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

CJ Kenna | Producer + Writer/Reader

The post Esoterica 4/19/26: Reality Is Illusion 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: schoodicartsforall.org hhrcmaine.org ellsworthlibrary.net swhplibrary.org rocklandstrand.com courthousegallery.com 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? 4/18/26 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 4/18/26: In Honor of Earth 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 4/18/26 first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Linda Washburn, Joel Mann Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics. This month: Mass surveillance constitutes a threat to free speech. Commercial and government surveillance infrastructure has grown and continues to grow, encompassing license plate readers, location tracking, and facial recognition and other biometric data. How do these invasions of privacy threaten free speech? What protections should individuals and civil society adopt to protect civil liberties? Guest/s: Cindy Cohn, Executive Director, Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), author of the book, Privacy’s Defender. Hannah Cyrus, Digital Media Librarian, Bangor Public Library. Cooper Quintin, security researcher and senior public interest technologist with the EFF Threat Lab and board member of Open Archive. To learn more about this topic: Visit LWVME.org About the host: Ann Luther currently serves as Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maine and leads the LWVME Advocacy Team. She served as President of LWVME from 2003 to 2007 and as co-president from 2007-2009.

The post Democracy Forum 4/17/26: Constitutional Crisis: They’re Watching first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host/Producer: Amy Browne Checking in with Rebecca Porter ahead of her show tomorrow/Saturday night (4/18) at Hey Sailor! in Searsport — an appearance inspired by Sara Trunzo and WERU listeners! Theme music: BreakBeat Chemists I, 2015 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International License

The post Around Town 4/17/26: Local News, Culture and Events first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Producer/host: Adina Salmansohn Other credits: Theme music written and performed by Ariel Chapman. A monthly show exploring Maine‘s culture, art and crafts that enrich our lives and bring us joy. Four Maine writers discuss their lives, publishing journey, and tips for other writers. Guest/s: Linda Buckmaster, Poet and Essayist – www.lindabuckmaster.com Elizabeth W. Garber, Poet and Memoirist – www.elizabethgarber.com Shanna Compton, Visual Artist and Poet – www.shannacompton.com Catherine Schmitt, Journalist, Science Writer and Creative Author – www.catherineschmitt.com About the Host: Adina Salmansohn started learning to play the trombone at the age of 8.  Her undergraduate years were at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she studied with Robert F. Boyd of the Cleveland Orchestra.  After returning to her native New York, she played freelance in the NY Metro area, including multiple orchestras, big bands, and a 17 year stint with The Soundview Brass Quintet, which she founded in 1980. In addition, she had a busy career as an arts administrator, directing and teaching in Community Arts schools, light opera companies, and season programming for other non-profit organizations. Adina founded the Hudson School of Creative Arts in inner-city Yonkers, NY. After her second child was born, she returned to school, and earned a degree in Culinary Arts from the Culinary Institute of America. Her family then moved to the Chicagoland area, where she became Principal Trombone of the Skokie Valley Symphony Orchestra, and also served as a board member and Personnel Manager for many years.  In that time, she also taught Culinary Arts in high school.  She earned a Graduate Certificate in Museum Studies from Northern Illinois University in 2018. Upon retirement, she and her husband moved to Orland, Maine; she came out of retirement to teach in the JMG program. She performs with the Bangor Band, where she has been a Board Member at Large for four years, and is a member of a trombone quartet based at The University of Maine, The Bear Bones.

The post Creative Maine 4/16/26: Living the Writer’s Life in Coastal Maine first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host: Wilson Haims This week: Climate and Community learns about the Portland Climate Action Team (PCAT) from two of their members, Bill and Karina. This segment highlights why these two were compelled to get involved in local climate action and the importance of community-led advocacy to achieve the city’s sustainability and climate goals. About the Host: Wilson Haims is from Portland, Maine and earned her bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies from Wellesley College in 2023. Upon graduating, Wilson contributed to climate and conservation-related field work, policy and community engagement work in New England and the Pacific Northwest. Now, Wilson is the Manager of Community Engagement and Resilience at A Climate to Thrive and spends her time hiking, running, making art and cooking on Mount Desert Island.   Johannah, Beth, Wilson, Gus, Alison and Angie are the team at A Climate to Thrive, a nonprofit working to build a model of community-driven, solutions-focused climate action. Since its origins around a potluck table as concerned neighbors gathered to take action on climate change, A Climate to Thrive, or ACTT, has been supporting solutions on Mount Desert Island and beyond since 2016. Learn more at www.aclimatetothrive.org.

The post Climate & Community 4/16/26: Portland Climate Action Team with Bill Weber and Karina Napier (Part 1) first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host/Producer: Amy Browne Maine chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union announced Wednesday that they are suing federal agents involved in the January immigration campaign in Maine dubbed “Operation Catch of the Day”. Carvajal-Muñoz v. Ravencamp, et. al. – Holding Federal Officials Accountable We have an update this morning on what’s happening with land in Belfast that was saved from industrialization, from Pete Nichols, Executive Director of Penobscot Bay Waterkeeper Theme music: BreakBeat Chemists I, 2015 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International License

The post Around Town 4/16/26: Local News, Culture and Events first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Host: Peter Neill Producer: Trisha Badger ABOUT THIS EPISODE The Ocean Foundation is calling for a National Commission on the Regenerative Ocean that will be charged with addressing six outcomes over two years as summarized in this episode. A new Ocean Commission would join a host of other initiatives in US history that have driven national and international policy, research and programs to focus on the ocean as an integral resource upon which we all depend. WORLD OCEAN RADIO 5-minute weekly insights dive into ocean science, advocacy and education hosted by Peter Neill, lifelong ocean advocate and maritime expert. A catalog of more than 730 episodes offering perspectives on global ocean issues and solutions, and celebrating exemplary projects. Available for RSS feed and broadcast by college and community radio stations worldwide via Exchange.prx.org and Audioport.org. Visit WorldOceanObservatory.org for the full catalog, searchable by theme.

The post World Ocean Radio 4/15/26: A Call for a New Ocean Commission first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.