The storm may be fizzling … a Category 1 super-soaker … but Nantucket is still in the path of Earl and islanders are already sharing photos … including pet rats given shelter. Yes, rats. The MSPCA gave all pets a dry home away from home.

Here’s a photo from Karen Casson on Nantucket boarding up in anticipation of Earl …

And another Nantucket shot, this one from Lola Burger on the island …

If you have a hurricane photo, send it to heraldsquare@bostonherald.com.

The Twitter universe has come alive in the region for Hurricane Earl.

As the ancient mariner would say: “Red sky at night sailor’s delight; red sky in morning, sailors take warning.” Folks, take warning!

As the sun ushered in another day (that’s Great Pond above at Falmouth Heights) it was crimson clear we’re in for one heck of a day. I had to start this day by the sea before making my run into the city for a day filled with pre-Earl anticipation. We have reporters on the Cape and in the State House as the hurricane heads to Nantucket.

Send us your photos

If you have a hurricane photo, send it to heraldsquare@bostonherald.com and we’ll post a gallery. Don’t take any chances, but capture all you can of this end-of-summer lashing.

Hurricane Earl, with winds of up to 115 135 mph, is projected to sideswipe Cape Cod on Friday. But Earl is a harbinger of both good and bad news.

The good news? The storm will push out the latest heatwave. And shark sightings … since the waves will be so big you won’t spot any fins. The bad news? It will bring in rip tides, high seas and high winds. Here’s a link to the National Hurricane Center for the latest.

UPDATES:  As of noon Tuesday, the story remains about the same …

• Here’s a link to the latest map showing the high winds. Looks as if we’re in for a blow. 
• Here’s today’s story on Earl … watch those rip tides

The palms-first, slide-down body search in use by the Transportation Security Administration has lit a fire with readers. Airline safety is paramount, but it appears it stops when it comes to frisking private parts. You can submit to a full-body scan or the full-body search. Tough decision if all you want to do is fly to Detroit.

Consider this reader’s response …

Shades of “1984″! Big Brother (and Sis) is not only watching you - but is feeling you up and/or ogling your nude full body scan. For once I applaud the ACLU in their efforts in challenging this moronic unjustified procedure. Last time I checked we had a right to privacy, were guaranteed due process under the law and were vested with a presumption of innocence. So just how and when did this Gestapo/KGB mentality suddenly take over, nullifying our rights which have existed under the Constitution for over 200 years?

R. L. Parks / LV, NV

What’s your view? Send your frisking story to heraldsquare@bostonherald.com.

 Deconstructing the accused Craigslist killer Philip Markoff is like grasping at mist. His story begins and ends a mystery.

He was a ghostly figure in hotel surveillance footage wanted for allegedly preying on prostitutes and those who worked the skin trade via craigslist.org. A shadowy circle of hookers and johns providing easy access for a night crawler.

Now we’ll never know the full story.

While on a week off from the news, I couldn’t shake how Philip Markoff’s suicide in a Boston jail is an injustice and an eerie end to a brutal horror story.

When the Craigslist killer panic broke in April of 2009 we asked readers for tips on the case. E-mails began to pour in about bad boyfriends, slimy stalkers and sex fiends women were sure fit the description of the All-American boy with his ubiquitous BlackBerry. They were all wrong. (Unfortunately, it’s clear there are rafts of bad relationships floating out there.)

What are we to make of Philip Markoff? The 24-year-old disgraced ex-Boston University medical student left us with only a grotesque homage to his ex-fiancee — scrawling “Megan” in blood and “pocket” on his jail wall. His storybook marriage to Megan McAllister never to be. What drove him?

“Markoff was so hooked into gambling,” says John Kelly, a criminal profiler who early on said the Craigslist killer had addictive forces compelling him. This time, Kelly adds, gambling was the demon.

“The excitement of the power, control, and the gamble is extremely stimulating for this personality, and really fires up their neurotransmitters in the pleasure center of their brain,” said Kelly. “At the time of his alleged robberies he was a desperate gambler in need of money.”

The alleged murder of erotic masseuse Julissa Brisman, 25, (pictured) at Boston’s Marriott Copley Place, was a hand he didn’t anticipate.

He’s suspected of taking “the ultimate gamble and he lost,” Kelly said. “Suicide was his last narcissistic act.”

