WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives

Host/Producer: Amy Browne Senate Primary candidate David Costello’s opening remarks at a candidate forum organized by the Wabanaki Alliance, held on Indian Island on 4/16/26. We’ll hear from candidate Graham Planter tomorrow. Janet Mills and Susan Collins were invited but did not attend Theme music: BreakBeat Chemists I, 2015 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International License

The post Around Town 4/27/26: Local News, Culture and Events first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Producer/Host: R.W. Estela Hi, I’m RW Estela: Since 1991, I’ve been presenting A Word in Edgewise, WERU’s longest-running short feature, a veritable almanac of worldly and heavenly happenings, a confluence of 21st-century life in its myriad manifestations, international and domestic, cosmopolitan and rural, often revealing, as the French say, the more things change, the more they stay the same — though not always! Sometimes in addressing issues affecting our day-to-day lives, in this age of vagary and ambiguity, when chronological time is punctuated elliptically, things can quickly turn edgy and controversial, as we search for understanding amid our dialectic. Tune in Monday mornings at 7:30 a.m. for an exciting journey through space and time with a few notable birthdays thrown in for good measure during A Word in Edgewise . . . About the host: RW Estela was raised as a first-generation American in Colorado by a German mother and a Corsican-Basque father who would become a three-war veteran for the US Army, so RW was naturally a military brat and later engaged in various Vietnam-era civil-service adventures before paying his way through college by skiing for the University of Colorado, playing Boulder coffeehouses, and teaching. He has climbed all of Colorado’s Fourteeners; found work as an FAA-certificated commercial pilot, a California-licensed building contractor, a publishing editor, a practitioner of Aikido, and a college professor of English; among his many interdisciplinary pursuits are the design and building of Terrell Residence Library (recently renamed the Terrell House Permaculture Living & Learning Center at the University of Maine), writing Building It In Two Languages (a bilingual dictionary of construction terminology), aerial photo documentation of two dam removals (Great Works and Veazie) on the Penobscot River, and once a week since 1991 drafting an installment of A Word In Edgewise, his essay series addressing issues affecting our day-to-day lives — and WERU’s oldest continuous short feature. When pandemics do not interfere, he does the Triple Crown of Maine open-water ocean swims (Peaks to Portland, Islesboro Crossing, and Nubble Light Challenge) and the Whitewater Downriver Point Series of the Maine Canoe and Kayak Racing Organization. RW is the father of two and the grandfather of three and lives with his partner Kathleen of 37 years and their two Maine Coons in Orono.

The post A Word in Edgewise 4/27/26: Peepers, Cecil Day-Lewis, Mr. & Mrs Mallard, & the Flower Moon . . . first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host/s: Rob Ruffner, Maine Indigent Defense Center Editor: Sarah Johnson Music: Samuel James Justice Radio is a WMPG production. Justice Radio: Tackling the hard questions about our criminal legal system in Maine. This week: Rob talks with Ben about Ben’s experiences with Maine’s criminal justice system. Guest: Ben Rebello

The post Justice Radio 4/26/26: A Maine Criminal Justice Experience first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host/Producer: Glen Mittelhauser In this episode, Glen continues a discussion with Rich MacDonald of the Natural History Center during a winter walk in Acadia National Park, reflecting on the value of long-term observation in understanding ecological change. Drawing on decades of field experience, from bird banding studies to a 2002 kayak expedition around the Gulf of Maine, Rich discusses how shifting baselines, climate change, and evolving research questions shape our understanding of coastal ecosystems, from changing bird populations to the increasing presence of species like sea turtles. More information about Maine Natural History can be found at mainenaturalhistory.org. About the hosts: Glen Mittelhauser founded Maine Natural History Observatory (MNHO) in 2003 to fill the need for an organization that specializes in collecting, interpreting, and maintaining datasets for understanding changes in Maine’s plant and wildlife populations.  Glen received his Bachelor’s in Human Ecology from College of the Atlantic in 1989 with a focus in the biological sciences and received his Master of Science degree in Zoology (with a focus on ornithology and statistics) from the University of Maine in 2000. Glen was the Managing Editor for Northeastern Naturalist and Southeastern Naturalist for 18 years and has served as external graduate faculty for 3 graduate student committees at the University of Maine.  Glen currently serves on the Baxter State Park Research Committee. Logan Parker is an Ecologist residing in Waldo County, Maine. Logan started the Maine Nightjar Monitoring Project in 2017 and brought the project (and his passion for bird conservation) to MNHO when he joined the team in 2018. Logan is heavily involved in the ongoing Maine Bird Atlas where he both coordinates and participates in the project’s special species surveys. When “off the clock”, Logan enjoys birding, writing, gardening, and working alongside his wife, Hallee, on their off-grid home in the Maine woods. Logan is also a wildlife photographer and shares photos and field notes through his project, Here In The Wild.

