The Pulse Morning Show with Pat LaMarche & Don Cookson

On this episode of The Pulse Morning Show:

Today's podcast is missing the first 25 minutes of the show! In case you missed it live, you missed out on a discussion about a Wal-Mart shopper getting bitten by a rattlesnake. You also would have learned how much Don Morgan and Don Cookson dislike snakes. They dislike them a lot-- like Indiana Jones a lot.

The Maine Legislature voted to pass the supplemental budget aimed at eliminating an 80 million dollar hole in the Department of Health and Human Services. It passed both chambers by a narrow margin. State Senator Justin Alfond was NOT very fond of the budget that passed. We spoke with him to find out what his specific objections were.

http://www.justinalfond.com/

Dennis Chinoy is from Power in Community Alliances (PICA) in Bangor. He joined us to talk about the Zone Radio forum entitled "faces of the Poor" which is happening next Wednesday, May 23 and why PICA wanted to get involved.

Can you imagine losing 100 pounds? That's exactly what Sherry Johnston did.
Her weight loss journey began on national television as a cast member on NBC television's "The Biggest Loser". Sherry is in town to talk about her experiences on “TBL”, and about here struggles with sleep apnea at a free seminar, co-sponsored by St. Joseph Healthcare’s Center for Sleep Medicine.

The so-called "cease fire" in Syria is over a month old now, and yet every day there are reports of bombings, shootings, and deaths. We spoke with Major General Don Edwards about what might possibly transpire next as the international community works to see an end to the killing there.

On this edition of The Pulse Morning Show:

The legislature is expected to vote on the budget today, and a number of groups are taking part in a rally at the State House to voice their displeasure with cuts to several worthwhile programs. Ben Dudley heads the organization Engage Maine, and he's formed a coalition of groups referred to collectively as Maine Can Do Better, who are all scheduled to be in attendance at the State House event.

http://www.engagemaine.org/web/

Big news for Mainers United for Marriage today as a challenge grant of $100,000 is being announced, and field offices are opening in several locations, including across the river in Brewer. We spoke with Mainers United Campaign Director Matt McTighe about these and other developments in the campaign to allow same sex marriage in Maine.

http://www.mainersunited.org/

The Veteran's Administration is hosting their annual VA2K Event in several locations across Maine today, including Bangor. Last year's VA2K at the VA facility in Togus was the most successful event in the entire nation with respect to fundraising. We spoke with Susie Whittington of the VA to learn more about how people can participate or make a donation, as well as learning about some surprise guests expected at the Togs location today, including Wally the Green Monster!

On this episode of The Pulse Morning Show:

The Legislature is expected to vote tomorrow on the latest budget from the Appropriations Committee. Many have referred to the cuts proposed as "shortsighted", because they eliminate services that save money in the long-term. We spoke with Garrett Martin of the Maine Economic Policy Center to get his take on the latest budget, and it's safe to say Garrett is not its' biggest fan.

www.mecep.org

Maine receives tens of millions of dollars each year as the result of a lawsuit-- one that claimed big tobacco companies were using illegal tactics to market their products. The settlement money was used to establish the Fund for a Healthy Maine (FHM). The FHM has long been safe during the budget process. The incoming money was squirreled away to fund grants aimed at improving the health of Maine residents, with the long-term goal of driving down health care costs. In the current budget though, nearly $11 million dollars is getting chopped from the FHM. We spoke with Becky Smith, policy officer for Maine Public Health Association, about what the FHM does, and how proposed cuts will mean not just a loss of much needed services, but also a loss of jobs as well.

http://www.mainepublichealth.org

This weekend is the date for the Bike MS: Ride Bar Harbor 2012. This annual fund raiser offers 3 different routes for bicyclists who want to take part. We were joined in the studio by Steve Faloon of the National MS Society and Gail Kelley, who was diagnosed with MS nearly 20 years ago, and has been working with the MS Society on fundraisers like this weekend's ride for years.

www.bikemsgne.org

On this episode of The Pulse Morning Show:

VA facilities across the Nation are once again holding VA2K walk and roll events on Wednesday, May 16. VA2K helps the Department of Veteran Affairs to raise awareness and support the needs of homeless Veterans. This year the VA Maine Healthcare System is expanding the 2K Walk + Roll to include events in Bangor, Portland, Caribou and Saco. We spoke with Susie Whittington of the VA about the local event in Bangor at 35 State Hospital Drive in Bangor on Wed. May 16 from 11:00 to 1:00pm. Call Karen or Dawn at 561-3670 for more info!

