Dearborn man files class action lawsuit against GM
March 21st, 20140 DEARBORN (WXYZ) — A Dearborn man on Wednesday filed a class-action lawsuit against General Motors over the company's defective ignition switches that led to a massive recall.Attorney Kassem Dakhlallah filed the suit in federal court on behalf of 60-year-old Adnan Jawad, who says he hasn't driven his 2007 Chevy Cobalt since the...
Spray painted rock overshadows SJP’s apartheid week
March 21st, 20140 DEARBORN — The Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at the University of Michigan-Dearborn (UM-D) held an Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) last Monday.The week included various events in which a rock was spray-painted on campus in honor of IAW. One side of the rock exhibited a Palestinian flag and the other side read “Free...
Dearborn Police Chief Ron Haddad: Larceny is a problem in Dearborn
March 21st, 20140 Dearborn Police Chief Ron Haddad.DEARBORN —Police Chief Ron Haddad distributed a letter last week describing current crime trends in Dearborn among minors and young adults in hopes of reaching out to local parents and legal guardians to educate them on possible consequences.In the letter, Chief Haddad noted that overall crime rates in...Calley signs supplemental budget to fix roads, support mental health services, fund other programs
LANSING — Lt. Gov. Brian Calley recently signed a mid-fiscal year 2014 budget supplemental, dedicating nearly $330 million to help fix winter road damage, fund vital mental health services, and to support the Office for New Americans, among other programs.“While Michigan is still in need of a comprehensive road funding and...Traffic lanes affected by construction on Schaefer from Ford Road to Warren Avenue
DEARBORN — Schaefer Road in Dearborn will be under construction between Ford Road and Warren Avenue from now until the end of September, and traffic lanes will be affected.As of March 17, traffic has been shifted to the east half of Schaefer Road and is limited to one lane in each direction. No left turns are allowed from Schaefer. The...
FBI arrests local man for alleged Hizbullah ties, family speaks out
March 21st, 20140 Mohammad Hassan Hamdan, minutes before getting detained. DEARBORN HEIGHTS — The community was startled this week after news broke that the U.S. government had detained a local Dearborn Heights man who allegedly planned to fly to Lebanon to join the militant group Hizbullah. 22-year-old Mohammad Hassan Hamdan was arrested on...
U.S. to close Syrian consulate offices in Troy and Texas, operations at embassy in Washington also suspended
March 21st, 20140 A local rally in 2011 supporting Assad’s regime.TROY — The United States on Tuesday suspended operations of the Syrian Embassy in Washington and its consulates. It also told diplomats and staff who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents to leave the country. Texas and Michigan are the only two states in the country that have...
South End residents frustrated over proposed changes to Severstal factory
March 21st, 20140 Over 250 frustrated Dearborn residents attend a public hearing on Wednesday. DEARBORN — More than 250 people attended a public hearing Wednesday, Mar. 19 at Henry Ford Community College’s Michigan Technical Education Center regarding proposed changes to Severstal’s factory in Dearborn. The steel company’s facility is...
Community mourns death of prominent religious leader, human rights advocate
March 21st, 20140 Saliba, a Lebanese American, led the Archdiocese of All North America for nearly 50 years.MICHIGAN — The Arab American community is mourning the death of prominent religious leader Philip Saliba, the Archbishop of New York and Metropolitan of All North America for the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese. He died Mar. 19 at...Legal corner: Changes are coming to overtime pay rules
Last week, President Barack Obama signed a presidential memorandum telling the Department of Labor to develop new overtime rules that would make more workers eligible for time-and-a-half overtime pay. The proposed rules would broaden the categories of workers who are eligible for overtime compensation. They would also...
Protests launched against U of M student government for postponing divestment resolution indefinitely
March 20th, 20140 ANN ARBOR- About 80 University of Michigan students on Wednesday, March 19, staged a sit-in at the Chambers Room, where the University's Central Student Government (CSG) meets. The sit-in followed a spontaneous protest on Tuesday, after CSG voted to indefinitely postpone a resolution to form a committee to investigate the human rights...
U.S. halts Syrian embassy, consulate operations in Michigan and Texas, orders diplomats out
March 19th, 20140 TROY-The United States on Tuesday suspended operations of the Syrian Embassy in Washington and its consulates and told diplomats and staff who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents to leave the country. One of the consulates' offices is in Troy, and caters to southeast Michigan's large Syrian community. U.S. special envoy...Metro Detroit three inches away from breaking snowfall record
DETROIT - After Wednesday's storm, Metro Detroit is less than three inches away from breaking its snowfall record. According to the National Weather Service, 89.8 inches of snow have fallen on the area in the autumn and winter of 2013-14. Metro Detroit's snowiest season on record was in 1980-81, when Detroit and its suburbs received 93.6...
