Gov. Whitmer pushes free community college plan at Livonia Career Technical Center
May 10th, 20240 LIVONIA — Michigan could be the first state in the nation to make preschool through community college free if Gov. Whitmer can convince state lawmakers to approve her plan as part of the state budget this summer. But that proposal — a key provision of her $80.7 billion budget plan — appears in jeopardy after the Democratic-led...
FLIP to award $111,500 in scholarships for 29 college-bound graduates from Dearborn, Dearborn Heights high schools
May 10th, 20240 Huntington Bank in partnership with The Arab American News will hold the FLIP scholarships 2024 Award Dinner on May 22 DEARBORN – For the third year in a row The Arab American News in partnership with Huntington Bank will distribute $111,500 in FLIP scholarships to 29 high school college-bound graduates from Dearborn and Dearborn...
Michigan Fuels, in conjunction with ExxonMobil, donates $15,000 to Dearborn Public Schools
May 8th, 20240 DEARBORN – Continuing an annual tradition of more than 30 years, Michigan Fuels – in partnership with ExxonMobil – donated $15,000 to Dearborn Public Schools, on Friday, April 26, in a ceremony at Fordson High School. “We are incredibly pleased and grateful to continue supporting our area high school students throughout...
“Our anger is righteous”: Hear students at U of M’s Gaza solidarity encampment in their own words
May 8th, 20241 By Andrew Mullen For months, student activists at the University of Michigan have called for their school to cut financial ties to the state of Israel, only to be met with rejection from university officials. However, the students refuse to be ignored. Following the lead of activists at Columbia University and other schools across the...
Biden plans to visit Detroit on May 19 to address NAACP dinner
May 6th, 20240 President Biden will return to Michigan this month to speak at the NAACP Detroit Branch's 69th annual Fight for Freedom Fund Dinner, his campaign confirmed Wednesday. The announcement came ahead of a planned Wednesday night campaign rally in Freeland, about 14 miles northwest of Saginaw, by former President Trump, the presumptive...
Three Arab American candidates challenge pro-Israel Democrats in Michigan’s primary
May 4th, 20240 Three vocal Arab Americans against the Israeli genocide in Gaza who have been demanding a ceasefire in the war against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have filed petitions to challenge two Democratic members of Congress and a pro-Israel Democratic U.S. Senate candidate in Michigan. The candidates cited frustration over their...
Former Dearborn Qahwah House employee opens new location in Ohio
April 26th, 20240 COLUMBUS — Abdelrahman Yasen, a former employee of Qahwah House in Dearborn, has opened his own franchise in Columbus, Ohio with his brother Abdalziz, expanding the franchise to a new state. Located at 189 E Main Street, Columbus, Ohio, the coffee shop will be open to the public in roughly four weeks. Yasen, a Palestinian who...
Sexual assault complaint filed against Warren chiropractor, video evidence presented
April 26th, 20240 Dearborn attorney Azzam Elder filed a complaint in Macomb County Circuit Court April 19 alleging that his client, referred to as Jane Doe in the court document, was sexually assaulted by Warren chiropractor John Pispidikis. Pispidikis owns the Spinal Recovery Center on 12 Mile Road. Elder held a press conference on the sidewalk...
University of Michigan students protest in support of Palestinians, call for divestment
April 26th, 20240 ANN ARBOR — Roughly 40 University of Michigan student protesters set up an encampment at the Diag, a large open space on the campus, as part of a pro-Palestine protest. Reports state that the earliest protesters appeared around 6 a.m. on Monday, April 22. The encampment included tents and Palestinian flags as well as signs with...
Lola Elzein, owner of Venture Title, celebrates 10 years in business
April 26th, 20240 DEARBORN — Lola Elzein, owner of the Dearborn-based Venture Title Agency, is celebrating 10 years in business. Venture Title Agency is located in the heart of West Dearborn at 22300 W. Village Drive. Starting on Griswold in the Ford Building in Detroit, Elzein has taken her women-led business to extraordinary heights while...
Michigan to receive $156M in federal funds for rooftop solar panels in low-income areas
April 26th, 20240 LANSING – Michigan will get more than $156 million in federal funding for a program to expand residential solar in low-income communities, part of a federal initiative to confront climate change while reducing energy bills for people in low income areas. “Michigan is committed to leading the future of clean energy, lowering utility...
Michigan implementing “kinship care” rule; feds say it’s first in the country to do so
April 19th, 20240 Michigan has become the first state to be approved to implement separate licensing standards for kin caregivers — extended family members like grandparents, aunts and uncles serving as foster care providers. Advocates said goal of kinship care is to keep families together, increase equity in the child welfare system and allow...
