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By Giselle Goodman August 14, 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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Very happy gymnast Yang Wei took the gold in the men's all-around Thursday (remember, they are 12 hours ahead of us, so when our Thursday is beginning, theirs is almost over). You can get the full story, and lots more from Beijing by visiting our Olympic coverage page, including first-person reports from sports writer Mike Lowe.

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IN THE WEATHER:

At 9 a.m., it was 63 degrees in downtown Portland.

I knew it was too good to last. Yesterday was gorgeous. A beach day for sure. Today ... not so much. A cloud cover plagues the skies, and scattered showers make for a nuisance. They will pop up through the day, and then, by Friday, we should be covered in gray and wet once again. The next chance for sun and warmth: Sunday.

ON THE ROAD:

• LANE CLOSURE: EXIT 44: SCARBOROUGH A southbound lane closure is scheduled from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the Exit 44 interchange bridge for bridge repairs. It won't cause much of a delay, but it might catch you off guard if you aren't prepared for it. In other words, take the toll booth on the far left. Work zone speed limits of 35 mph are in effect.

From Bill in Rockland: Fifty-nine degrees at 6 a.m. and very foggy indeed. It's calm and cotton-wool quiet right now.
From James in Cape Elizabeth: Cape Elizabeth is showing 60 degrees, a little foggy to the southeast, but blue sky otherwise. Will today be as nice as yesterday??

ON THE OCEAN:

A low pressure system developing off the mid-Atlantic coast brings us variable winds around 5 knots with speeds picking up through the day. Small seas: 3 feet or less. And, of course, a chance of showers.

High tides in Portland: 10:22 a.m. and then again at 10:26 p.m. Low tide: 4:10 p.m.

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THE NEWEST NEWS:

BELGRADE LAKES REGION -- After cleaning out a lake where a bloom of Eurasian Watermilfoil was confirmed, officials say they will need to do an addition survey to make sure the plant is gone.

Last week, divers with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection removed all of the Eurasian milfoil they found in a cove on Salmon Lake, also known as Ellis Lake, and installed screen netting to keep milfoil from entering adjoining Great Pond.

But DEP officials said Wednesday they'd discovered enough evidence that the plants had gone beyond the original infestation site to merit another survey. The department has not set a date for the next dive.

Milfoil is an invasive aquatic plant species that grows rapidly. Most of the roughly two dozen lakes and ponds in Maine infested with milfoil have the type known as variable water milfoil. Eurasian Watermilfoil, also known as Eurasian milfoil (seen in the photo), is even more aggressive.

The Associated Press Contributed to this report

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WASHINGTON D.C. -- Maine's beaches are getting some help from the federal government this summer.

The Environmental Protection Agency's New England office yesterday announced a $252,220 grant to help support the Maine Healthy Beaches Program. The seven-year-old program monitors water quality conditions at Maine beaches. Currently, the program keeps an eye on 58 beaches in Maine.

Since 2001, when the program began, Maine has received more than $1.6 million to help improve water quality monitoring along coastal beaches, according to a prepared release by the EPA.

EPA's Clean New England Beaches Initiative has helped states and local beach managers take the next steps of finding and eliminating pollution sources that cause beach closures. And every bit helps.

"This EPA-funded program gives us beach information that we never had before," said Martha Freeman, Director of the Maine State Planning Office in the release. "Now residents and visitors can make informed choices about their beach activities and stay healthy."

One of the benefits of the initiative is an easy to use chart showing which beaches are open, closed or under advisory.

John Ewing/Staff Photographer

In this photo, taken a year ago, Wells Beach lifeguard captain Brian Blanchard (right) and fellow lifeguards Chad Edwards (left) and Keefe Buchannan (center) were on their way to water samples at Wells Harbor, which was under an advisory for high bacteria counts at the time.

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A COUPLE FIRES FROM THE NIGHTTIME HOURS to report.

The first, in Casco, was reported around 9 p.m. in a house on Libby Road. Firefighters fought the blaze by opening up the roof and spraying water inside. No one was injured, and nobody was home at the time.

A second fire in Mechanic Falls is still smoldering. It started around 3:30 a.m. and woke a woman and her daughter. They were able to escape safely, but the house was gutted.

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WEST GARDINER -- One person was injured after a 20 mile police pursuit involving three motorcyclists Wednesday night.

Three motorcyclists allegedly speeding on the Maine Turnpike apparently split into two groups after approaching the West Gardiner Toll Plaza: Two were chased into the Water Street area of downtown Gardiner, and the other crashed after failing to make Spears Corner at the intersection of Lewiston and Spears Corner roads at approximately 9:40 p.m.

Spears Corner -- the intersection of Routes 9 and 126 and Spears Corner Road -- is a tight corner that sits at the end of a long straightaway.

A medical helicopter landed at the Helen Thompson School, near West Gardiner Pizza. It brought the injured motorcyclist to a Lewiston hospital.

Rick Caswell, who lives approximately 100 yards from the crash scene, said he heard a motorcycle go by, then looked out and saw a police cruiser chasing it. Then he said he heard a crash: "squealing tires and a thud," he said.

West Gardiner Fire and Rescue handled traffic control and the road was reopened to traffic at approximately 10:10 p.m. as several Maine State Police cruisers remained at the crash scene to reconstruct the accident.

A Maine State Police dispatcher indicated the pursuit began at Mile 92 of the Maine Turnpike.

It was unclear late Wednesday whether the two motorcyclists pursued into Gardiner had been apprehended.

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OF NOTE TODAY:

WANT TO TAKE A BOAT RIDE FOR A GOOD REASON?

Tonight's the night. Gritty McDuff's is sponsoring a Casco Bay Cruise aboard the Island Romance tonight to benefit Woodford's Family Services, a nonprofit group that supports the families of children and adults with special needs.

Tickets are $24 and include the cruise, some live music, food and, for those over 21 years of age, beer. Boarding is at 6:45 p.m. and there are still some tickets left. Call 878-9663 for more information.

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Portland Press Herald file photo

ALSO ALONG PORTLAND'S WATERFRONT don't miss today's kick-off of the 27th Annual MS Harborfest weekend. City officials will raise the Maine Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society's Harborfest regatta flag in front of the Portland Ocean Terminal at 4 p.m.

The flag raising is an important part of the weekend, which includes a parade of boats and the largest regatta in Maine, all in an effort to raise money for the Multiple Sclerosis Society.

The MS Harborfest Regatta, the highlight of the weekend, is Saturday and is followed on Sunday by a tugboat muster and other races, as well as a Shoreside Festival. Click here for a schedule of events.