Gov. Whitmer announces 45-cent gas tax hike to fund Michigan road projects
March 5th, 20190 LANSING — Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced a 45-cent increase in Michigan's gasoline and diesel taxes to fixed the roads, WILX-TV reported, a plan expected to be phased in later in 2019 and into next year. Whitmer presented the plan as part of her first executive budget to a joint session of the House and Senate...
Dearborn police ask for information regarding fatal shooting
March 2nd, 20190 DEARBORN— On Friday March 1, at approximately 8 p.m., the Dearborn Police Department responded to a report of a shooting in the area of Michigan Avenue and the Southfield Freeway. Police discovered a 28-year-old female Livonia resident suffering from an apparent gunshot wound. Responding officers and Dearborn Fire Department...
Al Shams and New Yasmeen bakeries founder Mohamad Seblini dies at 75, leaves behind legacy of success
March 1st, 20190 DEARBORN HEIGHTS — Mohamad Seblini, the founder of New Yasmeen Bakery in Dearborn and Al Shams Bakery in Dearborn Heights, died at the age of 75 on Tuesday, February 12. Seblini, who established several businesses in the world of education and food service, ranging from the iconic New Yasmeen Bakery in Beirut, Dearborn, Montreal,...
Civil rights activist, local attorney speak out against “terror watch list”
March 1st, 20190 DETROIT — A recent admission by the Department of Homeland security that the federal government has shared names of people on the private terror watch list with more than 1,400 private groups has brought the controversial issue back into the spotlight. While the federal government insists that the list is necessary for protecting...
Arab American driver charged with felonious assault for striking pedestrians
March 1st, 20190 ROYAL OAK — A 28-year-old Sterling Heights man has been charged with two counts of felonious assault with a motor vehicle for allegedly ramming his car into two people after a bar fight in downtown Royal Oak. Manhal Najib was also charged with two counts of failing to stop at the scene of a personal injury accident, one count of...
Dearborn police search for suspects involved in assault at Taco Bell
March 1st, 20190 DEARBORN — Dearborn Police request assistance from the public in identifying the suspects involved in an assault at the Taco Bell on W. Warren Avenue earlier this month. On February 9, Dearborn Police officers responded to the Taco Bell and found an unresponsive female victim lying on the pavement in the parking lot. The...
Michigan attorney general joins two federal immigration cases
March 1st, 20190 LANSING – Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel joined two federal amicus briefs supporting legal actions against the director of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to protect immigrants already in this country and to protect those attempting to enter this country. Ramos v Nielsen, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth...
Local author documents Chaldean American immigrant experience
March 1st, 20190 The Arab American experience has been a challenging and at times lonely one, and in many ways it has been mirrored by the experience of Chaldean Americans, who first came to the United States in the early 1900s seeking opportunities and a better life. Like immigrant Arab Americans in the area, including the Syrian and Lebanese...
Dearborn Heights mayor rejects Council members’ allegations that funds are missing
March 1st, 20190 DEARBORN HEIGHTS — An allegation that more than $1 million has gone missing over the years from the city's Public, Educational and Governmental fund, according to some Dearborn City Council members, has been answered by Mayor Dan Paletko. Councilman Ray Muscat raised the question during a Council study session recently, saying PEG...
Detroit Metropolitan Airport holds job fair this Saturday
March 1st, 20190 DETROIT – The Wayne County Airport Authority, which operates Detroit Metropolitan Airport, will host a job fair for its concessionaires from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 2 at the airport’s Michael Berry Administration Building. According to a Feb. 27 press release, management teams from several concessionaires will be on...
Dearborn police request public’s assistance in identifying armed suspects at Ram’s Horn
March 1st, 20190 DEARBORN— Dearborn police are requesting assistance from the public in identifying suspects involved in an assault and gunshots fired at the Ram's Horn restaurant on Greenfield Road last month. On January 5, Dearborn Police officers responded to a call from the restaurant on a report of gunshots being fired. Witnesses described an...Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and MDHHS Director Robert Gordon announce charges against former state employee
March 1st, 20192 LANSING – Attorney General Dana Nessel and Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) Director Robert Gordon announced on Feb. 28 that Detroit resident and former MDHHS employee Eliza Yulonda Ijames, 56, is being charged with three felonies. She is charged with one count of Medicaid fraud-conspiracy and two counts of...
Fallout from Dearborn Historian debacle continues
March 1st, 20190 DEARBORN — Weeks after being fired from the Dearborn Historian, Bill McGraw, a former Detroit Free Press writer and co-founder of Deadline Detroit, said he still hasn’t been given an exact reason why he was fired. McGraw said he hasn’t heard from anyone at the museum for the last 11 days. “I have no idea who actually...