Dearborn enforces snow season rules on residents, businesses
March 14th, 20140 DEARBORN - A long and grueling winter has forced the City of Dearborn to buckle down on enforcing policies for residents and business owners as snow continues to pile up on street, sidewalks and parking lots. At the last few city council meetings, concerns were addressed regarding business owners who are shoveling snow off of...
Dearborn man delivers everything
March 14th, 20140 DEARBORN - While driving to deliver a pizza order, Ali Atoui says he remembered his boss' attitude and questioned his position at work. "Why should I work for others? Why can't I do this on my own?" he asked himself. Then, he decided to establish his own business, but it wasn't a pizza shop; it was something far less usual: a delivery......
Council President Susan Dabaja: City provides valuable services for seniors
March 14th, 20140 Dabaja.DEARBORN - In collaboration with The Arab American News, City Council President Susan Dabaja will be using our newspaper to convey beneficial information to the community on a monthly basis. Dabaja, who has been running bi-weekly city council meetings since the beginning of the year as part of her elected duties, expressed...
Energy expert Fuad Jawad: Lebanon‘s oil and gas shouldn’t be politicized
March 14th, 20140 DEARBORN - Off its shores, Lebanon has $1 trillion worth of oil and gas that can be extracted over 75 years, according to oil expert and geologist Fuad Jawad. However, he says a careful plan should be set in place to preserve the country's oil wealth and maximize the people's profit from it. "You cannot politicize oil and......
Remembering Arabs and Chaldeans who were killed working to support their families
March 14th, 20140 Imad Kobeissi holding up one of the six photos he has framed in the living room of his Dearborn home of his brother Adel Kobeissi, who was shot and killed by a gunman April 1, 2010 at his Detroit gas station.DETROIT - There are six framed photos of Adel Kobeissi, a Lebanese American, who was murdered at his Detroit gas station nearly...
New civil rights group to address issues facing local Yemeni Americans
March 14th, 20140 Representatives from several federal agencies attended a meeting at the National American Yemen Association's office in Dearborn to hear some of the concerns people in the Yemeni community face.DEARBORN - On Thursday, Mar. 6 representatives from several federal agencies including the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Department of...
Diversity conference expands to Chicago, preps 11th annual event in Dearborn
March 14th, 20140 Edward James Olmos to keynote the "Images and Perceptions Conference" which will be held on April 10 at Byblos Banquet Hall in Dearborn.DEARBORN - 3D Consulting & Communications is preparing for their 11th annual "Images and Perceptions Diversity Conference" to be held on April 10 at Byblos Banquets here in Dearborn.Over the years,...
Wayne County prosecutor announces Michigan legislation to fund sexual assault kit
March 14th, 20140 DETROIT - On Monday, Mar.10, Mariska Hargitay of NBC’s Law and Order and Wayne County prosecutor Kim Worthy held a press conference at the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice about the Detroit Rape Kit Project and proposed Sexual Assault Kit Evidence Submission Act Legislation. Hargitay is also the founder and president of the Joyful......
Wayne County to hold healthcare enrollment events
DETROIT - In a countywide push to enroll residents in the Affordable Care Act and Healthy Michigan (Medicaid expansion) health coverage plans, the Wayne County Health and Human Services Department will be hosting enrollment events this March. The first event takes place Wednesday, Mar. 19 at Cobo Hall in Detroit from 9.m. to 4 p.m....“Life” raises donations for Iraqi refugees
DETROIT - Life for Relief and Development held a fundraiser for the refugees of the armed conflict in Fallujah, Iraq on Saturday, March 8, at the Islamic Center of Detroit.About 150 people attended the event and donated more than $17,000. The organization had raised $7,000 for the same cause after Friday prayer at the Salam Mosque in......
Chief Federal Judge Gerald Rosen to deliver keynote address at local group’s annual gala
March 14th, 20140 DEARBORN - Gerald Rosen, chief federal judge for the Eastern District of Michigan will deliver the keynote address during the Lebanese American Heritage Club’s 26th annual awards gala Friday, May 9 at the Adoba Hotel in Dearborn. The event attracts about 1200 people every year. Assistant U.S. Attorney Abed Hammoud and the...
Hijabi Monologues performances illustrate experiences of Muslim women from different backgrounds
March 14th, 20140 DEARBORN - The University of Michigan-Dearborn hosted powerful performances by the Hijabi Monologues on March 7 and 8. The performances showed that women worldwide, despite their nationality or religion, all share similarities. The popular group says its focus is on creating a theater space for the experiences of Muslim women, a......
