👑 MLK Weekend, Another Security Breach and The Peak Pantry

👋 Good Morning, Apex! Today is Thursday, January 15, 2026 and this is the 54th consecutive weekly issue of The Peak Weekly.

Happy Birthday to Martin Luther King Jr who would have been 97 years old today.

He was just 34 years old when he delivered his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech at the March on Washington in 1963.

But, just 9 months prior, Dr. King spoke at a high school gymnasium in Rocky Mount, NC. During that speech, he used the phrase “I have a dream” multiple times - before the famous March on Washington.

He effectively tested the most iconic lines of the 20th century right here in North Carolina.

He was scheduled to be back in NC (in Durham) on April 4, 1968 to help mobilize voters, but postponed the trip to stay in Memphis to support the sanitation workers’ strike, where he was assassinated later that day.

In remembrance and recognition of his life and achievements, the Town of Apex has several weekend events. Those are listed in the Things to Do section down below with a 👑 next to each event. Monday will be the National Day of Service.

Quick PSA: Starting tomorrow, the Wake County Animal Center will temporarily close through March 2nd for building repairs and maintenance (no intake or adoptions).

While it’s necessary to complete these repairs and maintenance, it’s a tough time because the shelter is at max capacity. Many of the animals will be moved to off-site boarding facilities.

But you still have today to go adopt a new furry best friend to save them the trip to a boarding facility!

I also want to say thank you to all of you who have donated to The Peak Weekly via the ‘Buy Me A Coffee’ link in the signature.

I actually skipped the coffees for a few weeks and invested those donations elsewhere…

And now I want to introduce you to The Peak Pantry! Think Little Free Library but for non-perishable foods & necessities.

Full disclosure, this wasn’t my idea. My daughter just graduated early from AFHS and as her final project, she had to come up with something to help the community. We teamed up and purchased a newspaper stand (thanks to your support!) and converted it into a little free food pantry.

Now I just need to know - where can I put this thing?

Any local businesses or individuals know of a good place in Apex we could put our little free food pantry that might be able to help out a neighbor in need?

If you want to watch the 2-minute explainer video (which received a 100% grade), you can watch it here.

Miscellaneous Info:

⚠️ Another Apex Security Breach
If you participated in the online "CIP Map" survey this past week from Council Member Mahaffey, you should be aware that your personal information has been compromised.

The Peak Weekly discovered that the application's backend was not properly secured, leaving every name, email address, approximate home location, specific votes, and all of your comments tied to your PII publicly accessible.

For those 500+ of you who participated, your votes and comments you left about topics like taxes, housing, or development, are tied directly to your name, email, and location. This isn't just a leak of contact information; it's a record of your political opinions linked to where you live. And it’s wide open to anyone with an internet connection, effectively punishing you for your civic participation by turning your private feedback into a public dossier.

I have notified the Town Manager and Town Attorney so that the breach can be fixed as quickly as possible. I will be withholding the full details of the investigation until next week to give them time to secure the breach, but I believe residents have a right to know now that their information has been exposed.

If you have questions or concerns, you are also more than welcome to reach out to me. More details to come. In the meantime, please do not enter your personal information into any more of his unsecured data collecting tools disguised as transparency. The Town already has proper, secure, systems for this.

🔒️ Town Closure on Monday
All Town offices and facilities will be closed on Monday, January 19 for the Martin Luther King Jr Holiday. Trash & recycling will run on a normal schedule.

👮 CommUniversity Community Safety Workshop
Participants will learn how the Town’s Police and Fire Departments work collaboratively to prevent crime, respond to emergencies, and support community safety. The Workshop will take place a week from today at 6pm. Register here.

🧑‍🚒 7.5% Increase in AFD Calls
Apex Fire Department shared some 2025 statistics. They answered 5,309 calls throughout the year. Most of their calls came in on Tuesdays and their busiest month was October. See all of the interesting stats here.

🍝 Restaurant Week
Apex Restaurant Week is about a month away (Feb 23 - March 1). A list of participating restaurants and menus is coming soon. In the meantime, Apex Restaurants interested in participating can register here.

