Roses to the town of Chapel Hill for initiating an effort to scale the magnitude of the Halloween party back to a manageable size.

We don't know yet, of course, whether the measures the town has implemented for Friday night's gathering will have the desired effect.

But we do believe it's worth trying. The celebration has simply gotten too big, swollen by caravans descending on downtown from all points of the compass. It's a monumental headache for residents who live in and near downtown, it's potentially dangerous and it costs the town a fortune.

Like Apple Chill before it, Halloween in Chapel Hill is a victim of its own success. It evolved organically from the many parties and special events at downtown bars and clubs that happened on Halloween. For a while there it became a sort of people's parade; those in creative costumes would move up and down Franklin Street while others, including kids and families, stood and cheered and admired.

Not anymore. These days it's a massive sea of people, many of them drunk, only a relative few bothering with Halloween costumes.

The town, in hopes of diminishing the crowd, chose a middle way between doing nothing and turning people away at the town limits. Police will narrow the thoroughfares leading into town to slow the flood. Bars will charge $5 to get in, and will turn people away at 1 a.m., rather than the usual 2 a.m. State troopers, DMV officers and other law enforcement officials will establish checkpoints around town to minimize drunken driving.

The idea, it seems, is to make getting to and from the party more trouble than it's worth. A few years of that, and people might think twice before chartering a bus for the four-hour journey to Chapel Hill.

Will it work? We'll find out this weekend. But it's worth a shot.

Raspberries to those out there -- you know who you are -- who think political discourse extends to stealing or vandalizing campaign signs.

Seems like almost everyone we talk to has had a sign swiped, or knows someone who has (oddly enough, though, nobody ever fesses up to being the one doing the stealing).

This sort of junk happens during almost every election, but we don't remember it happening as much in the past as it has during this campaign. That is disappointing but not particularly surprising, given the extraordinary interest and impassioned emotions aroused by this year's presidential contest.

That interest and that passion are the fuel that powers the process, and it's good to see people so energized and deeply involved in what stands to be a momentous election.

So debate the issues. Argue, even. Above all, vote.

But let's be big boys and girls about it. Use our words, and keep our hands off other people's stuff.

Roses to the folks who make a habit of riding the Triangle Transit weekday bus between Chapel Hill and Hillsborough, and to Chapel Hill Transit for making arrangements to make them more comfortable.

So many people have been riding that route that some have been reduced to sitting on the floor. Chapel Hill Transit has agreed to provide a bigger bus.

Good to see people using public transportation. Good to see public transportation making changes to accommodate the demand.