The Public Square

Homelessness in Massachusetts

With the downturn in the economy, joblessness has increased as the government safety net has been trimmed. The result is increased homelessness.

How should we cope with the problem of homelessness? Should the government step in, or should religious groups take the lead?

In this episode, host Jeff Thielman talks with Joe Finn, the Executive Director of the Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance, and his colleague, Dr. Jessie Gaeta, a Physician Advocate. Joe Finn has worked on homeless issues for more than 17 years, and he is also a member of the city council in Quincy. Dr. Gaeta is on the staff at the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program and is a faculty member at the Boston University Medical Center.

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Should the Bottle Bill be Expanded?

This month's episode of "The Public Square" discusses the proposed expansion of the Massachusetts Bottle Bill. Jeff Thielman interviews Janet Domenitz, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group (MassPirg), State Senator Ken Donnelly, and several local residents who share their views on this issue.

The Public Square is hosted by Jeff Thielman, produced by Josh Lobel, directed by Jared Bessette-Kirton, and edited by Joanne Morreale. The Audio Director is Lucas Gradwohl, and the camera crew is Lee Gera and Barbara Costa.

Episodes of “The Public Square” can be downloaded at any time by visiting www.publicsquaretv.com .

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The Public Square is broadcast on other local cable stations. Please see "Broadcasts" for a list of stations that feature our show.

Working Through the Recession

This month “The Public Square” takes a look at the impact of the economy on workers and efforts by labor unions during the current recession.

The show includes interviews with people impacted in different ways by the economic downturn and a discussion on the role unions play with Steve Early, a labor organizer, lawyer and journalist who spent 27 years working for the Communication Workers of America, and Jennifer Doe, an organizer with Jobs with Justice, a national organization that advocates for workers rights. Early is the author of several articles and books, including the recently released, “Embedded with Organized Labor,” a collection of essays and articles on the labor movement.

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Are you sick of our healthcare system?

As officials in Washington, DC take part in a historic debate about legislation that seeks to overhaul the nation’s healthcare system, The Public Square hears from local residents who talk about their experiences as patients, caregivers, policy analysts, and practitioners in the current system.

This month’s program is entitled “Are you sick of our healthcare system?” The show includes excerpts from a healthcare forum in February at Arlington’s Town Hall that was sponsored by the Obama-Biden transition team and in-depth interviews with some participants in the forum. The show concludes with a discussion between Dr. Alex Bingham, a licensed family practitioner with more than 20 years of experience as a physician in Massachusetts, and Nicholas Herold, MPH, who has worked on health care policy issues for many years.

The Public Square is hosted by Jeff Thielman, produced by Josh Lobel, and edited by Barbara Costa, Alex Stange and Joanne Morreale.

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Our Neighbors from Sudan

Four thousand refugees from Sudan have come to the United States, and over 250 have called the Greater Boston area home.

The Greater Boston Sudanese community has created a center in Arlington, MA. The Sudanese Community Center provides support, training and information for the several hundred displaced Sudanese in our area. They also coordinate speaking engagements throughout Boston.

This episode of the Public Square features conversations with some of the leaders of the community, as well as people from the Sudanese Education Fund which is helping with education initiatives.

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Saving Energy

This month’s episode of "The Public Square" provides viewers with tangible ways to save energy. The show is hosted by Arlington School Committee member Jeff Thielman.

Jeff interviews Arlington residents and Energy Smackdown™ team members Ryan Katofsky, Martin Lamonica, Glenn Koenig, and Marc Breslow. The Energy Smackdown™ is a community outreach program that offers busy Americans an effective way to move from awareness to action. The interviews take place in each person’s home, giving viewers a first-hand look at the improvements they’ve made. This is a chance to learn some simple, low-cost steps that every family can take to save energy and hear about ideas that require a larger investment, including installing solar energy systems. For more information about the Energy Smackdown™, goto www.energysmackdown.com

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Cancer and Hope

This month’s episode of The Public Square is an inspirational program about cancer survivors. The show is hosted by Arlington School Committee member Jeff Thielman.

You can download the show by visiting http://vimeo.com/2344395 .

The show features Arlington’s Center for Cancer Support and Education, a grassroots, high impact organization providing cancer support and wellness services to patients, caregivers, family members, and health care professionals. Jeff interviews Mary Lewis Sheehan, the founder and Board President of the Center, and Ben Garton, the Center’s Development Director.

To learn more about the Center for Cancer Support and Education, please visit http://www.centerforcancer.org/.

The episode includes four moving interviews with local cancer survivors Susan Morse, Caroline Ronten, Peter Rubens, and Wendy Morcos who share powerful stories of struggle and hope. The show also includes on-the-street interviews with local residents impacted by cancer.

What is Question 1?

This month "The Public Square," which is hosted by School Committee member Jeff Thielman, features an in-depth conversation on Question 1, the Ballot Initiative that asks voters if they want to eliminate the Massachusetts Income Tax.

