Triangle Blog Blog

05/15/2026

It’s service journalism time! If you’ve found a pothole, or a downed tree, or a dead animal, or a similar transient issue that you’d like to get fixed, the town has a new system called Resident Reporter that you can use to report the issue. You may remember reporting issues like this using the SeeClickFix service, but the town has moved on to this new system. Below, we’ll tell you how to use it and point out some of its challenges. Remember, if it’s an emergency, call 911.

It's service journalism time! If you've found a pothole, or a downed tree, or a dead animal, or a similar transient issue that you'd like to get fixed, the town has a new system called Resident Reporter that you can use to report the issue. You may remember reporting issues like this using the SeeCl

05/06/2026

The Orange County manager has released the proposed county budget, and one of the biggest proposed cuts is the elimination of funding for the Chapel Hill Public Library over a two-year period. The county is paying $631,323 to the town in this fiscal year, and the budget proposes to cut that in half for the next fiscal year (beginning July 1), and eliminate it for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2027.

The manager points to the new Carrboro branch library as the reason for the reduction:
The County has made payments to the Town of Chapel Hill to compensate for County residents’ use of the Chapel Hill Library. The payment was conceived during a time when the County and the Town were seeking interoperability. Since that time, the County has constructed the Southern Branch Library at the Drakeford Building in Carrboro. The cost of operating the Southern Branch facility is recommended to be $943,221 annually excluding debt service on the portion of the facility occupied by the Library.

The Southern Branch Library is seeing an average of 10,000 visitors per month, and 2,398 or 31% of cardholders are Chapel Hill residents, 4,213 or 54% are Carrboro residents, and the remaining 1,122 or 15% reside elsewhere in Orange County or in surrounding counties with reciprocal agreements with Orange County. Given the robust library services being offered in Southern Orange County, the budget includes a two-year phase out of the payment to the Town of Chapel Hill.

The resulting reduction in the General Fund is $310,662. The Budget also reduces the $700 payment to the City of Mebane for library services.

We love the new southern branch library. “Robust,” though? The scope of services offered in the Carrboro library pales in comparison to what’s available at the Chapel Hill Public Library.
The Friends of Chapel Hill Public Library has provided some additional context on its web site noting that the county’s funding currently supports 72% of the library’s operating budget

Read the entire story on the blog. https://triangleblogblog.com/2026/05/05/orange-county-budget-proposes-to-slash-chapel-hill-library-funding/

04/17/2026

SHIFT Chapel Hill-Carrboro are looking for a few more volunteers to help with their traffic garden at Carrboro Earth Day on Sunday. Want the help? Signup here:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080949ABAA28A0F49-63461416-carrboro #/

04/15/2026

The is reporting the Chapel Hill Aldi is re-opening Thursday morning, April 16th

04/14/2026

Carrboro Open Streets, Earth Day this Sunday from Noon until 4PM !

04/11/2026

The Tar Heel Express crushing it for today’s Savannah Bananas game. Come to southern village park and ride for pre game snacks at Weaver st and a stress free way to the game!

04/09/2026

Sascha Cordner and Bradley George kick off 50th anniversary with 50 events across the state. Thanks for hosting!

04/06/2026

Road cycling for beginners – you can do it!

I first wrote this a year or two ago. Since the Tarwheels are holding a new beginners ride this weekend, I have decided to re post it with updated links – John

The weather has gotten nice , especially this week. Maybe you are now looking at that shiny road bike you bought during the pandemic, and you would like to head out with a group and enjoy a nice Saturday morning ride. But you have never done that and you’re not sure where to start.

There are a group of folks with the Carolina Tarwheels who can help you with that! In case you don’t know, the Tarwheels is a recreational bike club that has been around for well over 20 years. I was once the president of it myself. The Tarwheels host an event called Bikefest, that brings 800 cyclists to northern Orange County every year. (I organized it last year) All the proceeds from the event are then given back to organizations like Triangle Bikeworks, Durham Bike coop and and Bridge to Sports.

Come join the Tarwheels beginners ride and learn all the slang, the tips and tricks of the trade, and the etiquette of how to ride in a group. Here is a link for more information The next ride will be Sunday, April 12!

This ride will be led by a pair of experienced riders, one at the front, one at the back, and will cover the basics of group riding—pacelines, group ride etiquette, safety, and pacing—before heading out for a loop at around 12-13mph (distance TBD but around 15 miles). Total time will be about 2 hours (15-20 minutes of pre-ride tutorial, ~90 minutes of riding).

This is a no-drop ride, meaning no one will be left behind. The ride leaders will factor in at least one regroup point to stop and wait for anyone struggling to keep up and the ride leader at the back will help keep everyone on the paceline.

Arrive 15 minutes early and park in the dirt lot across from Maple View.
Please read the Tar Wheels’ ride policies and sign the waiver if you have not already.

More information, and a place to ask questions, head to their registration page:

04/01/2026

UNC Dumps Plans for Dean Dome in Carolina North for Water Park Complex

After months of rumors, debate and public meetings, the University of North Carolina has made a complete—and unexpected—pivot on its plans for Carolina North, the giant, largely wooded tract of land 2 miles north of the campus.

Instead of a thriving, multi-use hub with housing, tennis courts, businesses, or a new UNC basketball arena, the blueprints shared today in an exclusive interview with TBB feature a water park occupying three football fields worth of foamy, floaty fun.

“We heard you all. We saw the petition. Our plans have gotten folks worked up” said Slade McWithers III, UNC deputy provost for community relations. “We looked at what we could do, and determined that everyone loves a good water park. Who could be upset about that?”

The draft blueprint that Triangle Blog Blog has exclusively obtained includes the following features:

A long, 2.25 mile “Lazy River” circling the property in the current location of the beloved “Pumpkin Loop”
A state-of-the-art “Wave Pool” near the eastern edge of the property
A large children’s splash pond, replacing the current pond, with fountains and toddler-scale water sluices.
A challenging, banked track for gas-powered go-karts occupying the west end of the Old Horace Williams Airport’s main runway.
A handful of trees will be retained to “maintain the character of the current land-use”

“The Lazy River feature will follow the course of the existing Pumpkin Loop since, fortunately, it has already been cleared of trees,” said UNC Real Estate Manager Betsy Worther-Calhoun. “We will still need to do significant excavation, though, since a Lazy River needs to be level to operate safely.”

State officials were initially aghast when confronted with the blueprints but are coming around.

“We didn’t like the sound of this idea at all,” said Harlan Crumpler, chair of the State Water Resources Commission. “But I visited the site again with my grandkids and they got really excited. So I’m squarely on the fence

03/27/2026

At the ribbon cutting for the .equity solar panels on the roof of . 18 solar panels on the rooftop to save electrical bills and permit them to provide even more healthy food for kids!