Welcome to the Sunrise Herald with Giselle Goodman, the place to go to get the news from overnight and beyond...

IN THE WEATHER

At 9 a.m. it was 24 degrees and windy in downtown Portland.

A little colder start to the day than yesterday. But the good news - the day will be less breezy and a little warmer by noontime. Highs in the mid to upper 40s.

P.S. Pulled off some of the leaf cover on my flower beds yesterday while the kids went to play (for the first time in months) in our big litter box, errr...I mean, sandbox. Anyway, daffodils are peaking their little green heads out of the earth. Take that, Old Man Winter. Your devious plan is foiled!!!

ON THE OCEAN:

Wind still from the north but less severe than yesterday. Wind 10 to 15 knots with gusts up to 20 knots Seas 2 to 3 feet.

High tides today in Portland at 9:23 a.m. and 10:02 p.m. Tide goes out around 3:46 p.m.

ON THE ROAD:

• ON THE MAINE TURNPIKE: At mile 3 in Kittery, a northbound lane closure is scheduled between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. for road work. --- Between mile 31 and 32 in Biddeford, a northbound double lane closure is scheduled between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. for road work. --- Between mile 38 in Saco and Exit 53 in Falmouth, rolling north and southbound lane closures are scheduled between 8:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. for road work.

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THE NEWEST NEWS:

ONE OF THE THREE MEN WANTED BY POLICE for stealing a high-priced 1937 Packard convertible from a Naples home turned himself in last night.

Police say 23-year-old Matthew Jarvinen was arrested in his Bridgton home after his parents phoned in his whereabouts, police said.

Jarvinen was one of three men accused of stealing an antique car, as well as the truck and trailer used to transport the vintage vehicle. The car was found last week in an Auburn hotel parking lot. He is in custody at the Cumberland County Jail.

Authorities are still searching for the other two suspects in that robbery: Joel Jordan and Paul Grenier, both 23-years old.

A MAN WHO TOLD POLICE HE WANTED THEM TO SHOOT HIM was taken into custody and arrested early this morning by the Cumberland Police Department after a four-hour stand-off with state and local police.

Cumberland police were called to a house on Valley Road around 10 p.m. last night after police dispatch received a phone call about a man who had been "drinking all day" and was wielding a shotgun, according to report prepared by Cumberland Police Department Lt. Milton Calder.

"Information was gathered by the dispatch center from the caller that the male may have shot the gun at least two times during the day," Calder said in the report.

When officers arrived, Michael Coppersmith, 47, was standing in the garage area. He then put the shotgun up to his cheek and stated: "I want you to shoot me," said Calder. At that point police backed down, called for backup and began negotiations.

Coppersmith's wife and their 7-year-old son were locked in a separate room in the basement.

Four hours later, the Maine State Police Department's tactical team was able to coax Coppersmith into backing down. He was taken into custody without incident.

Coppersmith is now being held at the Cumberland County Jail on a number of charges including criminal threatening and terrorizing.

Furthermore, police took approximately 10 handguns and rifles plus large amounts of ammunition from the home.

The woman and child were not harmed.

SEN. OLYMPIA SNOWE WILL VISIT her namesake snowwoman today in Bethel. It's the first opportunity for Sen. Snowe to get a look at the 122-foot-tall mountain of snow that its builders have named Olympia.

The snowwoman has eyelashes crafted from discarded skis and bright red lips made of painted car tires. While the senator's hair is black, her namesake is a blonde, with hair made from yellow rope.

Duties in Washington prevented Snowe from attending the snowwoman's dedication at the end of February. But in a statement read to the crowd, she joked that it was just her luck to have a world record-breaking monument named after her that will be gone by summer.

TODAY'S PORTLAND PRESS HERALD DISPATCHES bring you a story about the Coast Guard Cutter Tackle breaking the ice on the Kennebec River yesterday. I wanted to share some photos of the work with you, as we were not able to put them in the print edition.

The Coast Guard Cutter Tackle breaks ice on the Kennebec River in Bath yesterday. The Tackle breaks ice annually on the river to help prevent flooding when the ice melts in the spring.
Coast Guard photos/Lauren Downs

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THE DAY PLANNER

FROM 9 a.m. to noon in Augusta, the Governor’s Advisory Council for Health Systems Development (ACHSD) will hold a public hearing at the Civic Center to accept comments on the recently released State Health Plan.

The plan – which outlines actions that respond to issues identified as primary cost drivers in the October report “ACHSD Data Book: Investigating Maine’s Health Care Cost Drivers” – is issued every two years by the Governor’s Office of Health Policy and Finance.

“A key element of Dirigo Health Reform, the State Health Plan is a road map to make Maine the healthiest state in the nation with a cost-efficient, high performing health system,” said Gov. John Baldacci in a prepared statement. “It will take all of us – consumers, providers and payers – working together, to successfully address the complex issues of Maine’s health care costs, quality and access.”

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