Burgers, Flowers & 31,106 Exposed

👋 Good Morning, Apex! Today is Thursday, June 25, 2026 and this is the 77th weekly issue of The Peak Weekly.

I want to start today's issue with a thank-you to Apex's Town Manager. (Stay with me...)

An Open Letter to Town Manager Randy Vosburg

Dear Randy,

I want to acknowledge you, the Town Attorney, the Town Clerk, and the IT Director — and extend each of you a personal thank-you.

This past Saturday, I discovered that the Town of Apex was exposing 31,106 resident records. Many included residents' full names, emails, phone numbers, home addresses, and the messages they'd sent the Town through its own website — all accessible to anyone on earth with an internet connection. When I reported it to the four of you that day, corrective action was taken swiftly.

That's the thank-you, and I mean it.

Now the questions — and I hope you don't mind that I'm asking them here (you haven’t replied to the last six emails I’ve sent you so I assume something is wrong with my computer):

1. Why did none of you respond to my email? I reported an exposure that included my own personal information (alongside thousands of other residents) and asked you to confirm receipt within three business days. Those days came and went; not one of you acknowledged it, confirmed it, or said a word. I only know you fixed it because I checked myself.

2. The last time I reported an exposure of resident data, the response wasn't a thank-you either. Instead, your self-appointed spokesperson, council member Mahaffey corrected the issue and then said the Town had spent $15,000 on an investigation that found no breach occurred, and pointed to me as the reason for that cost. The invoice I later obtained tells a different story: $3,738 paid to a law firm to help the Town craft its response to me and protect themselves instead of the residents who were affected. The Town has also confirmed to me in writing that it conducted no investigation that would support publicly characterizing me as a "political actor," a second lie to cover what actually happened. My question is simple: if staff or council respond to this much larger exposure the same way they did last time, will you sit silent again and allow it to happen again?

3. Why — in both notifications — did you not take me up on my offer to share everything I'd found? I told you I had an integrity-hashed evidence record documenting the exposure, and I offered you the endpoints, schema, and reproduction steps. You didn't respond to that offer this time, just as last time. So: are you certain you've closed every gap? Can you tell residents, right now, that there isn't a single remaining exposure — that there isn’t still one remaining exposure which I know about that you have left open because you value trying to keep this quiet over making sure that the people you work for are secure? I challenge you to issue a statement by 5pm today that you, while ignoring my help and evidence which would quickly protect the exposed residents, have closed all of the gaps that are putting them at risk.

4. In June 2025, the Town told residents: "every system… was wiped clean, and the entire network was rebuilt from the ground up," and that it had "significantly increased security assessments and monitoring." Several of these exposed systems predate that rebuild and stayed open straight through it. How did the monitoring miss this? Did it miss others? I'm still happy to help.

5. The Town and its police department regularly post scam alerts warning residents that their contact information is being used against them — like this one and like this one and like this one and like this one. Did anyone consider the irony of publishing residents' phone numbers, names, emails, and home addresses on the open web while warning those same residents about phone and invoice scams?

6. The Town is set to resume utility billing collections, fees, and disconnections in the coming days — on the premise that its systems are secure and back to normal. After what I discovered and brought to your attention this weekend showing that the Town unknowingly left resident data exposed AND EDITABLE by anyone in the world, does that timeline still hold?

7. Is there a communication plan? Do you intend to tell residents that when they filled out a Town web form — a missed yard-waste pickup, a damaged trash can, a pothole, a water or electric issue — the information they submitted was published, unrestricted, on the open internet?

8. How do you plan to handle the fact that the largest system was editable? It was configured to allow records to be created and updated, and the public map viewer presented an editable form to a user signed in to nothing — no account, no authentication, no credential. Were any records altered or deleted? And have you reported this incident to the state, through the NC Joint Cybersecurity Task Force, as a local government is expected to?

To the Apex Town Council

Where do we go from here?

I have personally discovered exposures of resident data twice. Both times, the data was real enough to fix quietly — and both times, myself and the residents exposed received no acknowledgement. When I've reached out to Council after being threatened following Mahaffey’s defamatory statements, I've received no response. When I filed an ethics complaint, I received no response.