🛣️ Olive Chapel Road
The target reopening date is still set for February 10th. Some consistent good weather might get us there sooner.

🏆️ North Carolina Business Facilities’ 2025 State of the Year
The economic development award from Business Facilities Magazine recognized NC for a business climate that supports sustained statewide investment and growth.

🙅‍♂️ SuperFun Saturday Canceled
Quick note since I mentioned last week in the upcoming events that SuperFun Saturday would be back this weekend. It has since been canceled. Next one will be Feb 7.

Quick Data Center Update

Mayor Gilbert’s Comments
Earlier this week, the Mayor shared his thoughts in a Facebook Live and answered questions from residents. You can watch the replay here. I don’t want to speak for him, but my take from it was that he has been listening to the concerns of residents and shares some the same.

Upcoming Work Session
Next Thursday (1/22), Town Council and the Planning Board will have a joint work session on the 3rd floor of Town Hall at 3:30pm. During this work session (not a public hearing), Town staff will present their recent research on data centers to the Council and the Planning Board. This information is not about a specific site and the agenda does not have the current data center applicant on the agenda.

The Town Manager’s NDA*
We learned that the Town Manager has a signed NDA between himself and the data center developer, Natelli Investments. Is this standard? Often, yes. But what might be a bit more unusual is that the presentation to council and the planning board next Thursday will be lead by town staff, who are lead by the Town Manager, who has had an unknown amount of private and protected conversations with the developer that we can never know anything about.

*Update 1/15/26: The Town Attorney has reached out to dispute this NDA characterization. We are seeking clarification and will report further in our next edition.

My Interview with The Land Use Expert
I sat down with Professor Adam Lovelady at the UNC School of Government, who is considered the state’s leading land use expert. He made it very clear that the data center is a legislative decision, which gives the Council “maximum amount of discretion”. He also confirmed (Apex’s own UDO confirms this too) that bias is not a conflict in these types of decisions. In other words, council members are free to speak about the data center, give their opinions, and answer our questions. All of these past excuses about legal issues talking about it or referencing the recent Holly Springs case that was overturned by a judge - those are quasi-judicial matters. The data center is not. I’m sure that staff has figured all of this out in their research and will share it with council next Thursday. I’ll share my full write-up and interview after.

Moorseville’s Data Center Proposal
Why is it so important to understand that our council members can and should be outspoken on the data center right now? From the Carolina Journal: “In Mooresville (NC), the proposed $30 billion data center project was ultimately withdrawn after officials signaled opposition, underscoring how political resistance can derail even the largest investments.”

Things to Do This Week in Apex:

Today, January 15

🔠 Music Bingo
8pm - 10pm | The Backyard Bar

🍷 Wine’n Wit
7:30pm - 9:30pm | Peak of the Vine

Friday, January 16

🐶 Pints + Puppies: Adoption Option
5pm - 8pm | Southern Peak Brewery

👑 Black Author Exhibit and Creative Contest Presentation
6:30pm | Apex Senior Center

Saturday, January 17

👑 MLK Unity March & Breakfast Reception
8am | First Baptist Church

🧑‍🌾 Apex Farmers Market
9am - 12pm | The Depot

🎁 Regift Round-up!
3pm - 6pm | Bottle Theory

🎤 Kings of the Highway
8pm | The Backyard Bar

Sunday, January 18

👑 MLK Worship Service
11am | Apex First Baptist Church

Monday, January 19

🌳 MLK Jr. Day of Service
1pm - 4pm | Optimist Farm Tree Archive

Wednesday, January 21

🎬️ Wednesday Morning Movie
Zootopia
10am - 12pm | The Halle

Local Business Updates

🍣 Now Open: Taki Sushi Bar & Grill
Located in Sweetwater, Taki Sushi is now open. They open every day at 4:30pm (except Tuesday when they are closed). See what’s on the menu here.

🍩 Opening Soon: Peace, Love and Little Donuts 
PLLD is set to open on Monday, January 26. They didn’t invent the donut, but they did make it groovy…

🥃 Next Up at Sweetwater
Aqua Vitae and Degree Wellness look like they will likely be the next to open and look very close. Foxtail Coffee and Burney’s Sweets & More are on pace for March.

