Morrisville Carpenter Road Project begins on Jan 25th! and provide your input through the 2021 Bond Referendum Input Portal by Sunday, January 31. 

Receive Text Alerts for Morrisville Carpenter Road: 

Bond Portal: 

https://www.townofmorrisville.org/government/2021-general-obligation-bond-referendum/-fbclid-IwAR20OWQFmHNtjzl3FUdoeuy8Je3uLE4e5Cm2VMTDb5zeJ_hUWo1SjtI5wOs. 

Executive Orders are aimed at expanding food assistance for tens of millions of Americans and launching a process that will require federal contractors to pay their workers a $15 minimum wage and provide emergency paid leave.

Join a Wake County Vaccination Briefing on Friday, January 22 at 7 p.m on the Vaccine Distribution Process.   

The event will feature Wake County Pharmacy Director Jason Wittes and Wake County Chief Operating Officer Johnna Sharpe, who will provide an update on vaccine distribution. They will also do a brief question and answer session following the presentation for questions submitted in advance. 

Register at: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_XHDzpiHhSvudhfoiJ76Jaw

Join me for a Virtual Fireside Chat on Immigration Reform and Changes in the Biden Administration with Jeremy Robbins, Executive Director of New American Economy. Join us on Friday, January 22, 2021 starting at 4:00pm EST.

Streamed Live on https://www.facebook.com/steve.s.rao and will be broadcast on Radio Mirchi (99.9FMHD4, 101.9 FM and 1490 AM)

Register at: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_NV8z-jpzSWqTXIy1RLpnoA

North Carolina has administered 569,334 total doses of vaccine, the 10th most in the nation by that measure. The state has administered 38.2 % of its doses that it has received, ranking it 47th in the country.

WAKE COUNTY:  

Wake County Covid Vaccine Hotline is open!  Call (919) 250-1515 to set up your appointment and go online to fill out request form!  and visit https://covid19.ncdhhs.gov/findyourspot !   You can fill out the wait list and you will be texted when vaccine is available after you fill out the on line form. https://covid19.wakegov.com/wake-county-public-health-vaccine-request-form/  

For answers to Durham County COVID-19 vaccine questions, call our hotline at 919-635-8150 or email us at DCoCOVIDvaccines@dconc.gov. 2-1-1 or 888-892-1162.

To help accelerate vaccinations, state health leaders teamed with NCDOT to make sure everybody can get transportation to a vaccination site.  Each local transit agency will receive state funding to accomplish that goal. For details, reach out to your local transit agency.

Johnson and Johnson Plans to have 10 million doses to United States by April. 

President Joe Biden asserted that "democracy has prevailed” after he was inaugurated the 46th president of the United States by Chief Justice John Roberts, calling for Americans to unite and confront the perilous challenges before them: the coronavirus pandemic, economic turmoil and divisions over American leadership. 

Biden takes the helm at a precarious moment in U.S. history, as the nation struggles with a virus that has claimed more than 400,000 lives. He enters the White House amid fallout from a violent attack on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of supporters of former President Donald Trump, underscoring tensions in politics that Biden must navigate if he hopes to advance his ambitious agenda.

"This is America's day. This is democracy's day. A day of history and hope, of renewal and resolve," Biden declared in his 21-minute inaugural address.

Despite the absence of cheering supporters, Biden struck a hopeful tone throughout his first address as president, hitting on his campaign theme of unity and vowing his “whole soul” is invested in trying to bring people together. Touching on an idea often raised by past presidents but largely missing over the past four years, Biden pledged to be a "president for all Americans," fighting as hard for those who didn't vote for him as those who did. 

Biden asked American to put an end to this uncivil war, pitting red against blue and rural against urban. 

On a personal note, Joe Biden’s inauguration represents triumph over adversity and the payoff that can come with persistence, having overcome such terrible tragedy in his life and two previous attempts to win the White House.  

We wish him all the best to now help the nation get back up with purpose and a united effort to restore American greatness. 

Vice President Kamala Harris took the oath office in a barrier-breaking ceremony Wednesday, becoming the first woman, first Black American and first South Asian American to hold the office. 

Harris, the daughter of an Indian mother and a Jamaican father, was sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, a trailblazer in her own right as the first Latina justice on the high court.

Dressed in a purple dress and overcoat, the vice president took the oath with her husband and second gentleman Doug Emhoff looking on. Emhoff's two children from his first marriage also were there. After taking the oath, Harris hugged Emhoff and gave a double fist-bump to President Joe Biden. 

