Maine News Updates

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:

SUNRISE: 4:59 a.m. SUNSET: 8:26 p.m.

At 9 a.m., it was 61 degrees in downtown Portland.

Argh. Today will be, in a word, miserable. Rainy, chilly, a wild wind will blow all day.

And
then there's the flooding. An astronomical high tide is making the
potential a real one already. Glad I don't own beachfront property
today.

The flood warning (clickable link) issued by the National Weather Service tells us:

 THE TWO WEATHER SYSTEMS WILL CREATE A LONG DURATION OF NORTHEAST WINDS
AND MODERATELY SIZED WAVES OVER THE NEW ENGLAND COASTAL WATERS.
THE NORTHEAST WINDS AND BUILDING WAVES WILL COMBINE WITH THE
HIGHEST ASTRONOMICAL TIDES OF THE MONTH TO PRODUCE MINOR COASTAL
FLOODING AND SOME SPLASH-OVER TONIGHT. THE MOST VULNERABLE
LOCATIONS WILL BE EAST AND NORTHEAST FACING BEACHES FROM AROUND
PORTLAND SOUTH THROUGH THE SEACOAST OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. FURTHER TO
THE NORTH OF PORTLAND...EXPECT MAINLY MINOR SPLASH-OVER AND SOME
BEACH EROSION THROUGH THE MIDCOAST REGION.

 

Although the rain that fell in Maine was minimal during the past 36 hours (Portland coming in at 0.10
inches as of 4 a.m. today) the rivers and coastal spots are already
saturated. So any rain that might fall is going to compound issues.

Keep an eye on the basement....

THE SUNRISE HERALD WEATHER WATCHERS REPORT:

• Bill in Rockland says:    We have already lost a minute
  of daylight since the solstice, but it's hard to tell given the absence
  of the sun. The aggressive
  drizzle feels a good deal more like rain and the mist is on the verge
  of fog. There's a stiff northeasterly breeze and the temperature
  doesn't feel like the 59 degrees it purports to be. All in all, a
  daunting dawn this Monday.
• Jim in Cape Elizabeth says: "Rain Rain, go away" already!  You have given us plenty for now.  I 
  know
  for a fact that you would be very welcome in the Canadian Prairies.  We
  have had over 2" of rain over the weekend and the end is where...? 
  Ground water is percolating up and sheets of water are crossing my
  driveway.  Good thing it isn't freezing at night or the ER's would be
  very busy.  Currently on this gloomy Monday it is misting, quite windy,
  and a temperature of 62 at 6:30 a.m.  Anyone know where the ark is
  being built?  Have a good Monday all.

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ON THE ROAD:

There is a bright side to all this rain: It certainly puts a damper on road construction. Crews
have had to suspend any paving projects as you need dry conditions to
lay down hot asphalt. Long-term lane closures, however, remain in
place.

If you'd like to know where those lane closures are, visit either of these links:

 

 

 

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ON THE OCEAN:

Yikes. Don't go out there.  A gale warning is in effect until 2
p.m., when it's expected to be  downgraded to a small craft advisory.
Gusts up to 30 knots hit the coast, with a sustained northeast wind
blowing 15 to 20 knots. Seas 4 to 7 feet.

In short, this is what meterologists would call a summertime Downeaster.

IN PORTLAND: High tide at 11:12 a.m. and 11:20 p.m. Low tide at 4:59 a.m. and 5:03 p.m.

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IN THE NEWS:

CAPE
ELIZABETH -- Strawberry farmers are a little nervous about the
unrelenting wet weather and what it'll mean for the upcoming crop.

By
Sunday, Portland and Bangor had each received more than 4.5 inches of
rain for the month of June — or nearly three times the average. The
National Weather Service says rain had fallen on Portland 13 of the
past 15 days, while Bangor had gotten precipitation on 12 of the past
13 days.

For strawberries, too much rain means mold and mush. A
real concern for growers, and pickers, who relish in the sweet, but
very short strawberry season in Maine.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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DEER
ISLE (AP) -- A Stonington man faces multiple charges after allegedly
leading police on a high-speed chase through three towns that hit
speeds of 100 mph.

Hancock County Deputy Sheriff Rob Morang
told the Bangor Daily News that he tried to stop a car at 9:15 p.m.
Saturday that was speeding in Blue Hill.

The driver sped off and
led Morang and a Maine State Police trooper on a chase through Blue
Hill and Sedgwick, where the car ran over a spike mat. Even with a flat
tire, the driver continued on for several miles before being arrested
in Deer Isle.

Eighteen-year-old Davis Bradshaw is charged with
criminal speeding, driving to endanger, illegal transportation by a
minor and eluding an officer. A passenger was charged with marijuana
possession.

