Election day is two weeks away, but you can vote now. We helped out with a portion of the races you'll see on your ballot. And we even offered up brief reasons on this election's cheat sheet. See above, and happy voting. (Also: You probably want to start preparing yourself for the Merc's election party at the Doug Fir.)

Speaking of your ballot, prominent Don't Shoot Portland activist Teressa Raiford revealed yesterday she's sort of running for sheriff. She's asking you to write in her name instead of voting for current Sheriff Mike Reese, who is running unopposed.

Also: A Forbes contributor penned a piece yesterday questioning whether Labor Commissioner (and Secretary of State candidate) Brad Avakian's employees had been pushing his candidacy on state time, and strongly suggesting payments to three employees from Avakian's campaign committee were shady. The piece makes no claim of actual lawbreaking that I could see, but suggests "a repeated pattern of questionable ethics and public trust violations." Read it for yourself.

The O suggests there's one big reason why Safeway and Albertsons are pumping huge amounts of cash into the effort to defeat Measure 97. The grocers wouldn't have to pay the tax, but that would change if their owner is thinking of turning them into C corporations.

This is interesting: The US Department of Justice has quietly swapped out staff investigating the 2014 death of Eric Garner, who was selling loose cigarettes on Staten Island when he was put in a police chokehold. The old investigators and prosecutors didn't want to pursue criminal charges against the cops. There's a suggestion that the new officials handling the case might.

We've got another chapter in the Trib's ongoing series making a guy who offered to buy the county's unused Wapato jail look like an untrustworthy schmo.

The paper also interviewed owners/employees of Portland Bagelworks, which exploded last week after contractors struck a gas line. They're unsure what's next, and trying to raise money to cover costs insurance won't.

Oops! The county was overcharging for surveying fees over the last several months, which means a title company might have charged you too much for surveying fees ($4 too much to be precise). But since the county's mostly only going to refund those title companies, good luck getting your scratch back.

Portland police have two Cessna planes they use for surveillance, and they're up in the air nearly every day at this point. KGW went and flew in one.

Welp, it's 14 days before election day, and it's officially true that Obamacare premiums are about to shoot way up. Some of that increase will be set off by government subsidies, but expect to hear lots about this in the next two weeks.

And, hey Bernie supporters! Turns out your guy is still a US Senator, and that he plans to leverage the enthusiasm he garnered this year to push for strong progressive policies under a (maybe) President Clinton. According to the Washington Post: "In an interview, Sanders said he and other senators have started plotting legislation that would achieve many of the proposals that fueled his insurgent run for president, including a $15 federal minimum wage, tuition-free public college, an end to “mass incarceration” and aggressive steps to fight climate change."

My prediction: It'll be uniformly grim and gray for the next two weeks. The rain will be cold and pitiless.