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From the Council Office of Steve Rao
November 14, 2020
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Governor Cooper Executive Order 176 went into effect on Friday. The order places limit of 10 to Indoor Gatherings due to spike in Covid 19 Cases and Phase 3 is extended to Dec. 4th went into effect on Nov 13th at 5pm. |
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We pray for our fallen soldiers in Sinai. May they rest in peace.
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Komal, Sonia, Rayan and I wish each of you a very Happy Diwali! |
During one of the most divisive and polarizing times in our nation and in the midst of a pandemic, I cannot think of a better time to share this Hindu and Indian Tradition with all of North Carolina.
The time of Diwali is one of the most festive and beautiful times of the year. Many Morrisville and Cary Neighborhoods are illuminated with festive rows of lights.
Diwali literally means a row of Lights. It is a time filled with light and love; a time when Indians all over the world rejoice. It is the darkest night of the darkest period, yet it is a celebration of light! Diwali is heralded as the triumph of good over evil.
The meaning of Diwali, its symbols and rituals, and the reasons for celebration are innumerable. Diwali celebrates Lord Rama’s glorious and long awaited return to his kingdom of Ayodhya after his fourteen years of exile in the forests. It commemorates Lord Krishna’s victory over the demon.
In general, Diwali signifies the triumph of good over evil, of righteousness over treachery, of truth over falsehood, and of light over darkness.
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However, Diwali is not a festival of lights in order that we may burn candles, fireworks and sparklers. Sure, these are wonderful ways of expressing our gaiety. But, it is not the only or true meaning of ‘light’. Diwali is a festival of the light which dispels the darkness of our ignorance; it is a festival of the light which shows us the way on our journey through life.
The purpose is not to glorify the light of the candle or the firecracker.
The purpose is to glorify the light of God. It is He who bestows the real light, the everlasting light upon the darkness of this mundane world. A candle burns out. A firework is a momentary visual experience.
But, the candle of a still mind and the fireworks of a heart filled with bhakti are divine and eternal; these are what we should be celebrating.
Happy Diwali to each of you!
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to celebrate 20 years of Cary Diwali!
Stay tuned for a Live Radio Mirchi Interview with Hum Sub.
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During this Diwali, we want to thank our local Hometown Heroes, like the Hindu Society of NC, for preparing and donating meals, for the Wake County Food Distribution, and Tamil Sangam for donating 2,000 N95 Masks to our Morrisville Fire Department and to Swagat for preparing meals for our First Responders. BAPS also has donated PPE to our first responders as well. Our light will always shine through our good works! |
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YOUTH ACHIEVEMENT AND BLUE BELTS |
Thanks to We Strive and TUTA for coaching our youth to receive their Six Sigma Belts a few weeks ago. I was honored to be the chief guest along with Cary Police Chief Tony Dezomitz and Sargent Robert Carey.
A special thanks to Raju Kurapati, Sai Sudhini, and Suresh Vellanki and of course to all of the youth for receiving their Blue Belts. I will be listing them in the next newsletter.
The light of our youth always shines brightly!
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Durham Mayor/Police Chief |
Durham Mayor/Police Chief Commit to Reducing Gun Violence after Teen Death in Durham
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Biden wins Arizona and Georgia and still stands as the 46th President Elect of the United States. Trump will not concede but positions himself for a 2024 run.
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North Carolina Election Updates |
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NC Presidential Election Results |
President Trump leads Joe Biden in NC by 75,000 votes, and there will not be a recount.
Boards of elections in all 100 North Carolina Counties collected ballots with a Nov. 3 postmark through 5 pm on Thursday and will be finalizing the results.
At the end of the day, 27,500 absentee ballots were accepted by county boards after Election Day and 23,091 Provisional Ballots could be counted with 93,000 absentee Ballots outstanding.
As of Wednesday, the counties had collected more than 1 million mailed in absentee ballots for a total of 18% ballots cast.
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Attorney General Stein leads by 13,615 votes against Jim O’Neill
Cheri Beasley has a 600 vote lead against Paul Newby but there will be a recount.
(Recount tales place with a .5 % Margin of error or less than 10,000 vote lead)
Phil Berger leads Lucy Inman by 71,486 Votes.
Josh Dobson leads Jessica Holmes by 89,114 votes.
