Today is Day Two of early voting in North Carolina. In Durham, a big endorsement just came in: outgoing mayor Bill Bell has endorsed Farad Ali to replace him. (Ali is running against Steve Schewel.)

Mayor Bell also endorsed incumbent City Council member Cora Cole-McFadden for reelection. She’s running against DeDreana Freeman in Ward One; both candidates are popular and that vote is likely to be close.

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Election season also means lots of campaign signs – and also lots of complaints from candidates about their signs being torn down or vandalized. So many complaints, in fact, that the Chapel Hill Police Department just sent out a notice reminding everyone that it’s illegal to tamper with campaign signs. If a sign is lawfully placed, it’s a misdemeanor to steal it, remove it, deface it or vandalize it. (It’s also, you know, morally wrong.)

If you see anyone tampering with signs, contact police.

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If you love the leaves changing color in the fall, you are not alone: officials say this weekend is likely to be the busiest weekend of the year for traffic on the Blue Ridge Parkway. (Traffic usually peaks around the third weekend in October.)

If you’re heading to the Parkway, be careful – there’s always a spike in accidents in October as well, for exactly the same reason.

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And congratulations to Carrboro Alderman Damon Seils – just honored earlier this month by the NC AIDS Action Network as one of their Advocates of the Year. Only three people statewide won that honor. NCAAN executive director Lee Storrow called Seils a “consistent advocate for those living with HIV in our state.”

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