May 29, 2008
At 9 a.m., it was 48 degrees and sunny in downtown Portland.

A gorgeous but blustery day ahead. Warm, but because a cold front is on its way (bringing rain just in time for the weekend), the winds will move over the state with force, blowing 10 to 20 mph and gusting at times over 35 mph.

This will mean the danger of fire across the state is very high. Today is NOT the day to burn the brush pile.

From Bill in ROCKLAND: 44 degrees at 5:30 under a so far cloudless sky, calm and quiet.
From Shawn in YARMOUTH: It is another cool, bright sunny morning here in Yarmouth. 42 degrees, no wind that I can see and not a cloud anywhere in the clear blue sky.
From Mark in BRUNSWICK: It's 7:00 a.m. and we have another autumn-like morning with a cool 45 degrees and crystal clear skies.
From James in CAPE ELIZABETH: It was a brisk 42 here in Cape Elizabeth this morning. Beautiful sunshine and calm. Enjoy the day one and all!

ON THE ROAD:

• Between mile 57 in Cumberland and mile 65 in Gray, southbound lane closures are scheduled from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. for pavement repair and guardrail improvement. Fifty mph work zone speed limits are in effect.

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

• Between mile 80 in Lewiston and mile 85 in Sabattus, north and southbound lane closures are scheduled from 5 a.m. to 12 p.m. for pavement repair and guardrail improvements. Fifty mph work zone speed limits are in effect.

ON THE OCEAN:

Keep your eyes on the horizon today for a schooner heading out to sea.

Maine Maritime Academy’s schooner Bowdoin (seen in the photo at right) leaves today for a 60-day sail training trip to the Arctic Circle with 11 students and 5 professional crew members. The voyage is the at-sea component of a 12-week course in the overall maintenance and operation of a traditional sailing vessel.

The academy sailors will retrace courses and revisit ports-of-call made by previous Bowdoin trips, venturing as far north as Jacobshaven, Greenland.
Bowdoin was built in 1921 at Hodgdon Brothers Shipyard in East Boothbay, now Hodgdon Yachts, Inc.

It will be a tricky day for Bowdoin to start her journey: There is a small craft advisory (Bowdoin is not small) in effect today. Southwest winds blow today 10 to 15 knots, increasing through the day, with gusts up to 30 knots. Seas 2 to 4 feet.

High tide at 6:01 p.m. Low tide at 11:40 a.m. and then again around midnight.

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BREAKING NEWS: UPDATE The passing lane on the southbound side was reopened at 9:20 a.m. Traffic will still be backed for miles but it is now moving again.

BREAKING NEWS:A six car pile-up crash on the Maine Turnpike southbound is causing some major traffic delays, as well as a number of injuries.

The crash occurred around 8:45 a.m. and was initially reported as having multiple injuries, with a car overturned.

A state police dispatcher could not say much at that time, only that there was one person still trapped in a vehicle, and that a LifeFlight helicopter was on the way.

Traffic is blocked all the way to mile 70, according to one report, as it is not moving southbound past the New Gloucester toll plaza. The accident is just south of the toll plaza.

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GRAY — A woman from Two Rod Road was arrested yesterday for making a false claim of domestic violence.

The Cumberland County Sheriff's Department arrested Sherri Lee O'Leary, 41, and charged her with filing a false report that resulted in public alarm.

Police say the charges stem from a call O'Leary made in February, reporting she was the victim of domestic violence. The case was assigned to Detective Jill Potvin, who passed the case on to the district attorney's office, which charged her with the crime yesterday.

O'Leary is out on $1,500 unsecured bail, pending a June 23rd arraignment.

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PITTSTON — Police put up roadblocks between midnight and 2:30 a.m. last night, asking drivers who usually motor along Route 126 during those hours if they saw anything suspicious early Tuesday morning.

The effort was part of the continued investigation into a brutal home invasion there that left two people critically injured.

William G. Guerrette Jr., 48, and his daughter, Nicole Guerrette, 10, remain in critical condition at separate hospitals following the early morning home invasion on Tuesday.

Details are still very unclear as to what happened and why.

Police were hoping they could pick up a few clues during the evening. No word, yet, on whether any of the information was useful.

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SOUTH PORTLAND — A change of command today at the Coast Guard when Capt. James B. McPherson takes on the leadership of the Coast Guard Sector Northern New England during a ceremony scheduled for 11 a.m.

McPherson replaces Capt. James Rendon, who is being transferred to the position of executive assistant to Vice Adm. Vivien Crea, vice commandant of the Coast Guard.

McPherson most recently served as chief of the public affairs office at Coast Guard headquarters in Washington, D.C., where he was responsible for directing the service-wide public affairs program and executing crisis communication strategies for incidents of national significance.

Rendon has been in command in Maine for one year, serving as the Sector Northern New England commander. During his time here, he has assisted in 200 search and rescue cases, 3,000 law enforcement boardings, 750 vessel exams and inspections and winter ice breaking operations.

The area of responsibility for Sector Northern New England extends across Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and a portion of northeastern New York, spanning more than 5,000 miles of coastline and 11,000 square nautical miles of water. The sector was officially established on June 30, 2005.

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PORTLAND — A Standish man will spend the next three years in prison for soliciting children to be photographed while engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

James D. Linscott, 39, was arrested in September after a police investigation discovered disturbing pictures of minors, children under the age of 16, engaging in sexual activity.

Linscott was sentenced yesterday in Cumberland County Superior Court. He received a seven year sentence with all but three years suspended for sexual exploitation of a minor, along with a concurrent six-month sentence on a charge of theft. After serving his jail time, he will have three years probation with extensive conditions.

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PORTLAND — The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland will be a place of prayer today for those who were abused by members of clergy.

Bishop Richard Malone has designated today as a day of prayer and penance for harm done to survivors and the faithful by past incidents of clergy sexual abuse.

The bishop hosts a Mass at 12:15 p.m. today, when the Prayers of the Faithful will be offered. Local priests have been invited to concelebrate the Mass and parishioners are also invited to participate.

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