? How did this partnership develop? What were some of the steps in the process? Who are the other significant partners and what were their roles? -What do we know about the 3223 acres of land that are protected by these new conservation easements? Where is it located? Why is it significant? How does this fit into overall resource conservation for the region? -Not envisioned as a benefit in early land conservation, mitigation of climate change is now a part of this and other land conservation strategies… what are those benefits and how Northeast Wilderness Trust’s carbon offset program work? Guest/s: Aaron Dority, Executive Director, Frenchman Bay Conservancy Malcolm Hunter, donor, for-ever wild conservation easement, Aurora Sophie Ehrhardt, coordinator of the Wildlands Partnership Program of Northeast Wilderness Trust About the hosts: Ron Beard is producer and host of Talk of the Towns, which first aired on WERU in 1993 as part of his community building work as an Extension professor with University of Maine Cooperative Extension and Sea Grant. He took all the journalism courses he could fit in while an undergraduate student in wildlife management and served as an intern with Maine Public Television nightly newscast in the early 1970s. Ron is an adjunct faculty member at College of the Atlantic, teaching courses on community development. Ron served on the Bar Harbor Town Council for six years and is currently board chair for the Jesup Memorial Library in Bar Harbor, where he has lived since 1975. Look for him on the Allagash River in June, and whenever he can get away, in the highlands of Scotland where he was fortunate to spend two sabbaticals. Liz Graves joined Talk of the Towns as co-producer and co-host in July 2022, having long admired public affairs programming on WERU and dreamed of getting involved in community radio. She works as the Town Clerk for the Town of Bar Harbor, and is a former editor of the Mount Desert Islander weekly newspaper. Liz grew up in California and came to Maine as a schooner sailor.

The post Talk of the Towns 1/11/23: “Forever Wild” Conservation Easement Downeast first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Producer/Hosts: Ron Beard and Liz Graves Theme music for Talk of the Towns Theme music for Talk of the Towns is a medley from Coronach, on a Balnain House Highland Music recording. Talk of the Towns: Local Community concerns and opportunities This month: We ask two experienced teachers about their experience of teaching history and what they want students to take away from their studies of history and social studies. What is history… what makes it different than reporting the news and current events? How are history and social studies related? What is the role of textbooks in your history classes? How do you connect students to history and historians outside of textbooks? What are the roles of the state legislature (law), state Department of Education (state policy and standards), and local school boards (local policy) in shaping what will be taught and how? What does a curriculum coordinator do? How do State Standards approach the teaching of history and social studies? Students should be able to “distinguish between primary and secondary sources,” “evaluate and verify the credibility of the information found in print and non-print sources.” and “Equally important is that students use additional sources to resolve contradictory information.” How do you think about what students will use their knowledge and abilities in history and social studies? What do you want them to know and be able to do? What should citizens and policymakers to keep in mind when it comes to the teaching of history in public schools? Guest/s: Mark Puglisi, History Teacher, MDI High School Julie Keblinsky, Director of Teaching and Learning, MDI Regional School System About the hosts: Ron Beard is producer and host of Talk of the Towns, which first aired on WERU in 1993 as part of his community building work as an Extension professor with University of Maine Cooperative Extension and Sea Grant. He took all the journalism courses he could fit in while an undergraduate student in wildlife management and served as an intern with Maine Public Television nightly newscast in the early 1970s. Ron is an adjunct faculty member at College of the Atlantic, teaching courses on community development. Ron served on the Bar Harbor Town Council for six years and is currently board chair for the Jesup Memorial Library in Bar Harbor, where he has lived since 1975. Look for him on the Allagash River in June, and whenever he can get away, in the highlands of Scotland where he was fortunate to spend two sabbaticals. Liz Graves joined Talk of the Towns as co-producer and co-host in July 2022, having long admired public affairs programming on WERU and dreamed of getting involved in community radio. She works as the Town Clerk for the Town of Bar Harbor, and is a former editor of the Mount Desert Islander weekly newspaper. Liz grew up in California and came to Maine as a schooner sailor.

