Community Voices For Change

Community Voices for Change - 30 mins - First Aired September 28, 2026
WMPG-FM. Univ of So. Maine - Weekly - Mondays - 7:00 PM
Producer & Host:  Richard Rudolph, PhD.

This program is an interview of Andy O'Brien who is the Communication Director of the Maine AFL-CIO.  He has recently written a substack and a shorter piece which appeared recently in the Maine Beacon - "Hospital lobbyist thanks Collins while Mainers pay the price for expensive health care" which pointed out that Senator Collins has repeatedly supported deep cuts to Medicaid and Medicare, voting to repeal or undermine the Affordable Care Act and blocking efforts to lower drug prices including a $35 insulin cap.  Andy pointed out that Senator Collins wants us to believe that she is uniquely responsible for bringing home every federal dollar to Maine, but every Senator brings home federal money because that's their job and that Maine's entire Congressional delegation plays a role in securing federal money for various projects.  Andy also talked  about how she used her power to cut more funding to Maine than she is bringing in.  She had the power to stop Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill (OBB) but didn't.  She voted for the bill when it mattered and took a symbolic vote against it when her vote wasn't needed.  Senator Collins and her allies frequently tout her support for the Rural Health Transformation program which is projected to provide  $950 million for Maine,  but it is far short of the $2.7 billion needed  to offset the impact of the OBB cuts.    This same bill cuts $1.1 billion over 10 years from food assistance programs which help struggling families, people with disabilities, veterans and other Mainers who have fallen on hard times. The OBB also has put $5.3 billion in planned Maine clean energy investments at risk.

Community Voices for Change - 30 mins - First Aired September 21, 2026
WMPG-FM. Univ of So. Maine - Weekly - Mondays - 7:00 PM
Producer & Host:  Richard Rudolph, PhD.

The program is an interview with Peter Cole,  the President of the Maine Rail Group and Bruce Sleeper,  the President of TrainRiders Northeast.  The interview first focused on good news regarding the Amtrak Downeaster Service from North Station, Boston to Brunswick, Maine.   The Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority has recently been awarded a $48 million grant to construct a new passenger rail station on St. John Street, between Northern Light Mercy Hospital and the Fore River Parkway.  Relocation of the Downeaster Station from Thompson's Point to CSX's mainline will eliminate the 15 minute backup maneuver needed to get to and from the existing station on Thompson's Point. The new station site is further down on St. John St  from  the original historic station that was torn down in 1961 and is  within walking distance to the Maine Medical Center and Northern Light Mercy Hospital.  There will also be access to convenient public transportation to downtown Portland. Other good news mentioned included the 8.3 miles of double tracking on a portion of the rail line between Andover and Reading in Massachusetts, and $1.06 billion grant award to replace the 1930 "Draw One" Charles River Bridge to North Station in Boston.  Our guests also talked about the ongoing effort to expand passenger rail service to Bangor and are hopeful that with the election of a new Maine governor some progress can be made regarding this matter.

Community Voices for Change - 30 mins - First Aired September 14, 2026
WMPG-FM. Univ of So. Maine - Weekly - Mondays - 7:00 PM
Producer & Host:  Richard Rudolph, PhD.

This program is an interview with two members of the Social Housing Task Force which recently released its Final Report and Recommendations to the Portland City Council regarding the creation of an ongoing Social Housing Program, a dedicated Social Housing revolving fund and begin implementation through two initial pilot programs.  Kate Sykes who is a Portland City Councilor who chairs the task force talked about two different housing problems.  The existing housing system is not producing enough houses to meet regional needs nor is it producing homes that many working and middle-income households can afford. Both Kate as well as Catherine Buxton who is a member of the task force talked about the key principles behind social housing and how it is different from traditional Federally supported public housing.  It would be permanently affordable, mixed income rental housing owned by the City of Portland. It's intended to address the persistent gap in Portland's housing production. It would provide housing for workforce and middle-income households who are not consistently served by existing subsidized housing programs, and would retain the public value created through city investment.  They also talked about two pilot models that the committee is considering and the next steps that the City Council will need to take which will include accepting the Final Report, endorsing the Social Housing Program and its core principles and adopting a resolution initiating implementation.