Harris used two Bibles, one that belonged to the late civil rights icon and Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, whom Harris has said inspired her career path, and one owned by family friend Regina Shelton, who was like a second mother to Harris and her sister. Harris used Shelton's Bible when she took the oath of office as California attorney general and later as a U.S. senator. 

The crowd of lawmakers, family and friends fell silent as Harris made history, then erupted into applause after she was sworn in. 

"Ready to serve," Harris wrote in her first tweet on the official Vice President Twitter account.

Harris is used to breaking barriers. Before she resigned from her Senate seat on Monday ahead of the inauguration, Harris was one of 10 Black lawmakers and only the second Black woman to serve in the upper chamber. Harris' resignation means no Black women are serving in the U.S. Senate. 

Before she was in the Senate, Harris was the first woman and person of color to be district attorney of San Francisco and, later, California's attorney general. 

In my lifetime, I never thought I would see this day, and I am so proud that our daughters and granddaughters can see that there is no limit to how high they can fly.

President-elect Joe Biden will step into the White House on Wednesday facing an array of crises, from COVID-19 to nationwide tension surrounding racial justice.  

Over the past several weeks, Biden has laid out several things he wants to do in his first 100 days in office. The proposals include tackling the pandemic, reversing immigration policies put in place under President Donald Trump and addressing criminal justice reform. 

On Thursday, Biden laid out a COVID-19 relief package that he hopes to see pass through Congress in the immediate weeks after taking office. 

Biden will soon sign an Executive Order mandating masks in places “where he can under the law,” such as in federal buildings, planes and buses.

Covid Relief Package 

On Thursday, Biden laid out a COVID-19 relief package that he hopes to see pass through Congress in the immediate weeks after taking office. 

The $1.9 trillion plan includes $20 billion for a national vaccination program, $1,400 stimulus checks and raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour. Biden has also pledged to provide 100 million doses of the vaccine during the first 100 days of his administration. 

Biden also said that he wants to begin reopening schools in the first 100 days of his administration. His relief package proposes $130 billion to help schools safely reopen. 

 

Biden has said that his COVID-19 relief plan will help “stimulate the economy," with the help of $1,400 stimulus checks, grants for small businesses and billions for schools to reopen, among other proposals. He will introduce that recovery plan next month during his address to a joint session of Congress.

Biden has also said he will propose a new tax plan that includes raising corporate income taxes to 28%. Currently, the corporate tax rate is 21%, which was set under Trump’s 2017 tax plan. 

Under his tax plan, Biden said no one making less than $400,000 will see their taxes increase, but that a 12.4% Social Security payroll tax will be imposed on those who earn $400,000 or more. 

During his tenure, Trump withdrew the United States from the 2015 Paris Agreement, which focuses on goals to help mitigate climate change.

On the first day of his administration, Biden rejoined the Paris Accords.  

 

Biden has said that within the first 100 days of his administration, he wants to host a climate world summit to “directly engage the leaders of the major greenhouse gas-emitting nations of the world to persuade them to join the United States in making more ambitious national pledges, above and beyond the commitments they have already made.” 

He also pledged on his first day in office he would take actions that require “aggressive methane pollution limits for new and existing oil and gas operations.” He said the goal is to develop “rigorous new fuel economy standards aimed at ensuring 100% of new sales for light- and medium-duty vehicles will be zero emissions and annual improvements for heavy duty vehicles.” 

Biden is already undoing many of the Trump administration’s immigration policies within hour of being sworn in. 

He has issued an executive order on the first day of his presidency to create a federal task force to reunite children with their parents who were separated at the border. As of December, 628 parents who were separated from their children at the border are still missing. 

Trump also faced criticism over conditions for migrants at the border, enacted a travel ban for mostly Muslim-majority countries, and slashed the number of refugees allowed to resettle in the U.S. 

Biden will send a bill to Congress to provide a pathway to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented people in the United States, and will also revoke the travel ban. 

Within the first 100 days of his administration, Biden has said he will stop construction on the border wall at the U.S.-Mexico border by taking away funding.  

Biden last year vowed that in the first 100 days of his administration, he would push to pass the Equality Act, which aims to extend federal protections in the areas of housing, education, credit and services to members of the LGBTQ community. 

