Michigan releases two cities from state oversight
August 4th, 20170 DETROIT — Michigan ended state oversight for Pontiac and Lincoln Park on Tuesday, citing improved financial operations for the Detroit-area cities. For Pontiac, where state intervention began in 2008, a receivership transition advisory board in place since 2013 was dissolved. A similar board created for Lincoln Park in 2015 was also...
Local Islamophobe sues Dearborn Heights to “stop sharia”
August 4th, 20172 DEARBORN HEIGHTS — Debbie Schlussel, an attorney known for her anti-Muslim rhetoric, filed a lawsuit against Dearborn Heights and its officials on May 15 for being denied access to booking photos and videos of resident Malak Kazan without her hijab. Police had arrested Kazan for driving on a suspended license on July 9, 2014....
Conservation group seeks to improve air quality in Dearborn
August 4th, 20170 DEARBORN — On Monday, July 31, the Michigan League of Conservation Voters (MLCV) launched the first monthly event for Dearborn community members to discuss the local air quality. The meeting was advertised as a space for citizens to express their concerns regarding air quality in their neighborhood and to learn about threats to the...
Are Dearbornites paying too much in property taxes?
August 4th, 20170 DEARBORN — Twice a year, homeowners in the city face one of the most dreaded days of the year – tax day. Among other levied taxes, every homeowner pays a percentage of his or her property's value to help operate and maintain the city's services, like the Police Department, the schools and trash pickup. In addition, the city...
Auto sales fall in July as carmakers slash rental fleet sales
August 4th, 20171 DETROIT — U.S. carmakers said on Tuesday they continued to slash low-margin sales to daily rental fleets in July as the overall pace of U.S. car and light truck sales fell for the fifth straight month. The annualized pace of U.S. car and light truck sales in July fell to 16.73 million vehicles, down from 17.8 million vehicles a year...
Wayne County Treasurer Eric Sabree discusses his faith and service to the taxpayers
August 4th, 20170 DETROIT — In the 1980s, Eric Sabree sat in Muhammad Ali's hotel room and watched old boxing tapes of Ali's famous matches while laughing and eating ice cream as Ali relived each fight with Sabree and his friend. "We had a ball," Sabree said, laughing at the memory. "We had a great time, and then he was tired and we left the...
Dearborn Police Department hosts National Night Out on Crime
August 4th, 20170 DEARBORN — On August 1, the Dearborn Police Department partnered with Target to host a "National Night out on Crime" event, described as a neighborhood crime and drug prevention effort in a city newsletter. Hundred attended the event, which utilized every inch of the police department's east parking lot to show the community the...
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...
Orville Hubbard statue moved again
August 4th, 20170 DEARBORN — Five months after the city placed the controversial statue of former Mayor Orville Hubbard on the Dearborn Historical Museum's lawn, it has been moved again. The statue had been in front of the building on Brady Street, but now it's on the side of the McFadden Ross house, further away from public sight. According to...
Residents, business owners discuss making Dearborn a more cohesive community
July 28th, 20170 DEARBORN— On July 20, members of the community met with business owners and members of the Downtown Dearborn Alliance at Joe’s Top Dog on Michigan Avenue in east Dearborn to discuss ways Dearborn can become a more cohesive community. Downtown Dearborn is “An alliance of partners, including East Dearborn Downtown Development...
Teenager returns to Detroit from Gaza for new prosthetic leg
July 28th, 20170 DEARBORN HEIGHTS— In November 2012, a 12-year-old cancer survivor from Gaza arrived in Michigan to the open arms of Yasmeen Hamed and her family, who had hosted his three-month stay through the Palestinian Children Relief Fund (PCRF) — a non-profit organization devoted to “healing the wounds of war and...
The Impact of the 1967 Detroit rebellion on Arab Americans
July 28th, 20170 DETROIT— In the dark hours before sunrise on Sunday, July 23, 1967, no one knew that Detroit would be ablaze for the next five days , leaving countless citizens injured and 43 dead. The summer of 1967 changed Detroit forever. Before any looting, arson or fighting began that day, the Detroit Free Press reported that an undercover...
