Judge Judy, Wine & Ceiling Fans

👋 Good morning, Apex! Today is Thursday, May 22, 2025 and this is the 20th weekly issue of The Peak Weekly.

Here is what’s inside today:

📝 Intro: Quick thoughts from yours truly

📂 Miscellaneous: Some town-related notes that didn’t fit anywhere else

🗓️ Things to Do This Week: Events and activities this coming week in and around Apex

🏢 Local Business: The latest in local small business news

🏛️ Civil News: The latest from our local government

🐶 Animal(s) of the Week: Featured animals looking for a good home

⏪️ ICYMI: A few things worth mentioning again, just in case you missed it

👀 A Look Ahead: A quick peak at things to know beyond this week

Intro:

You know how when you’re a kid, you can’t wait to be an adult? And then once adulthood smacks you in the face, you just want to be a kid again?

May is Mental Health Month and I’ll be honest - I’ve been goin through it lately. I’m fine. It’s just sometimes the stresses of adulthood get overwhelming.

It’s just a lot sometimes, you know?

I was thinking back to being a kid - like middle school aged. One of my favorite memories was staying home sick from school (sometimes actually sick, sometimes maybe not so much). Just laying around watching The Price is Right and trying to figure out if he is or is not the father on Maury. Not a worry in the world…

But my two favorite shows were fortunately on after school so I got to see them every day: Real Stories of the Highway Patrol and Judge Judy.

“Don’t pee on my leg and tell me it’s raining!” Judge Judy was the 🐐 

She wasn’t a real judge, though. I mean - she used to be. But on the show she was actually a “Binding Arbitrator” dressed up as a judge.

💡 And that’s why I want to talk to you about your utility bill.

Wait… what does my utility bill have to do with Judge Judy? I’ll tell you.

Over the last week or so, I have dug deep into the results of the third-party review relating to the issues with inaccurate billing following the July cybersecurity incident.

And, as Judge Judy would say, “it’s a bunch of BALONEY!”

I’m not a judge. Or a lawyer. And, unfortunately, I don’t get to play one on TV either. But I still have some tools at my disposal to help me look smarter than I am.

A lot of people throughout social media have pointed out how flawed this entire simulation / analysis seems. Even the Mayor has expressed his concerns after the Town Council proceeded with next steps against his wishes.

While I do share the same concerns about the process, I’ve actually grown a little more curious about the solution.

I’m just going to share some information I gathered about the potential legal issues, fiscal responsibilities and fairness related to the imposed solution.

Keep in mind, I’m Judge Judy in this scenario. I’m the arbitrator. I am not a lawyer, this is not legal advice, and you should do your own research.

With that said, here is some of my research. I asked AI if we should be concerned about the opt-in solution…

The summary of its findings was:

“While the Town of Apex is trying to navigate a challenging situation post-cyberattack, its chosen "opt-in" approach to widespread utility billing errors, particularly the significant underbilling, raises several potential concerns regarding constitutional compliance, fiscal responsibility, fairness, and the fulfillment of its legal obligations.”

→ If interested, you can read how it came to that conclusion in detail by viewing the full conversation here.

Miscellaneous:

🇺🇸 Happy Memorial Day!
→ The Downtown Service Memorial will take place at 9:30am on Monday. Salem Street from Chatham to Center and Saunders Street from Commerce to Salem will be closed from 9am-11am.

→ Town offices will be closed on Monday and trash collection for the week will be delayed by one day.

🧑‍🌾 Mid-Week Market Update
It turns out, the mid-week market at Sweetwater did, in fact, fall through for good. However, Sweetwater has spoken with the official Apex Farmers Market to discuss having them expand to Thursday evenings. More to come (potentially).

🏆️ The 7th Best Place to Live
US News & World Reports released a report ranking Apex, NC as the 7th best place to live. My hometown (Carmel, IN) was ranked #2. Should I move back?? WAIT…don’t answer that.

💪 Free Planet Fitness Summer Membership
Teens ages 14-19 can register for a free membership to Planet Fitness from June 1 to August 31. There is a Planet Fitness in Holly Springs and one in Cary.

⚾️ Fall Youth League Registration
Registration is now open for the Parks & Rec Fall Leagues & Clinics (baseball, softball, soccer, volleyball, lacrosse).

🏑 Want to Play Some Ball Hockey?
There are some upcoming open pickup and tournament pickups starting tomorrow hosted by the Raleigh Ball Hockey League. These will take place at XL Sports World in Apex and at Apex Community Park. All skill levels and free for Apex residents.

🔄 Which Direction Do Your Ceiling Fans Turn?
Random ‘Did You Know’ - in the colder months, the ceiling fans in your home should rotate clockwise to circulate warm air more evenly. But now that it’s hot out, your ceiling fans should be rotating counterclockwise to push a breeze downward. Even though it doesn’t create cold air, it does create a wind chill effect that will allow you to keep your thermostat set a few degrees higher while reducing your energy costs up to 30%.

