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By Giselle Goodman July 24, 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 onward...
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IN THE WEATHER:

At 9 a.m., it was 71 degrees in downtown Portland.

A brief break in the weather in downtown Portland at 6:30 a.m. provides a tiny respite from the wicked, wet thunderstorms that plagued the state last night.

But note I say brief. The rain came back minutes later. It's safe to say that overall, today will be a wash-out.

And another thing - the little rivulets of water running down Market Street and glistening in the 30 seconds of sun in downtown Portland remind me - there is a flood watch now for nine Maine communities, such as interior York and Cumberland counties, Androscoggin and southern Oxford counties.

From WEATHER WATCHER Bill in Rockland: Foggy, drizzly (when it's not flat-out raining) and 62 soggy degrees at 5:30 a.m. A negligible wind which seems to be picking up. So far not much to recommend the day.

From WEATHER WATCHER Shawn in Yarmouth: It is wet wet wet here this morning. It is 66 degrees with a light rain falling, though it has rained harder on and off. There is also a light wind and some stronger gusts blowing the leaves around making the rain seem even harder.

From WEATHER WATCHER Marc in Brunswick: There's a small deluge occurring in Brunswick at 6:30 this morning and it feels eerily warm with 68 degrees already. We had storms through the night, including some thunder around 1:15 a.m.

ON THE ROAD:

• ROUTE 117 IN BUXTON BETWEEN THE ROUTE 202 INTERSECTION AND SIMPSON ROAD will be closed today.
       Maine DOT will be removing trees along the roadway. The road will be closed from 6 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. in order to remove the large trees crowding the roadway. During the closure, Route 112 will be used as a detour. If work proceeds more quickly than planned, Route 117 will be reopened early.

• EXITS 31 and 31A IN TOPSHAM under construction until July 26.
       Milling and paving crews will begin night work on the Exit 31 southbound on-ramp and 31A off-ramp in Topsham. (See map below).

This will be night work, conducted from 7 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. and is expected to continue through Saturday. Instead of using Exit 31, motorists should plan on using Exit 28 and those who normally use Exit 31A should use 31B.

ON THE OCEAN:

Don't go out there!

Yikes. Big seas. Big wind. A small craft advisory in effect, but probably safe to say you should probably stay off the water unless you are operating a tanker. Winds gusting up to 30 knots and higher. Seas swelling at seven feet or more.

High tide in Portland at 4:04 p.m. Low tides: 9:47 a.m. and 10:18 p.m.

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THE NEWEST NEWS:

GRAND FALLS, New Brunswick (AP) -- The search for a man who jumped into the Grand Falls gorge in New Brunswick near the Maine border has been suspended indefinitely.

Grand Falls Police Chief Jean Real Michaud says the St. John River is too murky to conduct an effective search.

Divers were brought in Wednesday along with dozens of firefighters and volunteers to search the area near a tourist center. That's where witnesses saw a young man dressed in a black shirt and black pants climb a fence, walk out onto the rocks and leap into the deep gorge Tuesday night.

Michaud says there have been no reports of a missing person and the man's identity remains a mystery.

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EAST HARTFORD, CONN. (AP) -- Jet engine maker Pratt & Whitney is seeking an unspecified number of workers to accept voluntary retirement packages as the company cuts its work force to adapt to troubles in the airline industry, but how that will affect workers in the Maine branch of the company is unclear.

Company spokeswoman Jennifer Whitlow on Wednesday would not say how many workers from Connecticut will be affected. Meanwhile, James Parent, a representative of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, said Pratt & Whitney informed the union Monday that it will ask 71 hourly workers to take buyouts. The company also said it will ask salaried workers to take buyouts, he said.

On a positive note, for Mainers at least, the buyouts for hourly workers would not apply to Pratt & Whitney's engine parts plant in North Berwick. But salaried workers at that facility could be affected, Whitlow said.

The East Hartford-based company cited reduced orders for airline engine spare parts and a delay in Airbus engine orders, Parent said. According to Whitlow, the downturn in the economy and fuel costs were reasons why the company is reducing its work force.

Parent said the union will try to eliminate the need for buyouts by determining whether work by vendors and subcontractors can be done by Pratt & Whitney employees.

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TOWSON, MD. (AP) -- Dr. Victor A. McKusick, the key architect of the Human Genome Project and a winner of the National Medal of Science, has died of complications from cancer. He was 86.

