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By Giselle Goodman November 05, 2008 09:00 AM

Sunrise Herald is the early morning news update feature at pressherald.com. It is updated at 6, 7, 8 and 9 on weekdays.

Welcome to the Sunrise Herald with Giselle Goodman, the place to go to get the news from overnight and onward...
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It is done. The voters have chosen. Records were broken. History is made.

Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer
Barack Obama supporters, including Robin Wiesner, right, celebrate at Monument Square in Portland early Wednesday morning (this photo was taken at 1 a.m.) after Obama's victory in Tuesday's election. About 250 supporters gathered in the square to cheer and dance.
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IN THE WEATHER:

At 9 a.m. today, it was 52 degrees in downtown Portland.

Yesterday was just gorgeous. Today will be the same, with a bit more cloud cover, especially as the day moves on. But some warmer temperatures. Humidity is up, due to the warm front, but tomorrow, it will be really wet when rain arrives. Temperatures today in the low to mid 60s.

THE SUNRISE HERALD WEATHER WATCHERS REPORT:

Bill in Rockland says: The fog seems to be lifting at 5:40 this morning, but the skies seem to be at least partially overcast. It's 46 degrees and there's very little, if any, wind.

James in Cape Elizabeth says: Red sky in the morning........It's 5:30 here in Cape Elizabeth and the sky is mostly clear with just a few high clouds and no breezes blowing. The temperature is 48 but it is a damp 48.

From Shawn in Yarmouth: It is 44 degrees here in Yarmouth this morning, no wind, cloud-covered sky. Let's hope the rain holds off for the state boys' soccer game this evening. Go Clippers!
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ON THE OCEAN:

The warm front above keeps things warm and mild on Casco Bay again today. South winds blow 5 to 10 knots. Seas 1 to feet.

High tide in Portland: 3:49 p.m. Low tide: 9:36 a.m. and again at 10:17 p.m.

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ELECTION ROUNDUP:

Results of races that were too close to call before press-time last night:

FOR HOUSE AND SENATE RACES TOO CLOSE TO CALL AT PRESS-TIME:
You can get all the latest statewide figures by clicking our Election Day button on the home page or by CLICKING HERE TO BE LINKED TO THE PAGE.

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SANFORD TOWN COUNCIL RESULTS:

Voters in Sanford picked two candidates from a pool of six to serve the next three years as town council members. Gordon N. Paul and Robert J. Hanslip were the top two vote-getters in that race. The final tally from all seven wards reporting are as follows:

-- Robert J. Hanslip: 3,682
-- Lenwood E. Horr: 1,217
-- Leonard Mustacchio: 1,486
-- Catherine A. Markland: 2,097
-- Gordon N. Paul: 4,052
-- Richard L. Wilkins: 2,347

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FROM BUXTON, THE RESULTS OF A REFERENDUM QUESTION:

The advisory referendum asked voters if they wanted to adopt a town manager-selectmen form of government, as the town of 8,000 residents now operates without a full-time manager.

Voters approved the measure, but not overwhelmingly. The votes were 2,400 in favor of the referendum, 2,108 against.

The decision made by voters yesterday will require changing the town's charter and a second vote sometime in the next 18 months.

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PORTLAND SCHOOL COMMITTEE - DISTRICTS 4 AND 5:
The latest results from the city of Portland have these numbers for the two districts:
• District 4: Justin L. Costa, 225 votes. Robert J. Grasmuck, 3 votes. Mary Frances O'Brien, 30 votes.

• District 5: Christopher A. Breen, 19 votes. Marnie Morrione, 75 votes.

To see the full election tally from the city of Portland, click this link.

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SACO SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION QUESTION:
Also known to Saco voters as Question 1, consolidation would reorganize the Dayton, Old Orchard Beach and Saco school departments into a regional school unit by July 1, 2009. Saco voters approved the consolidation plan with 6,846 votes to 2,844. A total of 9,690 people voted.

Old Orchard Beach also approved the measure, 3,194 votes to 1,700.

Dayton also approved the plan, 807 to 303.

A merger of School Union 7, made up of Saco and Dayton, with the Old Orchard Beach School Department would create RSU 56

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SAD 71 AND THE ARUNDEL SCHOOL DEPARTMENTS WERE ALSO ASKING VOTERS TO APPROVE A CONSOLIDATION PLAN:
In Kennebunk, voters approved the reorganization plan to consolidate Kennebunk, Kennebunkport (SAD 71) and Arundel schools into a regional school unit 4,393 to 2,293.

Residents in Kennebunkport also voted in favor of the measure. 1,714 to 733.

For the time being, the district will be called Regional School Unit 57. The name could be changed when the process is completed.

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RESULTS FROM KENNEBUNK'S MANY LOCAL ISSUES ARE AS FOLLOWS:

• Voters overwhelmingly approved a measure that would allow the Kennebunk Light and Power District to extend its service into the Lower Village. That question passed with 5,901 yes votes to 862 no votes.

• The results for the numerous charter change questions in Kennebunk are as follows:
 -- Question#3: (charter changes would be voted by public referendum) 4,924 yes to 1,515 no.
 -- Question #4: (all votes for land use ordinances conducted by referendum vote) 4,673 yes to 1,721 no.
 -- Question #5: (shift some powers from town meeting to the Board of Selectmen) 3,021 yes to 3,450 no.
 -- Question #6 (increase Board of Selectmen from 5 to 7 members) 3,758 yes to 2,613 no.
 -- Question #7 (term limits for selectmen) 4,278 yes to 2,073 no.
 -- Question #8 (approved remaining charter changes, "as detailed more specifically in the commissions final written report on file") 4,580 yes to 1,450 no.

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THE NEWEST NEWS:

News you can use to get your day under way:

OLD TOWN -- About 160 former employees of an idle pulp and paper mill in Old Town will soon be going back to work now that the court-approved sale of the facility has been made official.

About 400 workers lost their jobs when Georgia-Pacific Corp. shut down the paper mill in 2006. Red Shield Environmental then acquired the mill and resumed pulp production, but laid off 160 workers and filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June after experiencing sharp increases in the cost of fuel and materials.

The new owner, Patriarch Partners, is now calling former employees back to work. A week and a half ago, the New York investment group made the winning $19 million bid for the property.

Human resources manager Dan Bird said the first employees will return as soon as Friday, with the first pulp dryer scheduled to be up and running by Nov. 14. (AP)

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ROCKLAND -- The executive director of the Farnsworth Art Museum is stepping down to take another job less than two years after she was hired.

Lora Urbanelli will stay at the Farnsworth until the end of December. The Farnsworth, is one of Maine's most prominent art museums and includes a gallery and study center devoted to the Maine-related work of N.C., Andrew and Jamie Wyeth.

Urbanelli is leaving to become director of the Montclair Art Museum in Montclair, N.J. (AP)

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PORTLAND -- A former Republican official accused of taking part in a plot to jam Democratic phone lines in New Hampshire on Election Day 2002 is due in court today.

James Tobin is scheduled for an initial appearance and arraignment in federal court in Portland on two counts of making false statements to an FBI agent.

Tobin, 48, of Bangor, was accused of helping to arrange more than 800 hang-up calls that jammed get-out-the-vote phone lines set up by the New Hampshire Democratic Party and a local firefighters' union on Election Day six years ago.

His earlier conviction on telephone harassment charges was overturned, but prosecutors are appealing. The federal charges in Maine stem from statements he made to an FBI agent investigating the phone-jamming incident.

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