Read President Biden’s Statement on Tragic Milestone at https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/02/04/statement-by-president-joe-biden-on-900000-american-deaths-from-covid-19/

Black History Events and Tours Around the Triangle:

https://www.facebook.com/steve.s.rao/videos/687616592392560 

During Black History Month, I will be highlighting both the past and present of the Black community in our nation.  I wanted to take this moment to share some facts about the Shiloh Community of Morrisville NC.

The community of Shiloh was originally settled in the late 1820s by freeborn African Americans and freed former slaves. By 1870, it had grown into a self-sufficient community with a public school, social clubs, a co-op store, and a church.

Learn more about the history of the Shiloh Community during a 1.7 mile walk on the Shiloh Greenway. Visit https://bit.ly/3sfdSJO.

On a personal note, I have been so grateful to share so many wonderful memories with my friends at the Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church.

#MorrisvilleBlackHistoryMonth

Town of Morrisville and Major League Cricket Move forward with plans for an International Cricket Venue.

NC Supreme Court Strikes Down Redistricting Maps and orders General Assembly to draw new Maps.

Indian Bollywood Star Lata Mangashwar dies at 92.

Queen Elizabeth celebrates 70 years on throne.

Triangle Technology Executive and Business Leader Manoj George passes away.

On Thursday, Major League Cricket (MLC) and the Town of Morrisville announced a multi-million-dollar public-private partnership to jointly invest in the expansion of Church Street Park, upgrading the facility into an international-quality cricket venue.

The investment will see the addition of more than 2,000 permanent seats to the scenic venue, increasing Church Street Park’s capacity to over 3,500. Upgrades will also include the installation of state-of-the-art broadcast infrastructure, additional parking and LED illuminated natural and artificial turf practice pitches and nets.

The enhancements will allow Church Street Park to host world-class MLC matches and serve as a flagship facility for USA Cricket’s National Team games and training. The venue would meet the criteria necessary to host games at the 2024 T20 Men’s World Cup, an event viewed by over 500 million cricket fans worldwide. The USA host venues are expected to be announced later this year.

Opened in 2015, Church Street Park is recognized as one of the best venues for cricket in the United States. The park features an LED illuminated natural turf pitch in a scenic setting at the heart of North Carolina’s Research Triangle region, conveniently located only 15 miles from Raleigh, Chapel Hill and Durham. The venue hosted the inaugural Minor League Cricket Championship finals weekend last October, with more than 3,000 fans in attendance to watch the Silicon Valley Strikers claim the title.

MLC, America’s first professional T20 cricket competition, represents the most ambitious and transformational venture ever undertaken in the American cricket landscape. Focused on staging world-class Twenty20 cricket for American cricket fans, MLC will feature top players from around the globe and provide a stage for domestic cricketers to showcase their talents to a worldwide audience.

The Town of Morrisville has embraced cricket for its community over many years, with Church Street Park a home for the sport since 2015. These upgrades will provide fantastic facilities for continued community play, USA Cricket’s National Teams and for future Major League and international cricket events.  I am so grateful to our Town Staff, Council and of course, the Cricket League Players, Triangle Cricket League, and the Morrisville Cardinals for all of their hard work, which has led us to emerge as a destination for world class cricket and the Cricket Capital of the United States.

The enhanced Church Street Park facilities will be available for community use, with Church Street Park continuing to serve as the home of the Morrisville Cardinals in Minor League Cricket and for the Triangle Cricket League’s more than 2,500 players and 150 teams.

We are very excited to see the improvements in place and future generations of local cricketers both play there and be inspired by watching world-class cricket regularly at Church Street Park.

The work on venue enhancements will begin in early 2022, with the full suite of infrastructure improvements expected to be completed by spring 2023.

For more details on enhancements, please visit https://www.townofmorrisville.org/residents/town-projects/church-street-park-cricket-facility-enhancements.

Join us on Sunday, Feb 13 at 4 pm for our Interview with Tom Dunmore from Major Cricket League on the recent announcement on the Church Street Cricket Expansion and Global Cricket coming to Morrisville!

99.9FMHD4, 101.9 FM and 1490 am and listen live at www.radionyrausa.com

A divided North Carolina Supreme Court struck down the state's new maps for congressional and General Assembly seats Friday, declaring that state courts had authority to throw out lines engineered to secure a long-term Republican advantage in an otherwise closely divided state.

