Talk of the Towns 8/12/26: Celebrating the Work of Healthy Acadia over 25 Years
Producer/Hosts: Ron Beard and Liz Graves College of the Atlantic provides help with production. Engineering by Joel Mann of WERU Community Radio. Theme music for Talk of the Towns Theme is a medley from Coronach, on a Balnain House Highland Music recording. Talk of the Towns: Local Community concerns and opportunities This month: What are some of the milestones in Healthy Acadia’s 25 year history? What are the connections between promoting and enhancing health and wellness and the health care sector? What are examples of how Healthy Acadia works with partners? What are ways in which Healthy Acadia measures outcomes of its work? How does Healthy Acadia approach the issue of food security? How does Healthy Acadia support people in recovery? Guest/s: Elsie Flemings, Executive Director, Healthy Acadia. Maria Donahue, Community Health and Prevention Director, Healthy Acadia. Katie Freedman, Community Health and Food Programs Director, Healthy Acadia. FMI: healthyacadia.org About the hosts: Ron Beard is producer and host of Talk of the Towns, which first aired on WERU in 1993 as part of his community building work as an Extension professor with University of Maine Cooperative Extension and Sea Grant. He took all the journalism courses he could fit in while an undergraduate student in wildlife management and served as an intern with Maine Public Television nightly newscast in the early 1970s. Ron is an adjunct faculty member at College of the Atlantic, teaching courses on community development. Ron served on the Bar Harbor Town Council for six years and is currently board chair for the Jesup Memorial Library in Bar Harbor, where he has lived since 1975. Look for him on the Allagash River in June, and whenever he can get away, in the highlands of Scotland where he was fortunate to spend two sabbaticals. Liz Graves joined Talk of the Towns as co-producer and co-host in July 2022, having long admired public affairs programming on WERU and dreamed of getting involved in community radio. She works as the Town Clerk for the Town of Bar Harbor, and is a former editor of the Mount Desert Islander weekly newspaper. Liz grew up in California and came to Maine as a schooner sailor. The post Talk of the Towns 8/12/26: Celebrating the Work of Healthy Acadia over 25 Years first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.
8 Jul 2026
Talk of the Towns 7/8/26: Stories from a Thousand Towns, with Dar Williams
Producer/Hosts: Ron Beard and Liz Graves College of the Atlantic provides help with production. Engineering by Joel Mann of WERU Community Radio. Theme music for Talk of the Towns Theme is a medley from Coronach, on a Balnain House Highland Music recording. Talk of the Towns: Local Community concerns and opportunities This month: What inspired Dar Williams to write her 2017 book What I Found in a Thousand Towns? Why is “positive proximity” such an important factor in building healthy communities? What kinds of projects foster connections for community members? What kinds of “spaces” help build communities? How has A Climate To Thrive exemplified some of the lessons that Dar Williams has written about? How might resilient communities respond to the consequences of climate change? Guest/s: Dar Williams, singer, songwriter, author of What I Learned in a Thousand Towns. Andy Revkin, journalist, musician, host of podcast Sustain What. Johanna Blackman, Executive Director, A Climate to Thrive. FMI: www.aclimatetothrive.org darwilliams.com revkin.substack.com/podcast criteriontheatre.org About the hosts: Ron Beard is producer and host of Talk of the Towns, which first aired on WERU in 1993 as part of his community building work as an Extension professor with University of Maine Cooperative Extension and Sea Grant. He took all the journalism courses he could fit in while an undergraduate student in wildlife management and served as an intern with Maine Public Television nightly newscast in the early 1970s. Ron is an adjunct faculty member at College of the Atlantic, teaching courses on community development. Ron served on the Bar Harbor Town Council for six years and is currently board chair for the Jesup Memorial Library in Bar Harbor, where he has lived since 1975. Look for him on the Allagash River in June, and whenever he can get away, in the highlands of Scotland where he was fortunate to spend two sabbaticals. Liz Graves joined Talk of the Towns as co-producer and co-host in July 2022, having long admired public affairs programming on WERU and dreamed of getting involved in community radio. She works as the Town Clerk for the Town of Bar Harbor, and is a former editor of the Mount Desert Islander weekly newspaper. Liz grew up in California and came to Maine as a schooner sailor. The post Talk of the Towns 7/8/26: Stories from a Thousand Towns, with Dar Williams first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.
10 Jun 2026
Talk of the Towns 6/10/26: Maine Municipal Association connects Maine towns and cities
Producer/Hosts: Ron Beard and Liz Graves College of the Atlantic provides help with production. Engineering by Joel Mann of WERU Community Radio. Theme music for Talk of the Towns Theme is a medley from Coronach, on a Balnain House Highland Music recording. Talk of the Towns: Local Community concerns and opportunities This month: What is the overview of Maine Municipal Associations (MMA) 90 year history? What are the core services that MMA provides to Maine towns and cities? What is the role of MMA’s monthly magazine? Why might citizens want to get involved with local government, as volunteers or by running for election? Guest/s: Kate Dufour, Director, Advocacy & Communications for MMA and Magazine Editor Mike Starn, former MMA Communications and Magazine Editor 1975-2010 Jill Goldthwait, former State Senator, municipal officer and longtime friend of MMA, long time columnist (State of Maine for 21 years) for Ellsworth American and Mount Desert Islander Kay Rand, former Director of State and Federal Relations for MMA 1977-1988 FMI: www.memun.org/https://www.memun.org/Media-Publications/Maine-Town-City www.memun.org/Media-Publications/Local-Government-in-Maine www.memun.org/Media-Publications/MMA-Podcast About the hosts: Ron Beard is producer and host of Talk of the Towns, which first aired on WERU in 1993 as part of his community building work as an Extension professor with University of Maine Cooperative Extension and Sea Grant. He took all the journalism courses he could fit in while an undergraduate student in wildlife management and served as an intern with Maine Public Television nightly newscast in the early 1970s. Ron is an adjunct faculty member at College of the Atlantic, teaching courses on community development. Ron served on the Bar Harbor Town Council for six years and is currently board chair for the Jesup Memorial Library in Bar Harbor, where he has lived since 1975. Look for him on the Allagash River in June, and whenever he can get away, in the highlands of Scotland where he was fortunate to spend two sabbaticals. Liz Graves joined Talk of the Towns as co-producer and co-host in July 2022, having long admired public affairs programming on WERU and dreamed of getting involved in community radio. She works as the Town Clerk for the Town of Bar Harbor, and is a former editor of the Mount Desert Islander weekly newspaper. Liz grew up in California and came to Maine as a schooner sailor. The post Talk of the Towns 6/10/26: Maine Municipal Association connects Maine towns and cities first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.
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