Beacon

Beacon Beacon is a project of the Maine People's Alliance.

Beacon is a website and podcast created by the Maine People’s Alliance to highlight the experiences of everyday Mainers, share information about the political and policy processes that affect Maine people.

This week on the podcast, we are revisiting Ben’s conversation with grassroots organizing expert Marshall Ganz for a spe...
15/08/2025

This week on the podcast, we are revisiting Ben’s conversation with grassroots organizing expert Marshall Ganz for a special encore episode. The two discussed how to strengthen organizing skills, effectively build a movement, and create lasting change.

Ganz is a senior lecturer in leadership, organization and civil society at Harvard University and the author of “People, Power, and Change: Organizing for Democratic Renewal” and “Why David Sometimes Wins: Leadership, Organization, and Strategy in the California Farm Worker Movement”.

Listen at the link below or on your favorite podcast app!

This week on the podcast, we are revisiting Ben's conversation with grassroots organizing expert Marshall Ganz for a special encore episode. The two discussed how to strengthen organizing skills, effectively build a movement, and create lasting change. Ganz is a senior lecturer in leadership, org

Maine is joining 20 other states in suing the Trump administration over a new rule that could limit immigrant families’ ...
14/08/2025

Maine is joining 20 other states in suing the Trump administration over a new rule that could limit immigrant families’ access to Head Start programs. Rita Furlow of the Maine Children’s Alliance warned the changes could cause children to miss critical early education and health interventions, causing long-term harm and worsening Maine’s child care shortages. She added that immigrant parents, already on edge, could choose to keep their kids home.

“Families may now consider not participating, even if they do qualify,” Furlow said. “It just may make families nervous or uncomfortable.”

Click the link below to read the full story.

Experts said many centers are already facing federal funding delays, which have impacted their preschool programs, and meeting new administrative immigration requirements could put them out of business. Rita Furlow, senior policy analyst for the Maine Children's Alliance, said immigrant parents,

Health insurers in Maine have requested rate increases of up to 32.7% for 2026, affecting more than 115,000 residents in...
14/08/2025

Health insurers in Maine have requested rate increases of up to 32.7% for 2026, affecting more than 115,000 residents in the state’s individual and small business insurance market. The Maine Bureau of Insurance is hosting a virtual public forum on Friday, Aug. 15, at 9 a.m. where Mainers can ask questions and weigh in on the rate increases.

Kate Ende, policy director at Consumers for Affordable Healthcare, said the increases are the highest in recent years and urged Mainers to participate.

“People being involved in the process is always impactful,” Ende said, “and so certainly showing up and sharing comments at the public forum is impactful.

Read the story below to learn how to register for the forum, or send written comments to [email protected].

Maine residents will have an opportunity Friday to weigh in on proposed health insurance rate hikes of up to 32.7% that could affect more than 115,000 people in the state’s merged individual and small group market. The Maine Bureau of Insurance will host a virtual public forum at 9 a.m. on Aug. 1

Today marks the 90th anniversary of Social Security — and we’re taking a look at Sen. Susan Collins’ record. From voting...
14/08/2025

Today marks the 90th anniversary of Social Security — and we’re taking a look at Sen. Susan Collins’ record. From voting forward Trump’s new tax bill that is projected to drain $30B a year from the Social Security and Medicare trust funds, to decades of votes undermining the program, her actions have threatened the benefits millions rely on.

Click the link below to read the full story.

The new tax policy in Pres. Donald Trump’s budget bill is projected to speed up the depletion of Social Security’s trust funds — and U.S. Sen. Susan Collins has been a pivotal supporter of measures threatening the program’s future. The GOP’s budget package not only extends the 2017 Trump t...

Maine’s yellow flag law is “cumbersome, inefficient,” and failed to prevent the Lewiston shooting, says Opinions Columni...
13/08/2025

Maine’s yellow flag law is “cumbersome, inefficient,” and failed to prevent the Lewiston shooting, says Opinions Columnist Ethan Strimling. Passing Question 2 would let families act quickly to remove guns from someone who poses a threat, potentially saving lives in cases of domestic violence, su***de, or mass shootings.

“Six times [the gunman’s family] asked for help, but they were barred from going to the one place that could have actually prevented the tragedy,” Ethan writes. “Had an Extreme Risk Protection Order been in place in 2023, they would have only had to ask once. On November 5, let’s make sure the next family has that chance. Vote yes on Question 2.”

Click the link below to read Ethan's full column.

Nearly two years ago, Maine’s yellow flag law failed to remove over 15 guns, 19 high capacity magazines, and hundreds of unused bullets from a home less than 15 miles from the Just-In-Time Recreation Center in Lewiston. That failure allowed a Maine man to open fire on over 100 people, shooting 3

Genesis HealthCare, a private equity-owned chain operating 11 Maine nursing homes, has filed for bankruptcy after fallin...
12/08/2025

Genesis HealthCare, a private equity-owned chain operating 11 Maine nursing homes, has filed for bankruptcy after falling behind on millions in rent to its landlord, a real estate investment trust.