By a 4-3 decision — with the justices who are registered Democrats making up the majority — the state's highest court directed the GOP-controlled legislature to redraw the plans by Feb. 18 and provide an explanation of how they calculated the partisan fairness of the new boundaries. Any replacement maps would still be used for the May 17 primaries but we also could see the primaries delayed. We will just wait to see what happens.

The court's decision reversed a ruling last month from a panel of three trial judges that let the maps stand, and declared partisan gerrymandering found in the redistricting approved by the legislature in November violated several provisions in the North Carolina Constitution. They include the right to free elections, freedom of speech and equal protections of citizens.

The legislature violates the constitution "when it deprives a voter of his or her right to substantially equal voting power on the basis of partisan affiliation," read the order of the court's majority, signed by senior Associate Justice Robin Hudson. "Achieving partisan advantage incommensurate with a political party's level of statewide voter support is neither a compelling nor a legitimate governmental interest.

The American skier and defending champion Mikaela Shiffrin fell and was disqualified from the giant slalom.

Snowboarder Juliana Morano wins Silver! (See Picture)

The Dutch speedskater Ireen Wüst became the first person to win individual golds at five Olympics.

The I.O.C. president and Peng Shuai, the Chinese tennis player who largely disappeared from public life, held a private meeting.

This week, the Triangle and North Carolina, lost a successful Technology Finance Executive, and community leader, Manoj George to pancreatic cancer. Manoj was the CFO for Red Hat, CEO for Art.com and served a consultant and mentor to a number of market leading companies, start ups, and investors. He was also one of the founding charter members of TIE Carolinas.

We pray for his family, and on a personal note, I am honored I got to know such a smart, dynamic leader, who made such a difference in our region and state.

Manoj George Obituary

Steverao app can be downloaded at Apple App store by searching for "Steverao" app in Apple store and Google Play store.

Other Way to download the app is by below scan for Apple store scan code and Google Play store link.

Below are two links to download app from Apple App store and Google Playstore.

February 8 – 6 p.m. Town Council Meeting

February 10 - 6 p.m. Senior Advisory Committee

February 10 - 6:30 p.m. Planning & Zoning Board

The Town of Morrisville and the Morrisville Police Department advise pedestrians not to walk on either side of Morrisville Carpenter Road between Town Hall Drive and Misty Groves Circle. This section of the road is an active construction zone area and does not have a sidewalk and is not safe for pedestrians. Please observe the posted sidewalk closed signs.

For Morrisville Carpenter Road Project updates Visit https://bit.ly/mcrcp1

Based upon current data and trends in COVID-19 cases in our region, the Morrisville Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Resource Department has current COVID-19 safety measures and protocols in place for the Morrisville Aquatic & Fitness Center, Cedar Fork Community Center, and Morrisville Senior Center. For those facility’s COVID-19 guidelines and for updates from the Town of Morrisville on COVID-19, visit TownOfMorrisville.org/COVID19.

Town leaders are continuously monitoring the situation in coordination with Wake County Public Health Division, the lead agency for guidance as it relates to the coronavirus and its variants. If you have specific questions related to your health and COVID-19, COVID-19 testing, COVID-19 vaccinations, or other assistance, please call (919) 250-1500, email at covid19.questions@wakegov.com, or visit their webpage at Wakegov.com/covid-19.

As concerns surrounding COVID-19 and the Omicron variant continue to grow in our area, we have made some important updates to our facility's current protocols and procedures to help stop the spread and keep you safe. The changes you need to be aware of and abide by are listed below:

The Morrisville Aquatics & Fitness Center is offering swim classes for children and adults (with some experience in the water) who are looking to refine their abilities.

Classes are offered throughout the month of February.

Class times, levels, and registration information is available here: https://bit.ly/3HC2ei9

#LiveConnectedLiveWell

The Town of Morrisville will host a live virtual COVID-19 Q&A session on the Engage Morrisville community engagement platform on Tuesday, Feb. 22, from 2-3 p.m.

Dr. Nicholas Turner, a Duke University infectious disease specialist, will engage with Morrisville community members and answer all questions about the COVID-19 virus.

To take part in the Q&A session, attendees must visit EngageMorrisville.com and register on the platform.

On Feb. 3, the Town of Morrisville and Major League Cricket (MLC) announced details of a public-private partnership to jointly invest in the expansion of Church Street Park, upgrading the facility into an international-quality cricket venue.

