Kansas wins National Championship!  

Congrats to Carolina for a Great Season!   

Coach K ends career with final four loss to Carolina!

Dorcas Ministries Executive Director and Community Leader Howard Manning has passed away this week. We pray for his family.

Funeral Services will be 11 am on Saturday at First United Church in Cary. 

Ketanji Brown expected to be confirmed next week! 

President Biden will extend Student Loan Forgiveness until August.

Senate Considers $10 Billion Covid Package.  

Zelensky calls-for a Nuremberg style tribunal to prosecute war crimes and presses United Nations for more Action. 

Vietnamese automaker, VinFast announces game changing investment in Chatham County, 7500 jobs and $2 billion investment. 

The NCDHHS COVID-19 Dashboard Summary Page will update weekly on Wednesdays and will include Wastewater Surveillance, COVID-Like Illness in Emergency Departments, Hospital Admissions, COVID-19 Cases, Booster Rates, Prevalence of Variants, and CDC COVID-19 Community Levels data.  No more Covid Updates and numbers in this newsletter.

For Covid Testing Sites and Vaccine information, please visit https://www.wakegov.com/covid-19-information and https://covid19.ncdhhs.gov/.

Ugadi or Yugadi is celebrated as the first day of the year by people of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka.

Ramadan, is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar,[9] observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (sawm), prayer, reflection and community.[10] A commemoration of Muhammad's first revelation,[11] the annual observance of Ramadan is regarded as one of the Five Pillars of Islam[12] and lasts twenty-nine to thirty days, from one sighting of the crescent moon to the next.[13][14]

Fasting from dawn to sunset is fard (obligatory) for all adult Muslims who are not acutely or chronically ill, travelling, elderly, breastfeeding, diabetic, or menstruating.[15] The predawn meal is referred to as suhur, and the nightly feast that breaks the fast is called iftar.

This week, I began my Start Up and Small Business Listening Tour in Morrisville and the Triangle!  Thanks to Jiten Patel from Patel & Milweski Construction for hosting my visits at Southpoint Office Park in Morrisville!  I also learned from Jiten that his firm, like many others, is working very hard to refurbish traditional offices into more of start up offices, which he believes will be more of a trend in a post covid, hybrid workforce. 

This company takes seaweed & kelp and makes clothing fiber. They are a start-up company that is relocating from Brooklyn. I am sure these guys would welcome any subsidy/tax break that might be eligible from their relocation.

This company does 3D metal printing on a very small and extremely precise scale.

This is a company we visited on Weston Parkway. They do carbon capture and Hydrogen generation.

https://susteon.com.

Susteon is funded by Breakthrough Energy which is one of the vehicles that Gates uses to fund companies!  I heard Bill Gates talk about this company on Fareed Zakaria GPS! I am very proud of founder Shantanu Agarwal.

Beginning the week of April 11, the program pool (Smaller Pool) will be unavailable for public use on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Open rec swim and water aerobics participants will be accommodated in lanes 5 and 6 of the lap pool. Additionally, the Friday morning water aerobics class has been cancelled.

I have spoken and met with Chris Heagarty, vice chairman of the wake county school board, about the enrollment cap placed on Parkside Elementary. Town Council Members and staff have also met with Chris and Chair Lindsay Mahaffey.  While no one currently assigned to Parkside Elementary will have to leave, some future residents may have to attend school elsewhere if enrollment exceeds the cap.  Vice chairman Heagarty has said that the board of education will work with the town to explore options for reducing crowding in the school, such as adding mobile classrooms, reassignment of students, and identifying potential sites for additional elementary schools. He stressed that our county is behind on meeting school construction and renovation needs and encouraged the support of school bond campaigns to help catch up.

At the end of the day, we will continue to address the concern and work with our School Board to develop options to address overcrowded schools in Morrisville.  

