Crestwood School District search for superintendent underway
September 8th, 20190 DEARBORN HEIGHTS - The city of Dearborn Heights has been looking for its new superintendent and board members ask the community to keep its timeline in mind. Trustee Nadia Berry told The Arab American News that the board started accepting applications August 9 and will continue until September 13. The selection for the candidate will...
Lawmakers condemn planned anti-Muslim events at Bloomfield Hills church
September 7th, 20190 BLOOMFIELD HILLS - U.S. Reps. Debbie Dingell (D-Dearborn) and Andy Levin (D-Bloomfield Township) have issued a joint statement condemning two anti-Muslim events that are planned to take place at the Bloomfield Hills Baptist Church on Wednesday and Thursday. One event, named "9/11 Forgotten," will host a talk by Pastor and former...
Gov. Whitmer bans flavored e-cigarettes in Michigan
September 4th, 20190 LANSING – Michigan is now the first state to ban flavored electronic cigarettes, thanks to an emergency rule issued by Governor Whitmer on Wednesday. Retailers, including those selling candy and fruit flavored vaping products online, have 30 days to comply with the new ruling and take the products off their shelves. Tobacco flavored...
Detroit mental health authority announces new name change
September 4th, 20190 DETROIT — The Detroit Wayne Mental Health Authority announced it will be changing its name to the Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network on Tuesday. The organization said it made the change to more accurately reflect the direction of the organization, which is taking a more holistic approach to the care it provides to the 75,000...
AG Nessel orders Brooklyn at-home sexual assault kits company to cease operations in Michigan
September 4th, 20190 LANSING – Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has issued a cease and desist order to the Brooklyn, New York-based company “MeToo Kits”, telling it to stop engaging in unlawful and potentially harmful business practices. In a statement published on Thursday, Aug. 29, Nessel said her office learned of the company’s marketing...
Fox 2 anchor praised for response to ignorant social media user’s question
September 4th, 20190 SOUTHFIELD — A Fox 2 News anchor, Roop Raj, is being praised for his response to a social media user's question on his nationality that has been deemed ignorant. This past Thursday Raj, who grew up in Troy and is of Indian descent, wrote on Twitter about a story on how small businesses are preparing for tariffs to start. “Raj,...
Dearborn Meals on Wheels program seeking drivers and volunteers
September 3rd, 20190 DEARBORN – The city of Dearborn’s Meals on Wheels program is seeking volunteers to assist with both packaging and delivering food to Dearborn residents enrolled in the program. The Meals on Wheels program is a Wayne County initiative, facilitated in Dearborn by the Senior Services Division. It serves home-bound seniors who do not...
Political, community and religious leaders unite against hate in Dearborn
September 1st, 20190 DEARBORN – U.S. Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit), Debbie Dingell (D-Dearborn), Andy Levin (D-Warren) and Solicitor General Fadwa Hammoud joined members of community and non-profit associations to unite against hateful rhetoric on Thursday. The rally was hosted by Take On Hate, a non-profit organization, and was organized and...
Metropark investigation concludes police officer’s comment to Arab American man ‘not racist,’ but ‘unnecessary’
August 31st, 20190 BROWNSTOWN, MI — A police officer has been found in violation of department policies for not being “courteous” or “exemplary” following a verbal argument with an Arab American man at Lake Erie Metropolitan Park in Brownstown Township on Sunday, June 30. The Lake Erie Metropark officer was accused of making a discriminatory...
Gas station owners agree to cultural sensitivity training after shooting incidents
August 31st, 20190 DETROIT — A group of Detroit activists recently shut down a gas station where a bystander was shot by a clerk, forcing its owners to undergo cultural sensitivity training and make other improvements, the Detroit Free Press writes. The Shell gas station on West Warren near the Southfield Freeway was closed last month for five days of...
Michigan Culture and Diversity Festival disputes Dearborn Heights Police fine
August 31st, 20191 DEARBORN HEIGHTS — HYPE Athletic Center's Michigan Culture and Diversity Festival that took place from Aug. 22 to Aug. 25 was ticketed by the city police for being too loud, despite having a valid permit and complying with the noise ordinance, according to festival coordinator Ali Sayed. The festival featured more than 16 countries...
Owner of Detroit Tigers farm team in Connecticut chairs Islamophobic organization
August 31st, 20192 NORWICH, CT – The Council on American Islamic Relations in Connecticut (CAIR-CT) was recently informed that the owner of the Connecticut Tigers in Norwich, Miles Prentice, is the chairman of the rightwing organization Center for Security Policy (CSP). The CSP is designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center is an anti-Muslim hate...