Now we’re back to where we started — another empty page. A theory, but not a fact. Philip Markoff will — legally — have the qualifiers “allegedly” and “reportedly” tacked onto his epitaph because he took his secrets to the grave. A jury never deliberated this tale.

He’s accused of stripping prostitutes of their cash and safety? (If there’s any real solace behind those closed doors.) He collected the panties of his victims, authorities say, and used the same plastic restraints on his victims, a source told me at the time. He hid a gun in his medical book under the bed … and more, those who know add.

“He could have evolved in time to become more sinister,” Kelly added. “We will never know! It’s a sad situation for all those affected. As I said, the ultimate gamble.”

A dashing would-be doctor with the loving wife-in-waiting — with a dark side forever under the covers.

THE CRAIGSLIST KILLING: A timeline

 April 10, 2009: Las Vegas hooker Trisha Leffler reports that a man attacked her with a gun at the Back Bay Westin Hotel, stealing $800.

April 14, 2009: Police find 25-year-old masseuse Julissa Brisman beaten and fatally shot by a 9mm handgun at the Marriott Copley Place.

April 16, 2009: A stripper staying at the Holiday Inn in Warwick, R.I., tells police that an armed man attacked and tried to rob her, but fled when her husband entered the room. He left behind tell-tale plastic zip-tie cuffs that match those used in the other incidents.

April 20, 2009: Police arrest Philip Markoff, 23, while he and his fiancee, Megan McAllister, are en route to Connecticut’s Foxwoods Casino. It would have been his fourth trip there in a month.

April 26, 2009: Markoff’s fiancee calls off their wedding, planned for Aug. 14, 2009, although she continues to pledge her support.

May 4, 2009: Prosecutors formally charge Markoff in the Rhode Island attack.

June 22, 2009: Prosecutors present a host of evidence at Markoff’s arraignment at Suffolk Superior Court, including fingerprints and a gun hidden in a hollow “Gray’s Anatomy” textbook.

March 20, 2010: Markoff provides prosecutors with a swab of DNA.

May 26, 2010: Lawyers say the Markoff case will not go to trial until at least March 2011, postponing the proceedings by six months.

Aug. 15, 2010: Markoff found dead in his cell from an apparent suicide.

The BPD drug cops report seizing a kilo of heroin Tuesday in a bust at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard.

Here’s the key details … (sample from bust at right)

Once all the occupants were removed from the car, they denied that there were any drugs in the car. An officers specializing in the drug hides did a visual inspection of the car and immediately noticed that both front seats had been altered to look identical with an aftermarket added to the bottom of the passenger seat. The officer specializing in hides was able to determine how to open the hide and located four brick of heroin, three bags of heroin and cash in excess of $7,000.

Police report they arrested:  Antonio P. Acevedo, 29 of Everett, Victor Viera, 39 of Everett and Kenia Perez, 31 of Malden. They were charged conspiracy to violate the drug laws and trafficking Class A.

UPDATE: Shocking mug shot photo of Matt Amorello probed.

“Wow!”

That seems to be the instant reaction to the Haverhill Police mug shot (at right) of an “extremely intoxicated” Matthew J. Amorello, as his arrest report reads.

But how do you interpret that “Wow?” As, “wow was he on the road like that?” Or, “wow how could such an image be shown?” What do you think? Here’s what two experts have to say today …

Boston University College of Communications Dean Tobe Berkovitz …

“It’s frightening that people in this alleged condition are on our highways, Matt Amorello or not. The key here is our highways are filled with a lot of dangerous people. … Matt Amorello is yesterday’s news politically, but this is more just a bad situation with someone apparently driving drunk.”

Public defender Stephanie Page …

“That’s pretty bad. It just gets people all fired up. How does it further a goal? It does kick him while he’s down.”

Page, one of the best defense attorneys I’ve ever seen in action, went on to say she could fill the pages of the paper with similar mug shots … and worse. She defended double-murderer Neil Entwistle and had many troubling police photos at her fingertips. Professor Berkovitz agreed the focus on Amorello is a sideshow, but you can’t ignore the fact he may have been putting others at risk.

