Color change for overdue items

Does anyone have an idea how to make share point alert you via color change, email, or something that an item (action item) is overdue or is getting close to the due date... 

Absolutely, there are a couple of ways that come to mind.

1. Write a custom Web Part; going this route will afford you the ability to display things anyway you wish.
2. Open SharePoint Designer and use the Data Form Web Part; lots of formatting options here.  Take a look at this article published in the SharePoint Beagle newsletter.