Holiday banners to be posted in English and Arabic in Dearborn

DEARBORN — In celebration of the holiday season, 90 decorative banners are to be posted back to back on 45 street lamps along Warren Avenue this weekend featuring greetings in English and Arabic.

The Arab American News, Dish Network and ART TV are sponsoring the project with the help of the city of Dearborn.

Osama Siblani, publisher of The Arab American News said he organized the effort to offer season’s greetings to passers-by on behalf of the Arab American community.

“We wanted to make sure that the Arab American community sends its warmest greetings for the holidays for the residents and neighbors of Dearborn,” he said.

City looking to boost development in Dearborn’s south end

DEARBORN — The city is in the process of establishing a corridor development authority for the Dix-Vernor area of the city’s south end.

Dearborn Mayor Jack O’Reilly addresses a south end crowd at the American Moslem Society on proposed development projects.                    PHOTO: Nasser Muhsin

“It became clear that there was no association there,” he said. “State law allowed for the creation of a corridor development authority… It’s really a way of helping all the merchants get together and get better organized.”

Major road improvements, better landscaping and safer crosswalks around Salina School could come of the effort, O’Reilly said.

The mayor spoke to a crowd at the American Moslem Society, a 71 year-old fixture in that neighborhood, on Dec. 9 in a public meeting about proposed projects that could come of the effort.

He said it would take about a year for the authority to become official, but that the city has been will continue to engage the south end community in making safety and service improvements.

Award nomination, scholarship application deadlines approaching

The American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee Michigan is accepting nominations for its annual Educator of the Year and Young Leadership awards, to be presented at the group’s annual Martin Luther King Scholarship banquet Jan. 29.

Send nominations to adcmichigan@adc.org by Jan. 8, 2010

Applications for the group’s scholarship essay contest is Jan. 18, 2010.

Email dhabhab@adc.org for application information.

New Year’s Eve celebrations planned throughout region

A number of New Year’s Eve celebrations tailor-made for Arab Americans, complete with Middle Eastern music and American traditions, are scheduled throughout the region.

Local singers Bassam Saleh and Emad Batayeh are to perform in Dearborn at Byblos Banquet Hall, 7258 Chase Road, in a party scheduled to start at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $75. Call 313.584.1234.

Local singer Usama Baalbaki is to perform at St. George Cultural Center, 2160 E Maple Rd in Troy. Tickets are $100. The party starts at 8:30 p.m. Call 313.522.4700.

Local singers Maher Halabi, Fatiha, Mahmoud Beydoun and the Layalina Dance Troupe are scheduled at Greenfield Manor, 4770 Greenfield Road in Dearborn. Tickets are $50. Doors open at 8:30 p.m. Call 313.995.8263.

In Livonia, singer Ali Barada is to perform at St. Mary’s Cultural Center, 18100 Merriman Rd., at a $100-ticket party starting at 8 p.m. Call 248.345.1780.

At Bint Jebail Cultural Center, 6220 Miller Rd. in Dearborn, a DJ will provide entertainment in a non-alcoholic, non-smoking environment. Call 313.584.0011.

Singers Amalia Kaddo, Nasser Deeb and Tony Madi are scheduled in Detroit at St. Maron Banquet Center, 11466 Kercheval St. Tickets are $60. Doors open at 8 p.m. Call 248.910.1011

Lebanese Canadian singer Soumaya Aziz is to perform in Flint at St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church, 5191 Lennon Rd., in a party beginning at 7 p.m. Call Amjad Ishak at 810.691.0933.