Residents furious over FEMA rejections
December 19th, 20140 Many households in east Dearborn are claiming they were denied by FEMA, despite severe flooding in their basements.DEARBORN — Residents are left scrambling following the announcement last week that the city would not be held financially liable for the August 11 flood that impacted more than 10,000 homes. Despite the city's...
Dearborn Transit Center dedicated to John Dingell during grand opening ceremony
December 19th, 20140 An old-fashioned locomotive is one of the items on display in the John H. Dingell Transit Center. Photo: Patrick KeatingDEARBORN — On Monday, Mayor John B. O’Reilly, Jr. welcomed dozens of federal, state and local elected officials for the grand opening ceremony at Dearborn’s intermodal passenger rail station,...
State Rep. John Olumba makes racist and ignorant remarks about Chaldeans and Asians
December 19th, 20140 LANSING — While delivering his farewell speech on the house floor Thursday, Dec. 11, State Rep. John Olumba made racist and ignorant remarks about Chaldeans. “Asians and Chaldeans should have a Black misery appreciation day, selling fake hair and looseys to people just looking for fresh air and making a fortune doing...
Environmental groups urge defeat of bill defining burning tires as renewable energy
December 19th, 20140 LANSING — On Monday, environmental groups called on the Michigan Senate to defeat House Bill 5205, which redefines renewable energy to include burning hazardous waste, tires and railroad ties. The bill passed the House on Dec. 4 and was referred to the Senate Energy and Technology Committee on Dec. 9. “Michigan’s actual...
Probe into Wayne County corruption expected to end early 2015
December 19th, 20140 Ficano. DETROIT — The probe into corruption in Wayne County government is expected to come to an end early next year. Federal prosecutors are close to announcing whether Wayne County CEO Robert Ficano will be criminally charged. The corruption probe was launched in 2011 and has resulted in the convictions of four former Ficano aides...
More than $75 million in federal funding will be divided among 12 cities
December 19th, 20140 DETROIT — Twelve cities— including Detroit— will share more than $75 million in federal funding to combat blight and continue driving Michigan’s economic revitalization. The program, proposed by the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA), is funded under the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Hardest Hit Fund...
Legendary newsman Bill Bonds remembered
December 19th, 20140 Bill Bonds.DETROIT — Iconic news anchorman Bill Bonds died Saturday, Dec. 13 after suffering a heart attack at his Bloomfield Hills home. He was 82. Bonds and co-anchor Diana Lewis dominated Detroit’s television market for years. “He helped mold my career,” Lewis said. “He influenced my person as a woman. He was...
City Council to revise “illegal” building permit resolutions
December 19th, 20140 Councilman Mike Sareini (second from left) sits across from Councilman Robert Abraham (third from right) after a heated debate in a briefing meeting, Dec. 16.DEARBORN — The Dearborn City Council will revise two ordinances that raise building permit renewal fees from $25 to $1,000 and limit the time of construction to one...Dearborn Police Department hiring part time officer
DEARBORN — The Dearborn Police Department is looking for a qualified candidate for an open part time police officer position. The job pays $25 an hour. Part time officers are required to work 28-hours a week. Minimum requirements for the job include at least five years experience as a certified police officer and associate degree...
Arab family sues Dearborn Heights Police for discrimination
December 18th, 20140 DEARBORN HEIGHTS — An Arab American family is suing the city of Dearborn Heights for alleged racial discrimination by the police. The lawsuit, which was announced at the office of the Arab American Civil Rights League (ACRL) on Tuesday, says Dearborn Heights police officers failed to investigate an assault against two of the...
The ACLU-MI defends anti-Muslim protesters’ free speech
December 12th, 20140 DETROIT — The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan (ACLU-MI) filed an amicus brief last week urging a federal court of appeals to reverse the decision to dismiss a lawsuit brought against Wayne County by a group of anti-Muslim protesters. During the Arab International Festival in 2012, county deputies escorted...
Dearborn firefighters surprise needy family for the second time
December 12th, 20140 Salli places the star at the top of the Christmas tree as a Dearborn firefighter lifts her up.DEARBORN — "I really feel like I have a family right now," Mona El-Darnouh said while decorating the new Christmas tree Dearborn firefighters surprised her family with on Sunday. While handing El-Darnouh an ornament to put on the tree,...
Mayor O’Reilly: City is not financially liable for sewage backup in August flood
December 12th, 20140 DEARBORN — The city announced this week that it would not be held liable for flooding damages caused by the heavy rainstorm on August 11 that impacted more than 10,000 homes. In a letter sent to residents last week, the city stated that it had "completed a thorough investigation" that determined there was "no basis for...
