Hassan Khalifeh
Author's Posts
Dearborn prepares new 911 dispatch center serving Melvindale
August 4th, 20170 DEARBORN — The city is preparing to go live on a newly constructed 911 dispatch center that will serve residents in Dearborn and Melvindale. The center, located on the second floor of the Dearborn Administrative Center on Michigan Ave., is part of a consolidation project made possible by a State of Michigan Competitive Grant...
Advocates work to reignite dwindling Palestine-related activism in Metro Detroit
July 27th, 20170 DEARBORN — The outcries of thousands of Arab and Muslim American men, women and children from outside Dearborn’s City Hall could once be heard throughout the nation. While demonstrating in a mosaic of green, red and white, Dearborn’s Arab Americans were branding a newfangled Arab unity, amid divisions in their...
Iraqi Consul General: Iraqi Americans celebrate victory over ISIS, healthier U.S.-Iraqi ties
July 21st, 20170 SOUTHFIELD — The liberation of Mosul from ISIS was a formidable victory for Iraq. But for Iraqi Americans, it was an exhilarating and unifying experience during a time of great scrutiny. The extremist group had left a trail of devastation wherever they set camp and strained relations between Western and Arab World...
Muslim majority Hamtramck City Council appoints Christian woman as city manager
July 14th, 20176 HAMTRAMCK — In 2015, Hamtramck became the first city in the United States to elect a Muslim majority to its city council. While many right wing pundits charged that the council would enact Sharia (Islamic law) at its first opportunity, the contrary occurred. When Acting City Manager Katrina Powell's two and a half year contract...
Hamtramck elections draw more Arab American candidates, but challenges lie ahead
July 14th, 20170 HAMTRAMCK — As Michiganders mull over who to elect or reelect to various government positions, a town with a growing Arab American population is also preparing for the upcoming elections. Hamtramck is facing shifting demographics, reflecting that of its neighbors, Dearborn and Dearborn Heights. It's also where an unprecedented...
AAPAC endorses mayoral candidates Jim Parrelly in Dearborn and Dan Paletko in Dearborn Heights
July 14th, 20171 DEARBORN — After a lengthy process, the Arab American Political Action Committee (AAPAC) endorsed candidates for various positions in Dearborn and Dearborn Heights' for the August 8 primary elections. For two days, the group interviewed candidates running for mayor and City Council in both cities, and for city clerk in Dearborn....
Local Yemenis feel marginalized as Lebanese brethren gain momentum
July 7th, 20171 DEARBORN — The daughter of Yemeni immigrants who'd fled war and poverty a couple decades ago and found home in Metro Detroit grew up feeling like she always had to prove herself more than others. Hanan Yahya, a 23-year-old recent college graduate and current administrator at a Dearborn-based education organization, said as long as...
A day with Dearborn Rep. Abdullah Hammoud: A young Arab American strives for a more welcoming Michigan
June 30th, 20170 LANSING — On election night last November, Dearbornites celebrated a triumph. Abdullah Hammoud, 27, became the first Arab Muslim male to represent the city in the state legislature. He told The AANews he felt relieved to win the race, but knew that struggle still lay ahead because "Trump might win Michigan." Donald Trump not only...
Dearborn School Board bids former Trustee Mariam Bazzi farewell
June 30th, 20170 DEARBORN — The Dearborn School Board held a farewell ceremony in honor of former President Mariam Bazzi, June 26, before the newest trustee, Celia Nasser, was sworn in. Bazzi served as the president of the Dearborn Board of Education and chair of Henry Ford College's Board of Trustees until her May 22 resignation after Gov. Snyder...
Trustee Hussein Berry sues district over colleague’s appointment
June 30th, 20170 DEARBORN — A member of the Dearborn Board of Education is suing the board and its president over the appointment of the newest trustee. Trustee Hussein Berry announced the lawsuit during the June 26 board meeting after the new trustee, Celia Nasser, was sworn in by 19th District Court Chief Judge Sam Salamey. The lawsuit comes on...
Dearborn School Board appoints new trustee despite bitter process
June 23rd, 20171 DEARBORN — The process to appoint a successor to replace former Dearborn Board of Education President Mariam Bazzi, who resigned on May 22 after she was appointed by Gov. Snyder as a Wayne County Circuit Court Judge, took a dramatic turn Monday night. At the beginning of a packed meeting held at Henry Ford College, Board President...
Activists, officials slam State House committee for passing anti-sanctuary bills
June 16th, 20170 LANSING — Activists and local officials made their final impassioned plea before a Michigan House committee passed bills on Wednesday, June 7 that prevents any city or county from passing "sanctuary" laws. The two bills, introduced by State Reps. Pamela Hornberger (R-Chesterfield Twp.) and Beau LaFave (R-Iron Mountain), passed in...