Morrisville Town Council and staff, along with representatives with Major League Cricket, Morrisville Cardinals, Triangle Cricket League, and USA National Team players were present at Church Street Park to announce details of the enhancements to support cricket and to provide additional park amenities to the community.

For details, visit the Church Street Park Enhancements Project Page.

Registration for spring sports (Major and Junior Volleyball and Junior Basketball) will open Monday, Feb. 7 and will run through February. For details and to register, click here.

Registration for Morrisville Little League is still open and will transition to a waitlist in the coming days. Spring Little League Baseball registration. Ages 5-12 can register for league play with practices beginning tentatively in late February.

The winter basketball program will halt its program for the season on Feb. 12. The remaining team activities will revolve around continued development within the team’s current rosters.

The athletics department is looking for volunteer coaches for our spring leagues. Individuals with experience or a strong interest in working with our recreation staff are encouraged to apply. For questions and to apply, click here.

Morrisville Aquatic & Fitness Center’s next free pickleball clinic, hosted monthly by Cary Pickleball Ambassadors, will be on Sunday, February 13, at 11:00 a.m.

Registration goes live on Sunday, February 6, at 11:00 a.m.: https://bit.ly/3fXSHpZ

Registration will start soon for Cedar Fork Community Center summer camp. Residents and Town staff in-person or online registration will open at 7 a.m. on Feb. 21. Non-resident registration will open at 7 a.m. on March 7. For more information, contact the center’s supervisor by calling (919) 463-7101.

Morrisville Creek Week will be held March 12-19 in conjunction with NC Clean Water Education Partnership’s (NC CWEP) Regional Creek week. Celebrating Creek Week serves the purpose of educating the public about issues related to stormwater pollution and keeping our waterways clean.

Businesses are invited to register their business as in-kind supporters for Creek Week. Businesses will receive a number of benefits in exchange for their support. Interested businesses should reach out to tvictor@townofmorrisville.org to receive additional information about this opportunity.

The Town of Morrisville has launched the Sustainability Dashboard on Morrisville's Open Data Portal. The dashboard provides residents with tracking data showing the Town's progress in implementing sustainability practices. Data for the solar panel array on Morrisville Fire Station No. 1 and recycling participation rates for each of Morrisville's five GFL Environmental service routes are currently available. For details, click here.

The Morrisville Smart Shuttle, the Town’s newest public transit service, allows riders to request a pick-up or drop-off from one of 15 nodes, or stops, located around the Town using the Smart Shuttle application on their smartphone.

Watch this short video on how to use the Morrisville Smart Shuttle App by clicking here!

The service runs seven days a week, from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday, and from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday. Additional details on the Morrisville Smart Shuttle visit TownofMorrisville.org/SmartShuttle

Starting Dec. 4, the WWFM is shifting to winter market hours, 9:30 a.m. to noon. Visit http://wwfm.ag/ to see a complete list of local vendors and shop local!

Get Free Covid Tests at https://www.covidtests.gov/

This information is provided for COVID-19 testing sites in Wake County and please visit https://www.wakegov.com/covid-19-information/no-cost-covid-19-testing.

New sites continue to be added in Wake County through partnerships with the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services and other community testing providers.

All Mako Medical/NCDHHS sites will remain open through March 1. WakeMed Soccer Park hours are changing - they're now 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., starting Monday.

Radeas Labs has partnered with Baptist on Mission to offer drive-thru testing in Wake County AND Radeas has opened back up its Wake Forest drive thru-site. No appointments, no pre-registration, and no out-of-pocket costs. Insurance accepted, but not required.

All Mako Wake County Testing Sites Open Until March 1:

Hindu Society of NC: Drive thru testing in HSNC parking lot. Do not step out of your car . You will be provided with instructions for registration. No prior appointment is required. Testing is being performed by: Ottendorf Laboratories, LLC. Monday thru Friday - 8 to 5 pm Address: 309 Aviation Parkway, Morrisville, NC 27560

Registration can be done with the QR code:

Note that you can get Pfizer and Moderna First, Second and Booster Shots at Morrisville Pharmacy and Compounding (3500 Davis Drive Market Place Shopping Center, Morrisville, NC 27560) (919) 463-7990.

Wake County Health and Human Services has distributed almost 130,000 N95 masks to the public at regional centers, vaccine clinics, testing locations and community organizations.