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani visits Metro Detroit, meets with community
April 19th, 20240 On Thursday, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani paid a quick visit to Metro Detroit. The Iraqi leader's first stop was at the Islamic Institute of America, a Dearborn Heights mosque, and his second stop was at the Shenandoah Country Club in West Bloomfield, where he had dinner with local Iraqi Americans. al-Sudani's visit was......
AG’s office to investigate how Fay Baydoun used a $20M grant
April 19th, 20240 Attorney General Dana Nessel's office has opened an investigation into a $20 million grant awarded to a Metro Detroit businesswoman used on expenses that included a $4,500 coffee maker, an $11,000 first-class plane ticket and $408,000 in salaries for two people over three months. Nessel's office confirmed Wednesday it had opened an...
LaPita Restaurant in West Dearborn celebrates 30 years of serving authentic Mediterranean cuisine
April 19th, 20240 DEARBORN – During the last week of the Holy month of Ramadan, LaPita Restaurant in Dearborn held a Ramadan Iftar on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of its founding, attended by local officials and community leaders. While Dearborn has plenty of Middle Eastern restaurants that make it a destination for connoisseurs of......
Dearborn Heights landlord agrees to pay $185K to eight women he sexually harassed
April 12th, 20240 DETROIT – On Monday, April 8, the Justice Department announced that a Dearborn Heights landlord, Mohamad Hussein, has agreed to pay $185,000 in damages and a civil penalty to the government to resolve the Fair Housing Act (FHA) lawsuit concerning his sexual harassment of actual and prospective female tenants. Hussein has owned and...
Dearborn neighborhood pools to receive major upgrades for the first time in 70 years
April 12th, 20240 DEARBORN – Three city-owned neighborhood pools will undergo major renovations for the first time since their construction in the 1950s. On Tuesday, April 9, the City Council unanimously approved a $5,371,430 contract to overhaul public pools and bathhouses at Ten Eyck, Lapeer and Summer Stephens Parks beginning in May. “With...
“Death to America” chants during Al-Quds rally in Dearborn receive strong condemnation from Arab Americans: It has no place in our community
April 12th, 20240 DEARBORN – Anti-American chants from some participants in the International Day of Al-Quds or “International Jerusalem Day” march held in Dearborn last Friday sparked wide condemnation by local Arab and Muslim Americans. Several local officials and leaders in the Dearborn area were quick to condemn the chants, while the right-wing...
CAIR reports anti-Muslim discrimination high as Israel’s war on Gaza continues
April 6th, 20240 Michigan’s chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations saw more than a 200 percent increase in civil rights complaints reported, according to its 2023 report, “Gaza and the Rise in Bigotry against Michigan Muslims”, released on Tuesday. Nationally, CAIR received 8,061 complaints – 495 of which from Michigan – in......
$4,500 for a coffee maker? $40,000 for furniture? How Fay Beydoun is spending a $20m taxpayer grant
April 6th, 20240 A $20 million state grant given to Fay Beydoun, a Metro Detroit businesswoman in 2022 continues to raise concerns as former associates — including the chairman of the American Arab Chamber of Commerce — question the means by which the money was obtained and how it’s being spent. Fay Beydoun, who received the $20 million grant to...
Palestinian American journalist files discrimination lawsuit against CBS Detroit
March 29th, 20240 Palestinian American journalist Ibrahim Samra filed a federal discrimination lawsuit against CBS News Detroit and its parent company, Paramount, after being fired on Feb. 28. The lawsuit alleges CBS fired Samra after he filed complaints about how the station treated him and went about covering Israel's war on Gaza, Samra’s lawyer......
U.S. Supreme Court’s unanimous vote allows CAIR’s challenge against No Fly List placement to proceed
March 22nd, 20240 WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Yonas Fikre’s challenge to his previous placement on the No Fly List can proceed, rejecting the government’s claim that his removal from the list rendered the lawsuit void. Fikre is an Arab and Muslim American initially from Sudan, who was tortured and...
Death and destruction in Gaza leave local Muslims little to celebrate in Ramadan this year
March 22nd, 20240 From new fundraisers to event cancellations for extra reflection, Ramadan looks especially different this year. The Ramadan Suhoor Festival in Dearborn usually attracts thousands of people to the Fairlane Town Center. Founder Hassan Chami said he canceled the event this year because he doesn’t think the joy is justified, even if the......