Interfaith leaders, officials and community display unity at mayor’s iftar
June 13th, 20170 DEARBORN — Elected officials, candidates, community members and organization and religious leaders of different faiths broke bread together at an iftar dinner hosted by Mayor Jack O'Reilly at Byblos Banquet Hall on Wednesday, June 7. The dinner's standing-room-only attendance was a testament to solidarity amid the trying times...
Dearborn School Board to select new trustee on Monday
June 9th, 20170 DEARBORN — On Tuesday, June 6, The Dearborn Board of Education interviewed six candidates seeking to fill the vacancy left by former trustee Mariam Bazzi, who resigned on May 22 following her appointment by Governor Snyder as a judge in the Wayne County Circuit Court. The new trustee will be elected by the board though a majority...
Dearborn’s decaying alleys: Don’t expect more than patching
June 2nd, 20171 DEARBORN — Amid significant plans to pull the city into the future, forgotten remnants are driving it back to a history paved by segregation. Explicit disparities between Dearborn's west side and the east side have long been the proverbial elephant in the room. Michiganders contend that infrastructure conditions vary greatly......
Dearborn pastry chef makes national culinary semifinals
May 26th, 20173 DEARBORN — For five years, Eater, a popular online magazine for foodies and restaurant obsessives, has been on the hunt for the best and brightest in the industry. The publication holds an annual Young Guns competition that features rising stars under 30 or those who have less than five years' of experience, but "exhibit the...
A view from the bench: Spending the day with Dearborn Judge Gene Hunt
May 19th, 20170 DEARBORN — In the chambers of newly minted 19th District Court Judge Gene Hunt, music from counter-culture America echoed off walls adorned with signed portraits of The Beatles, of his children and Fordson High School football teams he used to coach. It had only been 112 days since Hunt was invested as a judge, yet he appeared......
Male circumcision: Outdated tradition or necessary medical procedure?
May 12th, 201715 There was a festive spirit in a Syrian neighborhood, decades before children were acquainted with desolation — a young boy was growing fretful as the moment for a special occasion approached. An entire neighborhood, where mere residence equaled family, knew why Mohamad, 12, along with a few of his brothers and cousins, were going to...
Community organizers honor McQuade and Rosen at farewell dinner
May 5th, 20170 DEARBORN — The Arab American community held a farewell dinner in honor of former U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade and retired Chief Judge Gerald Rosen, both of the Eastern District of Michigan, Thursday, April 27 at La Pita Banquet Hall in Dearborn. City and federal officials, judges, activists and Arab American businessmen paid...
Middle Eastern Census category closer to reality
May 5th, 20171 DEARBORN — Decades of efforts by Arab American organizations are paying off, as the U.S. Census Bureau officially approved a category that counts residents of Middle Eastern and North African origins (MENA) on the 2020 census. After the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) welcomed public comments last October regarding the MENA...
Snyder appoints Mariam Bazzi as Wayne County Circuit Court judge
May 5th, 20170 LANSING — Gov. Snyder has appointed Mariam Bazzi to the Third Circuit Court in Wayne County. "Mariam Bazzi's commitment to her community and the law makes her a natural pick for the Wayne County Circuit Court," Snyder said in a statement. "Mariam brings with her to the bench years of experience in complex areas of the law and a......
Coleman Young II aims to reinvent Detroit through his father’s legacy
April 29th, 20171 DETROIT — It's not uncommon for the children of influential figures to dedicate their careers to ensuring their parents' legacies are kept alive, but State Senator Coleman Young II (D-Detroit) made an audacious move in announcing his candidacy for Detroit mayor. Young, whose term ends next year, is the son of former Detroit Mayor...
Dearborn Heights elections feature unprecedented number of Arab Americans
April 28th, 20170 DEARBORN HEIGHTS — Following the April 25 filing deadline for municipal elections, residents have a clearer picture of who might be leading their city. Dearborn Heights is facing shifting demographics, reflecting that of its neighbor, Dearborn, where half of the 26 candidates for city positions are Arab Americans and where the......
Lebanese American astronomer helped discover seven Earth-like planets
April 21st, 20170 Imagine standing atop a mountain, where ridges, valleys and lakes in a red desert landscape unfold. Look up and you recognize similar terrain — mountainous landscapes and water on several surfaces hovering above. No, you are not looking through a telescope, standing in the middle of an Arizona desert or in a science fiction...
City to shut down third west Dearborn bar in recent months
April 21st, 20170 DEARBORN — Another west Dearborn bar is facing efforts to shut it down following scrutiny from the City Council, which stemmed from a rash of violent episodes outside the business. City Council President Pro Tem Thomas Tafelski charged last Sunday that the Post Bar is a "public nuisance", heralding that it could become the fourth......
