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 52 degrees in downtown Portland.

Chilly morning. Going to get even chillier as the week moves on. By Thursday into Friday, up "nahth" will be under a freeze watch, as a unseasonably cold Canadian high pressure settles over the region. For today though, lots of sunshine planned, highs up near 70. Tomorrow morning, you'll need a jacket.

ON THE ROAD:

• THE USUAL STICKY SPOTS ARE STILL SUSPECT out on the road, such as Route 1 in Brunswick, the I-295 to I-95 interchange bridge in Scarborough and Warren Avenue in Portland. If you've been living with them already, you're used to the lane closures and lane changes. If it's all new to you, consider yourself informed.

ON THE OCEAN:

A nice high pressure system remains over the coast, making for another 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: 12:54 p.m. Low tides: 6:42 a.m. and 7:08 p.m.

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THE NEWEST NEWS:

News you need to know, now:

BANGOR -- A federal judge has rejected a Kennebunkport woman's lawsuit seeking to get onto the Nov. 4 ballot as a Senate candidate.

District Judge John Woodcock denied Laurie Dobson's motion that would have stopped the printing of ballots so her name could be added.

Dobson (seen in photo at left) fell 160 signatures short of the 4,000 required to get her name on the ballot as an independent candidate. She says some of her signatures arrived from registrars after the June 2 deadline for submitting them to the secretary of state.

Woodcock had little sympathy. In his 22-page ruling Tuesday, he wrote that there's "no constitutional right to procrastination."

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GREENVILLE -- Three friends charged with indecent conduct after jumping naked into Maine's Moosehead Lake for a free sandwich at a restaurant will have their day in court.

Twenty-five-year-old Crystal Stillwell of Bath, 31-year-old Bernard Beckwith of Poland and 37-year-old Christian Simpson of Bethel pleaded not guilty to the charges this week. Their trials are scheduled for Nov. 3.

The trio were charged in August after dashing into the water in the buff at the Black Frog Restaurant in Greenville, which offers a free prime rib sandwich to skinny-dipping customers.

Even though none of the restaurant diners objected, a family standing on a nearby boardwalk was offended and called police. (AP)

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AUBURN -- The Lisbon man who allegedly rammed two police cruisers late Monday night while leading officers on a chase in a stolen dump truck now faces charges of aggravated attempted murder.

The charges were levied against Bartolo Ford, 47, who also allegedly tried to hit another police car and crashed the truck into two parked cars.

By the time Ford was caught, more than two dozen officers from five police agencies were searching for him in the woods.

He was shot in the hip or upper leg by the officer who was driving the first cruiser that was rammed.

Police aren't saying how many shots were fired. The officer who fired the shot that hit Ford is on paid administrative leave during an investigation, as is department policy.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

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MILO -- Gov. John Baldacci will spend the morning touring the downtown of Milo to see the damage done by a huge fire there early Sunday morning.

The state Fire Marshal's Office has ruled that the fire that destroyed a large part of downtown Milo was intentionally set.

Investigators said the fire started at about 3:20 a.m. Sunday under a rear stairway on the outside of a building that housed Hobknobbers Pub. It reached the roof of the building before spreading to four other buildings on Main Street, burning at least a third of the downtown of this Piscataquis County town.

The fire marshal's office said the pub was broken into before the fire. A ''person of interest'' has been questioned, but no arrests have been made.

Gov. Baldacci will be in town at 10 a.m., tour the area, and then plans to join an informational meeting scheduled to begin at 10:45 at the Milo Town Hall.

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GORHAM -- The students of Robie Andrews Hall were allowed back into their rooms around 12:30 a.m., after a chemical spill prompted the evacuation of the building last night.

The co-ed dormitory houses about 200 students, all of whom were evacuated from their rooms. The culprit was 20 gallons of silver nitrate, a poisonous chemical used in photography development.

For the full story about the evacuation, visit the news pages of pressherald.com.

The four people who came in contact with the chemical and were sent to the hospital for observation were released shortly after without being harmed.

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OF NOTE TODAY:

Events coming up you might want to know about:

IN PORTLAND -- The Back Cove Trail Rehabilitation project will be officially celebrated today, as a new swanky trail kiosk and trail markers are revealed.

The unveiling of the items will mark the completion of the two-year project, which gave the popular 3.5 mile loop trail a tune-up and face-lift. The city partnered with Portland Trails and Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield to pay the $300,000 bill.

The work wasn't all about aesthetics. It fixed erosion problems along the trail, which were exacerbated by the Patriots Day Storm of 2007. The trail also has a number of new handicapped accessible entrances and repaired guardrails for safety.

The celebration is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. today at the start marker of the trail, Baxter Boulevard at the Preble Street Extension (Letter A on the map below).

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AUGUSTA -- Today is the day Maine celebrates Step Up for Kids Day, a national effort that seeks to get candidates to remember kids' issues as they campaign for the upcoming elections.

During the event, students and teachers will spend time at the state house filling out an "I'm voting for kids" ballot" which they will then "cast" for the presidential candidate of their choice. All ballots collected will be delivered directly to the Maine campaigns of both presidential candidates.

This event will kick off at the front steps of the Maine State Capitol Building at 10 a.m. and it just happens to coincide with the popular Bug Maine-ia event at the Maine State Museum. This is the museum's sixth annual celebration of bugs featuring amazing displays and hands-on activities highlighting insects of all sizes, shapes, and colors. Free admission all day, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

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