The post Talk of the Towns 12/14/22: Teaching History first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Producer/Hosts: Ron Beard and Liz Graves Theme music for Talk of the Towns Theme music for Talk of the Towns is a medley from Coronach, on a Balnain House Highland Music recording. Talk of the Towns: Local Community concerns and opportunities This month: A conversation about Breaking Bread, Essays from New England about Food, Hunger and Family, published in 2022 by Beacon Press, to benefit Blue Angel, a food bank in Hancock County, Maine How do our stories about food connect us to our families and our heritage? How was Blue Angel food bank, created? How did the book, Breaking Bread, come about? What has been the response, both from those who contributed essays, and from those who have come to book talks or who have read the book? Guest/s: Deborah Joy Corey, Novelist, co-Editor of Breaking Bread, founder of Blue Angel, Castine Stuart Kestenbaum, Maine Poet Laureate, author of several books of poetry, including Things Seemed to be Breaking, Deerbrook Editions, Deer Isle Kim Ridley, science writer, children’s book author, including Wild Design & The Secret Pool, Brooklin Margery Irvine, lecturer in English at UMaine, Scholar/Facilitator for the Maine Humanities Council, Brooklin Carl Little, poet, author of William Irvine: A Painter’s Journey, and other books, Mount Desert, Maine About the hosts: Ron Beard is producer and host of Talk of the Towns, which first aired on WERU in 1993 as part of his community building work as an Extension professor with University of Maine Cooperative Extension and Sea Grant. He took all the journalism courses he could fit in while an undergraduate student in wildlife management and served as an intern with Maine Public Television nightly newscast in the early 1970s. Ron is an adjunct faculty member at College of the Atlantic, teaching courses on community development. Ron served on the Bar Harbor Town Council for six years and is currently board chair for the Jesup Memorial Library in Bar Harbor, where he has lived since 1975. Look for him on the Allagash River in June, and whenever he can get away, in the highlands of Scotland where he was fortunate to spend two sabbaticals. Liz Graves joined Talk of the Towns as co-producer and co-host in July 2022, having long admired public affairs programming on WERU and dreamed of getting involved in community radio. She works as the Town Clerk for the Town of Bar Harbor, and is a former editor of the Mount Desert Islander weekly newspaper. Liz grew up in California and came to Maine as a schooner sailor.

The post Talk of the Towns 11/9/22: Breaking Bread first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Producer/Hosts: Ron Beard and Liz Graves Theme music for Talk of the Towns Theme music for Talk of the Towns is a medley from Coronach, on a Balnain House Highland Music recording. Talk of the Towns: Local Community concerns and opportunities This month: We talk with child care providers, and the leader of a program to support new child care businesses, about the essential elements of good child care. The wide-ranging conversation includes early childhood learning and socialization; fees, subsidies, and regulations; and family and employer perspectives. What child care options are there for parents to consider in Downeast Maine? What challenges do child care providers face? How do state subsidies help families pay for care? What role can employers play in helping their employees find child care? Guest/s: Courtney Wood, Beechland Road Early Learning Center, Downeast Family YMCA Sarah Hinckley, Mount Desert Nursery School Cynthia Murphy, CEI Maine Child Care Business Lab About the hosts: Ron Beard is producer and host of Talk of the Towns, which first aired on WERU in 1993 as part of his community building work as an Extension professor with University of Maine Cooperative Extension and Sea Grant. He took all the journalism courses he could fit in while an undergraduate student in wildlife management and served as an intern with Maine Public Television nightly newscast in the early 1970s. Ron is an adjunct faculty member at College of the Atlantic, teaching courses on community development. Ron served on the Bar Harbor Town Council for six years and is currently board chair for the Jesup Memorial Library in Bar Harbor, where he has lived since 1975. Look for him on the Allagash River in June, and whenever he can get away, in the highlands of Scotland where he was fortunate to spend two sabbaticals. Liz Graves joined Talk of the Towns as co-producer and co-host in July 2022, having long admired public affairs programming on WERU and dreamed of getting involved in community radio. She works as the Town Clerk for the Town of Bar Harbor, and is a former editor of the Mount Desert Islander weekly newspaper. Liz grew up in California and came to Maine as a schooner sailor.

