🌳 Durham Man Dies After Illness in ICE Custody
TL;DR — 3 Things to Know This Week
- A Durham man died July 24 after developing leukemia during three weeks in ICE detention in Georgia, where he said he was denied medical care despite repeated requests.
- A court order now requires Brenntag to submit a plan by Sept. 1 for stopping pollution leaks into an East Durham creek that drains toward Jordan Lake.
- Durham County's 2026 property tax rate rose to 57.92 cents per $100 of value, with bills mailing Aug. 10 and payments due without penalty through Jan. 5, 2027.
Durham Man Dies After Reporting Lack of Medical Care in ICE Custody
Prisciliano Trejo Ricano called his family daily from a Georgia detention center, describing symptoms he said went untreated.
- Trejo Ricano, who came to the U.S. at age 3 and lived in Durham, was arrested June 19 and transferred to the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, where he spent three weeks.
- He told relatives he was coughing up blood, in severe pain, and had a bruise that wouldn't heal. On Facebook on July 10, he wrote that he still hadn't received treatment or medication for a severe sore throat and migraines.
- A lawyer notified his family on July 16 that he had been moved to intensive care in Atlanta. His relatives drove four to five hours but initially couldn't see him because he remained in ICE custody until lawyers and ICE reached an agreement to release him.
- He died July 24 at a hospital in Augusta. His family has started a GoFundMe for funeral costs.
Durham Council Splits 4-3 on Self-Storage Annexation Near US 70
Durham City Council Regular Meeting · August 3, 2026
A vote-tally mix-up forced a redo, but the council still landed 4-3 on annexing nearly 30 acres for a self-storage project along a corridor the city has planned for a boulevard and bus rapid transit.
- Council approved the Leesville Storage Two annexation and utility agreement 4-3, with Mayor Pro Tem Javiera Caballero, Nate Baker, and Chelsea Cook opposed. The applicant said the annexation became necessary after site-plan review found the self-storage project needed fire sprinklers, requiring a city water and sewer connection.
- Baker questioned why a fire-sprinkler requirement justified annexing nearly 30 acres, and Caballero questioned whether self-storage was the right use for commercial land the city has envisioned for a boulevard and eventual bus rapid transit. Staff said the area's zoning permits personal storage.
- The council separately approved annexing 4.6 acres on Andrews Chapel Road for 28 townhomes, 5-2, with Burris and Baker opposed. A resident argued the city's fee calculation undercounted the project's impact on Durham Public Schools by computing fees as if only 6 of the 28 units would be built.
- Mayor Williams defended the city's removal of an encampment from Oakwood Park, saying $4.5 million moved unhoused residents into hotel housing, and said he intends to address the Fayetteville Street encampment next. Council also let a $40,000 Parks and Recreation request to expand the Holiday Parade and Open Streets programming go unfunded, meaning both events run at last year's reduced level.
What to watch: Baker has requested a council presentation on how the federal Road to Housing Act, which offers grants from $250,000 to $10 million for cities adding housing supply, could apply in Durham.
Quick Hits
- Durham County will mail 2026 property tax bills on Aug. 10 under a countywide rate of 57.92 cents per $100 of property value, up from 55.42 cents last year. Payments are due Sept. 1 but accepted without penalty through Jan. 5, 2027.
- Durham is drafting a nonbinding Small Area Plan for Lakewood Shopping Center and the surrounding West End and Lyon Park neighborhoods, where residents want to keep Food Lion and The Scrap Exchange while adding affordable housing and parks. An in-person session runs Aug. 12 and a virtual one Aug. 20.
- Durham Tech received a $1 million grant from the Lowe's Foundation to expand electrical, HVAC, and plumbing training, bringing skilled trades classes to its Orange County Campus for the first time.
- Texas-style barbecue restaurant East of Texas opened this week at American Tobacco Campus, bringing brisket, birria and mole brisket tacos, and seven margarita varieties from the Winston-Salem restaurant group behind The Porch.
- A court order requires Brenntag Mid-South to stop polluted discharges from its East Durham facility and submit a pollution control plan by Sept. 1. The company missed state deadlines since January and continued discharging polluted water through May. The contaminated stream flows past Burton Magnet Elementary School toward Jordan Lake, a Triangle drinking-water source.
- Durham Next awarded $535,000 to 11 festivals and community projects in its first Community Investment Program round, with American Dance Festival, Full Frame, and Parrish Street Ride, Run, Walk each receiving $100,000.
- Chicken Salad Chick opened its first Durham location on Tuesday, with the first customer in line earning free chicken salad weekly for a year and the next 99 getting it monthly.
Events
Hayti Black Business Expo
Sat, August 8 · Hayti Heritage Center
Stephen Wilson Jr
Sat, August 8 · Red Hat Amphitheater
Summer Concert Series in the Park with Ally J
Sat, August 8 · Duke Park
Roaming Readers: Historical Fiction
Sun, August 9 · Horseshoe RTP
Tattooing in North Carolina: An Evening of Tattoo History
Sun, August 9 · Welcome Tattoo NC
The Wallflowers
Sun, August 9 · Carolina Theatre
Durham Bulls vs. Memphis Redbirds
Tue, August 11 · Durham Bulls Athletic Park
Simple Plan
Sat, August 15 · Red Hat Amphitheater
Featured Local Jobs
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Durham County
Runs Durham County's regenerative demonstration farm, tending greenhouses and fields while leading community workshops and farm tours.
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Genomics
Analyzes genomic data to turn genetic findings into drug-discovery insights for pharma partners.
Development Director
Hayti Heritage Center · Durham, NC
Leads fundraising and major-gift strategy for the 135-year-old Hayti Heritage Center, a landmark of Durham's Hayti District.
Durham's Talking About
New photos are circulating of Lake Michie, Durham's water reservoir, taken July 30.
New pics of Durham's Water Reservoir, Lake Michie - 7/30 · r/bullcity