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 40 degrees in downtown Portland.

Was NOT expecting to still need the scraper. But the windshield was frosted over this morning, which sent me scurrying to the basement to find the aforementioned scraper, which was put away because winter was supposed to be over.

Alas, I imagine it would be better than scraping 6 inches of snow off the windshield, which is how much many places in Maine got as water over the past two days. The rain is gone now, leaving a clear and sunny but brisk day in its wake. Highs only in the upper 50s.

From Bill in ROCKLAND: Clear skies and a light breeze at 5:30 a.m. in Rockland and the temperature is falling: 33 at 5 a.m., now 32. A little soggy here this morning.
From Shawn in YARMOUTH: It is a bright chilly morning. 35 degrees, sunshine, singing birds and the plants are very green. Might have to mow this weekend and it is almost May. Glad it is sunny as I am off on a field trip with the 7th grade here in Yarmouth. Always interesting and fun.
From Mark in BRUNSWICK: There is a nip in the air this morning as it's 34 degrees with clear skies overhead. Brunswick is drying out as we received over four inches of rain in a 36-hour period.
From Karen in STEEP FALLS:Brrr...what happened?? There is ice on the cars and all the puddles are mini skating rinks! It is 37 degrees at 7:22am and a little breezy. Lots of sunshine though. Happy Wednesday! We're half-way there.
From James in CAPE ELIZABETH:At 6:30 a.m., it was 30 and sunny. We saw 4.01 inches of rain fall here during the storm. Bring on the SUN!

ON THE ROAD:

• On the Maine Turnpike between mile 67 and mile 68 in New Gloucester, a southbound lane closure is scheduled between 6:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. at the Mayall Road Bridge for bridge work. Fifty mph speed limits are in effect.

• Also on the Maine Turnpike, be aware that from the York Tolls to the I-295 interchange, there will be rolling lane closures for sweeping and guard rail repairs. Keep a look out for the bright lane closure trucks, which will direct traffic out of the closed lanes.

ON THE OCEAN:

The gale force winds of yesterday have settled; today, the wind is out of the west, 10 to 15 knots with gusts up to 20 knots, and subsiding later in the day. Seas go from 2 to 3 foot swells to 1 to 2 feet. Even the ocean knows the storm has passed.

High tide today in Portland at 6:56 a.m. and 7:36 p.m. Tide was low around midnight and will be again around 1:17 p.m.

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THE MAN ACCUSED OF KILLING AN 8-MONTH-OLD-GIRL he was babysitting last year is scheduled to be sentenced for manslaughter in her death.

Todd Gamache, 22, of Auburn had been charged with murder but pleaded guilty to the lesser charge in February as part of an agreement with prosecutors that would cap his sentence at 20 years.

The victim, Emmy-Leigh Cole, was the daughter of Gamache's girlfriend. Officials said the baby died after being rushed to a hospital with severe injuries in March 2007.

A LEWISTON WOMAN WHO ALLEGEDLY HIT HER MOTHER in the head with a hatchet is competent to stand trial on charges of attempted murder and aggravated assault, a judge ruled yesterday.

Nancy Jean, 55, pleaded not guilty Tuesday in Androscoggin County Superior Court to the charges, the Associated Press reports.

She was arrested in August after she allegedly hit her mother, Rita Jean, 72, with the ax after an argument over money at Rita's home in Auburn.

Police reports indicate that the elder Jean warded off a second blow, wrestled the hatchet away from her daughter and drove herself to a hospital, where she received six stitches to close the head wound.

AROOSTOOK COUNTY IS NOW UNDER A STATE OF EMERGENCY after Gov. John Baldacci yesterday declared it as such.

Lingering snow combined with severe rainstorms have lent to "dangerous flooding conditions," particularly in the Fort Kent and Wallagrass areas, according to a statement from the governor's office.

The dangerous flooding conditions have lead authorities to evacuate the residents of about 30 to 40 homes in Fort Kent which are being threatened by the rain-swollen St. John River.

Furthermore, officials also say the International Bridge over the St. John between Fort Kent and Clair, New Brunswick, has been closed.

This follows the Tuesday night state of emergency announcement from Gov. Baldacci. The governor's office said waters are expected to continue to rise until early Thursday morning and probably won't fall below flood stage until Friday afternoon.

For more on the threat of flooding and conditions of other Maine rivers, read today's Portland Press Herald story.

A SMALL BUSINESS FACILITATOR WILL HOST a workshop today at the Bath Post Office to offer tips on how to sell things on the auction site eBay.

Jon Keene, a seasoned eBay seller, will walk attendees through the basics, from registering, to listing to mailing.

In addition, postal presenters will talk about the mailing side of a typical eBay transaction. This presentation is free to the public. There are two today, the first from noon to 2 p.m., and then another from 4 to 6 p.m.

The presentations will be held at the Bath Post Office, 750 Washington St.

By the way, love or hate eBay, this is sure to make you laugh.

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This is a new feature I'm trying out. I'll add it whenever I can. Let me know what you think. It's here because I'm often told "the press" only reports "bad news", never the good news. So...here it is:

TAKE A WALK ON THE KENNEBEC RIVER TRAIL in Augusta today, to celebrate "Clean Air Week" (going on this week, as proclaimed by the governor).

Officials from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection the Maine Department of Transportation and the Maine Department of Health and Human Services will lead the walk at 11:30 a.m. People interested in attending should meet the group at Capital Park in Augusta near the YMCA.

A GROUP OF STUDENTS ARE TRYING TO MAKE WHEELCHAIRS MORE ALL-TERRAIN-FRIENDLY and safer to use on hilly surfaces for their senior project.

The students are part of the University of Maine Orono's Mechanical Engineering
Technology Program. As their capstone senior project, the students designed wheelchairs that stop on hills, go through mud and navigate over gravel and rough terrain better than a typical chair.

The public is invited to see the results for themselves during the Maine Day Senior Design Competition to be held on campus at 9 a.m. today at the Machine Tool Lab, situated between Boardman and Barrows halls.

At 10:30 a.m., the wheelchairs will be put to the test on a hilly outdoor course near Patch Halland, the Doris Twitchell Allen Village. There, the teams will have to negotiate a bump, a rut, a curb and a pothole, in some cases with both the anti-rollback and “wheeliebar” anti-tip systems engaged.

For the finale, the teams will test their systems after dousing them with a
slurry of mud and sand to simulate harsh Maine outdoors conditions.

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