Community Voices for Change is a talk show highlighting the work of individuals and organizations working to enhance the greater good of communities. Producer and Host Richard Rudolph begins each show with music from Sam Cooke’s Ain’t That Good News Album -“A Change is Gonna Come”. The show is also based on the writings of Howard Zinn and other writers who believe if we get organized “Small acts” multiplied by hundreds, thousands of people we can transform our communities, the state and possibly even the world. Jam Lewis, is the sound engineer.
Upcoming Shows
June 13. The show will feature Luke Truman, Elissa Armstrong, and Risa Hiser and who are members of the Portland Climate Action Team which is working at the local and state level to reduce carbon emissions which are responsible for climate change. Our discussion will focus on a number of initiatives that the group is currently working on including an idle free campaign, solaRISE Portland – helping students get solar put on Portland schools, advocating for an updated energy code and helping with the One Climate Future Climate Action Plan.
June 6. The show will feature Karin Leuthy and Keili Whitlock Burton, co-leaders of Maine Suit Up which is a statewide, all-volunteer, progressive grassroots group of more than 5,400 Mainers that seeks to create and foster a more informed and engaged electorate. The organization raises awareness and advocates for policies and legislation that promote equity and equality in civil rights, social justice, health care, the environment, education, the economy and other areas that affect the lives of all people. Suit Up foster collaboration among state’s progressive groups and organizations “to collectively connect, educate, and motivate Mainers to rise in non-violent resistance to a regressive agenda.
May 30. The show will feature former Maine Senate President Justin Alfond who is the treasurer and secretary of Full Plates/Full Potential, an organization that was first set up in 2014 to bring together child food insecurity stakeholders from across the state. Our conversation will focus on the ongoing work of this organization and its partners in reducing child hunger in the state.
May 23. The show will feature Jake A. Plante who has written a Maine Voices column entitled “America’s big automakers are running out of gas”. It was recently featured in the Portland Press Herald. He is also the author of a recent book entitled Uncle Sam, and Mother Earth: Shaping the Nation’s Environmental Path. Our conversation will focus on General Motors and Ford who are doubling down on a sales strategy featuring large gas guzzling cars and trucks at the same time gasoline and diesel-powered internal combustion engines are giving way to more efficient electric-drive technology.
May 16. Our guest tonight is Michael Hillard, Professor and Director of the Food Studies Program at the University of Southern Maine. The show will focus on USM’s Food Studies program and the World Hunger Summit which was held on campus earlier this year. The focus will be on different strategies to end hunger here in Maine and elsewhere in the world.
May 9. Our guest tonight is Tom Sterne, M.D., a retired primary care physician who is a member of the Maine Chapter of Physicians for All Care Programs. Our focus will be on the current effort -MaineAllCare to establish publicly funded healthcare coverage for all Maine residents -“a system that would be efficient, financially sound, politically sustainable and provide benefits fairly distributed to all.”
May 2. Our guest tonight is Maine Representative Chloe Maxmin (D-Nobleboro) who will talk about her bill – LD 1282 “Act to Establish a Green New Deal in Maine”. If passed, the bill would establish a goal to increase Maine’s electric consumption generated from renewable resources from 40% to 80%, support solar power for schools paid through a $15 million bond and create a task force for a Green New Deal focusing on economic growth, job creation and producing more renewable energy sources. It would also establish a commission on a Just transition ensuring a shift to a low carbon economy.
April 25.. The show will feature youth activists who participated in the Youth Day of Action on climate change held at the State House on April 23. Anna Siegel is a 7th grader at the Friends School who is a member of 350 Maine and organized the March 15 rally in Portland that coincided with the global School Strike for Climate. Quilla Flanagan-Burt is a senior in high school at Waynflete. Cassie Cain, is the Youth Engagement Coordinator for 350 Maine. They will talk about why they support action to combat climate change.
April 18. The show will feature Seth Berry, the Co-Chair of the Maine Legislature’s Joint Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology. We will talk about why he believes CMP’s proposed power line project is a bad deal for Maine: the negative impacts and why there is no clear economic benefits for the state and no clear evidence greenhouse gas reductions. He will also share his thoughts on why Maine should establish a State-Wide Power Authority which would take over CMP’s distribution system.
April 11. April 11. My guest tonight is Jim Hanna, the executive director of the Cumberland County Food Security Coalition. The show will first focus on why community food insecurity exists in Maine and the role that food pantries play in providing food to those in need. We will also talk about the need for a more systemic approach to solving the problem and the work that his organization is currently doing in Cumberland County.
April 4. The show tonight will feature Barry Woods, Director of electric vehicle innovation for ReVision energy of Portland, the state’s largest solar equipment installer. Barry is Maine’s leading electric vehicle evangelist. We will talk about why there is a need to make the transition to electric cars and buses and what the State and Federal Government needs to do to help make it more affordable for folks who want to buy an electric vehicle.
March 28. The show will feature the honorable Troy Jackson, Maine Senate President. We will focus on what he hopes to accomplish this legislative session regarding making prescription drugs more affordable, more accessible and hold both drug makers and middlemen accountable.
March 21:The show tonight will feature Meagan Sway, the policy counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine, where she works to protect and promote civil rights and civil liberties at the local and state levels through advocacy and public policy.
Meagan previously represented men and women unjustly convicted and sentenced to death in Alabama, children sentenced to die in prison, and pregnant incarcerated women seeking to protect their constitutional rights.
Our discussion will focus on Criminal Justice reform in the State of Maine. The ACLU is supporting a number of bills that have been introduced in the Maine State Legislature this year.
March 16: Our guest is state senator Justin Chenette who represents District 31 in the Maine Senate. Justin made history at age 21 in 2012 when he became the youngest legislator in Maine and the youngest openly gay legislator in the U.S.
The show tonight will focus on his current effort to reduce the role that money plays in state politics. He has introduced four different bills to the state legislature.
March 7: The show will feature Caleb Horton and Al Cleveland who are members of the Democratic Socialist Party of Maine. They will talk about the history of socialism in the U.S. and how Democratic Socialism is different than what exists in other countries. They will also talk about the DSP and the issues that they are currently focused on going forward in the state.
February 28: John Carroll, Corporate Communication Director, Avangrid will talk about CMP’s proposal to build a 145 mile transmission line to carry direct current to Massachusetts to meet that state’s clean energy needs. Mr. Carroll will address how this proposal will reduce carbon emissions as well as offer benefits to folks living in Maine.
February 21: Jeff Clements, President of American Promise and staff member, Wambui Gatheru, Citizen Empowerment Coordinator, will talk about their organization leading the charge to win the 28th Amendment so We the People – not big money, not corporations, not unions, not special interests—govern the United States of America. The Amendment process will help set reasonable spending limits in political elections, so that all Americans—regardless of net worth—can take responsibility for our lives, govern ourselves, and honor our national destiny.
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Archive Descriptions