The show begins with on-the-street interviews and is followed by a debate between Michael Widmer of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation and Rich Aucoin of the Committee for Small Government. Widmer opposes the elimination of the income tax, and Aucoin supports Question 1. Their discussion is spirited and engaging, and will add to your knowledge on this important issue.

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Inside Beacon Hill

In September, there will be a primary for a new state senator for the Middlesex 4th district, which includes Arlington, Billerica, Burlington, Lexington (pcts 1 and 2 and 4-7 and Woburn (ward 1, wards 3-7). This month we are featuring two shows on the Senate Race.

This fall several communities will be electing new State Senators.

What do our senators do? How can they affect our lives? What qualities make a senator effective? This month we talk to Laura Barrett, a communications specialist for the Massachusetts Teachers Association, the largest state union and two state senators, Steve Tolman and Karen Spilka about these issues.

The goal of "The Public Square" this month is to give people information as they make their choice for State Senator.

One-on-One Inteviews with Senate Candidates

As a follow-up to the Beacon Hill show, we are featuring inteviews with the democratic candidates for the office are Arlington Selectman Jack Hurd and Ken Donnelly, CFO of the Professional Firefighters of Massachusetts. Brion Cangiamila, who is running a sticker campaign for the Republican nomination, was invited to be on the show but was unable to make the interview due to a family emergency.

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Arlingtonians in Iraq and Afghanistan

This month’s episode of “The Public Square” focuses on Arlington’s experience with the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The show is hosted by School Committee member Jeff Thielman. Many of us have strong feelings about the war, but few of us are actively involved, either in fighting the war or trying to stop it. For those show, we sought out those people.

The program includes interviews with four veterans with differing opinions on the U.S. invasion – Major Mark Stachelski, a 1989 graduate of Arlington High School who served in Afghanistan, Jim Bailey, a veteran of Iraq who is a member of the Arlington Fire Department, and Ian LaVallee, a 2002 graduate of Arlington High School who is a leader in the local chapter of Iraq Veterans Against the War. The show also includes an interview with an Arlington resident who after a 30-year military career began working as a private contractor in Iraq.

Other interviews include one with Colin Campbell, a 2008 graduate of Arlington High School who organized an effort to collect care packages for the troops, Theresa Corbett whose son is preparing to leave for the War, and several members of Arlington’s United for Peace with Justice group, which holds weekly vigils in town in an effort to end the war.

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The Public Square -- Teens and Sex

Many of our children are sexually active.  The new Risk Behavior Survey results show almost half of our 12th graders have had intercourse.  Are we doing enough to prepare them for this aspect of their lives?

This month, the Public Square interviews your neighbors on the street, then visits Lexington and Cambridge to see what they offer their students.  We talk to health educator and author of "The Talk", Dr. Sharon Maxwell who thinks there are major parts of the conversation that are being left unsaid.

Finally, we wrap up with a panel of Arlingtonians who discuss what's happening in Arlington today.  Panelists include Dr. Carole Allen, pediatrician and chairman of the Board of Health, Amanda Formica, AHS 2006 grad, Cindy Bouvier, Dir of Health and Wellness for the school department, and recently retired school committee member Susan Lovelace, who was also the past director of the Alliance for Teen Pregnancy.

Please join us on The Public Square to explore this important topic.

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Thinking about Drinking

Every other year, students in our high school complete a Risk Behavior Survey. It may not be a surprise, but there are a lot of kids drinking in town.  Unfortunately, there are also quite a few who travel in cars driven by drivers who have been drinking.  Fortunately, there are also many services that we provide to help students through the challenges of their high school years.

This month, Jeff spoke to parents and students to find out what they think about drinking. Should kids be allowed to drink at home? Should they wait until they're 21? Is adolescent drinking a problem, or a rite of passage that we all went through?  Is it something that should be addressed?  How do we avoid the tragedies that ensue from drinking and driving?

In the last two years, the town has formed a Youth Health and Safety Coalition which has members from the Police,  School and Health departments.  In this show, we get to know some of these individuals as Jeff talks to Police Chief Ryan, high school resource officer Bryan Gallagher and Andrea Razi, the high school social worker. He's joined in the studio by Cindy Bouvier, Director of Health, Wellness and Counseling for the school department, Christine Connolly, the town's Director of Health and Human Services, and Susan Lovelace, former Chairperson of the School Committee.

Please join us on the Public Square for a stimulating discussion of an age-old problem.

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The Greenline Extension to West Medford

The first program is about the possible extension of the Green Line to Medford, and the impact the project may have on people in Arlington. The state is doing a study of potential stops in Somerville and Medford, including the possibility of terminating the Green Line at Route 16, close to many people in East Arlington.

The program includes interviews with Arlington residents at bus stops in East Arlington, a conversation with state officials, and a panel discussion with Laura Wiener from Arlington’s Planning Department, Ed Starr, Chairman of Arlington’s Transportation Advisory Committee, and two Medford residents impacted by the project.

A public hearing on the Green Line Extension Project will be held at Arlington’s Town Hall on Wednesday, March 26th at 7 p.m. The state is eager for feedback on the project as they determine how far it will be extended.

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