The Arab American News Staff
Author's Posts
Summer property tax bills to include corrected school levies
June 14th, 20240 DEARBORN —While Dearborn Public Schools is only collecting 2.3352 mills of its recently reapproved operating millage, some property owners in Dearborn and Dearborn Heights will see higher rates this summer after it was discovered that the tax was left off some bills last year. For the 2024-25 tax cycle, the district’s operating...
Dearborn Public School Trustee Jim Thorpe appointed to volunteer state board
June 12th, 20240 DEARBORN - Dearborn Public School Trustee Jim Thorpe has been appointed to help govern a statewide organization for school board members. The Michigan Association of School Boards appointed Thorpe to its Board of Governors as a representative for District 8. His fellow trustees on the Dearborn Public Schools Board of Education had...
Aetna donates $60,000 to support culturally-informed services for diverse communities in Southeast Michigan
June 4th, 20240 DETROIT — Aetna Better Health of Michigan, a CVS Health® company, announced that Aetna made donations totaling $60,000 to ACCESS (the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services) and Centro Multicultural La Familia to provide culturally-informed services, workshops and resources for under-resourced communities in Southeast...
Next Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission virtual town hall meeting to explain proposed Senate maps
June 4th, 20240 WHO: The Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (MICRC) will host another virtual town hall meeting on Thursday, June 6 to provide details about election district maps for the Michigan Senate. WHAT: Commissioners will share insight about how 12 draft maps for Senate districts 1, 3, 6, 8, 10, and 11 were drawn. In...
U.S. Customs and Border Protection offers helpful travel tips ahead of Hajj travel
June 4th, 20240 DETROIT – The U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Office of Field Operations reminds travelers preparing for their pilgrimage to the Hajj to be aware of important travel tips to help ensure a smooth return into the United States. Travelers should familiarize themselves with current money reporting requirements and be...
Progress Michigan opposes DTE Energy rate hike amid persistent power outages
May 31st, 20240 LANSING — On Wednesday, Progress Michigan voiced its firm opposition to the recent proposal by DTE Energy for its nearly half-billion dollar rate increase highlighted in Bridge Michigan. This comes at a time when Michigan already ranks among the top three states for both the frequency and duration of power outages, despite residents...
Veteran State Department official resigns: The Biden administration “twisting the facts” on Gaza
May 31st, 20240 A career State Department official has resigned from her post under the Biden administration on Tuesday after disagreeing with a U.S. report that concluded Israel was not impeding on aid flow into Gaza. Stacy Gilbert, who served as the senior civilian-military advisor to the State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration...
University of Michigan graduates walk out during commencements protesting for Palestine
May 24th, 20240 ANN ARBOR — Graduates at the University of Michigan walked out during the commencement ceremony, displaying their support for Palestinians. Students at institutions across the nation have engaged in forms of protest on their c0llege campuses over the last several weeks. The protesting graduates wore kaffiyehs and mortarboards and...
Former state employee sentenced for using state vehicles for personal use
May 24th, 20240 LANSING – Last Friday, Rufus Chappell, 64, of Farmington Hills, was sentenced before Judge Mariam Bazzi in Wayne County's Third Circuit Court to three years’ probation and restitution in the amount of $47,214.85 to the Unemployment Insurance Agency after a jury found the former state employee guilty of embezzlement in April,...
July 23 is deadline to file to run for the Dearborn Public Schools Board of Education
May 24th, 20240 DEARBORN – Two seats on the Dearborn Public Schools Board of Education are up for election in November. Interested candidates have until July 23 at 4 p.m. to file their paperwork with the Dearborn City Clerk’s Office. Packets with the required paperwork can be picked up at the City Clerk’s Office, 16901 Michigan Ave., or at...
Dearborn Heights Mayor Bill Bazzi honored by International Great Lakes-Saint Lawrence Cities Initiative
May 24th, 20240 MONTREAL – The international Great Lakes-Saint Lawrence Cities Initiative recently honored Dearborn Heights Mayor Bill Bazzi as its 2024 U.S. Member of the Year. The award comes in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the organization's mission of promoting access to clean, safe and affordable water for all residents of the...
Pro-Palestinian protests and encampments sweep campuses of major universities across the nation
April 26th, 20240 INTIFADA ON CAMPUSES College campuses have become breeding grounds for pro-Palestine protests. Student protesters have continued to set up encampments at their universities and display their support for Palestinians and against Israeli aggressions. Students are also demanding that their universities divest from companies that...