The post Nature Notes: A Maine Naturalist Afield 4/26/26: A hike down the Hemlock Trail, Part 2 first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Andree Bella | Writer/Reader

The post Esoterica 4/26/26: The Pineal Gland first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

What’s the Word on Maine Street?, hosted by Sarah Pebworth, is a weekly short feature Saturdays at 9:30am looking at local literary and visual arts events and offerings! FMI: ellsworth.libcal.com artwavesmdi.org swhplibrary.org wendellgilleymuseum.org freeportfolio.org nehlibrary.org About the host: Sarah Pebworth leads the steering committee for Word—a Blue Hill Literary Arts Festival, founded in 2017 and held each October. She serves on the boards of the Cultural Alliance of Maine and Lawrence Family Fitness Center YMCA. Since February 2023 Sarah has written “Shared Seas and Common Grounds,” a column published in the Penobscot Bay Press’s Weekly Packet. She and her wife Julie Jo Fehrle live in Blue Hill. Theme music: Ross Gallagher is a bassist who grew up in East Blue Hill, ME, and currently lives between Bath, ME and Brooklyn, NY, where he works with a wide variety of musical artists. Infinite Blues is a cut from his recently released neon night, an excursion into an ambient/electronic musical world built around rhythmic bass ostinatos, clouds of processed looping electronic atmospheres, and melody. By turns both subtle and unapologetically noisy, the songs are a collection of luminous constellations, roved between by a band of texturally minded instrumental improvisers.

The post What’s the Word on Maine Street? 4/25/26 first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Producer/Host: Anu Dudley About the host: Rev. Dr. Anu Dudley is an ordained Pagan minister and a retired history professor. She continues to teach classes, including the three-year ordination curriculum at the Temple of the Feminine Divine, and others such as History of the Goddess, Paganism 101, Ethical Magic, and Introduction to the Runes. Currently she is writing a book about how to cast the runes using their original Goddess meanings. She lives in the woods off-grid in a small homesteading community in Central Maine.

The post Earthwise 4/25/26: In Honor of Arbor Day first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

About the Host: Tom Yaroschuk is a Vedic Astrologer. His intention is to help people understand their karma and the issues they may confront to cultivate more fulfilling lives. Tom is writing a memoir of the spiritual lessons derived from his work in a Homeless Day Center in between a career as an award winning television and documentary producer.

The post The Cosmic Curator 4/25/26 first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host: Julia Rush Editorial Help: Natalie Springuel Theme Music: Paul Anderson – A Following Sea Coastal Conversations: Conversations with people who live, work, and play on the Maine coast, hosted by the University of Maine Sea Grant Program. Ecology, restoration, scientific research. Guest/s: Amina Wilson. Dr. Chris Nadeau. Lauren Knierim. FMI: Sea to Trees – Season 4, episode 2 – schoodicinstitute.org/sea-to-trees-season-4-episode-2/ About the hosts: Natalie Springuel has hosted Coastal Conversation’s since 2015, with support from the University of Maine Sea Grant where she has served as a marine extension associate for 20 years. In 2019, Springuel received an award for Public Affairs programming from the Maine Association of Broadcasters for the Coastal Conversations show called “Portland’s Working Waterfront.” Springuel is passionate about translating science, sharing stories, and offering a platform for multiple voices to weigh in on complex coastal and ocean issues. She has recently enrolled in audio production training at Maine Media Workshop to dive deeper into making great community radio.

The post Coastal Conversations 4/24/26: Place-based Science: The Mountain Summit first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host/Producer: Amy Browne The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Maine chapter‘s report on the recently-ended state legislative session. They’ll give a zoom presentation on the topic on May 20th, 6-7pm The Problem with Plastics: Can We Be Part of the Solution? Sponsored by Belfast Bay Watershed Coalition, Friends of Harriet L Hartley Conservation Area, and Waldo Climate Action Coalition. Sunday, April 26 Unitarian Universalist Church of Belfast 37 Miller Street, 2:00-4:00 pm in the Sanctuary and on Zoom “Made in Belfast” will be the topic for the Belfast Historical Society meeting at 7:00 p.m. on Monday April 27, in the Abbott Room in the Belfast Free Library, with Megan Pinette, historical society president. The Belfast Historical Society presents talks of local historical interest on the 4th Monday of the month from April through October. All presentations are at 7:00pm in the Abbott Room at the Belfast Free Library and are open to the public. Seating is limited to 75. The programs are recorded and can be viewed on Belfast Community Television (where you can also find more information) and on the Belfast Historical Society and Museum’s website Theme music: BreakBeat Chemists I, 2015 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International License

The post Around Town 4/24/26: Local News, Culture and Events first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.