Racial Justice 

Amid a nationwide reckoning with systemic racism, Biden has vowed to make racial justice and criminal justice reforms a key part of his administration.

In his first 100 days, Biden has said, he is committed to creating a national police oversight commission.

Last year, the death of George Floyd, a Black Minnesota man who was killed in police custody, spurred protests nationwide and even across the world. Since then, there have been calls for police reform.

"I've long believed we need real community policing. And we need each and every police department in the country to undertake a comprehensive review of their hiring, their training and their de-escalation practices," Biden said in a speech last summer. "And the federal government should give them the tools and resources they need to implement reforms."

Bob and Lauren Butler moved to Morrisville in January 2005. For the last 16 years, they have volunteered at just about every Morrisville event. You may have seen them as Mr. & Mrs. Santa Clause, selling tickets at the East Meets West festival, or sprucing up our Parks and Recreation facilities. Lauren was a member of the Morrisville Performance Measures Advisory Committee and Bob is a long-standing member of the Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources Advisory Committee, often serving as chair. Bob also helped start the Morrisville Veterans Memorial Foundation – a nonprofit organization raising funds to construct a Veterans Memorial at the Indian Creek Park. Bob and Lauren continue to dedicate volunteer hours to keep Morrisville a great place to live.  They are the best neighbors in the world!

Donna was instrumental in creating the Education Garden at the Morrisville Healthy Food Hub and tends to the garden several times a week. Her dedication and perseverance have led to the garden producing food year-round. The food grown at the Garden is donated to non-profit food pantries including Dorcas Ministries. 

While a member of the Morrisville Environment and Stormwater Committee, Donna helped establish the Morrisville Community Garden off Church Street. The Morrisville Community Garden is a nonprofit organization that fosters a cooperative environment for healthy living through educational programs, events, and charitable giving. To learn more about the Morrisville Community Garden or to become a member visit http://www.mcgarden.us/.

For over 20 years Peter Prichard has been a dedicated member of the Morrisville Planning and Zoning Board. For most all his time on the Board, Peter has served as chair. During his long tenure, Peter has led efforts to develop, adopt, and update long-range plans which have brought positive, innovative change to the Town of Morrisville. The countless volunteer hours Peter has given in public service have led to awards and accolades for the Town of Morrisville.

Wake Med Covid 19 Vaccine site: https://www.wakemed.org/patients-and-visitors/covid-19-information/covid-19-vaccine/

UNC Health Covid 19 Vaccine Site: https://www.unchealthcare.org/coronavirus/vaccines/

Duke Health System Covid 19 Site:  https://www.dukehealth.org/covid-19-update/covid-19-vaccine-update

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is partnering with health systems, local health departments and community health centers across the state to host large community vaccine events for people currently eligible to be vaccinated. More than 45,000 vaccines are expected to be given through these events.

“The state will continue to support our local health departments and hospitals to get shots in arms faster,” said NCDHHS Secretary Mandy Cohen, M.D. “These partners were selected because they were able to rapidly increase the number of vaccines they could deliver as part of this effort.”

Partners were selected based on their ability to administer a large number of vaccine doses or to provide access to vaccine doses to marginalized communities. NC Emergency Management and the National Guard are also providing support in some locations. Vaccine events will be held in the following counties:

Some locations are providing the vaccine by appointment only. To learn more about the events, visit the websites of the providers listed above. Their websites can be found, listed by county, at covid19.ncdhhs.gov/findyourspot.

JAN 26th Virtual Town Council Meeting 6 pm   Stream Live at https://www.facebook.com/TownOfMorrisville/.  

Email comments to publicomments@townofmorrisville.org by 3 pm!

Jan 26th NC RIOT Competitive Edge: How Edge Computing Takes Business to the Next Level!   

Sign up at https://riot.org/event/competitive-edge-how-edge-computing-takes-business-to-the-next-level/.

NC Tech Association 2021 Virtual Outlook for Tech Event 8:45 am to 12: 45 pm 

Jan 27 Virtual Breakfast with Cary Mayor at Cary Chamber 8am!  

Register at: https://web.carychamber.com/events/Breakfast-with-the-Mayor-1645/details

Register at:

http://business.morrisvillechamber.org/events/details/30th-annual-meeting-february-2021-2370.  

Join me Sunday 4 PM on Radio Mirchi for another update on local issues.

99.9FM HD4, 101.9 FM and 1490 AM!