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By Giselle Goodman November 10, 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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IN THE WEATHER:

At 9 a.m., it was 43 degrees in downtown Portland.

Yup. Again. A cloudy day, with milder temperatures than the season calls for. And then as the afternoon comes near, a threat of scattered showers, even periods of heavy rain, expected through the day. Snow showers might prevail in the higher spots of Maine. But nowhere near Portland, where the temperatures are expected in the low 50s.

Tomorrow, though, for Veteran's Day, sunnier and drier.

THE SUNRISE HERALD WEATHER WATCHERS REPORT:

Bill in Rockland says: Calm and cloudy here this morning. It's 5:45 and 38 degrees. Dew rather than frost on the windshield, but I guess that won't be a regular morning occurrence for too much longer.

James in Cape Elizabeth says: 6:00 a.m. - Red sky in the morning....sailors take warning! We have 40 degrees and falling here in Cape Elizabeth this morning with a brilliant red sunrise. Mostly clear otherwise and no wind. What does the week bode weather-wise? The leaf man cometh as we have lost 85% of our leaves in the last week. Hope all had a great weekend and are ready to head out to work refreshed! Great win PATRIOTS following two good wins by the PIRATES!

Shawn in Yarmouth says: This morning it is 42 degrees here in Yarmouth. The sky is covered in mottled pink and gray clouds with some blue sky peeking through. There is no wind. Looks like another nice day with the SUN!

Mark in Brunswick says: 42 degrees with cloudy skies here in Brunswick this morning.

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ON THE ROAD:

• EXIT 1 ON I-295 WILL BE CLOSED TODAY STARTING AT 8 A.M. in order to replace a failing culvert under the off-ramp. The closure in on the northbound side of Exit 1. With the closure beginning at 8 a.m., it could make for a sticky commute. And some unexpected driving situations, so stay alert. Or, avoid the area altogether by getting off on Exit 42 from the Maine Turnpike.

The exit should reopen by 3 p.m. today.

• THAT NUMBER AT LEFT IS NO JOKE: Gas really is below $2 a gallon in Maine! And you don't have to drive to the middle of nowhere to get it either. The $1.99 a gallon can be found at the Sunoco Station, 7 West Gray Road in Gray. If you click on the icon at left, it will open a new window with gas prices from places all over Maine. Maybe there's a station closer to you with low prices ...

• ON THE MAINE TURNPIKE At mile 43 in Scarborough on the northbound side, a lane closure is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. for pavement repairs. On the other side, near exit 44, there is still a fixed southbound shoulder closure as they continue to repair the bridge there.
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ON THE OCEAN:

Southwestern winds blow around 10 knots, becoming westerly and 10 to 15 knots this afternoon. Seas 2 to 4 feet.

High tide in Portland: 7:55 a.m. and 8:23 p.m. Low tide: 2:12 p.m.

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THE NEWEST NEWS:

News you can use to get your day under way:

DRESDEN -- At least one person was seriously injured in a car crash shortly after midnight.

One person was thrown from a vehicle when the two cars crashed at the Cedar Grove and Emerson Roads intersection. A Lifeflight helicopter was dispatched to the scene to aid one patient.

The accident occurred not far from the Dresden School. A Lincoln County Dispatcher had no further information at 6 a.m.

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BOWERBANK -- At first light, the Maine Warden Service will be back out on the waters of First Buttermilk Pond to continue searching for a Dover-Foxcroft man who went missing on Saturday.

Robert Pomeroy was boating across the pond with three life-long friends Saturday when the boat started taking on water and quickly went down. Two men, David Perkins and Kevin Stitham, both of Dover-Foxcroft, made it safely to shore.

The body of James Brown, also of Dover-Foxcroft, was found in approximately 21 feet of water in the middle of the pond at around 12:30 p.m., yesterday.

There is a full report on the accident in our Portland Press Herald newspaper today (courtesy of our news partner, the Bangor Daily news), which can also be read by clicking this link.

View Larger Map
By clicking on the map, you can move the spot around, and make it either smaller or larger, to get a better sense of where the incident occurred.

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FROM OUR NEWS PARTNERS:

• A group of more than 75 people took to the streets Sunday, rallying against what they say was a sickening display: Black figures hanging by nooses from trees on Mount Desert Island the day after Barack Obama won the presidential election. The Bangor Daily News has the full story about the protest and the offense which can be read by CLICKING HERE.

• A man from Greene was arrested last night after throwing two rocks through a store window and then threatening a customer with a knife in the parking lot. The complete report is in today's Lewiston Sun Journal, which can be accessed by CLICKING HERE.

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THE GOOD NEWS:

A Sunrise Herald feature, combating the harmful rays of too much bad news.

AUGUSTA -- Maine will add an additional $1.3 million to a $3 million federal grant that will make housing safer for Maine's kids.

Combined, the $4.3 million program will, over the next three years, make an estimated 280 Maine homes safe from lead paint hazards, according to MaineHousing Director Dale McCormick. The money will also be used to train more workers in lead safe removal practices, and increase public awareness of the dangers of lead poisoning from lead-based paint.

"MaineHousing successfully applied to the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for the $3 million federal grant, and I am pleased to announce that we are matching the federal grant with other funds to continue our efforts to protect more Maine children from the dangers posed by lead paint poisoning," McCormick said. "This new funding will enable us to continue our ongoing efforts to eliminate lead paint hazards in more homes, and make Maine's housing safer for our families with young children."

McCormick noted that Maine children, because of the state's old housing stock (6th oldest in the nation) and low per capita income, are especially at risk from lead paint poisoning. Most lead paint poisoning cases involve low-income children living in older housing, but children living in any older homes are susceptible. Lead-based paint commonly was used in homes built before 1978.

To learn more about lead abatement and the Maine Housing Department, click this link.

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