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: 5:01 a.m. SUNSET: 8:17 p.m.

At 9 a.m., it was 55 degrees in downtown Portland.

It's
hard to say what today is going to be like.  In the morning, a cloud
cover will move across the state, pushed southward by a cold front.
(And it is pretty much gone from downtown Portland now...)

By lunch, we'll have sun, but its warmth will be tampered by a cold front's cool winds. 

And then by the evening, more clouds will cover the sky, maintaining the chill.

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THE SUNRISE HERALD WEATHER WATCHERS REPORT:

• Bill in Rockland says: Lots of low lying clouds this
  morning and 50 degrees, but no wind at 5:30. The birds are cheerfully
  all a-twitter and that at least is energizing.
• Jim in Cape Elizabeth says:  The
  clouds are gathering and it is 55 here in Cape at 6:30.  The trees are
  still and it feels like the rain is a-coming.  May one and all  have a
  great day and great rest of the week as once again travel calls  me
  away.  Cheers!
    
  

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ON THE ROAD:

"Roadcheck 2009" continues today, 
an annual event sponsored by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance.
During Roadcheck 2009, June 2-4, as many commercial vehicles as
possible will be checked for safety issues along the Maine Turnpike.

Troopers
and State Police motor carrier inspectors will be doing the checks at
weigh stations on the turnpike at Kittery, Sidney, Hampden, Old Town
and Houlton.
 
Does it work? You decide. Last year, state
police conducted 632 inspections during "Roadcheck;" 102 big rigs were
taken off the road, along with 72 drivers.

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ON THE OCEAN:

Wind
won't be much of a problem today, with a cold north blow coming in 5 to
10 knots. Later this afternoon, the wind comes from the south. Seas
remain small, 1 foot or less.   

IN PORTLAND: High tide at 8:36 a.m. and 8:58 p.m. Low tide at 2:38 p.m.

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IN THE NEWS:

AUGUSTA
-- The Maine Center for Disease Control says it has identified seven
new cases of H1N1, a.k.a. the Swine Flu, in Cumberland and York
counties.

As of 4 p.m. Tuesday, the CDC said five residents
in Cumberland County and two residents in York County had been
identified in the past 48 hours as either probably having, or confirmed
to have, the Swine Flu.

The Cumberland County cases, according to
the CDC, include three probable diagnoses among youth, including a
Brunswick High School student, which was reported Monday. The other two
are confirmed adult cases.  One of the new cases in York County, an
adult, required hospitalization.

As the H1N1 virus continues to be monitored, the CDC offers this key message:

"The
number of identified cases simply indicates the presence of H1N1 in
Maine. The strategies recommended the last four weeks continue to be
very important. We all need to stay informed, be prepared and practice
proper respiratory hygiene."

In a letter to all Brunswick High
School parents and guardians, Principal Bruce Cook said the school will
follow the federal CDC recommendation that schools "focus on early
identification and exclusion of ill students, rather than school
closure when probable or confirmed cases are
identified."

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VASSALBORO
-- A coffee shop that made itself known for being a topless cafe is
still smoldering this morning after a fire that started sometime around
1 a.m.

Click for larger Google map.

A
dispatcher at the Kennebec County Communications Center said
firefighters and fire investigators are still at the Grand View Topless
Coffee Shop on Route 3 putting out hot spots and pouring water on flare
ups.

We're told the building sustained heavy damage and was
nearly destroyed. And because firefighters have not been able to enter
the building yet, there is no word on a cause.

The shop, though,
has been no stranger to the news when it became Vassalboro's topless
coffee shop in February. And owner Donald Crabtree had more plans for
his business.

Just last night, Crabtree met with members of the Vassalboro Planning Board for a
pre-application meeting to add music and dancing to the topless coffee service.

News Partner Kennebec Journal reported on that meeting last night and has a report in today's paper, which can be accessed by CLICKING THIS LINK.

Crabtree,
who lives on the property where the coffee shop is located, told News 8
WMTW, which is on scene, that he did not have insurance on the property.