If even one of you were willing to stand up and ask these questions alongside me — for the residents, not for the staff — we could fix the transparency problem instead of managing it. Honestly, this newsletter could get back to being all fun all the time if there weren't some new avoidable mess every time I turn around.

To the Residents of Apex

You deserve to know how your data may have been exposed. Here's the scale, across seven Town systems:

• Citizen Service Requests (11 categories) — 20,481 records

• Bulk Box Collection — 6,790 records

• Stormwater Concerns — 417 records

• Traffic Contact Form — 165 records

• Electrical Contractor Request — 215 records

• Facility Services (town employees) — 3,004 records

• Neighborhood Registry — 34 records

Most affected records link a named individual to a complete contact set — full name, email, phone number, and street address — plus the free-text messages residents typed into the forms. All of it was reachable through both the systems' data endpoints and Esri's standard public map viewer, with no sign-in required.

Whatever you submit to the Town through a web form, understand where it can end up. When in doubt, pick up the phone instead: (919) 249-3311.

If you are curious if your name, email, phone number, home address and any comments submitted to the Town have been exposed in this, I would recommend calling that number or emailing Manager Vosburg directly [email protected] - or Town Council directly [email protected]

They all ignore me, but maybe they’ll respond to you.

I’ll keep standing up for the best interest of Apex residents. And part of that means continuing to share all of the amazing, fun and exciting things happening in our wonderful Town. So here we go…

Miscellaneous Info:

🍨 Free Scoop of Ice Cream
Today - from 10am until 6pm - drop off a case of water or sports drinks and get a free cup of ice cream! The free ice cream scoop is waiting on you at the Veteran-owned, The Mocha Room, at 2145 Ten-Ten Rd. Donations support active-duty US Armed Forces members.

🏞️ Parks Planning 101
Join the Apex Parks & Greenways planning staff for a hands-on session starting with a Parks and Greenways Planning 101 overview, followed by an observation tour of a nearby park and an interactive group activity where participants will work together to design a park with greenway connections! Today, Apex Senior Center from 6-8pm.

🗓️ Wednesday Changes
Utility billing operations will resume on Wednesday, July 1, which means late fees and disconnections due to non-payment. Also on July 1, changes to yard waste collection go into affect. Contractors and landscapers must take away the yard waste they generate, yard waste amounts more than 2 cubic yards are now subject to a fee, and tree limbs must be less than 6 feet long and less than 6 inches wide.

🏗️ Apex Peakway SW Connector Update
The final asphalt layer will go down in July with pavement markings, stoplights and the punchlist in August. The loop road has a tentative opening in September and mid-fall is the project completion estimate.

🚧 Downtown Salem Street Update
By the end of this week, all sidewalk pavers on the one side of downtown should be done. Then they have a little bit more work to do there before switching over to the other side in mid/late July. Traffic will remain one-way, southbound just like it is now, but will just swap to the other lane.

Things to Do This Week in Apex:

