• East Durham Chemical Facility Racks Up Violations
  • Apartment Complexes in Wake Are Taking Advantage of a Tax Loophole
  • Try Out Electronic Music Equipment at BOOM Club in Durham
  • Cary Mayor Addresses Concern Over Possible ICE Office
  • Famous Faces at the Duke-UNC Basketball Game

Good morning, readers.

On April 16, 1983, the very first issue of The North Carolina Independent (aka the INDY) featured a cover story on an ominously named chemical company called Armageddon. 

Barrels of industrial solvent inside the facility erupted, forcing hundreds of East Durham residents to evacuate, not far from where I’m typing this newsletter. 

Just next to what was Armageddon and about 40 years later, the Brenntag Mid-South chemical facility continues to rack up environmental violations. 

Leaks at that facility are the subject of a recent story we published by Lisa Sorg at Inside Climate News.

“A chemical cocktail continues to enter a neighborhood stream that runs behind an elementary school, through a public park and flows into Third Fork Creek and Jordan Lake, the drinking water supply for more than a million people,” Lisa writes, citing  the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality.

Read more below and have a good Monday.

—Sarah W.

Read the Full Story on INDYWeek.com

The latest from INDY, plus other stories around the state you’ll want to read. Handpicked every day by INDY Editor-in-Chief Sarah Willets.

Credit: Illustration by Nicole Pajor Moore

Paying the Price

Apartment complex owners in Wake County are claiming an affordable housing property tax exemption for nonprofits, and it could cost millions in local revenue, NC Newsline reports.

Mix It Up

BOOM Club opened in Durham this weekend, offering an electronic instrument library, workshops, and events, INDY’s Justin Laidlaw reports.

Credit: Illustration by Nicole Pajor Moore

On ICE

Mayor Harold Weinbrecht addressed residents’ concerns about a reported new ICE office in Cary during a town council meeting on Thursday.

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STATE: The state still doesn’t have a budget more than eight months into the current fiscal year. NC Local breaks down how that affects North Carolinians’ daily lives.

STATE: The Assembly examines the many ties between the UNC Board of Governors and Senate Leader Phil Berger.

EDUCATION: The Chapel Hill Carrboro-City Schools Board of Education voted to study the impact of closing Ephesus, Seawell, or Glenwood elementary schools, WUNC reports.

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  • Wake County Public Libraries is holding its annual bookmark design competition. Winners will have their artwork distributed at all 23 county libraries.
  • The City of Durham is holding community conversations to help inform a violence reduction plan. There’s one coming up on Friday.
  • Tabitha Brown and Ken Jeong were spotted at the Duke-UNC game this weekend.
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