Find over 60 Black History events in Triangle

at https://triangleonthecheap.com/black-history-month/

Morrisville Alert: 

MAFC Pool is open! Thanks for your patience.   

Transportation Alert:

Morrisville Carpenter Road is Completed!  

How does the Ukraine War affect the world? 

Energy Prices, inflation, interest rates, economic growth, food shortages- all depend on how the conflict plays out in the coming months.  Rapid progress by Ukraine could threaten Vladmir Putin, but a grinding stalemate seems the most likely outcome. Russia will try to string out the conflict in the hope that energy shrtages, and political shifts in America will undermine Western support for Ukraine.

My Remarks to Triangle Ukrainian Community:

https://www.facebook.com/steve.s.rao/videos/956186522218037

Insights from Misha Shvts:

https://www.facebook.com/steve.s.rao/videos/763905755134231

UKRANIAN MISHA SVETS INSPIRES INNOVATION

https://wraltechwire.com/2022/03/25/in-midst-of-war-ukrainians-like-misha-shvets-keep-working-in-nc-tech-sector-they-deserve-our-support/

Last year, UNC graduate student and Ukranian, Misha Shvets had been glued to his phone. When war broke out in Ukraine, the young computer scientist immediately called to warn his mother in his hometown of Dnipro. In the following days he spent long hours comforting her as the air-raid sirens howled, and repeatedly tried to reach his father and young siblings as they fled west to escape the bombs.

Misha’s story underscores that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s assault on Ukraine isn’t just a criminal act of war and a humanitarian catastrophe. It’s a disaster that directly impacts the many Ukrainians working in North Carolina’s innovation economy — and it’s yet another reason why the United States needs a skilled-worker system that would help people like Misha stay and work in the United States for as long as they need.

According to the Ukrainian Association of North Carolina, there are almost 21,000 Ukrainians living in our state, and many came here to study and conduct research at our universities, work at our tech companies, or create startups of their own.

It’s thanks to high-skilled Ukrainian immigrants that we now have companies like Upswot, the Charlotte fintech startup that’s now creating scores of jobs across North Carolina. It’s how America got PayPal, co-founded by a Ukrainian entrepreneur, and A.D.A.M, a biotech company whose Ukrainian founder is making painful bone grafts a thing of the past.

Dnipro is an industrial hub known as “Rocket City” because of its importance to the Soviet space program. Misha grew up speaking Russian, and after high school he moved to Moscow to study applied mathematics. After completing a master’s degree, though, he left Russia behind and moved to the Research Triangle. “American universities are where innovation happens,” he says. “It was just the natural thing for me to do.”

Since arriving in the Triangle four years ago, Misha has been able to work with the world’s top AI experts, creating neural networks that can interpret photos and videos. He’s worked with Nuro, a Silicon Valley startup, creating robots that can deliver groceries without human supervision, and also worked at Facebook and Microsoft to improve the tech giants’ image-recognition and VR tools. If Mark Zuckerberg’s “metaverse” takes off, it’ll be thanks to people like Misha.

The impact doesn’t stop there. Misha has also co-authored a paper adapting his team’s image-processing algorithms to detect whether different molecules could be used to treat illnesses. That could turbo-charge drug development, making it easier to create new pharmaceuticals and stay ahead of fast-evolving diseases.

Misha’s journey — from Ukraine, to Moscow, to Chapel Hill — shows why our state’s innovation economy makes us a global leader. Misha got a good education in Russia, but Putin’s control economy simply can’t compete with the free-wheeling vibrancy of the U.S. private sector.

And yet Misha’s ability to remain in the United States is by no means guaranteed. That’s because it’s incredibly hard for STEM graduates and skilled workers to gain visas here in the United States. The H1B skilled-worker system is literally a lottery, and each year many bright young tech innovators wind up having to return to their home countries because they can’t get visas to stay in the U.S.

The White House’s recent expansion of OPT opportunities for STEM graduates is a step in the right direction, and will help many highly skilled international students to find work when they graduate. But with conflict raging in Ukraine, it’s vital that we do more to address this crisis and create a more stable pathway for skilled Ukrainian immigrants to work in the United States.