Iraqi immigrant brings innovative mobile barber business to Metro Detroit
August 31st, 20190 Dearborn – Iraqi immigrant and businessman Jasim Sakban Alezerej can be seen driving his innovative new business on four wheels around Dearborn and parts of greater Metro Detroit. Named Ethereal Mobile, the barber shop is housed within a Mercedes Sprinter van. Alezerej, who also goes by the handle Jayy Cutz, came up with the...
Departing Lebanese counsel general plants cedar trees in Dearborn and Birmingham as gift of resilience, friendship
August 31st, 20190 DEARBORN — In the spirit of giving, appreciation and the rooted historic Lebanese presence in the United States of America, Suzan Mouzi-Yassine, the Michigan-based Lebanese counsel general in the Midwest, decided to end her diplomatic service to the Lebanese Americans in Michigan by planting a cedar tree in Birmingham, where she...
Coral Beach Resort responds to local family’s grievances: Hijabs are welcomed at our hotel
August 30th, 20190 BEIRUT — After The Arab American News published an article about "Islamophobia in the motherland", Coral Beach Hotel & Resort Marketing Manager Rana Younes reached out to us for a follow up apology and clarification. The article focused on Marwan Faraj, a Dearborn man who visited Lebanon this summer with his family. He said......
New study finds Michigan’s suicide rate has increased nearly 50 percent since 1999
August 28th, 20190 LANSING — The suicide rate in Michigan has risen dramatically since 1999, climbing by nearly 50 percent, according to a newly released study from SeniorLiving.org. The study found that Michigan's rate has increased by 48.5 percent, marking the 21st largest increase of any state during the time period. Overall, Michigan's suicide...
Music Under the Stars continues with free concerts in Dearborn
August 26th, 20190 DEARBORN - “Music Under the Stars”, the Dearborn Recreation & Parks Department’s free concert series, continues with Fifty Amp Fuse performing Thursday, August 22, and the Dearborn Big Band on Thursday, September 12. Both concerts will be at the Dearborn Hills Golf Course and start at 7:30 p.m. Patrons are encouraged to......
Maintenance week: Services limited at Ford Community & Performing Arts Center
August 26th, 20190 DEARBORN – The Ford Community and Performing Arts Center will be undergoing maintenance and most portions of the building will be closed from August 26 to September 2. The closed portions include the gymnasiums, pools, fitness area, the Michael A. Guido Theater Box Office and the Senior Services Office. During these days, the...
Dearborn City Council will not renew jail contract to hold detainees for ICE
August 26th, 20190 DEARBORN - On Tuesday, August 20, Dearborn City Council voted not to renew its prisoner housing contract with Calhoun County after a decade-long arrangement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to hold detainees. This agreement was caused from controversy over detentions of undocumented immigrants by ICE. The contract...
State Rep. Hammoud, local leaders announce package of bills to hold corporations accountable and stop environmental pollution
August 26th, 20190 DEARBORN — A group of local Democratic leaders representing the communities of Dearborn, Detroit and other nearby cities gathered for a press conference outside of Salina School on Wednesday, in the shadow of steel plants that have been making life miserable for countless residents. Led by State Rep. Abdullah Hammoud (D-Dearborn),...
Town hall meeting in Dearborn Heights brings communities together to discuss drug abuse
August 26th, 20190 DEARBORN HEIGHTS — Collaboration and discussion on drug abuse was the message Tuesday at a town hall in the Islamic House of Wisdom. Detroit City Councilman Roy McCalister Jr. and the Mental Health Task Force held a public meeting where community members and professionals expressed ideas of raising awareness on drug abuse and......
Dearborn cancels prisoner housing contract with ICE after two protests
August 25th, 20190 DEARBORN — The Dearborn City Council announced that it will not be renewing its decade-long prisoner housing contract with Calhoun County, following two protests in the city this week against ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) detentions. “We will not be renewing at this point in time and don't anticipate working with...
Arab American community on high alert after overdose reports
August 24th, 20190 DEARBORN – Recent unofficial reports of drug overdoses among Arab Americans in Dearborn have raised concerns over the prevalence of substance abuse and addiction. Opioid addiction has been recognized as a public health crisis in Michigan and the Arab American community has been directly affected for some time. According to......
Police increase traffic enforcement as school year begins
August 24th, 20190 DEARBORN – With the new school year beginning on Monday, August 26, Mayor Jack O’Reilly, Jr. has directed the Dearborn Police Department to increase traffic enforcement. The strict traffic enforcement will serve to protect students from speeders, stop-sign runners and inattentive drivers. Officers will focus on streets used...
Harassed at border crossings and airports? You should know your rights!
August 23rd, 20191 "Land of the free and home of the brave" — This sentence would have a stronger ring to it when people learn about their rights as Americans, regardless of their race. People in the Arab American community — like many other minority groups — have been dealing their version of discrimination based on race. With a series of......