Thursday, June 25

🏃‍♂️ NCRC Bottle Theory Weekly Social Run/Walk
6pm | Bottle Theory

🎤 Live Music: Jim Morgan Music
7pm - 10pm | Salem Street Pub

Friday, June 26

🎸 Joe Hero Foo Fighters Tribute Band Live at TapStaion
6pm | TapStation

🎸 Undercover at Peak of the Vine
7pm | Peak of the Vine

🎸 Vintage Groove @ The Exchange in Apex
8pm | The Exchange Barbershop & Lounge

Saturday, June 27

🧑‍🌾 Apex Farmers Market
8am - 12pm | The Depot

🏍️ Bikes and Coffee Apex
8am | Fratelli's Delicatessen

🏃‍♀️ Run Club Apex
Meet at 9am | Foxtail Coffee

🛶 Clean Jordan Lake Cleanup
9am - 12pm | Seaforth Boat Ramp

🌻 Afternoon in the Garden
3pm-5pm | Apex Nature Park

🎸 Live Music - Sayer McShane 
8pm | Peak of the Vine

Sunday, June 28

Classical Concert Series
3pm | The Halle

Tuesday, June 30

🌵 Invasive Plant Removal Workday
10am - 12pm | Apex Community Park

🍺 $5 Pint Night at Southern Peak Brewery
3pm - 10pm | Southern Peak Brewery

🧱 Learning with Legos
4:30pm - 5:15pm | Eva Perry Regional Library

🥕 Community Garden Work Day
5pm - 7pm | Simple Gifts Community Garden

Local Business Updates

It Was A Great Idea
Last week, I shared an idea that I had. I wasn’t sure it was a great idea or not, but based on the responses - it sounds like it is!

Thank you to all of you who shared your “itinerary”. I’m working on the free discover Apex website right now, in partnership with… a surprise, and hope to have something out by next week.

If you want to share some of your favorite or usual routines in Apex (downtown, or otherwise), you can still do so here. (as detailed as possible! Not just ‘I like Salem Street Pub’ but more like: We go to Salem Street Pub on Fridays for their $8.50 margaritas and then we go to this place and that place…)

Speaking of Salem Street Pub

Salem Street Pub is known for their burgers, local brews and fruity moonshine.

I’m sure you’ve eaten here before. If not, then I challenge you to try them out this week! And if you have frequented the pub, I challenge you to come back this week to enjoy one of these weekly specials:

Wine Wednesday: $8 glasses & ½ off bottles
Live Music Thursday: A rotating schedule of awesome local bands
Margarita Friday: $8.50 Margaritas
Signature Saturday: $1 off signature cocktails
Bluegrass Sunday: Burgers, Banjos & Brews

For the uniformed first responders - stop in on the first Wednesday of each month for 50% off.

Here’s A Fun “Itinerary” for You to Follow Tonight:

1. Stop into North Left Mercantile around 6:30 to check out their handmade in-house small-batch apothecary line

2. Walk a few steps down to Artfully Apex and treat yourself to a fun gift

3. By 7, show up to Salem Street Pub for some good food and stay for some great live music

4. After a while, head down to FRESH Local Ice Cream for a treat (they’re open ‘til 10!)

5. Home by 10pm for USA vs Turkey World Cup ⚽️ 

🚜 The Peak Weekly Farm Series (Part 13/17)

💐 Jordan Lake Farms

This article was written by The Peak Weekly’s amazing content contributor, Susan McGrath

Jordan Lake Farms is a family-owned Christmas tree farm, flower farm, event pavilion, and farm stay located at 2170 Marthas Chapel Road in Apex. Owners Diana and Byron bought the farm in 1994 and have been creating holiday magic and providing lots of other offerings to visitors ever since. 

FLOWER FARM 
If you love having a beautiful vase of fresh flowers in the house, you’re going to love the flower farm at Jordan Lake Farms. They have over 3,000 square feet of gorgeous and varied flowers for you to choose from. You can buy premade bouquets, cut your own flowers weekly with their U-Pick flower bundle, or join their flower CSA program to fill your home with a constant supply of fresh, locally grown flowers. CSAs are offered in spring, summer, and late summer/fall. U-Pick bundles are offered June through September. For more information and to order, click here.

The Flower Farm is open on Thursday and Saturday mornings from 8:30am–12:30pm. While you’re there, don’t forget to check out the gift shop, which has a great selection of seasonal and locally crafted items, and a focus on American-made products.

Flower Farm flowers are also available via their online store and locally at Jean’s Neighborhood Market, Cloer Family Vineyards, and North Left Mercantile.

You can also find them at the Apex Farmers Market on the following dates this year:

June 27
July 4 and 18
August 1, 15, and 29
September 5 and 19
October 3 and 17

CHRISTMAS SEASON
If you’re looking for a truly magical seasonal experience, Jordan Lake Farms is the place to be. Their Christmas season officially opens on November 21 and offers tons of holiday fun. Walk through rows of lush, fragrant trees to choose the perfect pick for your holiday. They offer a selection of Virginia pine, cypress, cedar, Carolina sapphire, Frasier fir, and white pine. You can also purchase a ball and burlap spruce tree that can be planted outside after Christmas. 

