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 54 degrees in downtown Portland.

Today will be a nice breezy and warm day with temperatures in the mid to upper 60s, with a stiff wind blowing 14 mph. Enjoy it. The tables turn tomorrow and rain is likely to return.

From Bill in ROCKLAND:51 degrees under clearing skies with a slight breeze - nothing spectacular one way or another.

From Mark in BRUNSWICK: 47 degrees, no wind, no clouds, no fog - yet another beautiful spring day with plenty of sun.

From James in CAPE ELIZABETH:Cape Elizabeth has a 6:30 a.m. temp of 48. We have hummingbirds on our rhododendrons and the sun and blue skies are a most welcome sight!

From Shawn in FALMOUTH:It is 50 degrees here in Yarmouth this morning, bright blue sky, no wind...just beautiful!

ON THE ROAD:

• MaineDOT continues its work in the Gardiner/West Gardiner area on the I-295 Cobbosseecontee Stream Bridge. This work is expected to last up to one week. During this time, there will be single lane traffic from the Route 126 overpass through the bridge area, during day and night. Currently crews are scheduled to work first in the right lane on the bridge. Once complete, the lane will be reopened to traffic and the other lane closed to conduct similar work.

ON THE OCEAN:

The 5 to 10 knot winds will get stronger through the day as the sea builds from 1 to 2 feet to 3 to 4. However, none of it even makes for a small craft advisory.

High tide today in Portland at 1:15 p.m. Tide will be lowest at 7 a.m. and then again at 7:09 p.m.

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A MAN FROM PHILLIPS DIED LAST NIGHT when his 2002 Honda motorcycle crashed on Route 4 in Avon, according to a Franklin County Sheriff's Department official.

John Tooker, 56, of Number 6 Road, failed to negotiate a curve in the road at about 9 p.m. as he traveled south on the highway towards Strong, said Lt. Niles Yeaton. Tooker died at the scene. Information on whether he was wearing a helmet was not immediately available.

The police report by Deputy Ken Charles indicated speed was a factor. The accident scene was reconstructed by state police trooper Aaron Turcotte.

A HANCOCK COUNTY JURY WILL BEGIN deliberations in the murder trial of a 35-year-old Bangor man accused of a fatal shooting last summer in Amherst.

John Turner is charged in the death of 26-year-old Tad Howard of Ellsworth, whose body was found on a dirt road at a subdivision off Route 9.

The defense rested Tuesday after calling only one witness — a state police detective who had already testified for the state.

The jury will begin to weigh the evidence after hearing closing arguments and receiving instructions from the judge.

A LEWISTON MAN WHO ONCE OWNED a Bangor cleaning company will spend a year and a day in federal prison for harboring and employing illegal aliens.

Manuel Antonio Cornejo, 30, who pleaded guilty in January, is believed to be the first Maine employer to be sentenced in U.S. District Court in Bangor for hiring undocumented workers.

A native of El Salvador, Cornejo went to work for a cleaning company and started his own business, M.C. Cleaning LLC, shortly after he became a U.S. citizen in 2006. According to prosecutors, he employed at least 11 illegal aliens.

In addition to his jail time, Cornejo must also spend three years under supervised release after he gets out of prison. He was also ordered to pay a $3,000 fine. (AP)

I-295 WAS CLOSED MOST OF THE NIGHT after a tractor-trailer hauling 45,000 pounds of potatoes rolled over to avoid crashing into a car.

The car was driven by Melissa Hoffman, 28, of Portland. At about 11:30 p.m., police say Hoffman was traveling in the southbound lane of the interstate just around mile marker 12 (Falmouth) when she lost control of her car and crossed in front of the truck, which was also heading southbound. State police do not yet know the reason why Hoffman lost control of her car.

Instead of hitting the oncoming car, the truck swerved and rolled over. The potatoes remained in the box of the truck and the driver was injured with a few cuts to his face.

Hoffman was transported to Maine Medical Center with a minor head injury.

The messy crash closed the southbound side of I-295 from mile markers 10 to 15 from just after midnight until 5:30 a.m. It is open now for regular travel.

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A regular Sunrise Herald feature, combating the stigma that "the press" only reports " the bad news." Get your daily dose of good news here.

A GROUP OF LOCAL WOMEN VOLUNTEERS will be swinging hammers and pounding nails today as they give their time to help build a Habitat for Humanity House in Portland.

The fact that they are women is noteworthy because they are volunteering their time in recognition of National Women Build Week (click on the map below for more information) which is from May 4 to 10 and was developed through the partnership between Lowe's and Habitat for Humanity.

Lowe's is providing Habitat for Humanity of Greater Portland a $5,000 grant in support of this one-day "Women Build" event.

Got an extra hour or two? Are you a woman? Want to volunteer?
Visit 67 Penn Ave. in Portland between 9:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. where there is sure to be some work left for you.

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