As Lewiston voters prepare to decide Question 1 — a ballot measure that would restrict syringe service programs — public health experts and community advocates are urging residents to consider the potentially devastating consequences for people struggling with substance use disorder. This week on the podcast, retired emergency and addiction medicine physician Dr. Paul Vinsel,…
With federal threats to food assistance and health care looming due to President Donald Trump’s budget proposal, Maine lawmakers approved a series of measures this session aimed at protecting the state’s most vulnerable residents. Among the new laws is LD 698, sponsored by Sen. Rachel Talbot Ross (D-Cumberland), which provides a one-time $4.5 million boost…
Since taking office, President Donald Trump has signed dozens of executive orders that attempt to curtail federal funding streams and reshape everything from education policy to birthright citizenship. The legal responses have been swift, as Maine and other states turn to the courts to fight the changes. On April 7, Maine filed its first solo…
This week, Beacon reporter Dan Neumann joins Ben and Esther to discuss the results of the independent commission regarding the shooting in Lewiston, specifically the finding that the police force and military could have done more. They talk about gun safety in the state legislature, and what real change might look like. Also, it’s the…
On the Beacon Podcast this week, Esther and Cate reflect on the hearing of LD 780, a proposed amendment to the Maine state constitution which would further protect abortion access and reproductive healthcare in Maine. They also discuss what the process for implementation of the new paid family and medical leave law looks like and…
This week on the Beacon Podcast, Esther is joined by Olivia Pennington from Maine Family Planning, Julia McDonald and Aspen Ruhlin from the Mabel Wadsworth Center and Lisa Margulies from Planned Parenthood Maine. Together they discuss access to reproductive and gender affirming healthcare in Maine and efforts to protect it with legislation, and a constitutional…
This article was first published by KFF Health News. Bill Eisenman has always fished. Th Today, a branch of the Rouge River runs through Eisenman’s property in a suburb north of Detroit. But in recent years, he has been wary about a group of chemicals known as PFAS, also referred to as “forever chemicals,” which…
Homelessness is a state of deprivation. Those who are homeless need shelter to be safe; they don’t have it. They need a toilet for basic bodily functions; they don’t have one. They need a shower to keep clean; they don’t have that, either. Because such deprivation dramatically affects the well-being of people who are homeless,…
The state’s largest nursing union, the Maine State Nurses Association, is endorsing an effort to oust Central Maine Power and Versant, Maine’s embattled, investor-owned utilities. The union is emphasizing the dangers of the companies’ actions (and high utility bills) to community health. In a press conference on Wednesday morning, nurses announced the endorsement alongside other…
A judge in Montana this week ruled in favor of a group of youth activists who argued in a lawsuit that the state failed to consider the climate impacts of approving fossil fuel initiatives — a landmark legal decision based on a provision in the state’s constitution providing residents with the right to a healthy…