Michigan judge halts deportation of more than 1,400 Iraqi nationals
July 27th, 20170 DETROIT - On Monday, a federal judge halted the deportation of more than 1,400 Iraqi nationals from the United States, the latest legal victory for the Iraqi nationals facing deportation in a closely watched case. U.S. District Judge Mark Goldsmith granted a preliminary injunction requested by American Civil Liberties Union lawyers,...
Kym Worthy provides summer safety tips after rise in child deaths
July 27th, 20170 DETROIT— Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy decided to put together a list of summer safety tips for parents after seeing a number of avoidable child deaths in the last few years. “Many have risen to the level of criminal behavior,” she said in a press release. “These tips, at first glance, may seem so simplistic. Many of...
Ford Motor Co. introduces first pursuit-rated pickup for police
July 27th, 20171 DEARBORN— Ford Motor Company debuted the first ever pursuit-rated pickup, which is expected to hit the road by next year. The F-150 Police Responder adds off-road aptitude and more functions to Ford’s list of police vehicles. According to Ford’s police brand marketing manager, Stephen Tyler, there’s a need all over the......
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...
Former Dearborn Clerk sentenced to probation
July 26th, 20170 DEARBORN - On July 21, Wayne County Circuit Judge Lawrence S. Talon sentenced former longtime City Clerk Kathleen Buda to 24 months-probation on an embezzlement charge. She also has to pay $1,638. Three charges of larceny in a building and three counts of misconduct in office were dismissed in exchange for a guilty plea on the......
Arabic is the most prominent foreign language in Michigan
July 21st, 20172 DEARBORN — Michigan first welcomed Arabs back in the 1880s when Lebanese and Syrian immigrants arrived in the city of Detroit seeking employment. The Arab American community has continued to grow, and with it their mother tongue. It's now the most popular foreign language in the state. Weekend Arabic programs for kids formed...
An overview of primary elections in Metro Detroit
July 21st, 20170 DEARBORN — Although voters and candidates in Dearborn are preparing for the Aug. 8 primary election, not all communities in Metro Detroit have primaries. These are the communities in Oakland, Washtenaw, Wayne and Macomb Counties that will: In Oakland County, candidates in Pontiac are running for mayor and for council positions in...
How to vote on August 8 if you’re overseas or in the military
July 21st, 20170 DEARBORN — Majority immigrant cities like Dearborn, Dearborn Heights and Hamtramck tend to see a decrease in residents every summer, since most community members choose this season to visit their families overseas. In election years, such as this year, civic-minded residents might wonder if they'll miss the opportunity to vote in...
Local Taekwondo athletes bring home national accolades
July 21st, 20170 DEARBORN — The 2017 National Championships for U.S.A. Taekwondo took place at the Cobo Center in Detroit from June 30 to July 6. This marked the first time in nine years that the championships took place in Michigan. Athletes from the Dearborn-based Koubeissi Taekwondo School brought home two silver medals and one bronze. Yara......
Vigil held for Mohammed Wutwut at Star International Academy
July 14th, 20170 DEARBORN HEIGHTS — On July 10, a vigil was held at Star International Academy's football field to honor Mohammed Wutwut. Wutwut, 15, drowned on July 8 in Cass Lake, according to authorities. The vigil was scheduled to begin at 9 p.m., but attendees came early to console one another. Family, friends, and community members gathered in...
Dearborn Police provides updates on major crimes and reckless driving
July 14th, 20170 DEARBORN — According to Police Chief Ron Haddad, Dearborn's crime rate saw an 11.20 percent reduction from 3,246 in 2016 to 2,881 so far this year, with some "alarming trends", like a 26 percent increase in drug offense arrests. The reckless driving rate also sees little improvement. At a July 10 press conference, held at the......
Fayrouz Saad announces run for Congress, plans to challenge Dave Trott
July 14th, 20172 NORTHVILLE— Born and raised in Dearborn, Michigan, Northville resident Fayrouz Saad is the product of hard working parents who immigrated from Lebanon more than 40 years ago. "It really starts with my parents," Saad said. "Moving to Michigan for the American Dream. They started a small business in Detroit's Eastern Market. A very...
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......