Civil rights groups: Religious freedom act can lead to discrimination
December 12th, 20140 LANSING — Civil rights organizations expressed strong opposition to the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) that passed the Michigan House of representatives last week. The bill protects sincerely held religious beliefs from interference by the state. The bill H.B. 5958, was approved in a party line vote in the...
PART TWO: Detroit residents complain of health effects from breathing in toxins
December 12th, 20140 A diagram provided by the Sierra Club that shows which companies need to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions. DTE Energy is responsible for 85 percent of sulfur dioxide emissions in Wayne County according to the Sierra Club. MICHIGAN — Sulfur dioxide is harmful to human health. Short-term exposure to the toxic gas causes......
Detroit exits bankruptcy
December 12th, 20140 DETROIT — Mayor Mike Duggan, Governor Rick Snyder, Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr and Councilman Gabe Leland discussed Detroit's exit from bankruptcy Wednesday morning during a press conference. Orr submitted his resignation to Snyder earlier this week. In July 2013, Detroit filed for bankruptcy. During that period paychecks for...
Mayor O’Reilly, Lowrey student light the City of Dearborn Christmas tree
December 12th, 20140 DEARBORN — The city of Dearborn signaled the beginning of the Christmas holiday season with the lighting of the Christmas tree at the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center on Dec. 8. Each year Mayor John B. O'Reilly, Jr. invites a special guest to be the honorary assistant. 5-year-old Nagi Nasser, a kindergartener from......
ACRL joins newly formed Coalition for Justice and Fairness to Reform Law Enforcement
December 12th, 20140 DETROIT — The Arab American Civil Rights League joined the newly formed Coalition for Justice and Fairness to Reform Law Enforcement. The Coalition is working to prevent incidents such as the shooting of a Black man by a White police officer in Ferguson, Missouri from happening in Detroit. Additional members of the group...
Rasmea Odeh released on bond
December 12th, 20140 DETROIT — Rasmea Odeh was released from jail on Thursday afternoon, after Judge Gershwin Drain ruled to reinstate her bond. The Palestinian American activist was convicted of immigration fraud on Nov. 10 for not disclosing a conviction in a military court in Israel on her U.S. citizenship application. Federal marshals arrested...
Local minors were heavily involved in Warrendale area drug ring, three adults convicted
December 10th, 20140 DETROIT— Three members of a Warrendale area drug ring were convicted in federal court this week after a six week trial before U.S. District Judge Stephen Murphy that led to a nine-day deliberation from a grand jury. Two of the men, who were arrested last year, are brothers. Mohamed "Mojo" Faraj, 31, and Foaud "Fred" Faraj, 44,...
Arab American community divided over Ferguson events
December 5th, 20140 DEARBORN — Daren Wilson's shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO, followed by a grand jury's decision not to indict the police officer, sparked angry protests and countless conversations about race, police brutality and law enforcement across the country. But while conservatives generally applauded the grand jury's decisions and......
Prescription drug abuse prevalent among community adolescents
December 5th, 20140 DEARBORN — 52 million people in the United States over the age of 12 have used prescription drugs non-medically in their lifetime. The United States has 5 percent of the world’s population and consumes 75 percent of the world’s prescription drugs.Our communities aren’t immune from the abuse of prescription drugs. According to...
Rasmea Odeh’s defense requests her release on bond
December 5th, 20140 DETROIT — The judge in Rasmea Odeh's case is expected to soon make a decision on a defense motion requesting the reinstatement of her bond.Last month, Odeh, 67, a Palestinian American activist living in Chicago, was found guilty of lying on her U.S. naturalization application about having been arrested and convicted in Israel 45......
City officials deny hookah exemption to local business
December 5th, 20140 DEARBORN — City officials have denied the owners of Signature Cafe, a hookah bar and restaurant located on Warren Ave. and Chase Rd, an exemption to a six month hookah moratorium, forcing the business to a halt in trying to secure a hookah license from the state. The owners of Signature Cafe claim they had been trying to obtain...
Henry Ford College Student selected for exclusive nationwide NASA program
December 5th, 20140 DEARBORN — Ali Tarraf, a Dearborn resident studying at Henry Ford College (HFC), was the only college student in Michigan selected to travel to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, this past fall to participate in the National Community College Aerospace Scholars (NCAS) project.Tarraf, an alumnus of Fordson High School, is one......