You be the judge and read the Haverhill Police reports below …

It’s time to “target harden” your home, Boston cops are warning, as thieves strike in reckless abandon in the Allston-Brighton area. Here’s the alert from the cops …

In the past month the Allston Brighton Area has experienced 36 residential burglaries in and around Commonwealth Avenue. The burglaries are occurring at all times during the day and night. One suspect has been arrested in the vicinity of some of the higher target areas. (But) it’s time to “target harden” your property …

THEIEVES ARE ESPECIALLY ATTRACTED BY:

• OPEN DOORS

• BUZZING STRANGERS ONTO YOUR BUILDING

•  DARK OR UNLIT AREAS AROUND YOUR BUILDING

•  UNANCHORED A/C UNITS

•  OPEN WINDOWS

•  MULTIPLE APARTMENT UNITS IN AN AREA

•  VISIBLE PROPERTY AS SEEN THROUGH WINDOWS

•  ACCESSIBLE FIRE ESCAPES

The police add: As always if you observe any suspicious activity, please CALL 911 Immediately!!!!

Erase one quasi-state agency off the list … it’s been merged with another. Still, 52 more +/- survive.

An economic development bill signed into law today by the governor merges MassDevelopment with the Health and Educational Facilities Authority (HEFA).

As we reported this week, MassDevelopment didn’t fare well in a recent audit …

• Quasi-state workers get severance on way out
• Your Tax Dollars at Work: MassDevelopment payroll

I asked the spokesman of MassDevelopment if merging both agencies into one would mean any loss of jobs, etc. He couldn’t say … yet. Take a look at what salaries folks pull down, starting at $299,000. The question remains what will shake out? Stay tuned …

CITY DESK WIRED NOTE TO READERS: If you have a tip, a payroll request, a criticism … anything … e-mail me at joed@bostonherald.com. Yes, a few requests have already been filed. I’m chasing down those requests.

UPDATE: The spraying is tonight (Thursday). Stay inside.

Keep your windows and AC on tonight. The EEE spraying in South Coast communities has been put off due to high winds. Here’s the state’s announcement that just popped into the City Desk inbox …

Due to predicted heavy winds for this evening, all scheduled eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) aerial spraying flights in Southeastern Massachusetts have been canceled. Aerial spraying is tentatively planned for tomorrow (Thursday) night, again weather permitting. Please continue to check the DPH website for information and updates on EEE and aerial spraying schedules at www.mass.gov/dph. Residents can also call the 2-1-1 information line for updates and additional details about EEE.

State public health officials, working in conjunction with several other agencies and local public health partners, made the decision to conduct aerial spraying in Southeastern Massachusetts following continued positive tests for EEE in mosquito samples from that part of the state, and have characterized the risk of EEE infection as a serious public health concern at this time.

In addition to updating the public regarding when aerial spraying will take place, DPH recommends these important steps to avoid mosquito bites:

• Be Aware of Peak Mosquito Hours. The hours from dusk to dawn are peak biting times for many mosquitoes. Consider rescheduling outdoor activities that occur during evening or early morning.

• Clothing Can Help Reduce Mosquito Bites. Wearing long-sleeves, long pants and socks when outdoors will help keep mosquitoes away from your skin.

• Apply Insect Repellent When Outdoors. Use a repellent with DEET (N, N-diethyl-m-toluamide), permethrin, picaridin (KBR 3023), oil of lemon eucalyptus p-methane 3, 8-diol (PMD) or IR3535 according to the instructions on the product label. DEET products should not be used on infants under two months of age and should be used in concentrations of 30% or less on older children. Oil of lemon eucalyptus should not be used on children under three years of age.

Mosquito-Proof Your Home

• Drain Standing Water. Mosquitoes lay their eggs in standing water. Limit the number of places around your home for mosquitoes to breed by either draining or discarding items that hold water. Check rain gutters and drains. Empty any unused flowerpots and wading pools, and change water in birdbaths frequently.

• Install or Repair Screens. Keep mosquitoes outside by having tightly-fitting screens on all of your windows and doors.

More information about EEE and EEE risk is available on the DPH website at www.mass.gov/dph. Information about West Nile Virus (WNV) and EEE is also available by calling the DPH recorded information line at 1-866-MASS-WNV (1-866-627-7968) or the Epidemiology Program at 617-983-6800.