McKusick, whose work explored the links between genetics and disease and won the top U.S. scientific prize in 2001, was a Maine native.

He grew up on a dairy farm here and is the twin brother of former Maine Chief Justice Vincent McKusick.

As a young man, McKusick planned to enter the ministry but changed his mind after suffering from a severe streptococcus infection in his armpit in 1937. He first attended Johns Hopkins as a medical student in 1943.

McKusick trained as a cardiologist but an encounter with a tall patient with an inherited disorder called Marfan syndrome altered the course of his career and sent him on a career path devoted to medical genetics.

In 1966, McKusick published the first edition of Mendelian Inheritance of Man, with 1,500 entries on inherited disorders. Now the publication has grown to more than 20,000 entries.

McKusick was one of the first to propose the human genome map in 1969 and helped establish the Human Genome Project. He also helped establish the journal "Genomics."

McKusick and his colleagues taught a two-week course in genetics each summer in Bar Harbor, attracting more than 4,000 students, doctors and researchers.

Two disorders carry his name: McKusick Type Metaphyseal Chondrodysplasia, a form of dwarfism found among the Amish; and McKusick-Kaufman syndrome, a developmental disorder marked by congenital heart disease, buildup of fluid in the female reproductive tract and extra fingers and toes.

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BOSTON -- Two people were rescued yesterday off the coast of Maine by the Coast Guard with the help of good rescue help and good Samaritans.

Here are the reports, provided by the Coast Guard.

       Coast Guard Station South Portland received a call from a boat called Sea Tow at 1:14 p.m., reporting that an 18-foot pleasure craft was aground near Cushing Island and people were possibly in the water.

An urgent marine information was broadcast over the radio, standard procedure when responding to a distress call to alert boaters in the area of the situation.

"The main priority in a search and rescue case is to find the nearest vessel and get them there as quickly as possible," said Ken Stuart, a search and rescue specialist at Coast Guard Sector Northern New England. "It doesn't matter who arrives first, as long as they are willing and able to help a fellow mariner in need."

Portland Water Taxi arrived on scene to find the vessel operator in the water trying to free the vessel. The taxi service dislodged the stranded vessel, which was carrying four passengers, but damaged its own propeller in the process.

Sea Tow towed the water taxi vessel, and a 25-foot rescue boat crew from Coast Guard Station South Portland escorted the recreational boat to Cushing Island.

No injuries or pollution were reported.

       Later, about 2:18 p.m., Coast Guard Station South Portland received a 911 call reporting that a person in the water was yelling for help near Pomroy Rock.

An urgent marine information broadcast encouraged nearby boaters to lend a hand. The station also launched a 47-foot rescue boat to the scene.

The Falmouth Police Department was on a routine patrol with two Coast Guard members aboard and diverted to the scene.

When they arrived, two good Samaritans in kayaks were trying to help the person in the water, who had fallen off a dinghy.

The crew aboard the Falmouth police boat pulled the person from the water and transported the person to awaiting paramedics at East End Beach.

"Urgent marine information broadcasts are a great tool to alert local partners and good Samaritans of emergency situations," said Stuart. "We truly appreciate the quick response in both of these cases."

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OF NOTE TODAY:

PORTLAND -- Want to learn how to make that subdivision you are planning environmentally sound?

Today, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Portland will share some of their tips on going green while building.

"Green Exterior Wall Systems" is the first class in the "First Green Subdivision Educational Seminar Series." The 4 p.m. class will be held at the Demerest Street Ext. Habitat for Humanitty subdivision, which is made of four single-family homes all LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified.

Teachers will discuss the importance of knowing where your wood comes from, how to make siding and walls more sturdy through the use of rain screens and the importance of air sealing and regulating moisture movement through insulation.

There is no cost for today's lesson.

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BRUNSWICK -- Midcoast Hospital and the Maine Center for Cancer Medicine will celebrate the opening of its new Cancer Resource Center today with a ribbon cutting.

The new center, located at 81 Medical Center Drive in Brunswick, will be a place where patients, family members, caregivers and the public can find up-to-date, easy-to-understand cancer information, as well as resources for coping.

The center, staffed by American Cancer Society volunteers, will be open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Today's ribbon cutting ceremony is scheduled for 3 p.m.