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By Giselle Goodman October 20, 2008 09:00 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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AT THE PRESENT TIME IN SCARBOROUGH: There is a widespread power outage effecting much of Route 1 north of the Hannaford Drive intersection and about 1,000 Central Maine Power Company customers in that area. CMP spokeswoman Gail Rice says the outage was caused by an animal that made contact with the power grid at the Pleasant Hill Road substation shortly after 8 a.m. She said the power should be back on within the hour.

Scarborough Police, meanwhile, recommend avoiding Route 1 from Oak Hill to the South Portland line until power is back on line.
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IN THE WEATHER:

At 9 a.m., it was 32 degrees in downtown Portland.

I jinxed myself on Thursday. Woke up to a frosted windshield this morning and you will too if you have to get up before the sun. Luckily, we are expecting a very bright sunny day, with less wind than yesterday, which will bring our mid-day temps up to the mid to upper 50s (woo-hoo). Don't want to scrape a windshield? My advice: Go back to bed until, say, 11 a.m.

FROM THE SUNRISE HERALD WEATHER WATCHERS:

Bill in Rockland says: The universe still seems to be functioning despite last night's Florida catastrophe. The temperature is a chilly 36 degrees here at
5:45 under clear skies. Luckily there's only the slightest suggestion of a breeze at the moment or it might feel pretty cold indeed.

James in Cape Elizabeth says: Thirty-one at 6 a.m. this morning with clear skies, a bright half-moon and lovely twinkling stars. Also spooked a couple of deer this morning when I walked outside. After a beautiful weekend weather wise, let's hope the week is the same! Enjoy!!

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ON THE ROAD:

• ON FOREST AVENUE BETWEEN AVALON ROAD AND WARREN AVENUE, reconstruction work begins for the inbound lane with lane closures expected during the hours of 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. Although two-lane traffic will be maintained, drivers should expect delays. Commuters, or drivers in a hurry, should avoid the area and take alternative routes, such as Hicks Street to Hemmingway Street to Warren and back to Forest (see map below).

View Larger Map

• TWO SERVICE PLAZAS ALONG THE TURNPIKE ARE NOW PERMANENTLY CLOSED with the anticipation of a new service plaza in West Gardiner opening its doors. Which means there is no longer food or fuel to be had in that area on the turnpike.

The closed turnpike plazas are at mile 96 in Litchfield and mile 83 in Lewiston.

The new service plaza in West Gardiner, which offers a greater variety of food options than the old plaza, is scheduled to open Nov. 17. Until then, portable toilets will be set up at the parking lots of the old facilities for travelers, although, again, food and fuel will not be available.
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ON THE OCEAN:

• The cruise ship Sea Princess takes her maiden voyage to Portland this morning, pulling into the Portland Ocean Terminal sometime around 7 a.m. and departing at 6 p.m. This Carnival-line vessel brings more than 1,950 passengers with her. She is one of the last to make an autumn visit to Portland, as the cruise ship season is nearly ending, with only a few more calls to port left. Click here to see what's left.

A small craft advisory is in effect today until tonight as gusts of up to 20 knots are expected, with 3 to 5 foot seas swelling and pitching. A bit chilly out there.

High tide in Portland: 4 p.m. Low tides: 9:42 a.m. and 10:33 p.m.

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THE NEWEST NEWS:

News you need to get your day under way:

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NEWRY -- But it isn't natural snow. Sunday River ski resort in western Maine is already warming up (shouldn't it be cooling down) their snow guns for the season.

Sunday River officials say they made snow Sunday while testing out 70 new snowmaking guns that were purchased as part of a $14 million upgrade at the Newry resort.

The "fan guns" are designed to make more snow at marginal temperatures while using less energy. Sunday River's mountain manager, Brent Larson, says the new equipment will position the resort to offer good early-season ski conditions. (AP)

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PRINCETON -- A 55-year-old Princeton man was injured Saturday when the all-terrain vehicle he was riding on the Stud Mill Road flipped over twice, tossing him to the ground.

The Bangor Daily News has more on the story in its daily news pages today. Read the full report by CLICKING HERE.

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OF NOTE TODAY:

Events coming up you might want to know about:

IN AUGUSTA -- Gov. John Baldacci at noon will present a proclamation naming Oct. 15, 2008, as Disability Mentoring Day for the state of Maine and he will also proclaim the month of October 2008 as Disability Employment Awareness Month in the State of Maine. The event will take place at the State House.

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IN PORTLAND AND BANGOR -- The No On One coalition will hold press conferences in two locations today to refute economic impact of new beverage taxes that are up for a vote in the Nov. 4 election.

The first event is scheduled for 10 a.m. at the corner of West Street and the Western Promenade in Portland.

The second event is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. at the office of Neurology Associates of Eastern Maine, 498 Essex St., Bangor.

The Associated Press is planning to cover the event.

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