Maine GOP lawmakers finally came across with their change package for the latest DHHS 2013 budget...and it's not pretty. The actual numbers in the budget they were pushing were not made available to the public and Democratic Party members of the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee until the committee met yesterday. The budget then went through on an 8-5 vote. Senator Dawn Hill is the ranking Senate Democrat on the committee and she joined us to shed some light on what the budget contains.

http://www.mainesenate.org/2012/05/gop-lawmakers-push-dangerous-irresponsible-budget/

Last weekend's state GOP Convention in Augusta was an extremely chaotic affair, as Ron Paul supporters essentially hijacked the proceedings and took over the event. Many Republicans were none too happy, including Mitt Romney supporters and Republican Senate candidates who were banking on the convention to promote their campaigns and let people know who they were.
Now the national Republican Party is making some noise that they may not allow delegates from Maine who support Ron Paul to be seated at the national convention. We spoke with UMaine political Science Professor Amy Fried about what happened in Augusta, and what it could mean when the national convention rolls around later this summer.

http://bangordailynews.com/author/amyfried/

A local man is doing what he can to help a family devastated by loss in the wake of a very public suicide. Benjamin Brown joined us in the studio to explain what he's doing for the family of musician Dean Levasseur, who took his own life at ChickenStock, an annual unsanctioned party/concert near the UMaine campus.

On this episode of The Pulse Morning Show:

Maine Democrats are accusing Governor Paul LePage of handing down "secret marching orders" to members of the Republican party on the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee. LePage sent a memo to AFA members in the Republican Party but he hasn't presented a change package to the entire committee, and Dems are crying foul. We spoke with Senator Dawn Hill, the ranking Senate Democrat on the AFA committee to get her take on these latest budget shenanigans.

http://www.dawnhill.org/

Peter Van Buren is a US State Department employee who has fallen out of favor with his employers because of his recent book "We Meant Well-- How wI Helped lose the Battle For The Hearts and Minds of The Iraqi People". Peter joined us to talk about how the US economic mess can be traced directly to wasteful spending on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

www.wemeantwell.com

Fair Trade goods are just that. Fair. From far-away farms to your shopping cart, products that bear the fair trade logo come from farmers and workers who are justly compensated. Fair trade helps farmers in developing countries build sustainable businesses that positively influence their communities. This Saturday is World Fair Trade Day in Orono, and 5 local businesses are doing their part to help raise awareness of fair trade practices. We spoke with Kathy Lyons who operates Fair Trade Matters, a business using the home party model made famous by companies like Tupperware and Silpada to make fair trade products available to end users. Kathy tells us all about this Saturday's events including what businesses are participating and how you can get involved.

https://www.facebook.com/events/225202674261391/225870017527990/?notif_t=plan_mall_activity

Voters in North Carolina approved an amendment to their state's constitution that bans same sex marriage by a whopping 61-39 margin yesterday. That sounds like making bigotry a part of their state constitution to us. We spoke with David Farmer, communications director for Mainers United for Marriage about what this vote means,if anything, for the upcoming statewide vote in Maine on same sex marriage, and he told us about the upcoming Brewer/Bangor Area's 'Day of Action' Event set for May 19.

http://www.mainersunited.org/

Someone has stolen the Gnome! Roman Gnome, a fixture at downtown Bangor's The Charles Inn (he's the little guy made famous in the Travelocity commercials) was lifted from the inn's lobby area sometime earlier this week. We need to get him back! We spoke with owner/operator Connie to find out how people can help bring Roman home.

www.thecharlesinn.com

On this episode of The Pulse Morning Show:

Don Cookson returned from a couple days off, just in time for Don Morgan's birthday! We wish him a very happy day with his family and friends.

Diane Nilan is the founder of HEAR US, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to giving voice and visibility to homeless children and youth. Diane is well known for her documentary films on the subject of homeless youth, and she is putting the finishing touches on her latest work right now.

www.hearus.us

Ever been on a family vacation with a fisherman? That usually means a trip to a great place to fish, but what about everyone else in the family? How about choosing a destination that has great fishing AND other attractions to keep the rest of the family entertained? Author Sheila Grant can help-- her book "50 Great New England Family Fishing Vacations" will show you hundreds of destinations across six states perfect for the whole crew!

www.sdgrant.com

Maine's Matinicus Island has always been thought of as a mysterious place, miles from the mainland, with a hard way of life all its' own. Now it's the setting for author Darcy Scott's new novel aptly named Matinicus. It's the first in a series of 3 "island mysteries", and it's available via Amazon and several independent book stores across Maine starting Thursday.

www.darcyscott.net

Chris Ross is an accomplished singer/songwriter/musician, and his brand new CD Halfway to Wonderland is now available. Chris wows us every time he visits the studio, and today was no exception-- check out his performance of the song "Your America" from his new CD, and then head to your nearest Bull Moose to grab a copy for yourself!