Civil liberties group calls for ethnic intimidation charges in Ypsilanti home vandalism
February 27th, 20190 FARMINGTON HILLS, MI — The Council on American-Islamic Relations of Michigan (CAIR-MI) has called on the Washtenaw County prosecutor to charge the suspect in the vandalism of a Ypsilanti man's home under the state's ethnic intimidation statute, a news release said. Early last Thursday morning, an Arab American man discovered the...
Arab American National Museum appoints new director
February 26th, 20190 DEARBORN – The Arab American National Museum (AANM) welcomes a new director, Dr. Diana Abouali. Fluent in English and Arabic, Abouali has worked in the higher education, cultural heritage and museum sectors in the U.S., Palestine and Jordan. She will begin her tenure as AANM director on April 1. “We are confident that with......
No-reason absentee ballots allow Michigan citizens to vote from home starting in May
February 25th, 20190 FLINT TOWNSHIP, MI — Michigan voters will be allowed to vote from home without a reason for the first time starting in May, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson announced. Joined by Flint Township Clerk Kathy Funk, Benson announced the change at a joint press conference this past week that citizens can now request absentee ballots...
Racial slur painted on garage of Ypsilanti Township Arab American’s home
February 25th, 20192 YPSILANTI TOWNSHIP, Mich. - Thursday an Arab American man living in Ypsilanti Township found a racial slur painted on his garage. The man said he woke up at about 5:30 a.m. and pulled out of the garage at his home on Blue Jay Drive and noticed "sand " spray-painted on the door. He immediately painted over the words. Washtenaw......
Chunk of ice goes through windshield on Mackinac bridge
February 25th, 20190 MACKINAC COUNTY, Mich — A driver crossing the Mackinac Bridge suffered injuries after a chunk of ice went through his windshield Sunday. According to a passenger in another car, Nicole Rogers, the car crossed the bridge toward the Lower Peninsula at about 10:15 a.m. when they saw ice falling from the top of the bridge. Rogers...
Departing Michigan Republican chairman Weiser announces he has cancer, will not seek re-election
February 24th, 20190 LANSING —Outgoing Michigan GOP party chairman Ron Weiser has announced he is not seeking re-election to another two-year term, after sharing that he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. “I ask you for your prayers as I fight the prostate cancer that has invaded me,” Weiser said according to a report from the Detroit News at...
Police arrest Detroit man accused of making terror threats
February 22nd, 20190 YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — Authorities said a man has been arrested at a residence in Ohio for threatening a mass shooting in Michigan. The U.S. Marshals Service said 28-year-old Cameron White, of Detroit, was arrested Wednesday without incident by deputy marshals in Youngstown. White is charged in Michigan with making a terrorist...
U of M-Dearborn Model Arab League takes home awards for 18th year in a row
February 22nd, 20190 ALLENDALE, MI — The University of Michigan-Dearborn took home delegation awards for the 18th consecutive year as part of negotiations in the Model Arab League at Grand Valley State University this past weekend. The U of M-Dearborn group attended the event at GVSU for two and a half days of negotiations, representing the nations......
Some Michigan auto insurance rates may decrease in March
February 22nd, 20190 LANSING — As of March 25, Michigan residents who have insure their cars with State Farm might see their auto insurance rates go down. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Companies announced it will cut its rates by 3.5 percent in Michigan. The total state-wide expected impact for State Farm Mutual will be a savings of...
Cities in Michigan with the most affordable housing
February 22nd, 20190 Housing affordability is a top consideration when determining where to live. In 2018, the economy was strong and real estate prices went up. In 2019, many are predicting a downturn in the housing market. The team at HomeArea.com created the cities in Michigan with the most affordable homes using the most recent Census Bureau data of......
Dearborn native Moe Ayoub appointed as planning director for Westland
February 22nd, 20190 WESTLAND — The Westland City Council unanimously approved the appointment of Moe Ayoub as the new planning director at its meeting on Tuesday, February 19. Ayoub, a Dearborn resident, has worked for the city of Dearborn since 2015 and currently holds the position of senior planner. He has a master's degree in urban planning from...
Dearborn Heights poet uses writing to heal from trauma
February 22nd, 20190 DEARBORN HEIGHTS— Sara Raad, a Dearborn Heights native and daughter of Lebanese immigrants, said she writes poetry to heal from past trauma. She reads her poetry at local events and posts it on her Instagram blog which has more than 11,000 followers. “I used to just write little poems here and there,” she said, adding......