Close your windows and be ready to bring the kids — and pets — indoors tomorrow night. The governor’s office just released the schedule of towns to be sprayed tomorrow (Wednesday) after dusk for eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) …

Spraying of the pesticide will take place after dusk on August 4th in the communities of

Acushnet, Berkley, Bridgewater, Carver, Duxbury, Dartmouth, East Bridgewater, Easton, Fairhaven, Freetown, Halifax, Hanson, Kingston, Lakeville, Marion, Mattapoisett, Middleboro, New Bedford, Norton, Pembroke, Plympton, Plymouth, Raynham, Rochester, Taunton, Wareham and West Bridgewater. These areas were chosen based on factors including mosquito sample surveillance findings, environmental observations and weather conditions among others.

There are several simple steps that residents in these areas should take in preparation for the aerial spraying:

• Keep windows closed and fans off. Shut off air conditioners unless they have a setting for re-circulating indoor air.

• Keep pets, livestock and other domestic animals indoors during spraying to minimize their risk of exposure.

• Wash any homegrown fruits or vegetables before eating.

• If skin or clothes or other items are exposed to the sprayed pesticide, wash with soap and warm water.

More information on EEE and the use of aerial spraying is available at www.mass.gov/dph.

More helpful links …

• Arthropod-borne viruses
• Aerial spraying map (PDF)
• Frequently asked questions

Yes, I’m noticing it’s just another summer of sharks and bugs. Be careful out there.

Great whites … like the one above starring in the Discovery Channel’s “Shark Week” … are now leaving a deadly trail of their scraps along the shore. A beach-goer at Nauset Light Beach in Eastham called today to report a dead seal on the beach half eaten.

“That stuff happens a lot,” said a ranger with the National Cape Cod Seashore. Here’s the latest …

• Horseneck Beach in Westport closed, temporarily, due to shark sighting
• Great white sharks spotted swimming near people in Chatham
• Shark hunters go tagging
• Shark week on Discovery Channel

Above, Shark week on the Discovery Channel is back for its 23rd year. Long in the tooth, but still a grabber. (Discovery Channel photo.)

KILLING ZONE: The carcass of a 7-foot-long seal is seen off the east coast of South Monomoy in Chatham, Saturday. (AP/pool photo.)

For all those e-mailing demanding to know if Sen. John Kerry paid his $500,000 boat tax bill … he has.

Bob Bliss, from the state Department of Revenue, tells the Herald today that “a tax return has been filed” for Sen. Kerry’s boat.

Was it paid with a check? Money order? Bank transfer? Gold doubloons? He won’t say.

Bliss said that as “a matter of law,” he can’t reveal too much. He did say the payment has arrived and has been accepted by the Commonwealth.

In case you missed it, here’s what others think about the boat brouhaha.

 Just in from our partners at the Cape Cod Times … sharks shut down 5 miles of beach. Get out of the water and watch your toes …

Swimming has been banned on the eastern shore of South Beach in Chatham because of more sharks sighted in the area today, according to a notice posted this afternoon by the Chatham harbor master’s office.

The remainder of Chatham’s eastern shoreline remains open to swimmers, except in those areas that are within 300 feet of observed seals, the notice says.

A spotter plane surveying the waters off South Beach and Monomoy Island saw three or four sharks in the water east of South Beach today. It is the same area where a 12-to-14-foot shark was successfully tagged on Tuesday, the notice says.

The harbor master’s office warns swimmers to pay close attention to their surroundings and not swim too far off shore

Cue the “Jaws” music, three more great white sharks have been spotted off South Beach in Chatham. But, they could be the same ones spotted earlier this week … just circling back for seconds on seals.

• Shark sightings on Cape keep swimmers in shallow end

Catherine Williams of the state  Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs told the Herald today they are keeping an eye on the ocean for any new sightings. Stay tuned …

Here’s a second photo from the state of the shark tagged off South Beach in Chatham on Tuesday. It was 100 feet from the shore … that’s 100 feet or one-third the length of a football field. Swim at your own risk!

A new poll out today shows Gov. Deval L. Patrick clinging to a small lead as GOP rival Charles D. Baker closes in just 6 percentage points away.

The Rasmussen Reports survey of likely Bay State voters has Patrick ahead 38-32 percent over Baker. Independent candidate Timothy Cahill trails with 17 percent of the vote. Another 12 percent remain undecided, Rasmussen reports online today.