The post Talk of the Towns 10/12/22: Childcare first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Producer/Host: Ron Beard Theme music for Talk of the Towns Theme music for Talk of the Towns is a medley from Coronach, on a Balnain House Highland Music recording. Talk of the Towns: Local Community concerns and opportunities This month: We profile Esperanza Stancioff, Emeritus Professor, University of Maine Cooperative Extension and Sea Grant, about her work to expand community science in aid of better policies and practices for water quality and adaptation to climate change. What were some of the key elements in your career with University of Maine? Where did you develop your love of the sea? Describe the intersecting space between the science developed in the academy, those charged with protecting the environment, and citizens, who might appreciate the benefits of our ecosystem in their personal lives or in pursuing their livelihoods. How did you discover the importance of engaging citizens to to contribute to scientific knowledge. What did you learn from bringing together citizens, scientists, historians, policy makers and people making their living on the water to celebrate Penobscot Bay as a place, and to identify the gaps in our knowledge that might help us better protect and manage our shared ecological resources. More recently, you have worked with citizens and networks of people to respond to growing threats of climate change. Talk about what motivated you to take up this work and some of the results. Guest/s: Esperanza Stancioff, Emeritus Professor, University of Maine Cooperative Extension and Sea Grant About the host: Ron Beard is producer and host of Talk of the Towns, which first aired on WERU in 1993 as part of his community building work as an Extension professor with University of Maine Cooperative Extension and Sea Grant. He took all the journalism courses he could fit in while an undergraduate student in wildlife management and served as an intern with Maine Public Television nightly newscast in the early 1970s. Ron is an adjunct faculty member at College of the Atlantic, teaching courses on community development. Ron served on the Bar Harbor Town Council for six years and is currently board chair for the Jesup Memorial Library in Bar Harbor, where he has lived since 1975. Look for him on the Allagash River in June, and whenever he can get away, in the highlands of Scotland where he was fortunate to spend two sabbaticals.

The post Talk of the Towns 9/14/22: A Conversation with Esperanza Stancioff first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Producer/Host: Ron Beard Theme music for Talk of the Towns is a medley from Coronach, on a Balnain House Talk of the Towns: Local Community concerns and opportunities This month: We talk with town representatives from Camden, Orono and Lamoine about how they assess the value of property and how towns arrive at the bill that property owners pay each year. -What sources of revenue do towns in Maine draw on to fund their budgets? -What types of property make up a town’s “tax base’? -How are the values of properties assessed? How does assessment relate to sales prices? -What is the relationship between a town’s budget and property taxes? tax? -Are there forms of relief for property owners, like the homestead exemption? (homestead exemption, etc) -What happens when a property owner disputes the assessed value of their property? Guest/s: Caitlin Thompson, Deputy Assessor, Town of Camden Marc Perry, Downeast Assessing Services Stu Marckoon, Town of Lamoine About the host: Ron Beard is producer and host of Talk of the Towns, which first aired on WERU in 1993 as part of his community building work as an Extension professor with University of Maine Cooperative Extension and Sea Grant. He took all the journalism courses he could fit in while an undergraduate student in wildlife management and served as an intern with Maine Public Television nightly newscast in the early 1970s. Ron is an adjunct faculty member at College of the Atlantic, teaching courses on community development. Ron served on the Bar Harbor Town Council for six years and is currently board chair for the Jesup Memorial Library in Bar Harbor, where he has lived since 1975. Look for him on the Allagash River in June, and whenever he can get away, in the highlands of Scotland where he was fortunate to spend two sabbaticals.