Auditor Beth Wood leads Tony Street by 93,274 votes
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Democrat Senator Harper Peterson is losing to Rep. Mike Lee by 1,468 votes. (50.6% to 49.4%)
Republican Rep. Perrin Jones is losing by 814 votes to Democrat Brian Farkas. (51.1 % lead)
Rep. John Szoka, Pitt County, is leading by 705 votes to Democrat Frances Jackson. (50.89% lead)
Rep. Stephen Ross is down by only 300 votes to Rick Hurtado. (50.4 %)
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Wake County Schools Elementary School Students (4th and 5th grade) return to in person instruction on Monday.
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Wake County School Elementary School Students Back to the Classroom |
Last Monday, over 6,000 Middle School kids returned to the classroom. The Wake County School Board will be voting on their Back to School Plan for High School Students during the Spring.
This Monday, November 16, the first cohort of grades 4 and 5 will return to campus, along with all K-3 and regional program students.
On this date, the number of students in K-3 classroom will increase.
All schools will continue to social distance whenever possible, but K-3 classrooms are not expected to maintain six feet of space between desks or students if space does not allow. All students should continue to stay apart from other students, employees, and visitors, to maintain as much social distancing as possible. Did a student go home sick? All household members must also go home.
Effective immediately, if a WCPSS student or employee does not pass the health screening or if they stay home or are sent home because they are experiencing a symptom of illness, their household members must also stay home. This means that any WCPSS student or employee living in the same house must quarantine for 14 days. The household members may return sooner than 14 days if the person experiencing a symptom of illness receives confirmation of an alternate diagnosis or a negative PCR/Molecular test
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NCDHHS Orders 75,000 Covid Tests for College Campuses |
With college and university students two weeks away from Thanksgiving break and the end of the fall semester, North Carolina is sending campuses across the state nearly 75,000 additional rapid COVID-19 tests to monitor students for active infections before they go home for the holidays or celebrate with people outside their school-year household.
Additionally, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is standing up community testing events near college and university campuses in Guilford, Harnett, New Hanover, Mecklenburg and Pitt counties for students who need to get a test before the end of the semester.
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Nov 17th and Nov 18th - NCTA |
Nov 17th and Nov 18th North Carolina Technology Association Virtual Tech Awards Gala
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NOV 20th NC RIOT ACCELERATOR INFORMATION PROGRAM 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm
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No in person viewing allowed
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- For latest Covid 19 information, please dial 2-1-1 or 888- 892-1162.
- Get Updates by texting COVIDNC at 898211.
- For unemployment insurance, please visit NC Dept of Employment Security at https://des.nc.gov/.
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Apply for Wake Forward program at https://covid19.wakegov.com/wakeforward/.
North Carolina health officials are worried about a rapid spike in COVID-19 cases, and they are especially concerned for the rural communities that have seen the bulk of the surge. White patients under the age of 49 have accounted for the majority of new cases.
Nearly twice as many new cases have been reported in rural counties since the beginning of September. COVID-19-related deaths have also been significantly higher in rural counties.
North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen explained that that increase was likely because those communities were largely spared during the first wave of the virus. It's believed some of the state's citizens are letting their guard down at events such as gatherings at churches and social events.
You should see significant changes to the COVID-19 hospitalization, death and testing numbers starting Friday, due to changes coming to the COVID-19 reporting dashboard.
One change is due to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revising the criteria for reporting COVID-19 hospitalizations. Another is happening because the state is changing the time data is uploaded into the system.
The new reporting criteria means we can expect to see a jump in the number of hospitalizations and a one-time artificial decrease in testing, new cases and deaths. The state reported 2,893 more people with positive tests on Wednesday for a total of 303,454 people since the pandemic began in March.
The statewide test positivity rate for Wednesday was 7.9%.
CASES:
2,893 New Cases
+ N.C. = 303,454 Cases (Deaths = 4,706 Deaths)
+ 7.9 % Positive Rate
+ Wake County = 24,180 Cases (Deaths = 278)
+ US = 10.6 million Cases/243K deaths
+ Worldwide = 51.5 million/1.27 million deaths
+ Completed Tests: 4,487,524
+ 1,279 Hospitalizations.
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Council Member Rao holds office hours on Friday from 12:00-1:00 PM by appointment only at 100 Town Hall Drive in Morrisville.
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Council Member Steve Rao
Town of Morrisville
Dedicated to transforming Morrisville into an ideal place to work and raise a family!
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