Welcome to the Sunrise Herald with Giselle Goodman, the place to go to get the news from overnight and onward...
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IN THE WEATHER:

At 9 a.m., it was 58 degrees in downtown Portland.

A different feel to the air this morning as compared to yesterday. The tropical muggy heat is gone. So is the wind. Mostly today remains crisp and clear, with gentle breezes and high cloudiness. Temperatures will not get anywhere near as high as yesterday (80 in Portland!). Expect mid to upper 60s.

The wind, by the way, was so strong in places yesterday that some Central Maine Power Company customers lost their power. At 3:30 p.m. yesterday, CMP reported an estimated 2,360 customer accounts were without service. That was down from a peak of about 11,400 at 1:30 p.m.

ON THE ROAD:

• WARREN AVENUE IN PORTLANDis now under construction, specifically between Hicks Street and Applicator Sales. Two-way traffic will be maintained but delays should be expected as the work continues on for at least a month.

Area of construction that begins today along Warren Avenue

ON THE OCEAN:

A nice high pressure system, blown in yesterday as Hurricane Ike left the country, makes for a tame day on Casco Bay. Northeast wind blows around 5 knots from the northeast, then coming from the south later. Seas 1 foot or less.

High tide in Portland: 12:14 p.m. Low tides: 6:03 a.m. and 6:24 p.m.

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THE NEWEST NEWS:

News you need to know, now:

BURLINGTON, Vt. -- A timber company well-known in Maine is trying to buy more than 86,000 acres of land in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom.

Plum Creek Timber Co., which seeks to buy the land from Essex Timber Co., said it would maintain public access to the land if the deal goes through.

Essex Timber bought most of the land in 1999 from Champion International paper. At the time, the state of Vermont and the Freeman Foundation paid $8.5 million for easements on the land that guarantee traditional uses such as logging and public access.

Mark Doty of Plum Creek's Fairfield office says little would change if the deal goes through. Essex Timber advertised the land for sale at $26 million, but officials wouldn't say how much Plum Creek would pay for it. (AP)

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AUBURN -- A Lisbon man is in the hospital with a gunshot wound after leading police on a three-hour, 10-mile long chase last night.

Bartolo Ford, 47, is in satisfactory condition at Central Maine Medical Center this morning after being shot last night by an Auburn police officer who was trying to stop Ford and his dump truck.

The incident began at 9 p.m. when Auburn police received a call about a theft from Superior Concrete on Minot Avenue. Auburn police responded and Ford, who was driving a dump truck full of what police believe were stolen cement tiles, fled.

During the pursuit, Ford rammed his dump truck into a cruiser being driven by Cpl. Kristopher Bouchard.

Bouchard fired his weapon, striking Ford in the leg, while he was still in the vehicle. Police say Ford continued to flee, driving the dump truck down Hotel Road into Poland.

He then rammed another police cruiser driven by Officer Matthew Johnson, and kept going. After trying to ram a third cruiser, Ford ditched the dump truck and took off on foot after crashing the truck into two more parked cars on Hines Road in Poland. He was found a short distance from where the truck was abandoned.

Police sent him to the hospital and plan to arrest him with multiple charges later today. Cpl. Bouchard was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation by the Attorney General's Office, as is the case with any Auburn police officer who fires a weapon in the line of duty.

More than 25 officers from the Androscoggin County Sheriff's Department, the Maine State Police, the Oxford County Sheriff's Department and the Lewiston Police Department aided Auburn police in the search.

None of the officers involved were seriously injured.

View Larger Map
This map shows the basic course that police say Bartolo Ford took last night to elude them during a chase that began in Auburn and ended 10 miles later in Poland.

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SEBEC -- A 9-year-old autistic boy reported missing yesterday morning was located by Maine Warden Service chief pilot Charlie Later after a two-hour search.

The boy who has not been identified wandered off from his family's camp on Sebec Lake, and his parents were concerned that he might go into the water.

Piscataquis County Sheriff's Office deputies who were first on the scene began searching. Warden Later, who also joined the search, found the young man about a half-mile from the camp on the water's edge. He notified the deputies and the boy was brought safely home.

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OF NOTE TODAY:

Events coming up you might want to know about:

IN PORTLAND -- At 10:30 a.m., a group of Maine activists and lawmakers will gather on the steps of Portland City Hall to launch what they call the "Campaign to End AIDS."

The campaign includes groups from several states which will caravan to Mississippi for the first presidential debate next week demanding that the next presidential administration develop an National HIV/AIDS Strategy during the first 100 days in office.

So, when you drive by City Hall and see all those people gathered there and wonder what's going on, that's what's going on.

ALSO ... IN PORTLAND at 11 a.m., public health and women's advocates will hold a news conference to call attention to the dangers of Bisphenol-A (a plastic additive) in baby bottles, sippy cups and food can linings. This event is being held at the U.S. Post Office, 125 Forest Ave.

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IN WESTBROOK -- A press conference will be held at 9 a.m. today to announce the creation of the Westbrook Human Relations Committee.

The idea is being presented and encouraged by Westbrook Police Chief William Baker, who hopes the committee will play a leadership role in helping the city embrace its growing diversity and changing demographics.

Essentially, the committee would be charged with promoting human rights within the city.

A presentation of what the committee would do and how they would do it will be presented today. Baker hopes the next step would be a public forum and discussion of the concept with the City Council and interested citizens.

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IN BAR HARBOR -- The two day conference of New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers (NEG/ECP), continues today, as leaders of these areas discuss the both sides of the border.

Gov. John Baldacci will be joined by the five other New England governors at the summit, which is being held this year at the Bar Harbor Club. All five of the Eastern Canadian Premiers, the United States Ambassador to Canada David Wilkins and the Canadian Ambassador to the United States, Michael Wilson, will also attend.

This is the 32nd meeting of the leaders. This NEG/ECP will focus on energy, transportation and economic development issues and include a discussion between the governors and premiers about United States and Canadian relations.

Specific sessions on Tuesday include: Transportation Solutions for the 21st Century, Northeast CanAM Connections; Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Opportunities in Transportation; Regional Economic Competitiveness and the Innovation Economy; Report on Demographics; A Shared Energy Future; and The Regional Electricity System.

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STATEWIDE -- Over the next few days, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Maine Emergency Management Agency will be conducting a series of briefings to notify local officials about the Public Assistance process.

The Public Assistance program provides funding to repair or replace damaged public infrastructure following a natural disaster. This assistance is available following President Bush's declaration of a major disaster in Maine for severe storms and flooding that occurred from July 18 to Aug. 16. The briefings are scheduled as follows:

Androscoggin County: 1 p.m. today at the EMA Office, 2 College St. in Lewiston.

Cumberland County: 9 a.m. Thursday at the Portland Water District, 225 Douglass St.

York County: 1 p.m. Thursday at the EMA Office, 5 Swetts Bridge Road, Alfred.

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