There are about 200,000 tech workers and IT professionals in Ukraine, and three-quarters of them already work directly with American companies. It’s time to update our skilled-worker visa system, and help U.S. employers to quickly extend job offers both to those already here, and those now fleeing the conflict zone and urgently in need of support.

When he graduates later this year, Misha hopes to help rebuild Ukraine, but he knows that working here — using his skills to help American companies, strengthening Ukraine’s ties to America, and sending money home to his family — might be the best way for him to make a contribution. Whatever he decides, we should ensure that he’s able to easily get a skilled-worker visa that will let him remain and keep on contributing in the United States for as long as he needs.

For now, Misha is praying for his family’s safety. He says he’s proud of the strength they’ve shown, and that he wants to do whatever he can to help them and his compatriots as the war continues. 

We should do what we can to help, too — both in Ukraine, and by supporting the Ukrainian immigrants who play such a vital role in our state’s innovation economy.

Misha’s story is a reminder on how the war in Ukraine is affecting so many families in the Triangle and in North Carolina.  

Let jus continue to pray for our Ukranian brothers and sisters and do what we can every day to help them rebuild their nation and to win this war, restoring freedom and democracy to Ukraine. 

Insights from Tru Pettigrew: 

https://www.facebook.com/steve.s.rao/videos/1251636855458952

Insights from Major Capers:

https://www.facebook.com/steve.s.rao/videos/900100914635603

THE STORY BEHIND BLACK HISTORY MONTH 

The story of Black History Month begins in 1915, half a century after the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery in the United States.

That September, the Harvard-trained historian Carter G. Woodson and the prominent minister Jesse E. Moorland founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH), an organization dedicated to researching and promoting achievements by Black Americans and other peoples of African descent.

Known today as the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), the group sponsored a national Negro History week in 1926, choosing the second week of February to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. The event inspired schools and communities nationwide to organize local celebrations, establish history clubs and host performances and lectures.

In the decades that followed, mayors of cities across the country began issuing yearly proclamations recognizing "Negro History Week." By the late 1960s, thanks in part to the civil rights movement and a growing awareness of Black identity, "Negro History Week" had evolved into Black History Month on many college campuses.

President Gerald Ford officially recognized Black History Month in 1976, calling upon the public to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history. 

Today, Black History Month is a time to honor the contributions and legacy of African Americans across U.S. history and society—from activists and civil rights pioneers such as Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Marcus Garvey, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and Rosa Parks to leaders in industry, politics, science, culture and more. 

Here are a few STEM Icons, African-American men and women, who made the world of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math so much better and powerful. 

• The “Peanut Man”, Dr. George Carver who innovated agriculture and helped develop new usages of crops. He created more than 300 products from peanuts including paints, milk and stains. 
• Researcher Mary Daly who was the 1st African American woman in the US to earn a PhD in chemistry. She found the connection between heart function and cholesterol in our food.
• Jesse Blayton, an accountant and a radio entrepreneur, was the first African American to own and operate a radio station. His radio station WERD was housed just above the SCLC office and helped spread Martin Luther King’s dream. 

Read about their inspiring stories and many more STEM Icons in short rhymes in STEM Icons - Celebrating Black History. Available to buy or read on Kindle for free today at https://amzn.to/3k49gGn . 

Congratulations to my friend Moni Singh, founder of STEM for Kids, for writing this book. 

Dr. George Carver

Mary Daly

Jesse Blayton

Public Invited to Morrisville Carpenter Road Project Ribbon-Cutting on February 28

Join the Town of Morrisville as we celebrate the grand re-opening of Morrisville Carpenter Road after the completed expansion of the road from two lanes to four lanes and additional enhancements including new sidewalks and streetlights. A ribbon-cutting will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 28, at 11 a.m. at the corner of Morrisville Carpenter Road and Town Hall Drive. Parking will be available at the Indian Creek Trailhead (101 Town Hall Drive) and Town Hall (100 Town Hall Drive).

Have You Joined Engage Morrisville?

