Can you believe it's that time of year again? But it is, indeed, that time of year again. The first week of school. Flocks of Maine's best and brightest are heading to their learning institutions, which for you means:
• Obey school zone speed limits.
• School buses always have the right of way. Plan your commute accordingly.

IN THE WEATHER:

At 9 a.m., it was 61 degrees in downtown Portland.

A day much like yesterday in store, with brighter skies in the morning than the afternoon. Clouds move in, especially in the coastal plain, as swirly storms rage in the seas just south of us. But, for us, just clouds with only a very slight chance of rain with a better chance of temperatures in the upper 70s.

ON THE ROAD:

It was a busy travel weekend for the Maine Turnpike. Busier than turnpike officials expected. But not as busy as last year.Nearly 731,000 vehicles traveled on the turnpike from Friday until Monday, with Friday seeing the highest traffic volume at 241,648 cars entering the highway. Overall, it was about 11,000 more than the turnpike projected. But it was also 2.2 percent less than the same four-day period last year.

ON THE OCEAN:

Compared to the string of nameable storms and hurricanes raging in the south, Casco Bay is a kitten today. Winds from the northeast 5 to 10 knots. Seas 1 to 2 feet. Purrrrr.....

High tide in Portland: 2:15 p.m. Low tides: 8:03 a.m. and 8:29 p.m.

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THE NEWEST NEWS:

Newsworthy things from the recent past, the present, or the not-too-distant future.

PARIS -- The man accused of killing two men in West Paris last month will be in court today to argue for bail.

Duane Waterman, 32, made his initial appearance in Oxford County Superior Court in early August after police arrested him for the shooting deaths of Timothy Mayberry, 50, and Todd Smith, 43, whose bodies were found July 26 on Mayberry's property in West Paris.

Waterman was arrested on August 5, while he was fishing with his two children on Brettuns Pond next to Route 4 in Livermore.

Waterman has been held in the Oxford County Jail without bail ever since. The hearing will be held at Oxford County Superior Court.

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CROWN POINT, Ind. (AP) -- A man from Maine pleaded guilty yesterday to a brutal torture-slaying case in Indiana from almost 30 years ago.

David Bowen, 44, of Portland recently told an Indiana court he was the person who the murdered 8-year-old Kenneth "Butch" Conrick.

The boy was reported missing in October 1979. His nude body was found later in a wooded area near his family's Gary, Ind., home. He was bound to a tree and a cord had been tied around his neck. Authorities said his body showed signs of brutal, prolonged torture.

Prosecutor Bernard Carter said Bowen had forced the boy to perform a sexual act on him and became enraged when he stopped. Bowen then stabbed the boy in the chest multiple times with a stick, then cut him with a piece of glass, Carter said.

Bowen, then 16, lived in the same neighborhood and emerged as a suspect. He had been accused of a violent sexual assault on a 9-year-old boy a year earlier, but police said that boy's mother agreed not to press charges because Bowen underwent psychiatric treatment.

Bowen became a suspect, but no physical evidence linked him to the slaying then. Investigators reopened the case three years ago, and a DNA sample from Bowen's sister showed genetic similarities. Sentencing for Bowen is set for Oct. 7. He was arrested in Maine in December and extradited to Lake County.

Bowen, who lived in Portland for more than two decades with his wife, is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 7. He could be sentenced to 50 years in prison.

In December, the Portland Press Herald published an in-depth report about how neighbors and people who knew him were shocked by his arrest. Click here to read it.

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FALMOUTH -- Falmouth Road is back open after the Portland Water District repaired a water main break that forced officials to shut the road down around 2:30 p.m., yesterday.

The section of Falmouth Road between Leighton and Mill roads had to be shut down for several hours but police said the break was fixed and the road reopened around 11:30 p.m.

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OF NOTE TODAY:

Going on this day, at this time, in case you're interested.

THE UNITED WAY OF GREATER PORTLAND KICKS OFF THIS YEAR'S FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN TODAY with a breakfast (on-going as of 7:30 a.m.) and motivational talk for employee campaign managers, members of the campaign cabinet, business leaders and other volunteers.

The breakfast began at 7:30 a.m. at the Hannaford Hall in the Abromson Community Education Center at USM. It continues through the morning, with the presentation of this year's campaigning tools.

United Way Day is Sept. 26. Click here to find out how to get involved.

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I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP:
News of the weird and other strange things happening in Maine.

EAST MACHIAS (AP) -- A giant gorilla that's been a longtime fixture outside a flea market store in East Machias has gone missing and its owner is asking that the mechanical ape be returned, no questions asked.

Lowell Miller didn't realize that his gorilla had been stolen from Sandy's Sales on U.S. 1 until closing time Sunday. Miller thought his clerk had wheeled the ape inside, and the clerk thought Miller had.

Miller said he was amazed that anyone would steal such a heavy object. Valued at about $1,500, it has a cement platform and is equipped with motors that turn the gorilla sideways and make its arms go up and down.

State police have put out an all-points-bulletin on the primate, which they suspect may be holed up in some college student's apartment.

Copyright 2008 Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Copyright 2008 Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.