Call-In Special: Are New Englanders Becoming More Territorial During The Pandemic?

By WCAI's The Point

Published May 13, 2020 at 3:58 PM EDT

A "locals only" sticker was posted on a car in Vermont with New Jersey license plates. In response, the car's owner wrote, "Love they neighbor as I do you."

Across New England, tensions already existed between year-round residents and "part-timers."

Now, as coronaviruspushes more people from crowded cities to rural second homes, it's raised the question: "Whose town is this anyway?"

Air Date: May 14, 2020

Join us for an America Amplified special from the New England News Collaborative. We’ll bring together voices from around the region, and we want to hear yours. We depend on your support. Donate to Connecticut Public today.

As a year-rounder, is now an opportunity to welcome visitors to your community?
Or should states be doing more to deter people from coming?

Call us between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. on May 14 during our live, regional broadcast. The call-in number is 866-999-4626.

You can also join the conversation by tweeting us at @NENCNewEngland, or emailing AmericaAmplified@nepr.net.

Guests:

Smita Lahiri, a lecturer of anthropology and international affairs at the University of New Hampshire.
Julian Cyr, a Massachusetts state senator representing Cape Cod and the Islands and a member of the Cape Cod Reopening Task Force.

Credits:

Host:Mindy Todd of WCAI’s “The Point”

Coordinating Producer:Morgan Springer

Executive Producer:John Dankosky for America Amplified

Executive Editor:Vanessa de la Torre

Additional support: Elsa Partan, Dan Tritle, Mark Manuelian, WCAI, New England Public Radio, Maine Public, New Hampshire Public Radio, Vermont Public Radio and Connecticut Public.