Engage Morrisville is a place for residents and businesses to get involved by sharing ideas and feedback with Town staff on various projects and topics affecting the Morrisville community. Current topics of conversation include the Town Center Project, What's Happening Around Town, and the Morrisville Smart Shuttle. Register and join the conversation today.

Spring Lifeguarding Classes Offered at MAFC in April

Spring lifeguarding classes will be offered at the Morrisville Aquatics & Fitness Center, 1301 Morrisville Parkway, in April. Participants must be 15 years old on or before the final scheduled class, and they must pass physical tests. Training is provided to those who agree to work 200 hours. Dates for the classes have not been confirmed, but interested parties are asked to contact the aquatics manager, PJ Nettesheim, at pnettesheim@townofmorrisville.org.

Spring White Goods Collection to be March 9

The spring white goods collection will take place March 9. The white goods collection is offered every three months to pick up old appliances, including washing machines, dryers, freezers, refrigerators, dishwashers, water heaters, stoves and ovens, and dehumidifiers. Registration is required to participate in the event, and registration must be received by March 6 at 5 p.m. Click here to register for the spring collection. Note that microwaves are not included in the white goods collection. Microwaves can be taken to the South Wake Landfill at 6130 Old Smithfield Road in Apex.

Residents Invited to Recycle Household Items at Green Day Event on March 18

The bi-annual Green Day event will take place on March 18, from 8 a.m. to noon, at Church Street Park, 5800 Cricket Pitch Way. Drive-thru stations will be set up to accept items for recycling that cannot be placed in residential recycling bins, for safely disposing of hazardous items, and for donating needed items to community groups. Stations will include textile recycling, laptop donation, paper shredding, medication take-back, e-recycling, batteries and CFLs, and collection of fats, oils, and greases. For more information, please visit the website.

Morrisville to Host Holi Celebration on March 18

Join us on Saturday, March 18, 2023, from Noon-3 p.m., at the Cedar Fork Community Center (CFCC), 1050B Town Hall Drive, as we celebrate Holi, the ancient Hindu festival marking the end of winter and welcoming the spring season. There will be music, dancing, artisan vendors, cultural performances, food, and fun. The festival is free, and will feature dancing, Holi powders, and food for purchase. The Town will provide Holi powder to attendees to get the event started, but attendees are strongly encouraged to bring their own Holi powder to keep the fun going. Please note that this will be a DRY Holi celebration, so participants are asked to leave water toys at home.

Limited parking will be available at CFCC. Shuttle transportation will run to and from Iron Mountain (826 Church Street) and Church Street Park (5800 Cricket Pitch Way). Check here for additional details.

Morrisville Creek Week Set for March 18-25

The Town of Morrisville will once again celebrate the N.C. Clean Water Education Partnership (NC CWEP)’s Regional Creek Week program, March 18-25, with fun, informative activities to educate our community about reducing stormwater pollution and the importance of keeping our waterways clear and clean. The theme for 2023 is "Water Connects Us."

Events for the week will include volunteer stream cleans and litter pickups, educational booths at community centers and the Western Wake Farmers' Market, and installation of markers on stormwater drains at various locations around Town. Check the website for more information and a complete schedule of events as they are confirmed.

Your copy should address 3 key questions: Who am I writing for? (Audience) Why should they care? (Benefit) What do I want them to do here? (Call-to-Action)

Create a great offer by adding words like "free" "personalized" "complimentary" or "customized." A sense of urgency often helps readers take an action, so think about inserting phrases like "for a limited time only" or "only 7 remaining"!

Public Comment Period Open for Wake Transit and Bus Plans through March 22

A draft of the 2023-24 Wake Transit Work Plan and the 2024-30 Wake Bus Plan Update are now available online. The public is invited to review these plans and to provide feedback that can inform changes to transit routes across the region. The plan includes changes to the GoTriangle 310 route that serves Morrisville, as well as GoCary routes that connect people to Cary and Morrisville. The public comment period will be open through March 22. Click here to view the plans and provide feedback. Representatives from GoTriangle will also be at the Western Wake Farmers’ Market on March 18, from 9:30 a.m. to noon, to provide information and answer questions.

Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Training to be April 22-23

Sign up for Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training to learn basic disaster response skills to safely help yourself and those around you when disaster strikes and when professional responders aren’t available. The hybrid training class includes both online an in-person training. The in-person class will take place April 22 and 23 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Morrisville Fire Station No. 1, 200 Town Hall Dr. The virtual portion of the class is available now, and it must be completed by April 14 to attend the in-person sessions. Register here for the training.

Now Hiring: Join the Public Works Team

The Town of Morrisville Public Works Department has exciting career opportunities available now. Join one of only three North Carolina municipalities with an American Public Works Association (APWA) accredited Public Works Department. For more information, click on the following links:

Streets Maintenance Supervisor

Check out additional employment opportunities in the Town here.

Insights from Mo Davis:

https://www.facebook.com/steve.s.rao/videos/874939467059013

Insights on how Mo worked with SBA:

https://www.facebook.com/steve.s.rao/videos/722241869551650

MEDICAL MARIJUANA MAKES MOVE IN NC

Legislation is pending to regulate medical cannabis for patients in North Carolina. Senate Bill 711 is supported by both Republicans and Democrats. This bill would allow qualifying patients, with a physician's recommendation, to access a 30-day supply of medical cannabis at a time via licensed retail outlets.

According to statewide polling data, 82 percent of North Carolinians believe that “marijuana should be legalized [in the state] for medical purposes," — including 75% of GOP.

NC REPUBLICANS MOVE FORWARD WITH ANTI CRITICAL RACE THEORY BILL

A bill filed by Republicans on Thursday would prevent educators from promoting Critical Race Theory to students (CRT). House Bill 187 is like a bill filed by Republicans in 2021 that Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed.

CRT is an academic discipline that examines how racism has shaped the nation’s legal and social systems. Educators say CRT is not taught in America’s K-12 schools.

HB 187 has much of the same language as the previous bill, House Bill 324. It would, for example, prohibit teachers from promoting concepts that suggest America is racist or that people are inherently racist or sexist. It would also prohibit teaching that whites or anyone else are responsible for the sins of their forefathers.

If passed into law, HB 187 would also prevent educators from teaching that an “individual, solely by virtue of` his or her race or sex, bears responsibility for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race or sex.”

Here’s what Cooper had to say about HB 324 in 2021” “The legislature should be focused on supporting teachers, helping students recover lost learning, and investing in our public schools. Instead, this bill pushes calculated, conspiracy-laden politics into public education.”

A veto of HB 187 might prove difficult for Cooper this time around. Republicans have enough votes in the Senate to override Cooper. The GOP is one vote short in the House.

According to Education Week, since January 2021, 44 states have introduced bills or taken other steps to restrict teaching critical race theory or limit how teachers discuss racism and sexism.

Medicaid Expansion Passes NC House, On to Senate 

Legislation that would expand Medicaid coverage in North Carolina to hundreds of thousands of low-income adults through the 2010 Affordable Care Act advanced to the Senate with House approval Thursday.

A second day of strong bipartisan support for the legislation — the chamber gave initial approval to the measure on Wednesday — affirms that approving expansion during this year's legislative session is within reach.

North Carolina is among 11 states that haven't adopted Medicaid expansion.

"This is a part of history and we need to move this forward so that we can have serious discussions with the Senate," bill sponsor Rep. Donny Lambeth, a Forsyth County Republican, said before Thursday's 92-22 vote. Two-thirds of House Republicans voting joined all Democrats present in backing the bill.

In the Senate, Republicans also back expansion but want it coupled with a series of initiatives to build out the supply of healthcare services and providers. Those include scaling back "certificate of need" laws that require regulatory hurdles before medical equipment is used or new hospital beds filled. Speaker Tim Moore said after Thursday's vote that House members were willing to discuss certificate of need reforms with senators.

The two chambers passed competing expansion measures in 2022 but failed to reach a compromise.

This year's House measure would begin expansion next January, provided that the General Assembly approves a state budget law this year.

