Triangle Blog Blog is a progressive group blog covering civics and news in Chapel Hill and Carrboro. It is run by Shameful Nuisance, a group of people working to making Chapel Hill and Carrboro more vibrant, accessible, fun, and sustainable.
Who we are
Over 40 people have written for Triangle Blog Blog and their bios are available below their articles. (Our board has five people on it.) We’re renters, homeowners, students, UNC faculty, UNC staff, and community members.
We’re a blog – it says so twice in our title
We are a group blog with a commitment to accuracy. That’s why we always link to primary source documentation in our news and opinion pieces, so you can check our work. We fact check everything we put out into the world, using primary source documents and trusted sources. We also make corrections if we’ve erred. (You’ll find those clearly noted in italics below the articles.)
We write about housing, development, civics, community life, transportation, education and issues that affect our towns. We also occasionally partner with organizations to throw pop-up events to bring attention to a cause. (We’re currently working on voter registration.)
We have a point of view
And we make that view very clear. We’re a college town that benefits from new people and new ideas and new people moving in and out. We know UNC graduate students using food pantries. We see people driving more than an hour to teach in our school system. We live here, and want to make this a better town.
That to us means:
We believe in housing for all. Chapel Hill and Carrboro are at risk of becoming a place where only the wealthy can afford to buy a home. We need housing in a variety of sizes and price points for people at every stage of their lives.
We believe in connected communities. We believe everyone should be able to safely get to schools and shops and food in 15 minutes from their home, without a car. Cars will not go away – people need them – but we believe in a future Chapel Hill and Carrboro where those who want to would be able to safely take 1-3 mile trips without cars on a regular basis. Buses, greenways, bike lanes, and sidewalks are vital for our health, for the climate and our environment, for our kids to safely get to school, and to create the kind of community we want to live in.
We believe in a community that works for all. We have a high quality of life here but have to work to ensure everyone – students, BIPOC households, single member households, renters and homeowners, families with school age children, young professionals, empty nesters, and local businesses – has a seat at the table.
Who serves on your board?
Martin Johnson, Geoff Green, John Rees, Stephen Whitlow and Melody Kramer
How to reach our board
triangleblogblog@gmail.com
How to support us
Your donations help us pay writers, hold events, and improve our tech stack.
Donate via CashApp: $ShamefulNuisance
Why we keep our donors private
We are a 501(c)4.
In 2023, our board was doxxed on NextDoor — our addresses were posted, along with our names. You can read more about the incident here. It was an invitation to harass us and it was really scary.
Many of our donors are graduate students and faculty at the earliest stages of their career. Doing this work in a college town where many people work at the same institution is hard, particularly when it may affect career trajectories. We keep our donors private to protect them and to ensure that they are not harassed.
What we can tell you is this: the vast majority of our donors give in the 20-50$ range. We’ve asked for funds twice: once on our first birthday, to help us keep the lights on, and once to raise money for voter guides. Last summer we hired a summer student researcher. All of us are currently volunteers. The money we raise goes towards our tech stack, events and printed material. We also hope to expand our pool of writers and pay them in the future.
We maintain a strict firewall between the people handling our finances and the rest of Shameful Nuisance. (We can’t tell you who donated or how much because we don’t know ourselves.)
But we also believe in transparency. If we launch a specific project supported by an organizational or individual funder, we’ll let you know.We will err on the side of too much, not too little, disclosure. (We are following the same guidelines NPR follows.)
We appreciate you contributing so that we can continue to expand these efforts to make our community more inclusive and vibrant.
Media
Chapel Hill pickleball players protest at Town Council meeting, prompt response from AOC (Daily Tar Heel)
The Editor’s Desk interview (January 2023)
Letter stirs election controversy in mayor, council races (News and Observer)