🛍️ Downtown Will Remain Open
Just a quick reminder… Downtown will become a bit inconvenient during the Salem Streetscape project. But these business just dealt with the parking lot overhaul and now have to deal with this. Both good projects - but can definitely deter us from visiting due to the inconvenience. But we have Groovy Duck Bakery opening soon, one of my favorite shops, North Left Mercantile, new businesses like Lichen or Knot and The Spice & Tea Exchange… and so many more amazing local businesses and we gotta fight through it and keep supporting them!

Civil News:

👷🏼 Developer Roundtable Postponed
The Town of Apex Community Development & Neighborhood Connections (CDNC) Housing Division will convene local and regional development partners for a Developer Roundtable, “Partnering to Build Homes for All in Apex”. Originally planned for January 27, this event has been postponed to March 11.

💰️ Town Budget Public Hearing
The first public hearing for the FY 2026-27 budget will be held on Tuesday, January 27th during the next regular Town Council Meeting. You can also share your thoughts by emailing [email protected] 

🌳 Downtown Salem Streetscape
The downtown project starts this month and will run through October. Downtown will remain open for business throughout construction, but traffic will only flow one way (southbound) from Saunders to Chatham.

🎗 Human Trafficking Prevention Policy
On Tuesday, Mayor Gilbert issued a proclamation declaring January 2026 as "Human Trafficking Prevention Month" in Apex. This ceremonial act carries policy weight, as it directs town resources and attention toward education and partnership with organizations like Shield North Carolina.

🗓️ Upcoming Town Meetings

Thursday, January 15
Environmental Advisory Board
6pm | Town Hall

Friday, January 16
Special Meeting: Environmental Advisory Subcommittee
Discussion: Tree Canopy Policy
3pm-4pm | Mason St. Municipal Building

Thursday, January 22
CommUniversity: Community Safety
6pm - 8pm | Apex Senior Center

Thursday, January 22
Town Council + Planning Board Work Session
Discussion: Staff Research on Data Centers
3:30pm - 5pm | Town Hall

A Look Ahead

January 22 | 6pm - 8pm
🚨 CommUniversity: Community Safety | Senior Center

January 23 | 3pm - 4pm
✂️ Ribbon Cutting for Salon Hue

January 25 | 3pm - 4:30
🎸 Classical Concert Series | The Halle
The Guitar, a Historic Perspective with Duo Romantico

January 28 & 29 | 8pm
🤣 Bad Momz of Comedy | The Halle

In Case You Missed it

🧼 MLK Donation Drive
Drop off donations at Apex Town Hall, John M. Brown Community Center, Halle Cultural Arts Center, Fire Stations 1 & 3, or Public Safety Station 5 now through January 19th. Location addresses and donation items needed are listed here.

⚖️ Lawyers in Your Library
Each Month, Wake County’s Lawyers in Your Library program provides free 30-minute consultations on legal issues such as landlord/tenant, custody, divorce, etc. They’ll be at Middle Creek Community Library in Apex on Nov 14 but you can attend any of them around Wake County each month. View the schedule here.

🏫 Hilltop Needmore Elementary
The Wake County Board of Education has formally approved the enrollment plan for the 2026-27 school year. The headline for Apex families is the opening of Hilltop Needmore Elementary..

🏞️ Park Pilot
The Town will launched a pilot initiative to expand morning operational hours. This pilot will run up to eight months and will include the opening of all park entrance gates during all hours. Park hours will be changed from 6:30am opening to 5:30am opening and park entrance gates will no longer be locked.

👶 Postpartum Kits
Pelvic Health Fund, a nonprofit with the mission of improving access to pelvic health supplies, recently received a very generous donation of postpartum kits. The kit contains 4 instant freezer perineal pads, 2 reusable cold/hot pads, a peri bottle, and 4 mesh absorbent boy shorts. They reached out asking if we could help spread the word. They are free of charge to anyone in need; just apply here.

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... 😘