In North Carolina, the statewide primary is Tuesday, May 17, 2022. During this election, voters can choose which candidates they prefer to be on the general election ballot in November. The purpose of a primary is to narrow the field of candidates for the general election.

Races on the ballot include:

Additionally, many voters will find municipal contests on their ballot due to rescheduled municipal elections. This applies to voters in municipalities that delayed their 2021 elections to finalize new electoral districts. This also applies to voters who live in cities and towns that conduct their elections during even-numbered years.

Registered voters across the state can vote in the primary. However, voters affiliated with any political party will be given a ballot of candidates for their party. Unaffiliated voters may choose the ballot of candidates for any party primary.

Note: In 2022, the Libertarian Party does not have any primary elections because there are no contested Libertarian nominations for any office. Any Libertarian candidate who properly filed for office will therefore appear as the party’s nominee on the general election ballot in November.

Therefore, unaffiliated voters in the May 17 primary may choose the Democratic or Republican ballot, or, if available, a nonpartisan ballot. Registered Libertarians may only vote a nonpartisan ballot, if available in their jurisdiction since there are no primary contests for that party.

Each candidate that wins in each contest on their party’s ballot will become a nominee. The nominee will appear on the ballot in the general election contest. To become the party’s nominee, the candidate must win by at least 30% of the vote plus one.

If no candidate reaches the total necessary to become the nominee in a contest on the ballot, a second primary may be held on July 26. Voters can revisit this page after the primary to confirm a second primary.

Early Voting starts on April 28th. You can register and vote at the same time.

Find your Early Voting Site at https://www.wakegov.com/departments-government/board-elections/election-information/early-voting.

Deadline to Request an Absentee Ballot is Tuesday, May 10: https://www.wakegov.com/departments-government/board-elections/election-information/absentee-mail-voting

Register at: https://www.ncdot.gov/dmv/offices-services/online/Pages/voter-registration-application.aspx?ref=voteusa_en

Learn more about Voter Registration at: https://vote.gov/register/nc/.

Voter registration deadlines in North Carolina

Thanks for listening to our Radio Nyra Interview with Secretary of State Elaine Marshall! We look forward to our interview with her on POD TV on ROKU tomorrow at 10 am, live on Facebook.  

Get with the Program with Gary Jones!

Mar. 25th Black Issues Forum Discussion!

For the past few weeks, UNC graduate student Misha Shvets has 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.

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.

April 5 – 6:30 p.m. Public Education Advisory Committee (Virtual)

April 6 – 6:30 p.m. Environment & Stormwater Committee

April 6-  6 p.m.  Morrisville Town Council Meeting.  

Live Stream at www.townofmorrisville.org!

The omnibus appropriations bill passed by Congress and signed into law by the President on March 15th includes $300,000 in new federal funds to support establishment of the Town’s Small Business Development Program. The funds were secured through Congresswoman Deborah Ross after the Town submitted this project to Rep. Ross for consideration in March 2021. The funds can be used for a variety of small business support initiatives, including financial assistance, marketing, mentoring, education, and technical assistance. Staff is currently working with Rep. Ross’s office to understand the logistics and timeline for receiving the funds

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

The contractor is working on grading the tennis courts and pickleball courts area during the week of April 4 continuing into early May. They will also be erecting a chain link fence and a silt fence around the perimeter to better secure the tennis court and pickleball court location.

The contractor will be preparing to start clearing and grubbing the walking trails behind the ballfield and in the woods starting the week of April 4. Park visitors may see construction crew members and hear construction noises during the day. Read more about the MCP Phase III project here.

#LiveConnectedLiveWell

Morrisville Town Manager Martha Paige has selected Giselle Rodriguez-Villanueva as the Town’s new assistant town manager. Rodriguez-Villanueva has served as the Town’s public works director since July 2019. In her new role she will oversee the Planning, Engineering/Stormwater, Inspections and Public Works departments.

