Photo by Biketripper

>> Don’t forget: early voting centers are open again in D.C., and they’ll be operating on extended hours (8:30 a.m.-9 p.m.) through Saturday. Locations are here.

>> The coastal Virginia town of Chincoteague didn’t escape the wrath of Hurricane Sandy, writes the Post, but its famed wild ponies seem to have weathered the storm just fine. While town officials aren’t absolutely sure that all of the 134 ponies survived, he said that before the storm they had headed for higher ground in neighboring Assateague Island.

>> Major flooding was reported at the Monocacy River in Frederick County earlier this morning, reports WTOP. According to the National Weather Service, at 2 a.m. the river was running six feet above flood stage. Similar flooding is expected for the Potomac River north of D.C., and the city remains under a coastal flood watch through Friday. At high tide, the river is expected to crest at 8.6 feet, just over two feet over flood stage.

>> An arbitrator has found that D.C. Fire Chief Kenneth Ellerbe retaliated against the head of the D.C. firefighters union by transferring him from one post to another after he spoke out against policy decisions made by Ellerbe, reports the Washington Times. The arbitrator ruled that Ed Smith, who heads up Local 36, should be reinstated to his post at Rescue Squad 1. Smith was transferred in July 2011 after having publicly complained about changes to the fire department’s logo and conditions in emergency vehicles.

Briefly Noted: Does the D.C. GOP need new leadership? … Beach towns in Maryland and Delaware escaped the worst of Sandy … Rep. Donna Edwards (D-Md.) comes out against expanded gambling in Maryland … Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell says that commonwealth got lucky in avoiding the worst of what Sandy could have wrought … The presidential race remains close in Virginia.

This Day in DCist: On this day in 2011, a zoo researcher was found guilty of poisoning feral cats, Tourmobile said goodbye and bans on the sale of single beer led to the sale of two-packs of beer.