“Still despite Scott Brown’s upset with in January, Patrick, with the powers of incumbency, has an edge in a state that trends strongly Democratic,” Rasmussen writes.

HE’S BACK: Gov. Deval Patrick addresses the media outside Terminal B at Logan International Airport last night after returning from a goodwill visit to the Middle East.  His poll numbers are slipping, but he’s still on top.

The war in Afghanistan … always in the news and in our thoughts … touches Bay State homse once again with news just into the City Desk that 670 soldiers are being shipped over to assist in Operation Enduring Freedom …

The Massachusetts National Guard will hold a send-off ceremony on Sunday for more than 670 Soldiers of the 1st Battalion 181st Infantry Regiment at 10 a.m. at Commerce Bank Field at Foley Stadium, 305 Chandler Street, Worcester.

The Soldiers of the 181st Infantry Regiment, from armories located in Worcester, Gardner and Cambridge, have received yearlong mobilization orders and are scheduled to deploy to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. One of the four original units in the United States military, the 181st Infantry Regiment has most recent deployed to Bosnia (2001), Operation Nobel Eagle (2001-2002), OEF - Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (2003-2004), Hurricane Katrina Relief, New Orleans, LA (2005), OIF - (2007 - 2008).

The 181st Infantry Regiment will provide a Security Force mission to each of the 12 Provincial Reconstruction Teams located in Eastern, Western, and Southern Afghanistan. The joint civil-military units have three objectives: improve security, extend the authority of the Afghan central government and facilitate reconstruction projects throughout Afghanistan. The unit will also be responsible for security and base defense operations at Camp Phoenix in Kabul.

IN COUNTRY: U.S. Army Pfc. Eli Price, of Modesto California, from the 101st Airborne Division sleeps at COP Nolen, in the volatile Arghandab Valley, Kandahar, Afghanistan, Monday, July 26. (AP photo.)

President Obama’s crisis-in-chief persona takes a major hit in the latest poll by Quinnipiac University, when you dig deeper into the results (see post below.)

Here’s some key findings to consider …

Voter approval of the President’s handling of some of the nation’s problems shows:

• Disapprove 56 - 39 percent of his handling of the economy;

• Disapprove 46 - 43 percent of his handling of foreign policy;

• Disapprove 51 - 41 percent of his handling of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill;

• Disapprove 58 - 30 percent of his handling of illegal immigration;

• Approve 46 - 34 percent of his nomination of Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court.

That’s a lousy batting average. So what do you make of these results of a survey of 2,000 voters? Consider this nugget, it explains a lot …

Asked to describe their feelings toward the President, 17 percent say they admire him; 33 percent are satisfied; 33 percent are dissatisfied and 15 percent are angry with him.

The honeymoon, as Quinnipiac states, is over making turning the fall mid-term elections into a crap shoot for the Democrats. Stay tuned …

More bad polling news tonight for President Obama … basically, he’s doing so poorly an unnamed Republican would smoke him if the election were held now. Ouch.

Some unnamed GOP candidate must be happy tonight. Here’s today’s release from  Quinnipiac University in Connecticut (which gets it right more than they get it wrong) …

A year after President Barack Obama’s political honeymoon ended, his job approval rating has dropped to a negative 44 - 48 percent, his worst net score ever, and American voters say by a narrow 39 - 36 percent margin that they would vote for an unnamed Republican rather than President Obama in 2012, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.

This compares to a 48 - 43 percent approval for Obama in a May 26 national poll by the independent Quinnipiac University and a 57 - 33 percent approval last July, just before the political firestorm created by opposition to his health care plan galvanized political opponents and turned independent voters against him.

In this latest survey of more than 2,000 voters, independent voters disapprove of Obama 52 - 38 percent and say 37 - 27 percent they would vote for a Republican contender in 2012.

American voters also say 48 - 40 percent Obama does not deserve re-election in 2012.

Interesting poll. Here are some other findings …

• American voters say 42 – 32 percent that Obama has been a better president than George W. Bush
• American voters like Obama more than Sarah Palin, giving him a 49 – 45 percent favorability
• Michelle Obama does much better, with a 55 – 19 percent favorability
• The country would be better off if John McCain had won the 2008 election, 37 percent of voters say, while 35 percent say the U.S. would be worse off