Assistant Town Manager Rodriguez-Villanueva will officially begin her new role on April 18. Read the full story here.

The Town is growing, and your opinion matters! Advisory Committees offer residents a chance to be involved in the Town’s decision-making processes by providing input on important matters to Town Council.

The following committees have vacancies or expiring terms that may be filled during this process:

The deadline to apply is Wednesday, April 6, at 5 p.m. Apply now on the Town website. Contact Eric Smith, Town Clerk, with any questions at (919) 463-6168 or esmith@townofmorrisville.org.

The Town of Morrisville Easter Egg Hunt will be at Morrisville Community Park on Thursday, April 14, from 5:30-7:00 p.m.

The event will be split into age groups:

Bring your own basket or bag. Eggs filled with candy or toys will be on the field for the children to collect. Each age group will have a golden egg out on the field to find and win a prize.

Registration is now open for the Morrisville Police Department’s Teen Citizen Police Academy.

The academy is a five-week program, held June 15-July 23, and is designed to give participants a working knowledge of the department. It is intended to increase transparency and enhance understanding between the community and the police. Learn more and register here.

To honor National Arbor Day, the Morrisville Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources Department and Morrisville Community Library have partnered on events for children K-5th grade.

Letterboxing

Children will learn this unique pastime that combines artistic ability with treasure hunts and create their own unique stamps, all while discovering amenities in their own community.

Space is limited. Learn more at https://bit.ly/3NluWaV

Morrisville’s Camp Cedar Fork begins on June 13. We are now hiring for the following positions:

Does your high school senior/college student need a summer job? We are looking for counselors age 17+ who are creative, like to have fun, and who want to make a positive impact on our youth and community. Learn more at https://bit.ly/36WSGRX

Our camp bus drivers must be proactive, friendly, and responsible with at least three years driving experience and a NC license. Flexible schedule with up to 35 hours a week, Monday-Friday. Learn more at https://bit.ly/3NDQ7Fp

Easter Weekend Hours

Our April free pickleball clinic, hosted by Cary Pickleball Ambassadors, will be on Sunday, April 10, at 11 a.m. The sign-up for this event goes live one week ahead of time, on the hour. Participants can expect to learn the pickleball rules and fundamentals before engaging in gameplay with each other.

Pickleball free play is held on Sundays from 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. Marga, an instructor from Cary Pickleball Ambassadors, will be attending this session every other week to play recreationally, and encourages the Morrisville community to join her! 

Sign up through SignUp Genius.

The Morrisville Senior Center and Senior Advisory Committee is hosting a Spring Open House on Saturday, April 9, from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. The day will include live music, prize giveaways, refreshments, program information, and hourly raffle drawings. Learn more about the Senior Center here.

The Morrisville Senior Center, in partnership with Wake Tech Workforce Continuing Education, announces courses for seniors who have retired but would like to pursue a second career and/or earn additional income.

April 20 - May 25 (no class on May 18)

Wednesdays from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.

In this course, learn job search techniques and ways to tap into the “hidden” job market. Find out how to tailor your resume to target specific positions and learn how to succeed in an interview.

April 22 - May 6

Every Friday from 1:30-3:30 p.m.

In this course, increase efficiency and results when using the internet to search for job postings online. Develop basic word processing skills that you can use to create or update a cover letter and resume. Sharpen your email skills and learn email etiquette that will help make a good impression with potential employers.

For more information and to register, call Chawanna at the Morrisville Senior Center at 919-463-7141.

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

The Western Wake Farmers' Market (WWFM) offers healthy and fresh food, goods, and live music from small and local businesses from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. (winter hours) every Saturday.

Visit http://wwfm.ag/ to see a complete list of local vendors and shop local!

Attended Alson Ridge Career Day with Mayor Cawley! It was fun spending time with the 3rd and 5th Graders in the Schools!

Wonderful time at the Sterling Montessori International Festival! Enjoyed booths and crafts from the kids, music and entertainment which all celebrated nations from around the world!

