Author's Posts
Clerks can now start processing absentee ballots early in certain Michigan cities
October 6th, 20200 LANSING — A new bill allow clerks in certain cities or townships to begin processing absent voter (AV) ballots prior to election day. Governor Whitmer signed Michigan Senate Bill 757 alongside Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson on Tuesday. The bill also requires clerks to now notify voters of any reason their vote won’t be counted...
MI health department’s new order says gatherings still restricted, face masks required
October 5th, 20200 LANSING — Michigan main health authority has stepped into the ring, now that the state’s Supreme Court has deemed all of Governor Whitmer’s COVID-19 related executive orders since the April extension of the state of emergency unconstitutional. Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) Director Robert Gordon has...
Whitmer asks Supreme Court to clarify if ruling against her goes into effect immediately
October 5th, 20200 LANSING — Governor Whitmer’s administration is asking for clarification from the Michigan Supreme Court after it decided last Friday that her extensions of the state of emergency and subsequent executive orders concerning COVID-19 were unconstitutional. Whitmer said previously that legally her orders would stay in effect for at...
New poll shows increased Muslim political engagement; similarities with Americans along racial lines
October 4th, 20200 WASHINGTON, D.C. — This week, the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU) published its fifth annual poll, analyzing attitudes and policy preferences on issues concerning American Muslims across faith and non-faith groups. The American Muslim Poll 2020: Amid Pandemic and Protest covers important issues such as Muslim...
Peters clinches AAPAC endorsement, talks environment, foreign policy, community
October 3rd, 20200 DEARBORN — With the November election now a month away, U.S. Senator Gary Peters is in a race to maintain his seat for another term against conservative, Trump-backed John James. Several polls, including RealClear and Reuters, puts Peters ahead of James. Peters has a history of direct engagement with the Arab American community,...
Whitmer loses legal battle over emergency powers, but has other options
October 3rd, 20200 LANSING - After months of legal back and forth, the Michigan Supreme Court has finally deemed Governor Whitmer's continued state of emergency in Michigan unconstitutional. The drama began with Whitmer leveraging decades-old laws to give herself emergency powers and bypass the legislature when extending her original state of emergency...
Local news anchor Josh Landon speaks about his estranged father, struggles to find acceptance with his Lebanese family
October 2nd, 20206 DEARBORN — Many in Metro Detroit know Josh Landon as a charismatic 36-year-old FOX 2 News early morning news anchor. Raised in Detroit’s east side, Landon began his professional reporting career early in life and worked for many years in several cities, including Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Fort Myers and Miami, Florida and Richmond,...
House passes updated Heroes Act, Dingell-led priorities included in bill
October 2nd, 20200 WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives voted in support of updated legislation to address the continued COVID-19 public health crisis and provide desperately needed support for struggling families and essential workers. The package includes funds for testing and tracing measures, support for frontline...
Whitmer extends state of emergency, issues several executive orders
September 29th, 20200 LANSING — Governor Whitmer is extending her state of emergency order for Michigan until October 27. Under the state of emergency, Whitmer will maintain executive decision-making powers as it relates to public health during the COVID-19 crisis. Whitmer also announced on Wednesday the extension of four executive orders: One allowing...
Scams flourish while economic desperation rises amid pandemic
September 27th, 20200 With the rise in unemployment and general economic insecurity brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, federal and state authorities have been tracking increased instances of consumer scams. Adding to an already tragic situation, scammers prey on the desperation of those whose means of living are halted by mass economic shut-downs all...
AAPAC endorses candidates for the November election, supports Biden for president
September 26th, 20201 DEARBORN — On Thursday, members of the Arab American Political Action Committee (AAPAC) voted on several endorsements for various national and local candidates. Formed in 1998 by a group of Arab American professionals, AAPAC is a non-partisan political organization that encourages Arab American participation in the political...
AAPAC endorses Biden/Harris ahead of November election
September 24th, 20200 DEARBORN — Today, September 24, 2020, the Arab American Political Action Committee (AAPAC) voted to endorse Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden for president of the United States of America. AAPAC members encourage the Arab American community to protect our democracy and the U.S. institutions and cast a vote for...
Whitmer and NY Governor Cuomo call for congressional investigation into Trump’s pandemic response
September 24th, 20200 LANSING — Governor Whitmer has joined New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in calling for a Congressional oversight investigation into the Trump administration’s politicization of the U.S. government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The pair say the administration has impeded the country’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The...