The federal government covers 90% of expansion costs. The state's 10% share of expenses for expansion enrollees would be paid through increased hospital assessments to the state. But the bill also envisions hospitals receiving billions of additional federal dollars to cover Medicaid patients.

The House bill tells state health officials to attempt to negotiate with federal health regulators to require some Medicaid enrollees to work in order to retain coverage.

Medicaid enrollment is 2.9 million in North Carolina. Expansion could cover as many as 600,000 people in the state, according to legislators and advocates and could add about $2 billion to the State Budget. Some of these people obtained and retained Medicaid services during the COVID-19 emergency because eligibility verifications were suspended. Those verifications will resume soon, resulting over time in 300,000 beneficiaries losing full health care coverage, according to the state Department of Health and Human Services.

NC Republicans Make it Easier to Overide Veto 

The permanent rules for operating the Republican-controlled North Carolina House for the next two years were approved by members Wednesday, despite objections from Democrats that they make it easier for GOP lawmakers to override vetoes by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper.

Temporary rules approved last month omitted an element from previous years requiring chamber leaders to give at least two days’ notice before holding an override vote.

Wednesday's final rules package says an override vote may be taken on the same day a veto message is received from Cooper or from the Senate, or on “any other legislative day it is printed” on the chamber’s official agenda.

House Republicans hold a 71-49 seat margin, one vote short of a supermajority. That means they can override a veto if at least one Democrat joins them or if two Democrats are absent — even briefly — as long as GOP members are all present and united.

Seeking to allay fears of Democrats, House Rules Chairman Destin Hall, a Caldwell County Republican, said that while the GOP majority would aim to override every one of Cooper's vetoes, “it's not our job to do that through trickery and deceit.”

But House Minority Leader Robert Reives of Chatham County said the provision makes it harder for legislators — whose jobs are already viewed as part-time — to meet scheduling demands back at home and in Raleigh.

The chamber rejected a pair of amendments from Democratic Rep. Brandon Lofton of Mecklenburg County that would have placed additional restrictions upon veto override attempts.

Five Democrats joined all Republicans in voting 76-43 for the rules package.

NC SENATE OKAYS GUN BILL WITH PISTOL PERMIT REPEAL

North Carolina's Senate voted Thursday to scrap a century-old requirement that a sheriff formally signs off before a person can purchase a handgun as part of a broader firearms bill.

The Republican senators approved the legislation 29-19 in a party-line vote.

The firearms bill would also allow people with a concealed weapons permit — separate from the pistol purchase permit — to carry a gun while attending religious services at a private school or some charter schools. Permitted gun owners can already carry at standalone church buildings if the congregation allows it.

The measure, which also creates and funds a two-year education campaign on the safe storage of firearms, contains “common-sense laws to ensure that the rights of law-abiding citizens are not being infringed,” Sen. Danny Britt, a Robeson County Republican and chief sponsor, said in a press release.

Using parliamentary maneuvers, GOP senators blocked floor votes on several proposed Democratic amendments to tighten gun laws, such as universal background checks for all weapon sales and “red-flag” orders. Senate Democrats, who would support the safe storage campaign language if voted on in separate legislation, said Thursday the permit repeal would lead to more gun injuries and deaths at a time of increased mass shootings.

The bill “is the antithesis of common-sense gun reform,” Sen. Natasha Marcus, a Mecklenburg County Democrat, during floor debate. “It’s a relinquishment of our job to protect North Carolinians from violence.”

In 2021, separate bills containing the pistol permit repeal and gun access within more houses of worship passed the General Assembly but were vetoed by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper. He said at the time that educators and children need protections from gun violence and the permit system reduces gun-related deaths.

But Republicans made enough seat gains during the November elections so that the GOP holds a veto-proof majority in the Senate and are within one seat of similar control in the House.

The House advanced these proposals this week in their own competing measures. The bill addressing religious meeting places passed the full House chamber on Wednesday with the support of six Democrats — signaling that any veto override of a measure on that specific topic this year could be successful. GOP leaders in both chambers will have to hash out which of the gun bills they want to put on Cooper's desk.