Enjoyed some time with the Canes Crew before the Game! Spent time with VP, Advertising, Jim Balliweg, and the Voice of the Canes, Mike Maniscalco! Got to get in the Ice machine!

VinFast, the Vietnamese auto manufacturer building a new line of electric vehicles, has selected North Carolina for its first North American automotive assembly and battery manufacturing plant, creating 7,500 jobs, Governor Roy Cooper and Vingroup Vice Chair and VinFast Global CEO Le Thi Thu Thuy announced today during an event at the new Raleigh Convention Center. The company intends to invest up to $2 billion in phase 1 of its project at the Triangle Innovation Point megasite in Chatham County. This will be North Carolina’s first car manufacturing plant and it is the largest economic development announcement in the state’s history.

VinFast’s factory will create a major manufacturing center on a 1,977 acre (800 hectare) plot for phase 1 with 3 main areas: electric cars and buses production and assembly, EVs batteries production, and ancillary industries for suppliers.

Construction for phase 1 of the factory will start in 2022 after the construction permit is granted and production is expected to start in July 2024. The capacity of phase 1 is expected to be 150,000 vehicle/year. According to the MOU, VinFast will continue to invest in this factory in various phases. Vehicles to be produced at the site include the VinFast VF 9, a 7-passenger all-electric Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) and the VinFast VF 8, a 5-passenger, all-electric mid-size SUV.

The North Carolina Department of Commerce coordinated the state’s recruitment of VinFast, which also involved state, regional, and local organizations.

VinFast, founded in 2017 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup, is a global producer of premium automobiles. Headquartered in Hanoi, Vietnam, with a state-of-the-art vehicle production facility in Hai Phong, Vietnam, that has the capacity to produce 950,000 vehicles per year by 2026.

VinFast has established global operations in the US, Canada, Germany, France and the Netherlands. VinFast currently provides an ecosystem of EV products in its home country of Vietnam, including e-scooters, electric buses and electric cars, charging station system and green energy solutions.  

Last November, VinFast announced the VF e35 and VF e36 (now named the VF 8 and VF 9) at the 2021 Los Angeles Auto Show. The company introduced three new EVs (the VF 5, VF 6 and VF 7) at the 2022 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), which combined with the earlier models allows the company to serve all five major vehicle segments, from small crossover to large SUV. Each vehicle embodies VinFast’s goal of offering leading technology with a premium experience at an attainable price point. Reservations for VF 8 and VF 9 was announced globally at the beginning of 2022.

“North Carolina’s strong commitments in building a clean energy economy, fighting climate change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in transportation make it an ideal location for VinFast to develop its premium, smart and environmentally friendly EVs.” said Le Thi Thu Thuy, Vingroup Vice Chair and VinFast Global CEO. “Having a production facility right in the market will help VinFast to proactively manage its supply chain, maintain stabilized prices and shorten product supply time, making VinFast’s EVs more accessible to customers, contributing to the realization of local environmental improvement goals.”

VinFast is the only premium car producer in Vietnam and has been growing with an impressive rate. The company completed the construction of its factory in Haiphong and developed its first three car models in just 21 months.

Recently, Vingroup started construction of a battery plant in Ha Tinh, Vietnam on a 8 hectare plot for phase 1, with a capacity of 5 gigawatt hours (GWh) per year. The facility is expected to be fully installed and run at full capacity from late 2022.

The project in North Carolina affirms VinFast’s commitment in investing and developing business in its international markets in general and the U.S. in particular. It will also ensure VinFast’s capability in manufacturing autonomy globally.

VinFast’s project in the state, which will officially be executed through a newly formed company, will be facilitated in part by a Transformative Job Development Investment Grant (JDIG) approved by the state’s Economic Investment Committee earlier today. 