Michigan’s Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission begins work
September 24th, 20200 LANSING — The state’s newly-formed Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission convened for its inaugural meetings over Zoom last Thursday and Friday. The 13 randomly selected commissioners sat for agenda and orientation discussions. Those orientation materials, YouTube links of the meetings and a list of the selected...
Hamtramck Council petition aims to recall Councilman Ian Perrotta
September 22nd, 20202 HAMTRAMCK — Almost a month after censuring Councilman Ian Perrotta, some Hamtramck Council members are now taking steps to remove him from office. A press release put out by Councilman Mohammed Hassan says six current and former Hamtramck City Council members are joining "community leaders and residents" to recall the two-term......
Young Arab American gets fired after stopping purse snatcher who stole from elderly woman
September 22nd, 20200 VERMONT — Amir Shedyak, 20, a four-year employee of an Essex supermarket, stopped a thief who was stealing a woman’s purse. His reward: Being fired by his employer. Shedyak is a volunteer firefighter and was once the Hannaford Supermarket’s employee-of-the-month. He was beginning his shift when a man approached him and said an...
Local activists react to U.S backed normalization treaties struck between UAE, Bahrain and Israel
September 18th, 20200 DEARBORN — So-called “peace agreements” between two Arab countries, the UAE and Bahrain, with Israel were signed on Tuesday, in a ceremony at the White House hosted by President Trump. The normalization efforts between governments of the two Arab countries and Israel carried little consent from the people of those nations and......
Henry Ford College offers free-tuition program for COVID-19 essential workers, what you need to know
September 17th, 20200 DEARBORN — Henry Ford College (HFC) in Dearborn is one of the participants in Michigan’s tuition-free program, Futures for Frontliners, which will fund education for workers who performed essential duties during the COVID-19 pandemic. The program, inspired by the World War II GI bill, will offer tuition-free college opportunities...
Benson confident in state’s election integrity, urges early voting
September 16th, 20200 LANSING — Governor Whitmer took time to discuss the upcoming Nov. 3 general elections at her weekly COVID-19 live address from Lansing on Wednesday. Joining her were the state’s health chief, Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, and Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson. Benson appeared confident in the state’s ability to get through a...
Tlaib joins 173 congressmembers urging DHS to investigate allegations of hysterectomies in Georgia facility
September 16th, 20200 WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit) is joining 173 members of Congress to call on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Inspector General to open an investigation after a whistleblower complaint alleged mass hysterectomies were being performed on women detained at the privately-run Irwin County Detention Center...
Tlaib, Dingell respond to Amazon calling the police on their visit to Romulus facility
September 15th, 20200 ROMULUS — U.S. Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit) and Debbie Dingell (D-Dearborn) responded this week to an incident at the Amazon fulfillment center in Romulus, where the company called the police on them while they waited to inspect the facility for COVID-19 safety. The pair had been invited to look at conditions at the center by......
Dearborn Heights D7 schools COVID-19 update: 1 student, 1 staff positive
September 14th, 20200 DEARBORN HEIGHTS — The Dearborn Heights D7 School District has launched a new COVID-19 dashboard on its website, updating families of the latest on confirmed COVID-19 cases in the district. The online tool shows that as of Sept. 11, one student and one staff member are confirmed positive for the coronavirus. As of that date, 18...
PFAS contamination found at Ford and AK Steel’s Rouge manufacturing site
September 11th, 20200 DEARBORN — A report by The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE), shows PFAS contamination in the groundwater and storm water at the Rouge Manufacturing Complex (RMC) in southeast Dearborn. Both Ford Motor Company and AK Steel conduct manufacturing operations on the site, which is bordered by the I-94......
Hamtramck public schools responds to retaliation lawsuit by former vice principal
September 11th, 20200 HAMTRAMCK — A former vice principal from the Hamtramck Public School District (HPS) has filed a lawsuit against her employer for alleged retaliatory acts against her that she says violated her employment rights. The complaint, filed in the Eastern District Court, says Christina Adamczyk, a Sterling Heights resident, was subjected to...
Trump visits Michigan, predicts victory, bashes Whitmer, says country has turned corner on COVID
September 11th, 20200 FREELAND – At a rally at an airport outside Saginaw on Thursday, Trump told thousands of supporters that he was confident he would secure Michigan once again, come November. Trump won Michigan by the narrowest margin in Michigan presidential election history in 2016. Michigan is a key battleground state for the November presidential......
