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By Portland Press Herald Staff Report May 05, 2008 09:30 AM

Sunrise Herald is the early morning news update feature at
pressherald.com. It is updated at 6, 7, 8 and 9 on weekdays.

Welcome to the Sunrise Herald with Giselle Goodman, the place to go to get the news from overnight and beyond...

IN THE WEATHER

At 9 a.m., it was 46 degrees in downtown Portland.

Patchy fog and cloudy skies are supposed to give it up today to make room for a little sun and seasonal temps the mid 60s. Light breeze. A little late in my opinion as I stood in the driving rain ALL DAY yesterday at a miserable, wet, cold and muddy horse show. Three cheers for Spring in Maine...

From Bill in ROCKLAND: 41 degrees and calm this early morning with dissipating cloud cover. Can't tell if I have gallons of dew or unabsorbed rain.

From Shawn in YARMOUTH: This first Monday in May and Cinco de Mayo dawns here with blue sky, no wind, 48 degrees and very green. All that rain helped jump start all the growing things in my yard.

From Mark in BRUNSWICK: 44 degrees this morning, and things appear to be drying out. Gray skies overhead, and just a breath of wind.

From Karen in STEEP FALLS:
It's 43 degrees this morning and still a bit wet outside. I can't wait for the sunshine later! Happy Monday and Cinco de Mayo! Muy bueno!
From James in CAPE ELIZABETH:
Cape Elizabeth is showing 44 degrees at 07:15 with clear skies and sunshine pouring in the windows. I have 20 yards of mulch to spread so this looks like a job for today!

ON THE ROAD:

• Pine Point Road (Route 9) is back open from Route 1 to Old Blue Point Road after a water main break shut the road down for most of the day yesterday. Travel is back to normal on that stretch of road.

• Beginning today, MaineDOT’s Bridge Maintenance Division is scheduled to begin work in the Gardiner/West Gardiner area on the I-295 Cobbosseecontee Bridge (say THAT three times fast). This work is expected to last up to one week. During this time, there will be single lane traffic from the Route 126 overpass through the bridge area, during day and night. Currently crews are scheduled to work first in the right lane on the bridge. Once complete, the lane will be reopened to traffic and the other lane closed to conduct similar work.

ON THE OCEAN:

Last night's small craft advisory ends at 8 a.m., as calmer conditions prevail. Wind from the north 10 knots switches to a southerly breeze, also blowing around 10 knots. The 3 to 5 foot seas settle into 2 to 3 foot swells.

High tide today in Portland at 11:29 a.m. and 11:40 p.m. Tide was low around 5:16 a.m. and will be again around 5:26 p.m.

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PRESUMPSCOT STREET IS BACK OPEN now that Central Maine Power officials have replaced a utility pole that was snapped in half by a hit-and-run driver last night.

The driver, whose name is not being released yet, hit the pole around 3 a.m., and snapped it. He then left the car and ran away but police caught him quickly. He was transported to a hospital with injuries that are not life-threatening. He has been summonsed for the incident.

The road was closed between Washington and outer Ocean Avenue. from 3 a.m. until just before 8 a.m.

HERE, KITTY KITTY. It's time for your "operation."

The Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland with support from the City of Portland will conduct a Trap-Neuter-Return project on Peaks Island starting today and ongoing this week.

Through a $5,000 grant from PetSmart Charities, the city will trap cats who are feral and neuter them to help keep the wild feline population under control.

League officials estimate 25-50 stray and feral cats will be surgically sterilized in the clinic, where volunteers humanely trap the cats and transport them to an animal hospital entirely staffed by volunteers, including the veterinarians.

Trapping and surgeries will be happening today until 7 p.m., at which time the recovered cats will be returned to their habitats on Peaks Island.

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This is a new feature I'm trying out. I'll add it whenever I can. Let me know what you think. It's here because I'm often told "the press" only reports "bad news", never the good news. So...here it is:

MEMBERS OF MAINE'S ARMY NATIONAL GUARD were called into service Saturday and will continue through the week to help with flood recovery in Aroostook County.

Members of the 133rd Engineer Battalion, Maine Army National Guard, join 70 other soldiers from the 185th Engineer Company based in Caribou and Fort Kent.
This is the first opportunity for the 185th, which recently converted from Field Artillery to Engineers, to use their newly acquired engineer equipment in support of a state disaster relief mission.

Officials tell us the engineering soldiers will be working to clear debris from bridge platforms and community roadways. The National Guard soldiers will also conduct "presence patrols," making sure unoccupied structures are protected from vandalism, etc.

In other flood-related "good" news, classes resume today at the University of Maine at Fort Kent after being closed for a week due to the record flooding that impacted the entire St. John Valley.

But this week will be a busy one, including two days of make-up classes, a three-day truncated schedule of final exams, award ceremonies, and the campus’ 126th commencement.