VinFast’s project is estimated to grow the state’s economy by at least $71.59 billion over 32 years, the time period when the grant could be active. Using a formula that takes into account the new tax revenues generated by the new jobs, as well as a company investment of $4 billion, the JDIG agreement authorizes the potential reimbursement to the company of up to $316.1 million, paid over a time period of 32 years.

Like all grants from the JDIG program, any state payments only occur following performance verification each year by the departments of Commerce and Revenue that the company has met its incremental job creation and investment targets.

VinFast’s JDIG agreement calls for moving as much as $36.6 million into the state’s Industrial Development Fund – Utility Account. The Utility Account helps rural communities anywhere in the state finance necessary infrastructure upgrades to attract future business. 

The state also anticipates providing additional support to the project by means of a state appropriation of as much as $450 million, to cover site preparations, road improvements, and additional water and sewer infrastructure.

Salaries for the new jobs will vary by position, but taken together will average $51,096, increasing the regional payroll by more than $383 million every year. The Chatham County average annual wage stands currently at $41,638.

Wake County Public School System leaders hope a $1,350 bonus for cafeteria workers will encourage them to stay in their jobs.

Under the district's proposal, full-time child and nutrition services employees will receive three $450 bonuses for their work during the school year. Part-time employees would receive a pro-rated bonus amount.

If approved, this would not be the first bonus for nutrition workers. In November, cafeteria staff at around 30 Wake County schools participated in staged sick outs to push for higher pay and bring attention to a shortage of staff.

Bonuses were given to the employees as well as an hourly pay increase.

Vote will be this evening at 5:30 pm at Wake County School Board meeting.  

Russia appears to be positioning troops for an intensified assault in the Donbas region. The strategy includes bombarding cities to prevent Ukrainian forces from traveling to the new front.

Russian forces retreated under fire from around Kyiv, a potentially significant turn in their invasion of Ukraine.

By threatening to stop Russia’s flow of gas to Europe, President Vladimir Putin reminded the world that he wields a powerful economic weapon.

Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orban, has softened his embrace of Russia ahead of elections today but has stopped short of aiding Ukraine.

Attorney General Merrick Garland’s deliberative approach to the Jan. 6 investigation has frustrated Democratic allies, sometimes including President Biden.

“Saturday Night Live” found several ways to take on Will Smith’s slap of Chris Rock at the Academy Awards.

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is expected to be confirmed to the Supreme Court this week.

Several countries are holding elections: Hungary, Costa Rica and Serbia today, and France next weekend. Imran Khan dissolved Pakistan’s parliament, blocking a no-confidence vote that was widely expected to remove him from office.

The champion in women’s college basketball will be decided tonight, and the men’s tomorrow. And baseball’s opening day is Thursday.

The Grammys are tonight. Here’s a preview.

This is the first full week of Ramadan. The daily breaking of the fast is an occasion to be creative in the kitchen.

Watch Sunday at 4pm for a new Forum.

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

Website: https://video.pbsnc.org/search/?q=black+issues+forum

Apr. 14th Town of Morrisville Easter Egg Hunt 5:30 pm!

Apr. 20th Morrisville Chamber Day of Service 9am- 12 pm

Earth Day – 8am-12n, Healthy Food Hub (WWFM) 

Green Day –10am-1pm, Morrisville Carpenter Pkwy (behind FS1, Connector, Public Safety!

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

Award Applications are open!

May 12th NC Tech Association Outlook for Tech!    9 am- 3 pm.

https://business.morrisvillechamber.org/events/details/chamber-day-of-service-april-2022-2464

Save the Date: May 16th Spring Fest from 4 pm to 7 pm at Town Hall Drive!  

Thanks for listening to our Radio Nyra Interview with Secretary of State Elaine Marshall! We look forward to our interview with her on POD TV on ROKU tomorrow at 10 am, live on Facebook.  

99.9FMHD4, 101.9 FM and 1490 AM!  Listen at www.radionyrausa.com!

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.