🌱 Crisis Response Virtual Town Hall + Fire Department Recruitment

Happy Great Poetry Reading Day Durham!

First, today's weather:

Mostly sunny and nice. High: 68 Low: 45.

Here are the top five stories today in Durham:

1. The City of Durham hosted its virtual town hall on Monday, and discussed crisis response pilot programs. The Director of the Community Safety Department, Ryan Smith went over programs and asked for community feedback before the rollout. One of the main points of feedback involved a desire for bilingual responders. The task force plans to hold more town halls once the pilot programs are underway. (CBS17)
2. Tuesday evening storms brought down trees across the Triangle. Durham County firefighters were present using chainsaws to clear trees from Doc Nichols Road. Trees were also brought down near homes in the area. Most of the storms were passed by 8:00pm. No one has been reported injured as a result of the storms. (abc11, WRAL)
3. The suspect in the Friday robbery of a BP on Cheek Road is Durham's featured "Wanted Wednesday." The Durham County Sheriff's office is offering a reward up to $2,000 for information leading to the suspect's arrest. (CBS17, CBS17)
4. The City of Durham Fire Department's recruitment push is underway, and applications are closing on April 30. The City's Fire Department is working to diversify their recruiting class, and add 10 entry-level firefighters. Entry-level firefighters are required to go through 34 weeks of training, and continue on the job training after that. (Spectrum News 1)
5. Judge Michael Robinson has issued an order in the Leandro education lawsuit. The new state budget funded less than $1 billion of the plan for this year and next year, and in his order, Robinson said the state must pay the remaining $785.1 million. The order amends Judge W. David Lee's order to transfer $1.75 billion toward education from three state finance executives to three state agencies. (WRAL)

Today in Durham:

• Rooftop Yoga at The Durham Hotel (12:00pm-1:00pm)
• Brews + Bytes Networking at Boxyard RTP (4:30pm-6:30pm)
• Durham Night Market at American Tobacco Campus (5:00pm-9:00pm) & Thursday Mini Pop-Up at Hi-Wire (6:00pm-8:00pm)
• Trivia at Durty Bull (7:00pm-9:00pm)
• Hayti Lit Book Club at Hayti Heritage Center (7:00pm-8:30pm)

From my notebook:

• It's Great Poetry Reading Day and Living Poetry is the largest group of poets in the Raleigh-Durham area, with a variety of events to get together and read poetry.
• DPAC's community programs will offer discounted tickets for City of Durham residents. (WRAL)
• North Carolina's 4th Congressional District race includes some notable candidates, read up on them with INDY Week.

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Events:

• Prismatica Kaleidoscope Experience: A Color-Filled Exhibition of Lights and Reflections at The Streets at SouthPoint (See schedule)
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Now you're in the loop and ready to start this Thursday off right! See you tomorrow morning for your next update.

— CJ Fullford