The post Talk of the Towns 8/10/22: Property Assessment & Taxes in Maine Towns first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Producer/Host: Ron Beard Theme music for Talk of the Towns is a medley from Coronach, on a Balnain House Talk of the Towns: Local Community concerns and opportunities For the most part, you can get there from here, thanks to the dedication of those who take care of our road systems. At the town level, that might be a whole public works department or to a road supervisor with a budget to contract for services. In conversation with representatives of Ellsworth and Tremont, we learn how they take care of their roads… plowing and potholes in the winter and repaving and other projects in the summer and fall. -Description of Ellsworth and Tremont’s road systems and annual cycle of maintaining roads -Are their best practices or “science” that you follow in maintaining or rebuilding roads? -How do you share responsibilities for any State Roads with Maine Department of Transportation? -How is your town adapting to the increased frequency and intensity of rain storms and other weather? Guests: Lisa Sekulich, Public Works Director, City of Ellsworth Jesse Dunbar, Town Manager, Town of Tremont About the host: Ron Beard is producer and host of Talk of the Towns, which first aired on WERU in 1993 as part of his community building work as an Extension professor with University of Maine Cooperative Extension and Sea Grant. He took all the journalism courses he could fit in while an undergraduate student in wildlife management and served as an intern with Maine Public Television nightly newscast in the early 1970s. Ron is an adjunct faculty member at College of the Atlantic, teaching courses on community development. Ron served on the Bar Harbor Town Council for six years and is currently board chair for the Jesup Memorial Library in Bar Harbor, where he has lived since 1975. Look for him on the Allagash River in June, and whenever he can get away, in the highlands of Scotland where he was fortunate to spend two sabbaticals.

The post Talk of the Towns 7/13/22: How Municipalities Maintain Roads first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Producer/Host: Ron Beard Talk of the Towns: Local Community concerns and opportunities Over the last 40 years, Paul Anderson has had a key role in understanding and communicating marine science in Maine. As a micro-biologist for the Department of Marine Resources, he helped establish protocols so citizen-scientists could contribute data helping assure that clams harvested from Maine flats were safe to eat. He led the University of Maine’s Sea Grant program, with its emphasis on extension, education, and research. And after several years at the helm, he is stepping down as head of the non-profit Maine Center for Commercial Fisheries, based in Stonington, helping further the organization as a partner in scientific research. Recently, Paul sat down for a wide-ranging conversation with Talk of the Towns host, Ron Beard. Anderson reflected on his work, some of the changes he has seen and what might lie ahead in Maine’s marine economy. -What were the highlights of your career in marine science, including your work with the Maine Department of Marine Resources, University of Maine Sea Grant and the Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries? -What makes Maine’s marine ecosystem most interesting? -How have citizens gotten involved with collecting environmental data? -What are the most interesting connections between marine science and how people make their livings along the coast and the quality of life and the environment? -Through you career so far, what are some of the ‘ah-ha” moments when you saw marine science and resource management come to the forefront of solving problems or developing new approaches? -Any reflections to share with young folks about careers and jobs in marine-related science, management and fisheries? Guest: Paul Anderson, Executive Director, Maine Center for Commercial Fisheries About the host: Ron Beard is producer and host of Talk of the Towns, which first aired on WERU in 1993 as part of his community building work as an Extension professor with University of Maine Cooperative Extension and Sea Grant. He took all the journalism courses he could fit in while an undergraduate student in wildlife management and served as an intern with Maine Public Television nightly newscast in the early 1970s. Ron is an adjunct faculty member at College of the Atlantic, teaching courses on community development. Ron served on the Bar Harbor Town Council for six years and is currently board chair for the Jesup Memorial Library in Bar Harbor, where he has lived since 1975. Look for him on the Allagash River in June, and whenever he can get away, in the highlands of Scotland where he was fortunate to spend two sabbaticals.

The post Talk of the Towns 6/8/22: An Interview with Paul Anderson first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.