www.chrisross.net

On This Edition of The Pulse Morning Show:
Representative Jon Hinck joined us early on the show this morning. Jon is running for Snowe's open Senate seat. He gave us some opinion from the Democratic viewpoint on the weekend's GOP convention in Maine. Rep. Hinck also gave us some insight on his concern areas for the country.

http://www.maine.gov/legis/housedems/jhinck/

We were also able to get thoughts from the Republican side on how the GOP convention panned out. Representative Ken Fredette joined us via phone to weigh in on the convention happenings and had some interesting conversation with Pat about the GOP'S future ambitions in DC.

http://www.maine.gov/legis/house_gop/members/fredette.htm

This past Saturday was the arraignment of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Terry Rockefeller attended the proceedings via closed circuit television. Terry, who lost her sister at the World Trade Center site on September 11, 2001, is a founding member of Peaceful Tomorrows and a longtime, active member of Amnesty International USA. She discussed with us her perspective on the handling of these arraignments.

http://peacefultomorrows.org/

Jane Thibodeau, founder of the Sonya Grenier Barclay Memorial Scholarship fund dropped in to the studio to talk about the upcoming fundraiser for the scholarship. At the event they will have a silent auction, cash bar, and hors d'oeuvres by Jane's Catering. It's Friday May 11th, 7p to 11p at the Old Town Knights of Columbus Hall.

On This Edition of The Pulse Morning Show: Don Cookson is taking some time off, Deke Rivers was at the helm of mission control trying not to screw it up to bad. Pat was very patient and a good sport with the change up in co-host.

Joining us in the early morning was Benjamin Pollard a Democratic primary candidate for U.S. Senate. He is hoping to take the seat left by Sen. Snowe. He gave us some insight to the projects he would like to work on if he wins the seat.

http://pollard2012.net/about/

Our Government would like the ablility to collect infomation from the internet, on us, from private companies. CISPA (Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act) has passed the House and is on the way to the Senate. David Jacobs from the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) talked with us about what this law is going to give the Government access to.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyber_Intelligence_Sharing_and_Protection_Act

Tomorrow is Climate Impacts Day, Bob Klotz from 350 chatted with us about how folks can get involved. The CID is about connecting the dots between climate change and extreme weather. Be sure to check out their webstite for all the information.

http://www.350.org

Finally, the lady who correctly answered the "Who The Hell Is This?" on 4/25 (answer:Yuri Andropov). Kathleen Adams joined us to talk about how she knew the answer to that paticular question, as she was part of a group of students who visited the Soviet Union in 1986.

On this episode of The Pulse Morning Show:

Plenty of voters say they are fed up with the two party system, and they would consider voting for an alternative if one were available. Well, two alternatives are out there-- the Green Party and the organization known as Americans Elect. We were joined on the phone by Green party Presidential hopeful Dr. Jill Stein, and she shared her opinions on the current political mess in D.C. and expressed concerns about Americans Elect.

http://www.jillstein.org/

Former Maine Gubernatorial Candidate Eliot Cutler called in to talk about the latest developments with Americans Elect (where he is a member of the Board of Directors). He also discussed his involvement with the senate campaign of Angus King--Eliot is one of a number of people listed as an advisor to the King campaign. We also discussed Eliot's OneMaine organization.

www.onemaine.com

A recent court decision in California has cleared the way for a public television station in San Francisco to accept paid political and public issue advertisements. What does this mean for the news product this station generates? We were joined live in the studio by Mark Kelley, Head of the Journalism Department at the New England School of Communications at Husson University in Bangor.

www.nescom.edu

On this episode of The Pulse Morning Show:

Governor LePage's comments regarding corruption in middle management have put other state employees in a precarious position. Now two prominent members of the Republican Party have come forward calling on LePage to apologize for his remarks, and several department commissioners have refused to respond to media inquiries regarding alleged corruption within their departments. Some lawmakers are reaching out to their constituents directly, including State Representative Sharon Treat, who sent out an email to explain exactly what she thought of LePage's comments.

http://www.sharontreat.org/

A decision is expected in the coming days from the Environmental Protection Agency regarding guidelines for water protection efforts. The decision is being anxiously awaited by the Natural Resources Defense Council, who is working hard to protect the clean drinking water so many take for granted. We spoke with Jon Devine, Water Director for the NRDC, about what this decision could mean and how you can help to make sure the EPA makes the right call.

www.nrdc.org

Habitat for Humanity is involved in a great national program designed to highlight women in the construction field and help provide affordable housing to those in need, and it's called Women Build. This year, Habitat for Humanity Bangor is partnering with Lowe's Home Improvement Stores to offer a series of training seminars that will show any interested women
(or men!) how to do all sorts of projects, from painting to insulation installation to putting on a new roof! We spoke with Amanda Charette from Habitat Bangor to learn how people can get involved.

http://www.habitatbangor.org/