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 39 degrees and drizzling in downtown Portland.

I cannot believe I am going to tell you this: Snow in some parts of Maine today, rain in others.

No joke. Currently central Somerset, northern Franklin and northern Oxford counties are under a winter weather advisory until 10 p.m. You can read the full forecast by going to visit the National Weather Service in Gray.

It was snowing about an hour ago in York County, but it seems to have turned to all rain, as can be seen in the above photo taken from the Maine Turnpike Web Cam in Kennebunk.

Here's the view from above:


Messy colors: Pink is ice. Blue is snow. Green is rain. Red and yellow are heavy precipitation...

OUR WEATHER WATCHERS' REPORT

• From Bill in ROCKLAND: "33 degrees, overcast, and a very slight breeze here in Rockland. You can feel today's damp on the way."

• From Mark in BRUNSWICK: "35 degrees and gray skies. Low last night of 31. Daffodils are poking up in one area and still snow-covered in other areas of the yard."

• From Shawn in YARMOUTH: "It is not quite 6:30 in Yarmouth. It is 35 degrees and overcast. No wind and nothing falling from the sky, yet."
• From Karen in STEEP FALLS: "Well, at 6:45 a.m., it isn't looking too good outside. Temp is 32 and it is a cloudy, gloomy morning. Not looking forward to the 1-2 inches of snow predicted for today.

ON THE OCEAN:

Southern wind blows 10 to 15 knots with gusts up to 20 knots. Seas 2 to 4 feet with low visibility due to rain and fog.

High tides today in Portland at 10:17 a.m. and 10:40 p.m. Tide's out now and goes out again at 4:27 p.m.

ON THE ROAD:

• Another TRAFFIC ADVISORY reminder: Avoid Route 1 at Cook's Corner in Brunswick if you are in a hurry.

A bridge repair project got underway yesterday, re-routing southbound traffic onto a newly constructed detour through the median under the damaged bridge.

This detour will allow one lane of southbound traffic to merge with traffic entering from the Cooks Corner southbound on-ramp. Northbound traffic will not be affected. The work is expected to be finished by Memorial Day.

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ROCKLAND TODAY IS BOASTING ABOUT SOME BIG VISITORS who are planning to visit the harbor there in 2009.

Two large cruise ships owned by Royal Caribbean International -- Jewel of the Seas and Grandeur of the Seas -- are planning stops in Rockland in June and October 2009.

The ships, which are more than 900 feet long, have visited Portland and Bar Harbor in summers past. Thus far, Rockland's seaworthy visitors have been smaller: Last year, it hosted 1,745 passengers and 429 crew members on 20 port calls.

By comparison, the Grandeur of the Sea's capacity is 1,950 passengers and 760 crew members, while the Jewel of the Seas can hold 2,100 passengers and 869 crew members.

NEWS UPDATE ON MAINE KIDNAPPING: Police believe a drug deal gone bad in Massachusetts led to a kidnapping and assault in Maine last week.

Two New Hampshire men are being held, and a third man is recovering from injuries.

Twenty-year-old Richard Smith of North Conway and 23-year-old Luke Clough of Madison are being held on $200,000 bail on fugitive charges in New Hampshire. They were arrested Tuesday in Madison.

In Maine, they face kidnapping, robbery and assault charges. Clough also is accused of criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon.

Police say the two men and the victim, Phillip Swanson, went to Malden, Mass., last week to buy marijuana, but while there, they were robbed at gunpoint.

Investigators said Clough and Smith believed Swanson set them up.
Two days later, Clough's girlfriend picked up Swanson in Malden and eventually brought him to Fryeburg, where police say Clough and Smith pulled him from the vehicle, beat him with baseball bats, took his clothes and left him in a snowbank.

Police say more people may be charged. (AP)

SARAH CHERRY'S STORY REACHES BEYOND THE BORDERS OF MAINE and into New Jersey this month. Moon Lake Films and WNJN (New Jersey Public Television) have agreed to air the award-winning documentary “Murder in America” on their new digital channel, NJN4, this month.

Cherry's story is legendary in Maine. In July of 1988 while babysitting, Sarah was kidnapped, sexually assaulted and murdered. Dennis Dechaine was charged with the crime, convicted on all counts and sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole. Dechaine has professed his innocence from the day of his conviction. A group was formed (Trial and Error) dedicated to seeking his release from prison.

"Murder in America" uses no actors, no reenactments, no host, just the people who were and are still involved with this case. The documentary asks the all-too familiar question: Was Dechaine wrongly accused, or guilty on all counts.

TV and movie critic Gerald Wright proclaims that, “Murder in America,” the Sarah Cherry story is the “real law and order."

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