Welcome to the Sunrise Herald, this morning with on-line reporter Dieter Bradbury. This is the first place you should go to know about:

THE WEATHER AND OTHER STUFF
At 9 a.m., it was 13 degrees in downtown Portland. It will be partly sunny and cold today, with highs in the mid-20s and light winds. A weak storm system is looming on Wednesday. It could give us just a dusting, or then again we may need to break out the shovels. The forecasters are hunched over their computers today, still trying to figure this one out.

FOR MARINERS:

High tide in Portland at 5:25 p.m. Low tide 11:15 a.m. and 11:35 p.m. Winds will be out of the west at 15 to 20 knots, gusting to 5 knots. Seas will run 2 to 3 feet, with a small craft advisory in effect until 11 a.m.

FOR TRAVELERS:

• The lowest regular gas prices in the area today are $2.97 a gallon; the highest are $3.27 a gallon.

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THE NEWS FROM:

• JONESPORT — The Coast Guard will resume a search this morning in the waters off Harrington Bay following the sighting of a signal flare last night.
Operations Specialist Robert Duncan of the Coast Guard station in South Portland said no vessels have been reported missing, but the area will be checked at first light by a boat from the Coast Guard station in Jonesport.
The flare was reported at 9:30 p.m. Monday, prompting the Coast Guard to send out a plane and boat but nothing was found, Duncan said.

• AUGUSTA — Gov. John Baldacci will make "a significant policy announcement regarding state finances" at an 11 a.m. news conference today, according to his press office.

Baldacci's office would not disclose details of the announcement this morning, but it is known that the state faces a $35 million budget shortfall. Joy Leach, in Baldacci's communication's office, said the announcement will describe "a step that needs to be taken."

• PORTLAND — Police are investigating a reported robbery on Temple Street early this morning. A man told officers he was roughed up by two men wearing hooded sweatshirts as he walked on Temple Street around 2:30 a.m. Police could not identify the victim this morning but said he lost about $100 in the assault.

Investigators have yet to make an arrest in the shooting of a man outside the Somali Community Center on Preble Street.

Police have said that they know the identify of the suspect in the shooting of 20-year-old Deng Malual, who is Sudanese.

Elders in the Somali and Sudanese communities have arranged a meeting to discuss the incident. Police have been searching for the suspect while Malual remains in Maine Medical Center with serious injuries.

• Want to do something good for the planet?

Turn off your car's engine when you're waiting for commuters in the state's Park and Ride lots.

As a gentle reminder, the Maine Department of Transportation and the Maine Turnpike Authority will soon begin erecting new “No Idling” signs in the lots.

“This is a voluntary program,” says Anna Price of the DOT’s Office of Passenger Transportation. “These signs are a simple reminder that drivers can do something easy to improve air quality and reduce carbon emissions by turning off their vehicle engines between trips.”

The new signs will be erected on existing signposts, so the cost is minimal. The program is modeled on a similar program launched last summer at Maine State Ferry Service terminals, where signs are now in place to encourage drivers to turn their cars and trucks off while they wait for the ferry.

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