Briana Gasorski
Author's Posts
Dearborn public safety chiefs encourage a safe holiday
November 27th, 20200 DEARBORN — In a video posted to the city’s Facebook page, Police Chief Ronald Haddad and the fire department’s Battalion Chief Glenn Owens encouraged residents to have a safe holiday. “We want to remind you that we are in the middle of a COVID crisis,” Haddad said. “And I want to emphasize that only 10 people can be at...
Dearborn Heights welcomes new comptroller
November 27th, 20200 DEARBORN HEIGHTS — With a recent resignation in the Comptroller’s Office, Chuck Bonza has been hired to fill the vacancy. Bonza, a lifelong Dearborn Heights resident, graduated from Crestwood High School in 1977. He then went on to earn his bachelor’s degree in accounting from Ferris State University in the early...
Dearborn Heights mayor files suit against Council chairwoman
November 25th, 20200 DEARBORN HEIGHTS — Mayor Daniel Paletko is suing Council Chairwoman Denise Malinowski-Maxwell for what he calls "illegal and reckless actions." In the lawsuit, Paletko states that the attorneys hired to represent him during the numerous lawsuits back and forth over the last year have still not been paid and alleges that...
With appointment of Danielle Elzayat, Arab Americans gain majority on Crestwood School Board
November 22nd, 20200 DEARBORN HEIGHTS — Danielle Elzayat, a resident of Dearborn Heights since 1995 and the mother of children in the district, has been appointed to the Crestwood School Board. After being inspired by the direction the board has been going in the last year, Elzayat decided to interview for the position. “I’ve been volunteering...
Local hospitals brace for second wave as COVID-19 cases rise
November 22nd, 20200 DEARBORN — With COVID-19 cases seeing record high numbers over the last couple of weeks, local hospitals are bracing for the second wave. The state of Michigan is tracking bed capacity and available personal protection equipment (PPE) on its website and updates the information daily. Statewide, bed occupancy among all hospitals...
Local doctors accused of faking diagnoses to help immigrants obtain citizenship
November 20th, 20200 DETROIT — Two local doctors are being charged in a criminal complaint for their alleged roles in a fraudulent immigration scheme. A psychologist and medical doctor are accused of creating fake medical diagnoses to help immigrants fraudulently obtain their citizenship. United States Attorney Matthew Schneider announced charges...
Beaumont Taylor announces visitor limitations
November 19th, 20200 TAYLOR — Beaumont Hospital in Taylor has announced visitor restrictions amid the rising cases of COVID-19. The Taylor facility is joining the Grosse Pointe, Royal Oak, Dearborn, Trenton, Farmington Hills and Troy locations in their decision to limit visitors. “We’ve had a notable rise in COVID-19 cases in Metro Detroit,”...
Local school leaders respond to new MDHHS orders
November 18th, 20200 With the new Michigan Department of Health and Human Services order calling for high schools to suspend in-person learning, local school districts have been forced to make tough decisions for their districts. The Dearborn Heights District 7 School District had been the only district among Dearborn/Dearborn Heights that had allowed for...
AG Nessel sues Trump administration for neglecting to update national energy efficiency standards
November 18th, 20200 LANSING — Attorney General Dana Nessel has joined 15 other attorneys general in filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration’s Department of Energy (DOE). The lawsuit was filed against the DOE for failing to meet legal deadlines for reviewing and updating national energy efficiency standards for 25 categories of common...
Annual FBI hate crimes report marks 2019 as the “deadliest year on record”
November 18th, 20200 WASHINGTON, D.C. — In an annual hate crimes report released this week, the FBI announced that 2019 saw a record high number of hate crime murders in the United States. Hate crimes are described by the FBI as an offense “motivated by bias toward race, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, sexual orientation, disability, gender and gender...
Lisa Hicks-Clayton sworn in as Dearborn Heights treasurer
November 18th, 20200 DEARBORN HEIGHTS — Former Councilwoman Lisa Hicks-Clayton has officially been sworn in as treasurer. Having run against fellow Councilman Bob Constan, Hicks-Clayton was elected during the Nov. 3 elections, which were certified by Wayne County late Tuesday night. “I just want to say thank you to a lot of people,”...
City of Dearborn announces office closures, revised hours amid COVID-19 pandemic
November 18th, 20200 DEARBORN — While Dearborn Police are set to enforce the mask mandate and other social gathering limitations issued by the Department of Health and Human Services, the city has announced limitations at its city buildings. While the city clerk’s office at the Dearborn Administrative Center (DAC) will be closed to the public until...
