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 60 degrees with a partly sunny sky in downtown Portland.

The wind picks up today as the showers from overnight move on out. It comes from the northwest, and will be strong, 10 to 20 mph and gusty. Dry, but cooler than yesterday, high temperatures in the upper 60s, low 70s. Even cooler tomorrow, cloudy and maybe even some rain through the weekend.

From Bill in ROCKLAND:: 47 balmy degrees in Rockland this morning. Scattered clouds, calm, and quiet: a peaceful morning.
From Shawn in YARMOUTH: It is a balmy 54 degrees here in Yarmouth this morning. Blue sky, no breeze, just beautiful. But we are not getting those April showers that we need for those May flowers and to get the fire danger down. Just hope they come during the week.
From Mark in BRUNSWICK: 53 degrees here already, and it seems that many are already up and outside enjoying the day.
From Karen in STEEP FALLS: It's 45 degrees this morning and the sky is bright blue! Heard the frogs for the second evening in a row last night. What amazing weather we're having!

ON THE ROAD:

• At mile 35 in Saco, a northbound double lane closure is scheduled between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. for road work. Motorists may incur delays.

• Nighttime work begins at 7 p.m. on the turnpike between Exit 46 and Exit 47 in Portland. There will be both north and southbound lane closures until 6 a.m. at the Congress Street Bridge for bridge work. Fifty mph speed limits will be enforced.

ON THE OCEAN:

North winds blow 10 to 15 knots with gusts up to 20 knots. Seas around 2 feet.

High tide today in Portland at 2:40 p.m. Tide is low at 8:25 a.m. and 8:27 p.m.

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AT 8:30 A.M., THE MAINE FOREST SERVICE issued a class 4 fire danger for Portland and surrounding areas. The number 1 on the chart below is under a class 4 warning. This means the fire danger is, according to the Maine Forest Service, VERY HIGH. Please do not drop cigarette butts out windows or start debris fires in your yard. It could set us back to 1947. Clicking on the chart below will bring you to the Maine Forest Service's fire danger page.

THERE ARE ONLY A FEW SHORT HOURS LEFT to put in a bid for the grubby David Ortiz shirt buried in the concrete, exhumed and then put up for auction on eBay to benefit the Jimmy Fund.

But, if you want the shirt, you're going to have to dig deep into your pockets. At 8:40 a.m., with only 3 hours and 48 minutes left in the game, the shirt was already up to $80,600. With free shipping!

The jersey on eBay was given to the Jimmy Fund as a fundraiser. The fund is a children’s cancer charity affiliated with Boston’s Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. They'll get all the money in the end, so keep bidding!

The jersey began its journey to greatness when construction worker Gino Castignoli dropped it in the wet concrete of the new Yankees stadium, apparently hoping to jinx the arch rival Yankees. Anonymous tipsters led the Yankees to the jersey’s location, where it was dug up on April 6.

ALFRED FIREFIGHTERS extinguished a fire under a mobile home late last night.

Alfred Fire Chief David Lord said the fire at 821 Gore Road started sometime around 2 a.m. It was a small fire and caused minimal damage, he said.

The people who lived in the house were able to return once the fire crew did its work.

Lord said he believes the fire started from some smoking material.

"It had been smoldering there for a while," he said.

SUGARLOAF IS GETTING GREENER. The ski resort is expanding an existing program with its off-road vehicles on biodiesel – a fuel that includes cooking grease.

Sugarloaf has bought 500 gallons of biodiesel fuel that came from waste vegetable oil from its many restaurants. The fuel will be mixed with 10,000 gallons of diesel, resulting in a mix that will be used in the resort's shuttle buses, grooming equipment and other off-road vehicles.

A Sugarloaf ski patrol employee collected the vegetable oil from the resort's restaurants during the winter and took it to Bean's Commercial Grease in Vassalboro, producers of GreenBean Bio Fuel.

The biodiesel project is part of Sugarloaf's efforts to be environmentally friendly.
(AP)

DELEGATES FROM VENEZUELA will visit Indian Island today as part of an International Indigenous Exchange.

The governor, Liborio Guaruya, and other members of the Venezuelan government including an anthropologist, will meet at the Penobscot Indian Nation Community Building at 1 p.m.

Consul Omar Sierra from the Venezuelan Consulate in Boston and two representatives from CITGO will also meet with representatives from the Maine tribes.

Discussions will include the CITGO oil program and development of the relationship between the Indigenous Nations.

A MAN FROM NEW HAMPSHIRE WAS KILLED in Maine yesterday during a tree-cutting accident.

Maine State Police say Timothy J. Dugal, 51, of Bow, N.H., was killed at about 3:30 p.m. yesterday at his vacation home in the midcoast town of Northport, when a tree he was cutting down fell on him, striking his face,

Dugal's 17-year-old son Andrew was with his father at the time and sought help.

The tree Dugal was cutting had been damaged over the winter and was leaning over, according to state police. As Dugal was cutting it with a chainsaw, it kicked back and struck him in the face. He died at the scene.

FLAGS FLY AT HALF-STAFF TODAY in remembrance and honor of Spc. William Charles Koelsch III, who died in a training accident at Fort Polk, La., earlier this month. He served with the 509th Infantry (Airborne).

Visiting hours for Spc. Koelsch were yesterday and a funeral service is planned for 11 a.m., today. The visiting hours and the funeral service will be held at Lary Funeral Home, 31 Elm Street in Milo.

GO WILD TODAY! The Maine Wildlife Park on Route 26 in Gray opens for the season today, featuring its always popular critters — moose, white-tailed deer, black bears, mountain lions, porcupines, coyotes, owls, native turtles, hawks and owls, trophy trout, and more.

The Maine Wildlife Park will be open daily now through Nov. 11 from 9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Visitors must leave the premises by 6 p.m. Admission to the park is free for ages 3 and under; $4 for ages 4-12; $6 for adults; and $4.50 for seniors. Groups of 15 or more are $3 per person. Family and community season passes are available.

There are nature trails and wildlife gardens to enjoy, interactive exhibits to view, a “snack shack” selling ice cream, candy and snacks, a nature store, gift shop and more.

The calendar of special wildlife events is full, starting Saturdays in May and running through Labor Day. Bring a picnic and spend the day. Reservations aren’t required. For a list, visit www.mainewildlifepark.com

“The Maine Wildlife Park is a fantastic family destination,” said Roland “Dan” Martin, commissioner, Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. “It is an ideal place to learn more about Maine’s wildlife.”

Many of the animals at the park live there because they were injured or orphaned, or because they are human dependent since they were raised (sometimes illegally) in captivity. The park serves as a permanent home for wildlife that cannot survive in the wild.

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