Once you find the perfect tree, you leave the cutting down, trimming, and prepping the tree for travel to the staff while you go explore everything else the farm has to offer. Stop by the  concession stand for mini donuts, hot apple cider, and hot chocolate, take a hayride around the farm, explore the kids’ playground, and stop by the gift shop where you’ll find holiday decorations, gifts, and locally made items. 

Jordan Lake Farms at Christmastime offers the perfect backdrop for photo sessions. You can bring your own photographer or choose from their list of available photographers to create the perfect holiday photos at the farm. For more information on how to book a session, click here.

EVENTS
Jordan Lake Farms also has an event space on the property—the Hideaway Pavilion and Courtyard—a perfect gathering spot for both daytime and evening events. The Pavilion is a 2,500 square foot facility that includes a full kitchen, grill, two restrooms, patio lounge furniture, and a sound system with Bluetooth connections, wi-fi, and microphone. The Courtyard is a 4,000 square foot outdoor area with both paver and turf surfaces, and it includes four outdoor seating arrangements with umbrellas and a firepit area. There is also a kids play area, and a bounce house can be added for an additional fee.

To get more information or book your next event, reach out by email to [email protected].

FARM STAY
Do you need a break from the day-to-day grind but don’t want all the hassle of traveling? A farm stay at the bunkhouse at Jordan Lake Farms might be just what you need. The bunkhouse is a beautiful 320 square foot tiny house full of character. Remodeled from salvaged materials on the farm, it features a full kitchen, bathroom, roomy bedroom, and living room. Relax on the porch or roast marshmallows by the firepit. You can take a stroll through the Christmas trees, by the pond, and in the spring and summer, through their U-pick flower patch. It’s also a great lodging option for friends or family when they fly in for a visit. For more details and to book a stay, check out their listing on Airbnb. 

WORKSHOPS & MARKETS
The farm also offers seasonal markets and lots of workshops that are very hands-on and offer fun, relaxing, and creative learning experiences. Workshops are 2–3 hours in length and supplies are included. 

To stay up to date on upcoming markets and workshops, as well as everything else going on at the farm, be sure to subscribe to their newsletter and follow them on Instagram and Facebook. And add their holiday opening date (Nov. 21) to your calendar. Local farms are essential to the community, so go buy some fresh flowers today!

Civic News:

✌️ Town Attorney’s Last Day
The Town’s Attorney is quitting, effective August 1, 2026. The current Deputy Town Attorney, Brian Meyer, will serve as the interim Town Attorney until the new permanent Town Attorney is appointed.

🖥️ New Public Records Software
The Town Clerk’s office has engaged with JustFOIA, a dedicated public records management platform designed to enhance operational efficiency regarding public record requests. The contract goes into effect on July 1.

🚦 Horton Park PUD Amendment
With the Ten Ten Road widening project currently delayed by NCDOT, the approved Horton Park amendments on Tuesday include a future traffic signal at Jessie Drive and Ten Ten Road, along with additional transportation improvements to help address traffic concerns in the area.

⛱️ Summer Break
Town Council is now on break. The next council meeting will take place August 11.

Upcoming Meetings:

Tuesday, June 39
Special Meeting: Environmental Advisory Board Tree Canopy Subcommittee
4pm - 5pm | Mason Street Municipal Building

Wednesday, July 1
Environmental Advisory Board Subcommittee Meeting - RE: Data Centers
5pm | Town Hall

A Look Ahead:

July 2
Learning Lunch: Peak into the Past | Senior Center

July 3
Fireworks Frenzy | Hunter Street Park

July 10
Art Reception - Susan Parrish | The Halle

July 11
Summer Fun Dance | The Halle

July 17
Pickleball Palooza | Apex Nature Park

July 31
Splash Blash | Pleasant Park

A Final Note:

Thank you for taking time out of your day today to read this week’s edition of The Peak Weekly.

As always, if you have any ideas of how to make this newsletter better, want to nominate a local business or organization to be featured, or anything else, please respond to this email or email me directly at [email protected]

See you next Thursday... 😘