Dearborn Heights offering a program to help residents pay their essential bills amid COVID-19 pandemic
November 18th, 20200 DEARBORN HEIGHTS — The city of Dearborn Heights has established a program to assist low to moderate income individuals and families whose income has been negatively affected by COVID-19. The Homeless Prevention Program (HPP) was initiated utilizing CARES Act funding to provide emergency grant payments for bills such as rent or...
Michigan restaurant association sues health department
November 18th, 20200 LANSING — A Michigan restaurant advocacy group is one of three plaintiffs that have filed a lawsuit against the state health department over COVID-19 emergency orders. The lawsuit was filed in federal court by the Michigan Restaurant & Lodging Association and is seeking to overturn restrictions that will impact restaurants and...
FDA allows first rapid test at home; Pfizer to seek clearance for emergency use of vaccines
November 18th, 20200 WASHINGTON, D.C. — Just as the FDA allowed an emergency use rapid at home COVID test, Pfizer announced that it was just days away from requesting emergency use of a vaccine. The announcement from the Food and Drug Administration to allow for rapid COVID testing at home will require a prescription and can be utilized on an emergency......
Residents returning to unemployment urged to reopen previous claims
November 17th, 20200 LANSING — Michigan workers who had returned to work after being on unemployment are urged to reopen their claims online if they are facing temporary unemployment again. The Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) released this information as the state’s COVID-19 restrictions are set to be tightened during a three week “pause”...
Cases against the “Wolverine Watchmen” continue in court
November 17th, 20200 LANSING — Attorney General Dana Nessel’s prosecution against the eight men facing domestic terrorism charges continued in court Friday with a bond hearing for two of the defendants. The charges against the men were put forward after they were found to be involved in an alleged plot to storm the state’s Capitol building and......
Permanent Injunction granted in lawsuit over CARES Act funding for schools
November 17th, 20200 LANSING — A lawsuit co-led by Attorney General Dana Nessel against U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is officially over. The lawsuit co-led by Nessel and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra was against DeVos and her attempt to divert millions of dollars in COVID-19 relief funding from public schools. Judge James Donato...
Attorney General Nessel joins coalition pushing for scientific, medical research funding during COVID-19 pandemic
November 17th, 20200 LANSING — Attorney General Dana Nessel has joined a coalition of 22 attorneys general urging scientific, medical research funding. In a letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and its National Institutes of Health (NIH), the attorneys general urge them to reject recent recommendations made by the Trump...
85,000 essential workers apply for Futures for Frontliners scholarship
November 14th, 20200 LANSING — Since its launch, more than 80,000 essential workers have applied for the Futures for Frontliners scholarship. The Futures for Frontliners scholarship was an initiative put forward as a means of thanking essential workers and help Michigan meet the “Sixty by 30 goal.” The scholarship provides increased opportunity...
Dearborn Heights City Council passes resolution to allow treasurer to establish separate bank accounts
November 14th, 20200 DEARBORN HEIGHTS — The City Council voted to pass a resolution to allow the city treasurer to establish separate bank accounts for restricted and corporate funds. The resolution was put forward by Councilwoman Lisa Hicks-Clayton, who was just elected city treasurer during the Nov. 3 election and comes after Mayor Daniel Paletko......
Schools returning to virtual learning amid spike in COVID-19 cases
November 13th, 20200 LANSING — With COVID cases reaching record daily highs, many schools are experiencing outbreaks and returning to virtual learning as a result. An outbreak is defined by the state as “two or more cases with a link by place and time indicating a shared exposure outside of a household.” The Michigan Department of Health and...
As COVID-19 cases rise, Gov. Whitmer addresses common mistakes people make, while hospital leaders assess the situation
November 13th, 20200 LANSING — Governor Whitmer held a press conference to address the state’s rising COVID-19 cases as the state is reaching record numbers of new cases daily. “We are in the worst part of this pandemic to date,” she said. “This is the moment medical experts have been warning about and dreading since the beginning of the......
Beaumont Health seeking participants for COVID vaccine study
November 12th, 20200 ROYAL OAK — Researchers at Beaumont Hospital are now enrolling patients in a national study of a possible COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine, known as AZD1222, is being tested to determine its safety and effectiveness. Beaumont Department of Medicine Chair Dr. Christopher Carpenter said that Beaumont cared for the most patients...
Crestwood School Board votes to censure Trustee Salwa Fawaz for a second time
November 10th, 20200 DEARBORN HEIGHTS — Having already censured Trustee Salwa Fawaz in September, the Crestwood School Board has voted to censure her again. The censure was put forward by Trustee Sue Kaminsky and supported by Secretary Nadia Berry, and was a result of comments made during an Oct. 28 meeting. On Oct. 28, the board met to approve......