BIDDEFORD
-- A three-story apartment building was evacuated in the early morning
hours today, after a fire broke out in a first-floor unit shortly after
midnight. 

The fire, at 36 Emery Street, caused two families to be homeless, although damage to the building was not severe.

Lt.
Peter Anton of the Biddeford Fire Department said the origin of the
fire is undetermined. The State Fire Marshal will be on scene this
morning, he said, to investigate.

"It was contained to the first-floor apartment," he said. "I'd say the damage was minor."

Anton
said the fire, called in at 12:42 a.m., was put out within a half hour.
One of the three apartment units was vacant at the time of the blaze.

But the tenants can't go back yet, because the cause is still under investigation.

Anton said he expects more information will be available later today.

(Google map at right a clickable link.)

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JEFFERSON
-- A search for a missing canoeist from Massachussetts will resume
around 8 a.m. today, according to the Maine Warden Service.

The
20-year-old man disappeared around 7:30 p.m. after he capsized his
canoe during an attempt to stand up and cast a
fishing line on Damariscotta Lake. The search will resume at the boat
launch off Rte. 213 in Jefferson, according to the warden service.

His
companion and a dog made it safely to shore near the Bunker Hill Road
boat launch in Jefferson and were rescued without injury.

The identity of the missing man, meanwhile, is being withheld pending notification of his relatives.

OTHER NEWS AGENCIES:

• From The Whitman Times in MASSACHUSETTS 
  
• A  31-year-old Lewiston man suffered life-threatening burns after pouring gasoline on a
  backyard fire pit in Abington, Mass., Saturday night, causing an explosion.

The victim was identified as William Brooks of Lewiston by the homeowner, longtime friend Mathew Stephenson.

To read the full story,CLICK THIS LINK.

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HAPPENINGS TODAY:

IN PORTLAND -- An Iranian refugee from Windham is planning a peace
rally for this evening, to raise public awareness and to bring ressure
to bear on the United States to do something about
the politicial turmoil in Iran.

The rally will be held in Portland's
Monument Square, beginning at 7 p.m.

Khaled Ghaderi, the Iranian
refugee in Windham expects more than 100 people will
attend.

"We want to show our support for
the Iranian people," Ghaderi said. "The Iranian people really need our
help or a lot more will die."

Staff Writer Dennis Hoey contributed to this report.

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SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT:

Say what you will about "those social networking" websites.

But
the U.S. Coast Guard has a new appreciation for Facebook, after
"friends" on the site helped find an overdue fisherman in Eastport this
weekend.

It all began Sunday morning, when officers from Coast
Guard Sector Northern New England learned from a park ranger about a
lone vehicle and trailer with no boat sitting in a parking lot  at
Cobscook Park.  

Using the license plate, the Coast Guard was able to locate a name,
address, and phone number of the vehicle owner but there was no
response at the location.

 

Instead of launching into a costly search,  that would
have included cutters and such, Paul Conner, search and rescue
controller at Coast Guard Sector Northern New England, decided to visit
Facebook and used the "missing" man's information to contact relatives
out there in cyberworld. (That's him at left, friending on Facebook.)

Indeed, the response he got on the site was useful: First, he found
an email address and contact number for one of the missing fisherman’s
relatives. Then, he sent a message to the address. Finally, in the end,
the
phone number he obtained actually led him directly to the fisherman,
who was not in
any distress and had simply moored at a different location than his
trailer and
vehicle.

“Sometimes we have to be very creative in our information
gathering,” said Conner.  “A simple internet search can often help us
locate a missing person before a boat or aircraft is even on scene.”

Coast guard officials suspect the shortcut saved about $30,000 in search and rescue costs.

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ALSO...

Mom was right. You probably should NOT have eaten the raw cookie dough straight from the package.

A
popular manufacturer of raw, tubular and tubbed cookie dough, has
recalled a bunch of its products after reports of consumer illness that
may be linked to people eating the product without properly cooking it.

Supermarkets like the Stop 'n Shop Supermarket Company (one is in Kennebunk) have removed all varieties of Nestle TOLL HOUSE
Refrigerated Cookie Doughs from store shelves.

Nestle U.S.A. announced a
voluntary recall of the refrigerated cookie dough in response to
consumer illness complaints which may be linked to the consumption of
the product in raw, uncooked form.

Personally,
I've always pooh-pooed the notion that eating raw cookie dough is bad
for you. Guess I'll have to throw that recently purchased at Stop n
Shop tub away. I could return it for a refund, which the store offers,
but considering there is only a spoonful or two left, I'll take the
hit.

What a sad day for those of us with a raw-cookie-dough-eating obsession.

If you want to know more specifics on the issue, you can vist this FDA website link, or read theis Nestle news release which will tell you all the serial numbers and such of the now-offensive deliciousness.

 

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