The September 7, 2026 program is an interview of Seth Berry, the Executive Director of Our Power who is an intervenor  in the utility  rate case which is currently before the Maine Public Utility Commission.  Seth Berry, who is  a leading critic of Central Maine Power, talked about why his organization is opposed to its request  to raise electric utility rates and the impact it would have if  the Commission  grants its request.   He pointed out the utility last year earned 5.88% return on its equity investment which includes the amount of money that a utility can earn on approved grid assets including poles, wires, substations and transformers.  The new request to raise the rate of return on equity would provide an additional $189 million in profits.  The proposal, if granted, would amount to an increase of about $18 on the distribution portion of a household's monthly bill.  If approved, the typical customer's bill would rise by about $216 more per year.  The new rates would go into effect in May 2027.  The Commission's decision will determine both the price customers will ultimately  pay for grid-improvement work and the amount of profit that CMP can earn.

Community Voices for Change - 30 mins - First Aired August 31, 2026
WMPG-FM. Univ of So. Maine - Weekly - Mondays - 7:00 PM
Producer & Host:  Richard Rudolph, PhD.

The program is an interview with Jarrett Abbott who is the Director of the Center for Working Class Politics which is a research institute dedicated to surveying the political and economic attitudes of working-class voters, statistical analyses of elections, and the construction of a comprehensive database of progressive candidate demographics, strategy, and messaging. The interview focused on a recent report that Professor Joan Williams and Jarret Abbot have put together, "The Lefts' Coalition Crisis:  Understanding the Massive Divide Between Working Class and College Educated Voters, and How to Bridge It."  The report points out that the left needs to develop class competence. We need to connect with people whose top priorities are paychecks, prices and personal safety.  It is not just about winning elections as crucial as  that is when democracy is under attack. It's  about understanding that people need a sense of personal and economic security before they will support the changes that progressives are calling for.  While Liberals are primarily concerned about costs / working class folks are also concerned about cost, but economic security is the highest working class priority. Protecting Social Security, Medicare, lowering rents and housing costs, drug prices, Medicare and affordable childcare.  All of this requires a steady income stream, a secure economic future, rising wages, creating jobs and boosting economic growth.  Given these working class concerns, the key to success is to keep focus on the economy.  The lesson is not that working-class voters are unreachable.  It's that you can't reach them if you don't prioritize the issues that they care most about.  The report also points out that class competence can increase working-class support for progressive policies on hot button culture and climate issues.  The key is mutual respect accompanied by class-competent reframing around working-class values can move public opinion in a progressive direction.

Community Voices for Change - 30 mins - First Aired August 24, 2026
WMPG-FM. Univ of So. Maine - Weekly - Mondays - 7:00 PM
Producer & Host:  Richard Rudolph, PhD.

The program is an interview with Margaret Reynolds who is the cofounder of the Miles Delivers Action Coalition which was formed in May 2026 to convince  Maine Health to keep open the Birth Center in Damariscotta, Maine.  Since its founding it has reached out to the larger community and has over 10,000 supporters.  Margaret talked about Maine Health's rationale for closing the birthing center and the impact it will have on women who will have to drive over an hour to get help delivering their babies.  Closure would redirect  births to neighboring hospitals and would increase additional demands on EMTs, emergency departments and affect interfacility transportation systems. She pointed out that leading experts in rural healthcare have warned that evaluating maternity programs through narrow financial lenses risks overlooking their broader contribution to hospital sustainability, workplace recruitment and long term health vitality of communities they serve.  Her organization has reached out to the governor and members of the Maine State Legislature and remains optimistic that the center will ultimately continue to keep open.

Community Voices for Change - 30 mins - First Aired August 10, 2026
WMPG-FM. Univ of So. Maine - Weekly - Mondays - 1:00 PM
Producer & Host:  Richard Rudolph, PhD.

