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Race And Public Policy In Maine: Past, Present, And Future, James Myall Jan 2020

Race And Public Policy In Maine: Past, Present, And Future, James Myall

Maine Policy Review

Maine’s bicentennial year is an appropriate moment to reflect on the historical legacy of public policy in Maine. In particular, the impact of historic policy decisions on people of color in the state is widely overlooked, perhaps because of Maine’s historical whiteness. This piece will show that, like the rest of the United States, Maine has a history of state-sanctioned discrimination, the consequences of which resonate today. Policymakers need to understand the harmful legacy of racist public policy in Maine if they are to avoid perpetuating those inequalities. Further, this piece will argue that it is not enough for lawmakers …


Reflecting On Maine’S Changing Productive Coastal Region, Teresa R. Johnson Jan 2020

Reflecting On Maine’S Changing Productive Coastal Region, Teresa R. Johnson

Maine Policy Review

This article reflects on Maine’s changing coastal region and blue economy. Much of Maine’s coastal economy is now considered to be overly dependent on a single commercial fishery, the iconic Maine lobster fishery. Marine aquaculture has grown in the last 10 years, with expansion expected both on land and sea. Marine renewable energy is also an emerging use but remains a frontier. These changes have been exacerbated by demographic changes characterized by youth out- and amenity migration. As community demographics and coastal uses continue to change following the region’s postproductive transition, policymakers must be proactive in considering potential conflicts emerging …


The Political Geography Of Maine’S Economic Future: Cities And Their Metro Regions, Joseph W. Mcdonnell Jan 2020

The Political Geography Of Maine’S Economic Future: Cities And Their Metro Regions, Joseph W. Mcdonnell

Maine Policy Review

Following a global trend that now has more than 55 percent of the world population living in cities and their metro regions, Maine’s economic and population growth are driven by our cities and the surrounding metro areas. The trend, however, will not meet Maine’s goal to attract a future workforce and reduce greenhouse gas emissions without regional solutions to housing, education, homelessness, climate adaptation, and public transportation. Meeting these challenges will require a loosening of attitudes about local control and an embracing of regional solutions to the critical issues inhibiting Maine’s economic growth. The political leadership of the state, cities, …


Indigenous Voices Charting A Course Beyond The Bicentennial: Eba Gwedji Jik-Sow-Dul-Din-E Wedji Gizi Nan-Ul-Dool-Tehigw (Let’S Try To Listen To Each Other So That We Can Get To Know Each Other), Gail Dana-Sacco Jan 2020

Indigenous Voices Charting A Course Beyond The Bicentennial: Eba Gwedji Jik-Sow-Dul-Din-E Wedji Gizi Nan-Ul-Dool-Tehigw (Let’S Try To Listen To Each Other So That We Can Get To Know Each Other), Gail Dana-Sacco

Maine Policy Review

The Indigenous peoples of this area, now known as the state of Maine, hold a cultural framework embedded in our languages that reflects a sophisticated understanding of our intimate and complex connections with all people and with the environment in which we live. Our collective identity as Indigenous people resides here and provides a firm foundation for strong healthy communities. Author Gail Dana-Sacco explores the history of Maine’s Indigenous peoples and their interactions with the state of Maine over its 200-year history.


A Call For Repairing The Harms Of Colonization: Maine’S Bicentennial As An Opportunity For Truth, Acknowledgment, Resistance, And Healing, Erika Arthur, Penthea Burns Jan 2020

A Call For Repairing The Harms Of Colonization: Maine’S Bicentennial As An Opportunity For Truth, Acknowledgment, Resistance, And Healing, Erika Arthur, Penthea Burns

Maine Policy Review

The authors examine the colonized history and present of Maine to recognize that the state’s bicentennial may not mean the same thing to all who live here. They explore the impact of settler colonialism on Wabanaki people and settler descendants and recognize the ways colonization lives in our laws, structures, policies, and worldview. And yet, in Maine today, there are already examples of the holistic, indigenous-led engagement, healing, and advocacy that this history and present call for, such as the work of Maine-Wabanaki REACH. However, this moment asks for many more of us who trace our lineages to settlers to …


Maine’S Changing Demographics: Implications For Workforce, Economy, And Policy, Amanda K. Rector Jan 2020

Maine’S Changing Demographics: Implications For Workforce, Economy, And Policy, Amanda K. Rector

Maine Policy Review

The fundamental purpose of any policy is to safeguard and improve the well-being of people. The understanding of any policy decision, therefore, must start with an understanding of demographics. This article reviews Maine’s demographics using data from the 1820 and 1920 censuses and comparing them to recent population estimates. The author finds trends that persist over time as well as ways in which Maine’s demographics have changed over the past 200 years. As 2019 ended and 2020 began, Maine saw its largest challenges as being related to the current demographic situation: slow population growth, limited available workforce, and increased demand …


Finding Inspiration (And Profit) In Maine’S Living Heritage: New Entrepreneurs Drawing Upon The Past, Kreg Ettenger 9290424 Jan 2020

Finding Inspiration (And Profit) In Maine’S Living Heritage: New Entrepreneurs Drawing Upon The Past, Kreg Ettenger 9290424

Maine Policy Review

Maine has a rich heritage of traditional arts and industries that derive from its Indigenous and settler populations and the ways its people have used its natural resources and adapted to its diverse environments. This heritage continues today in a variety of forms, from economic activities like resource harvesting to artistic expressions such as music, dance, storytelling, and the visual arts. This essay looks at how traditional or folk activities, including foods, beverages, and other artisanal industries, continue to play an important role in Maine’s economic, social, and cultural landscape. Far from being quaint traditions maintained for cultural reasons, they …


Progress For Young Mainers Paved By Education, Michael P. Delorge Jan 2020

Progress For Young Mainers Paved By Education, Michael P. Delorge

Maine Policy Review

Each year the Margaret Chase Smith Library sponsors an essay contest for high school seniors. The essay prompt for 2020 asked students to propose how they would make Maine “the way life should be” for young people so that more of them will choose to live in a state with one of the oldest populations in the nation. Essays have been edited for length. This is the second-place essay.


Institutional Challenges To Workforce Development In Maine, Thomas Remington Jan 2020

Institutional Challenges To Workforce Development In Maine, Thomas Remington

Maine Policy Review

The problem of workforce development in Maine has become acute. An important factor for understanding the issue of workforce development, in Maine and nationally, is rising economic inequality. High inequality impedes the working of labor markets, and over time, reduces opportunity and mobility. In Maine, as elsewhere, income gaps have widened between rich and poor while the middle class has been shrinking. Moreover, the gap between high-income and low-income counties has been growing. Meantime, many good-paying jobs are going unfilled. Comprehensive institutional solutions can help overcome these problems by matching supply and demand in the labor market, but they are …