On the podcast this week, Cate and Esther discuss the presidential debate and its aftermath, Maine’s new online voter registration system and increased rates of Mainers registering to vote. They also discuss Maine’s housing crunch and how it’s affecting college students and some possible solutions seen in Connecticut. Plus rays of hope. You can submit… The post Voter registration in Maine and the Taylor Swift effect first appeared on Maine Beacon ..read more

As hard as it may be for Gov. Janet Mills to face, the most important lesson laid out in the report on the October 2023 Lewiston shooting is that Maine’s yellow flag law, written by her and passed by our legislature in 2019, is that it failed to protect Maine people from exactly what it… The post Opinion: Lewiston report affirms failure of yellow flag law and need for red flag first appeared on Maine Beacon ..read more

On the podcast this week, Cate interviews Miles Rapoport, Executive Director of 100% Democracy, an initiative to advance voting as both a fundamental right and a civic responsibility. Ask a question or leave a comment for a future show at (207) 619-3182. Subscribe to the podcast feed using any podcasting app or subscribe on Apple… The post 100% Democracy: Miles Rapoport makes the case for making sure everyone votes first appeared on Maine Beacon ..read more

This week on the podcast, Ben interviews Vincent Bevins, journalist and author of the new book If We Burn: The Mass Protest Decade and the Missing Revolution. Bevins discusses the mass movements of the 2010s across the world, where they failed and how change can be made. Ask a question or leave a comment for… The post Vincent Bevins on why mass protests have failed, how to make real change first appeared on Maine Beacon ..read more

Across the country, states and municipalities have recognized that to retain workers, and prevent more people from falling into poverty, the minimum wage must be at least $20 an hour. It is past time for Maine to do the same. In California, the minimum wage for health care workers will be $25 an hour by… The post Opinion: It’s Time for $20 first appeared on Maine Beacon ..read more

This week on the podcast, Ben interviews Deepak Bhargava, a longtime social justice leader and organizing luminary on his new book, Practical Radicals: Seven Strategies to Change the World. Cate and Ben also discuss Kamala Harris’ economic agenda and their shared love of Robert Caro. Ask a question or leave a comment for a future… The post Deepak Bhargava on how to be a practical radical first appeared on Maine Beacon ..read more

In 2006, when Rep. Tim Walz first won his seat to Congress, in a district George Bush had easily won in the presidential election two years prior, Walz defeated, by a tiny margin, an incumbent Republican who had won re-election by double digits two years earlier. In 2018, when Rep. Jared Golden first won his… The post Opinion: What Jared Golden can learn from Tim Walz first appeared on Maine Beacon ..read more

Members of Maine’s immigrant community led a rally Friday evening calling for improved access to permanent residency status. The group called on Maine’s members of Congress to support or co-sponsor updating the Registry Act for Immigration Reform. Updating the act would provide a pathway to legal status for more than 8 million undocumented immigrants. “The… The post “We have come here with full-fledged humanity”: Immigrant community calls on Congress for residency status support first appeared on Maine Beacon ..read more

This week on the podcast, Esther Pew is joined by an impressive array of Maine LGBTQ and reproductive rights experts to discuss the implementation of the state’s new shield law, protecting health care providers and patients from investigation and prosecution by authorities in other states. The panel includes Mary Bonauto with GLBTQ Legal Advocates &… The post Maine’s shield goes up – stopping out-of-state attacks on reproductive and trans health care first appeared on Maine Beacon ..read more

I am one of hundreds of millions of people who have had their care denied by their insurance company. Unfortunately my story is not unique. And yet, stories like mine are what helps bring attention to these companies and the harm they’re causing. That’s why I stood in the pouring rain last month and shouted… The post “My care is not for profit”: Getting arrested for demanding insurance companies do better first appeared on Maine Beacon ..read more