Durham · Chapel Hill · Raleigh · August 17, 2026

A Data Center Backs Off, Class Is Back In, and the Scrap Exchange Turns 35

⚡ Quick Hits

🖥️ A developer withdrew plans for a data center in southeast Raleigh.
💧 Hillsborough's boil water advisory runs through today.
♻️ The Scrap Exchange turns 35 at Third Friday on Friday.

First Up

More than 30 people had signed up to speak against a data center on Jones Sausage Road in southeast Raleigh — a nearly 100,000-square-foot building on 14 acres. Then the developer withdrew the annexation request, and Tuesday's public hearing evaporated with it. Greensboro, Alamance County, and Yadkin County all hold their own data center hearings today. (ABC11)

📰 Around the Triangle

The Museum of Life and Science is free for Durham County residents on August 27: bring proof you live here. 👨‍👩‍👧 (Triangle on the Cheap)
Hillsborough's boil water advisory is still on: a water main break took out the central zone, and affected residents should keep boiling for drinking, cooking, and brushing teeth. (Chapelboro)
Mark Chilton is stepping down as Orange County Register of Deeds: he's leaving a few months early after 12 years in the job. (Chapelboro)
Classes start at UNC today: Franklin Street gets its people back, and campus is running its first-day rituals. (Chapelboro)
The North Hills expansion will close one of Raleigh's few affordable apartment communities: developers plan to grow the Innovation District onto 28 acres that include The Pointe at Midtown. (WUNC)
Teenagers have run out of places to just be: no mall, no arcade, no space without an adult standing over it — and experts tie that gap to the downtown gatherings Raleigh keeps writing curfews about. (WUNC)
Lazy Daze turns 50 in Cary this weekend: more than 250 artists from 22 states, downtown, free. (ABC11)

📅 Plan Your Week

🔔 Monday, August 17 (Today)

Weekday Carillon Recital: Duke Chapel, Durham, 5 p.m. Fifteen minutes of bells from the tower, played by hand, every weekday. (Details)
Really Really Free Market: Southern Village Green, 401 Market Street, Chapel Hill, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Bring what you don't need, take what you do, no money involved. (Details)
Pot-A-Plant at Dix Park: the Chapel at Dix Park, Raleigh. A workshop for anyone who has bought a plant with the best intentions and watched it give up. (Details)

🧘 Tuesday, August 18

Free Yoga in the Park: Durham Central Park, 501 Foster Street, Durham, 6 p.m. Gentle mat yoga, free, running Tuesdays through September 8. (Details)
Kidchella: Midtown Park, Raleigh, 9:30 to 11 a.m. Free, and the third Tuesday in August is the last one of the summer. 👨‍👩‍👧 (Details)

🎒 Wednesday, August 19

Durham Rescue Mission Back to School Party: 1201 East Main Street, Durham. Doors at 11 a.m., program at noon. Free school supplies, lunch, and groceries. 👨‍👩‍👧 (Details)
Black Evidence: A History and a Warning: Durham County Main Library, Durham. Duke political scientist Candis Watts Smith on her new book. (Details)

🗿 Thursday, August 20

A Lost Sculpture from Notre-Dame Cathedral: Nasher Museum of Art, Durham. Professor Jennifer Feltman traces a mysterious carved head in the Nasher's collection back to the cathedral in Paris. (Details)
Jazz in the Square: Moore Square, 200 S Blount Street, Raleigh, 6 to 8 p.m. Free, and the first of the series that runs to October 8. (Details)

🎨 Friday, August 21

The Scrap Exchange's 35th birthday: CCB Plaza, 201 N Corcoran Street, Durham, 6 to 9 p.m. Third Friday, with festivities on the plaza. (Details)
Opening reception: Recognition, Contemporary Lumbee Art: FRANK Gallery, Chapel Hill. Wine, cheese, and a show honoring the Lumbee becoming the 575th federally recognized Tribe. (Details)

🎸 Saturday, August 22

The Mountain Goats: DPAC, Durham. John Darnielle's band, downtown, on a Saturday night. (Details)
Brightleaf Harvest Day: Duke Homestead, 2828 Duke Homestead Road, Durham, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Free. 👨‍👩‍👧 (Details)
Packapalooza: Hillsborough Street, Raleigh, from Brooks Avenue to the Belltower roundabout. A free street festival that swallows the whole road. 👨‍👩‍👧 (Details)

🧙 Sunday, August 23

Durham Geek and Grub Market, Wizard Edition: Durham Armory, Durham. Free, with 40-plus vendors, food trucks, and special guests. (Details)

💬 Heard Around Town

A Durham family member was laid off from Duke last year. This week they spotted the same position posted again, with a better title and better pay than it carried before. (Thread)
Somebody has been editing a Durham LED road sign again. A neighbor drove past twice in two days to confirm it still read "IM STILL BITTER." (Thread)
The best samosas in the Triangle, according to one Chapel Hill neighbor, come from the Calvander Food Mart and use the owner's grandmother's recipe. (Thread)
One Raleigh couple goes down to City Market and pretends it's the late 1800s. It requires ignoring a few automobiles and some staring. (Thread)

🍴 Openings & Closings

The Burrow opens Friday: a new vintage and secondhand clothing shop in Durham, open noon to 7 p.m. on August 21 with a party from 7 to 9. (Details)
7 Brew Coffee is coming to Franklin Street: the drive-thru chain confirmed a location at 103 E. Franklin Street, Chapel Hill, before the end of the year. (Chapelboro)
Cafe Royale is headed to The Exchange: an all-day cafe in Raleigh from hospitality veteran Patrick Shanahan. (Raleigh Magazine)

🏡 Triangle Pulse

📊 Stat of the week: Durham County's median asking price slipped to $428,623 in July, down 2.3% from a year ago. (Realtor.com research data, July 2026)

There are 13% more Durham homes on the market than last August (1,207), while the median keeps easing.

Before You Go

Somebody walked out of the Scrap Exchange to find a note from a stranger on their windshield, and posted it out of sheer delight. (Thread)

Also this week: two kittens named Balú and Eugenia are looking for homes. (Thread)

🧠 Brain break: today's Daily Fury is live. Five questions, the same five for everyone. Defend the Triangle's honor.

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