Things to Do This Week in Apex:

Today, May 22

🧇 Build Your Own Waffles
9am | Rose & Lee

Friday, May 23

🌴 Summer Kick-off Luau Party
11am | JD’s Tavern

Saturday, May 24

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

🪖 Memorial Day Ceremony
9:30am | Downtown Apex

🌊 Opening Day for Splashlantis
10am-6pm | Pleasant Park

🐇 Farm Snuggles with Baby Animals
12pm - 4pm | Lambert’s Family Farm

🎸 Rockzilla LIVE
7pm | TapStation

Sunday, May 25

🎶 Peak City Band
3pm - 6pm | Bottle Theory

🐇 Farm Snuggles with Baby Animals
12pm - 4pm | Lambert’s Family Farm

Some Things to Do Nearby:

Bluey is Coming!
Sunday, 1-4pm | Learning Express (Cary)

Carolina Fear Fest
📍 NC State Fairgrounds
Friday, May 23: 3pm - 9pm
Saturday, May 24: 10am - 6pm
Sunday, May 25: 11am - 6pm

Local Business

Coming Soon

🍜 Sora Sushi Ramen
No exact date yet, but this looks really close. There is a ‘coming soon’ sign hanging out front and they just updated their website. As soon as they are open, I will let you know. They are located at 930 Broadstone Way (next to Walmart).

🍍 Playa Bowls
No exact date yet, but this is also looking very close. Açaí bowls, pitaya bowls, oatmeal, smoothies, fresh juices and more coming soon to downtown Apex at 219 N Salem St.

Now Open

💵 Dollar Tree
The new Dollar Tree at Villages of Apex is now open. 📍 611 Chessie Station

🍤 Cape Fear Seafood Company
Now open and early Google reviews looking good! 📍 1885 Lake Pine Dr

Ribbon Cutting

🍕 Rosati’s Pizza
The Chamber will be hosting a grand opening celebration for Rosati’s next Wednesday, 28th at 12pm. A portion of the proceeds during that day will go to Wake County Meals on Wheels. Rosati’s will also host a family day on Saturday, 30th with a raffle, prizes and other fun activities.

🔦 Spotlight:

One of my wife’s and my favorite spots to escape to for a little peace and relaxation is the Cloer Family Vineyards.

With 5 acres of vineyards (that you can walk through if you want), they have created a beautiful outdoor space to relax and enjoy some good wine and snacks.

They make their own wine (obviously) and you can do a flight to sample them all, get a glass or even take a bottle home. The Carlos is my personal favorite.

You can bring in outside food, but you can’t go wrong with their build-your-own charcuterie baskets.

It’s very kid friendly too - they have other drink options besides wine and kid-friendly snacks, as well as a play area. The kids can also visit the sheep and horses on the property!

If you’ve never been - the weather looks pretty good this weekend!

They are open Fridays 12-5 and Saturdays 11-5. Located at: 8624 Castleberry Rd.

(Also, check out their upcoming ‘She FARMS’ tour listed below in the ‘A Look Ahead’ section.)

Civil News:

💡 Utility Billing Update
In case you missed it in the Intro, read the Q&A I had with AI ASAP about potential legal issues with this new opt-in solution.

For those of you who, unrelated to billing issues, have accumulated a balance while the Town has paused on collections, they have stated that they will begin reaching out to either collect payment in full or to set up a payment plan.

There are 6,635 customers who have a past-due balance on their utility bill, unrelated to the review. 790 of those customers owe $1000 or more. The total amount of unpaid balances (unrelated to the billing issues) is approximately $3,200,000.

💰️ Budget Update
A public hearing to receive feedback on the town's draft budget for Fiscal Year 2025-26 is scheduled for May 27th during the regular Town Council meeting. See the latest updates here.

🗓️ Important Upcoming Dates

Today, May 22
Tingen Rd Bicycle/Pedestrian Bridge Design Charrette
4pm - 6pm | Apex Senior Center

Today, May 22
CommUniversity: Crafting Messages That Matter
6pm - 8pm | Town Hall

Tuesday, May 27
Regular Town Council Meeting
6pm | Town Hall

Wednesday, May 28
Parks, Rec & Cultural Resources Advisory Meeting
6pm | Town Hall

Thursday, May 29
Town Council Budget Work Session
2pm - 5pm | Town Hall

Animal(s) of the Week:

This week’s animals of the week are 2-month old, mixed breed pups: Beach (f), Mountain (m) and River (m).

And so many other cute dogs needing a home at Peak Lab Rescue.

In Case You Missed it:

🤖 Downtown Social District
The Downtown Apex Social District, “The Local Spot”, officially launches on Saturday, June 7. More info will be added to this page soon.

📊 Wake County Housing Data Platform
Wake County’s new interactive housing dashboard is incredible. It’s a super user-friendly website that allows you to visualize all sorts of data for the county as a whole, or you can narrow in specifically on Apex. See the details on population growth, affordability challenges, housing supply & demand. Check it out.

📲 Our Voice. Our Way. The Peak Way! (Coming soon)

A Look Ahead:

May 31, 2025
Open House & Native Plant Sale
10am - 12:30pm | Simple Gifts Community Garden

May 31, 2025
Infinity Ballet (Apex Dance Studio) Spring Performance
3pm | Cary Arts Center

June 3, 2025
Raise Hope, Foster Dreams
6:30pm - 7:30pm | Apex Baptist Church

June 14, 2025
Apex Pride Festival
10am - 4pm | Town Hall Campus

June 21, 2025
Juneteenth in the Peak
12pm - 7pm | Town Hall Campus

June 28, 2025
She FARMS Apex Farm Tour
9am - 2pm | See Link for Info / Tickets

A Final Note:

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

Back to the mental health thing that I started this email with... Just a reminder to take care of yourself. I’m working on that. It’s hard sometimes but you deserve it. Ask your friends/family how they are doing and really listen. Talk to somebody if you need to. Reach out to me if you need somebody to talk to. 💜 

And, 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... 😘