Dearborn neighborhood pools to receive major upgrades for the first time in 70 years
April 12th, 20240 DEARBORN – Three city-owned neighborhood pools will undergo major renovations for the first time since their construction in the 1950s. On Tuesday, April 9, the City Council unanimously approved a $5,371,430 contract to overhaul public pools and bathhouses at Ten Eyck, Lapeer and Summer Stephens Parks beginning in May. “With...
Statewide Tornado Drill Scheduled for March 20
March 18th, 20240 LANSING — Governor Whitmer has declared March 17-23 as Michigan’s Severe Weather Awareness Week, and the Michigan State Police, Emergency Management and Homeland Security Division (MSP/EMHSD) is calling on residents to act by participating in a voluntary statewide tornado drill at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, March 20. “Last August,...
Dearborn Police make arrest in violent home invasion
March 18th, 20240 DEARBORN – On March 17, at approximately 2 p.m., Dearborn Police officers responded to a residence near Southfield Rd and Outer Dr following a reported home invasion and assault. Upon arrival, officers discovered two elderly female residents who had been severely abused and sexually assaulted by an unknown adult male who illegally......
Protesters gather in Hollywood calling for permanent ceasefire outside of Academy Awards
March 15th, 20240 HOLLYWOOD — Protesters in Hollywood filled the streets the night of the Academy Awards, denouncing the United States' funding of the genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. The protest, near the Dolby Theatre, was organized by various organizations, including the U.S. Palestinian Community Network, Centro CSO, Black Lives Matter LA,...
World Food Program executive director says famine in Gaza is approaching; aid urgently needed
March 15th, 20240 The United Nations has condemned Israel's intentional starvation of Palestinians in Gaza, declaring that famine is imminent. Following an unwarranted and violent massacre of Palestinians retrieving flour from aid trucks, the United Nations experts said that “Israel is not respecting its international legal obligations, is not......
Dearborn Police seek to identify individual involved in home invasion; ask residents to exercise caution
March 6th, 20240 DEARBORN – The Dearborn Police Department is seeking the community’s assistance identifying an individual involved in a home invasion. On March 4, at approximately 8 p.m., the unidentified man approached the front door of a residence in the 7600 block of Barrie. He activated the video doorbell and attempted to open the locked...
Poll: Voters support the U.S. calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and conditioning military aid to Israel
March 1st, 20240 A new survey from Data for Progress asked likely U.S. voters about various foreign policy issues, particularly related to the ongoing war on Gaza. When asked if they approve or disapprove of the way Joe Biden is handling the Israel-Palestine conflict, voters disapprove by a -21-point margin, with 57 percent disapproving and 36 percent...
U.S. vetoes United Nations Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire
February 23rd, 20240 The United States vetoed a draft United Nations Security Council resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Israeli war on Gaza. The U.S. instead called for a temporary ceasefire associated and directly linked to the release of the Hamas-held hostages. The resolution, drafted by Algeria, received votes in favor...
Dearborn Public Health launches city-wide air quality monitoring program
February 23rd, 20240 DEARBORN – The Dearborn Department of Public Health, with the support of the MiNextCities, announced the placement of 10 air quality monitors throughout the city in partnership with JustAir, a Michigan-based startup. Using a publicly available dashboard that is also available in Arabic, residents can monitor air quality in real-time......
Dearborn Police make arrest for aggravated indecent exposure; seeking to identify victims
February 21st, 20240 DEARBORN – On Friday, February 16, 31-year-old Detroit resident Steven Simmons was arraigned before Judge Mark Somers of the 19th District Court on charges of child sexually abusive material, using a computer to commit a crime, aggravated indecent exposure and indecent exposure. The Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office charged Simmons...
Dearborn Heights police officer files lawsuit against the city
February 16th, 20240 DEARBORN HEIGHTS — Police officer Mohamad Bazzy has filed a lawsuit that alleges discrimination because of his race and religion, as well as retaliation, while employed at the Dearborn Heights Police Department. Bazzy, an American Muslim of Lebanese descent, experienced derogatory comments directed at him, investigations that were......
Former Wayne County Circuit Court assistant arraigned on charges alleging embezzlement from judge
January 27th, 20240 LANSING – Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced that Steven Allen, 42, of Detroit, was arraigned Tuesday, Jan. 23, in the 36th District Court in Wayne County on four felonies for forgery, using a computer to commit a crime and allegedly embezzling more than $60,000 from his employer, a sitting Circuit Court...
Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud launches Mayor’s Service Corps program to connect Dearborn teens to service opportunities
January 24th, 20240 DEARBORN – Mayor Abdullah H. Hammoud is launching the city’s first-ever Mayor’s Service Corps in an effort to empower Dearborn teens to make a positive impact through public service. The new program is currently recruiting Dearborn volunteers, ages 16 and above, who are interested in opportunities to serve their neighbors. Youth......