This podcast is an interview with Heather Spaulding who is the Deputy Director of the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association.  Heather  first worked for a number of years on environmental policy issues in Washington, DC. before moving back to Maine where she  got a job at the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association as the director of the Common Ground Country Fair.  She has stayed with the organization moving through various administrative roles.  She is still working to keep toxic items out of watersheds and food systems from commercial pesticides to forever chemicals. The show focused on what's happening with Maine's PFOS Product ban that first took effect January 2026  and how the Trump Administration's EPA voted to approve several new pesticides that qualify as pfas and the recent U.S. Supreme Court 7-2 vote in favor of Monsanto's (Bayer's) Roundup pesticide. Heather also talked about MOFGA's advocacy campaign to convince  Hannaford Supermarket to buy Maine  native grown carrots and  the upcoming Common Ground Fair taking place during the third weekend in September.

Community Voices for Change - 30 mins - First Aired August 3, 2026
WMPG-FM. Univ of So. Maine - Weekly - Mondays - 1:00 PM
Producer & Host:  Richard Rudolph, PhD.

The show is an interview of James Myall who is a lead policy analyst at the Maine Center for Economic Policy.  He has recently written a report  "Maine Care is helping more Mainers afford health care and strengthening the economy."    MaineCare helps nearly 476,00 Mainers pay for health care.  It is one of the most effective tools to improve health, reduce medical debt, support working families and bring in  billions of dollars into Maine's economy. James pointed out that MaineCare is good value for money and helps the economy. The cost of covering an adult below the age of 65 averages around $8,000 per year for comprehensive coverage without copays or deductibles. It certainly compares favorably to Maine's private individual costs - which is about nine thousand in premiums alone.   Unfortunately the next governor of Maine and the state legislature will need to undo Republican cuts that will be made to MaineCare.  As many as 31,000 Mainers could lose their Mainecare coverage next year because they are either unable to find steady work or can't provide the right paperwork to prove their employment status. Myall believes the state should hire navigators to help people understand the new changes needed to keep their coverage. As many as 31,000 Mainers could lose their coverage next year because they are either unable to find steady work or can't provide the right paperwork to prove their employment status.

Community Voices for Change - 30 mins - First Aired July 27, 2026
WMPG-FM. Univ of So. Maine - Weekly - Mondays - 1:00 PM
Producer & Host:  Richard Rudolph, PhD.

Today's program is an interview of Joey Brunnele who is a candidate for the at-large Portland City Council seat being vacated by April Fournier who is moving onto the Maine State Legislature.  Joey has been involved in a number of issues over the past decade and currently serves as the chair  of the Citizen Police Review Board.  The show focused on three different issues that he has written and spoken about recently.  The first is the killing of John Sebastian Guerro - an innocent 26 year old man in Biddeford who was killed by an ICE agent. Joey pointed out this was not an accident. "It is the predictable result of Donald Trump hiring a  bunch of untrained yahoos and white nationalists into ICE and quadrupling its budget."   Joey also talked about how Portland has to hold the cruise industry accountable regarding burning heavy fuel oil which is the dirtiest and cheapest fuel and what can be done about it.  He also talked about the proposed plan to build a 10 megawatt gas-fired power plant to provide electricity and heat to a major redevelopment project on Portland's Waterfront.  As a member of the Portland Climate Action team, Joey talked about why he is opposed to the project,  Building new fossil fuel burning generators will set the city back on its target to reduce 80% of its emissions by 2050.  The proposal is also a major deviation from a master plan for the one billion dollar housing, retail and hotel development project on a 10 acre site of the Portland Company that was approved 10 years ago.

WMPG-FM. Univ of So. Maine - Weekly - Mondays - 1:00 PM
Producer & Host:  Richard Rudolph, PhD.

The program is an interview of David Boyer who represents Mechanic Falls and part of Poland, ME. in the Maine State Legislature.  He serves on the joint committees on veteran and legal affairs. He talked about why he plans to submit a bill to the Maine Legislature which would ban municipal and police use of automated license plate readers such as Flock  Cameras - statewide, with an exception for toll collection.  He believes these cameras are a significant threat to our constitutional rights to privacy.  The camera data is frequently shared across vast, interconnected networks of thousands of law enforcement agencies and out-of-state entities often without local community consent.  He pointed out this technology captures data on every single driver-not just suspects which creates opportunities for rogue officers and bad actors to illegally stalk or monitor without probable cause or a warrant.  He pointed out that the ACLU has documented instances of local authorities using Flock networks on behalf of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to assist with deportations, as well as tracking drivers crossing state lines to access reproductive healthcare.