The bankruptcy has sparked calls to permanently implement and expand new Maine legislation, which put a temporary ban on private equity in hospital ownership. Marie Follayttar with Maine AllCare explained that this financial model does not work in health care because private equity puts profit ahead of people.

“Unchecked private equity inevitably ends up with bankruptcy, closing of facilities, impaired and problematic care requiring additional oversight,” Follayttar said. “... We can’t afford for short term investors to mess with the healthcare infrastructure of our state.”

Click the link below to read the full story.

Genesis HealthCare, which owns 11 nursing homes in Maine from Kennebunkport to Orono, filed for bankruptcy in July — reporting to owe between $1 billion and $10 billion in debt. The company was acquired in 2021 by ReGen Healthcare, a private equity-backed firm affiliated with Pinta Capital Partner...

A University of New England student is mapping climate threats to Maine’s historic lighthouses, which face rising seas, ...
11/08/2025

A University of New England student is mapping climate threats to Maine’s historic lighthouses, which face rising seas, faster Gulf of Maine warming, and increasingly damaging storms.

Environmental Science major Regina Dyer has identified the most vulnerable sites, with her maps soon to appear on the American Lighthouse Foundation’s website to guide preservation and fundraising. Dyer said she hopes her project helps raise awareness of what Maine stands to lose without greater climate action.

“It’s going to affect your children. It’s going to affect your grandchildren,” said Dyer. “It’s going to affect your friends, your neighbors. It’s going to be affecting everyone.”

Click the link below to read the full story.

A University of New England student is working to ensure Maine’s iconic lighthouses are protected from the growing impacts of climate change. Research indicates the Gulf of Maine is already warming faster than any body of water on the planet, and back-to-back storms last year caused extensive dam

This week on the podcast, Ben, Cate and Channa dig into Sen. Susan Collins' latest string of controversial votes — from ...
08/08/2025

This week on the podcast, Ben, Cate and Channa dig into Sen. Susan Collins' latest string of controversial votes — from confirming far-right conspiracy theorist Joe Kent and former Fox News host Jeanine Pirro, to approving funding for a $1 billion jet for Trump on the back of taxpayers.

Also, health insurance rates are proposed to rise, up to 32% next year, for small business owners and self-employed Mainers. But it's not too late to act. The superintendent of the Maine Bureau of Insurance is hosting a virtual public forum on Friday, Aug. 15 at 9 a.m. for all those who wish to voice their concerns. Mainers must preregister for the forum on the Bureau's website, or can submit comments and questions to [email protected].

Finally, our hosts discuss Maine’s upcoming Ballot Question 1, a voter suppression measure they say would gut absentee voting, and call to vote “no” in order to protect voting rights.

Click the link below to listen to the full story!

This week on the podcast, Ben, Cate and Channa dig into Sen. Susan Collins' latest string of controversial votes — from confirming far-right conspiracy theorist Joe Kent and former Fox News host Jeanine Pirro, to approving funding for a $1 billion jet for Trump on the back of taxpayers. Also, hea

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is shutting down after Congress voted to eliminate its funding for the first tim...
08/08/2025

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is shutting down after Congress voted to eliminate its funding for the first time in 50+ years. Sen. Susan Collins, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, had introduced an amendment to restore CPB funding but withdrew it under pressure.

Collins had also previously spoken out against NPR, echoing Trump administration claims of bias and said that she “would support defunding it.”

The CPB is the biggest funder of public radio and TV, including programs like Sesame Street, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, PBS NewsHour and NPR News. Both national and local media is expected to be impacted.

Click the link below to read the full story.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) is shutting down after more than five decades, and U.S. Sen. Susan Collins had the chance to stop it. The agency announced its closure following the passage of the GOP-led federal rescissions bill and the release of the Senate Appropriations Committee

This November, Mainers will vote on a referendum that would roll back key parts of the state’s absentee voting system — ...
05/08/2025

This November, Mainers will vote on a referendum that would roll back key parts of the state’s absentee voting system — limiting drop boxes, ending ongoing absentee status for seniors and people with disabilities, banning prepaid return postage, and adding a strict photo ID requirement. Opinion columnist Ethan Strimling writes how this proposal, backed by Republicans, is a direct threat to Maine’s tradition of high voter turnout and accessible elections.

“Many might suggest that the GOP simply adjust their policy positions closer to what working Mainers need, such as higher wages, good public schools, affordable health care, less climate destruction,” Ethan writes. “Instead, they have chosen a path less controversial to their donors, suppressing those voters they don’t like (think the poor, older Mainers, and communities of color).”

Click the link below to read Ethan's full column!

In perhaps the most honestly written question ever put before Maine voters (thank you Secretary of State Shenna Bellows), Question 1 on the ballot this November speaks for itself: “Do you want to change Maine election laws to eliminate two days of absentee voting, prohibit requests for absentee b

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