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WASHINGTON
-- Sen. Susan Collins says University of Maine Professor Habib Dagher
will meet this week with U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu to talk about
establishing an National Offshore Wind Research Center at the school.

Gov.
John Baldacci, Sen. Olympia Snowe and Rep. Mike Michaud are also
expected to attend the meeting, which could mean a substantial future
for Maine in developing clean energy for the nation.

Last year
during senate hearing on cleaner sources of energy, Dagher testified
and called the Gulf of Maine the “Saudi Arabia of Wind.” He also told
the senators that he believes wind power could supply as much as 40
percent of the nation's energy.

In a letter drafted to Secretary Chu, Collins wrote this in support of establishing an offshore research center:

"Maine
is an ideal place for this center since nearly nine percent of the U.S.
deepwater offshore wind energy is in the Gulf of Maine. Governor
Baldacci is prepared to offer legislation to expedite the selection of
an offshore wind test site and has proposed a bond package to help
jump-start the development of this technology, which would complement a
partnership with the Department of Energy. Researchers at the
University of Maine's world leading Advanced Structures and Composites
Center already work with your National Renewable Energy Laboratory on
offshore wind technologies.
Estimates are that development of just
5 GW of offshore wind in Maine could attract $20 billion of investment
to the state and can create over 15,000 green energy jobs that will be
sustained over 30 years. Together with a massive weatherization
program, and conversion to electric heating pumps and electric
vehicles, the state plans to transform its economy, and become the
Greenest State in the U.S."

The meeting will be held Friday at the Department of Energy headquarters in Washington, D.C.

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PORTSMOUTH, N.H. (AP) — A Maine woman who kicked a Portsmouth, N.H., police officer has been given a
suspended jail sentence and ordered to write an apology and tour the
county jail.

Police say Meredith-Leigh Pulkkinen-Walton of Berwick pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of simple assault Tuesday.

Lt.
Rodney McQuate told the Portsmouth Herald that the plea was the
34-year-old's admission to being "verbally abusive" and kicking officer
William Dubois last winter after driving into a snowbank.

After
noting the incident occurred at 2 a.m. while Pulkkinen-Walton was
intoxicated, Judge Sawako Gardner asked why the prosecution wasn't
recommending a  jail sentence.

Pulkkinen-Walton's public
defender said her client is "a hard working mother" without a "drinking
history." After an extended conference between attorneys, Gardner
agreed to approve a sentence without jail time.

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FROM OUR NEWS PARTNERS

• THE BANGOR DAILY NEWS REPORTS -- An Enfield man was arrested Tuesday afternoon after
allegedly threatening another man at the Bangor Mall and then
brandishing a loaded handgun at police officers who responded to the
threat.

Brian W. Murphy, 24, has been charged with criminal threatening with a
dangerous weapon, a Class C felony, but likely could face additional
charges.

Follow the story by clicking this link.

• THE LEWISTON SUN JOURNAL REPORTS
-- A Maine State Police trooper was startled to find that the driver of
the car he pulled over in Lewiston was a 12-year-old boy. Trooper Ricci
Cote said the Chevrolet Avalanche SUV he spotted on North
River Road in Greene at about 12:30 a.m. Saturday was moving
erratically. When he reached the driver's side window, he was
surprised to see a boy behind the steering wheel. The boy's father sat
in the front passenger seat. He told Cote he had made his son drive.

Read the rest of the report by clicking this link.

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COMING UP:

AUGUSTA
-- The Maine Gambling Control Board meets today to hear a request from
Hollywood Slots  for a change in internal control policies.

The
Bangor betting facility wants security officers to be allowed to have
keys to the case storage box area. Seems like a simple matter but all
changes in rules and regulations must go before the board.

The board will also take up other regular agenda items, such as financial reports and updates on investigations.

The meeting is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. at the Maine Department of Public Safety Offices.

Can't make it but want to? The meetings are accessible for audio streaming by clicking the link below:

MAINE'S GAMBLING CONTROL BOARD JUNE MEETING.

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