Wake County Public Health will distribute masks at the following locations Monday through Friday while supplies last:

Residents can check if there are masks available ahead of time by visiting wakegov.com/covid.

Redistricting could mean that fewer than 40 House seats are competitive, down from 73 a decade ago.

Leondra Kruger, a moderate judge, is a potential U.S. Supreme Court nominee. She could be a mediating force in Washington.

Russia has assembled about 70 percent of the forces it would need to invade Ukraine, Biden administration officials believe.

Tens of thousands of Russian troops will begin military exercises in Belarus on Thursday. Western officials view them as a potential pretext to an invasion of Ukraine.

Emmanuel Macron, France’s president, will visit Moscow and Kyiv this week, hoping to prevent a war.

One SEAL candidate died and another was hospitalized after several days of training known as “Hell Week,” Navy officials said.

Thanks to everyone who tuned into our Black History Radio Nyra Interview with Marc Lee.

It was an honor to a guest at the 2022 Winer Commencement at Green Hope!

Congratulations Graduates!

Thanks to Brian Hamilton for opening up his farm to the public this past Saturday. It was fun to see folks on their Hay Rides, playing with the Farm Animals and having so much fun! Rayan volunteered and caught up with friends, and made new ones!  We look forward to seeing Brian at the Morrisville Chamber Annual Meeting on May 5th.

On Friday, I was honored to spend a half day with Naina Razzi, a High School Student visiting the area from Fremont, California. The Highlight of our day was spending an hour at Fire Station 1 with Chief Criddle and Deputy Chief Nate Lozinsky.

Thanks for joining the 5th Annual “Future of Black History” program! The Keynote Speaker this year will be my brother and good friend Mr. Greg Cunningham, Chief Diversity Officer at US Bank. Very inspiring remarks and conversation on Authenticity and Race Relations in our nation. I enjoyed attending. Thanks to Tru Pettigrew for always pushing to Build Bridges!

#BHM #TFOBH #TownOfCary #Diversity #Equity #Inclusion #BuildingBridges

Watch Sunday at 4pm for a new Forum.

It was great to be at Black Issues Forum on Friday.  Join us on Sunday at 4pm for our discussion on Biden first year, Voting Rights, other issues.

Please watch for the Black Issues Forum on UNC-TV!  Fridays at 7 pm and Sundays at 4 pm!

Feb 8th NC Vet Biz Virtual Annual Meeting from 10 am to noon.

Register at Register Here: https://nvba.wildapricot.org/event-4656748.

Feb. 8th- Feb. 10th: Emerging Issues Forum: Advancing Together; North Carolina’s Workforce Through Educational Attainment!  Register at https://iei.ncsu.edu/advancing-together/.

Join us on Sunday, Feb 13 at 4 pm for our Interview with Tom Dunmore from Major Cricket League on the recent announcement on the Church Street Cricket Expansion and Global Cricket coming to Morrisville!

99.9FMHD4, 101.9 FM and 1490 am and listen live at www.radionyrausa.com

Feb 15th Join us for a 11:30 am Special Reception for Wiley Nickel for Congress with Special Guests, Morrisville Mayor TK Cawley and yours truly at Prestonwood Country Club. (300 Prestonwood Parkway, Cary, NC 27513)  RSVP to alicia@wileynickelforcongress.com.

COVID-19 Q&A Session: Join the Town of Morrisville for a live COVID-19 Q&A with Dr. Nicholas Turner on Tuesday, February 22, 2022, from 2-3 p.m.

Dr. Nicholas Turner, a Duke University infectious disease specialist, will engage with Morrisville community members and answer all questions about the COVID-19 virus.

The live Q&A session will be streamed exclusively on Engage Morrisville. Submit your questions now. Register today and submit your questions at https://bit.ly/engagemorrisville

March 4th NC Tech Association Outlook for Tech.

Register at

May 5 Morrisville Chamber Annual Meeting at Prestonwood Country Club from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm.

Award Applications are open!

Join us every Friday on World Edition at 10 am for the Great America Project Panel where we discuss how we rebuild Americas' image with leaders from around the country and world.

Public Open Dialogue TV is a worldwide multilingual, multi-demographic network focused on inspiring, educating and entertaining the global community. We provide unique programming in areas not covered by traditional media, and provide a platform for the audience to engage with those shows. Formerly IBMTV.