When Second District Rep. Jared Golden first ran for Congress in 2018, Gigi Larrc phonebanked and wrote postcards on his behalf. She volunteered again during his re-election campaign in 2020. But after a series of what she considers broken promises and his current opposition to President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better agenda, Larrc says that…
With wildfires and heat waves raging this summer across the U.S., it’s clear that the effects of climate change are situated squarely in the present tense. In Maine, the story is the same, with the annual temperature 3.2 degrees higher than it was in 1895, the Gulf of Maine heating faster than 99% of the…
A coalition of grassroots organizations in New England joined state and federal lawmakers in calling on President Joe Biden to pass the THRIVE Agenda, a roadmap developed by 150 progressive groups nationwide directing lawmakers to use $10 trillion in federal funds to address the climate crisis while empowering workers, communities of color, tribal nations, and…
Holding signs and wearing masks, state workers, teachers and climate activists picketed outside Sen. Susan Collins’ office in Augusta on Wednesday, calling out the senator and her Republican colleagues for heading home on recess last week without passing additional COVID relief to bolster state budgets and preserve critical services and jobs. “The local governments are…
Grassroots progressive groups in Maine joined Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Congressmembers Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), and Sunrise Movement co-founder Varshini Prakash on Tuesday evening for the online kick off of Renew New England, a campaign to push the key policy goals of the Green New Deal in the state houses of New…
Although physical rallies are cancelled, Maine climate change activists are taking their movement online for the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. Partnering with the Maine chapter of the Sunrise Movement and Maine Youth for Climate Justice, Maine Climate Strikes is hosting a three-day Earth Week online mobilization meant to highlight how the “systems of oppression”…
On the heels of new federal legislation that seeks to address the climate-change imperative, on Tuesday state lawmakers officially launched their effort to pass a Maine-focused Green New Deal. The effort has the backing of the state’s most prominent environmental and labor organizations. Freshman state Rep. Chloe Maxmin (D-Nobleboro), the sponsor of LD 1282, “An…
This week on the Beacon podcast, Taryn, Ben and Mike react to some amazing audio from a right-wing radio show. Also: a big update on Clean Elections and they examine a Russian online pressure campaign against Sen. Susan Collins. Plus: Taryn gives an update on a groundbreaking climate change lawsuit and Ben gives some gifts.…
On Saturday, more than a hundred Mainers from across the state gathered at the Bangor waterfront and in canoes, kayaks and other craft on the Penobscot River to celebrate the waterway and support the Penobscot Nation’s ongoing struggle to protect the river and the local watershed. In May, the Penobscot Nation defended its jurisdiction over…
On Saturday, more than 2,000 Mainers marched to the State House in Augusta to demand action on climate change at both the state and federal levels. They made a compelling case that the future of the state is riding on the actions governments at all levels take right now to address the global threat. “I…