Michigan opens applications for $350 million childcare grant program
November 10th, 20210 LANSING — The state has opened up applications for the Child Care Stabilization Grant, which aims to distribute $350 million in grants. The grants would be used to give every full-time childcare professional a $1,000 bonus and keep childcare programs open and serving children. “Childcare is the backbone of a strong economy and...
Arrest made in Southfield shooting, carjacking may be related to violent Dearborn attack
November 10th, 20210 SOUTHFIELD — Police believe a shooting and carjacking by masked men in Southfield may be related to a violent attack in Dearborn. The attack in Southfield happened at 10:10 p.m. on Nov. 8 in the 25800 block of Southfield Road. According to authorities, the victim told police that he had been shot by two men who then stole his...
Former Oakland County priest pleads guilty in sex abuse cases
November 10th, 20210 LANSING — A former priest in Oakland County has pleaded guilty to sex abuse in cases that stemmed from allegations of abuse in the 1970s. The allegations involved three different victims who were between 13 and 15-years-old at the time. Gary Berthiaume, 79, was sent to trial in July by Judge James Brady in Oakland County’s...
Six things to know about the Nov. 12 deadline to apply for Federal Disaster Assistance
November 5th, 20210 DETROIT — Residents of Southeast Michigan who experienced uninsured and underinsured damage or losses from the June 25-26 severe storms, flooding and tornadoes only have one week remaining to apply for federal assistance. The deadline to apply is Friday, Nov. 12. It’s important to understand the following six things when applying...
A long journey to a “historic” election
November 5th, 20210 This week, headlines regarding Tuesday’s election across local, national and international media included some version of the word "historic." Not surprising when one takes into consideration that three Arab American candidates in some of the state’s densest cities enjoyed landslide victories for mayoral races: Amer Ghalib in...
Westland: Mayor Bill Wild wins re-election in a landslide, Godbout, Hart and Herzberg return to Council
November 5th, 20210 WESTLAND — Voters in Westland had the difficult decision of choosing a mayor and four City Council members in the general election. Mayor Bill Wild, who has served as mayor since 2007, ran for reelection against Councilwoman Tasha Green. With 12,122 votes cast, Wild received 8,704 or 71.8 percent, giving him his fourth term as...
Dearborn Heights: Constan, Wencel and Baydoun return to Council, Ahmad and Bryer newcomers
November 5th, 20210 DEARBORN HEIGHTS — With partial and full terms for City Council and clerk, a full term for treasurer and different proposals on the ballot this year, the results are in for all but one position. City Council One of the partial terms on the ballot was to finish out former Councilwoman Lisa Hicks-Clayton’s term when she was...
Dearborn: Three new Council members and Sareini clinches the Council presidency; nine Charter Commissioners elected
November 5th, 20210 DEARBORN — As a historic election comes to an end, the city will be welcoming three new faces to the City Council and nine Charter Commissioners. City Council All seven City Council seats were up for grabs, with four incumbents — Mike Sareini, Erin Byrnes, Leslie Herrick and Robert Abraham — running for re-election and...
Dingell once again presses U.S. government for Lebanon TPS designation
November 4th, 20210 DEARBORN — As a followup to several requests to the Biden administration to provide temporary protective status (TPS) to Lebanese nationals in the U.S., U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Dearborn) sent a letter to the U.S. Department of State this week. "Almost every single day, I hear from neighbors in my district who are desperate to...
Hamtramck’s Amer Ghalib to serve as city’s first Yemeni mayor after historic election
November 3rd, 20211 HAMTRAMCK — Amer Ghalib celebrated a decisive victory against a long-time incumbent mayor on Tuesday, in an election that marks the changing of political tides in the city's history. Ghalib may also be the first fully Yemeni American to serve as mayor of an American city, though Montgomery Township, New Jersey's Sadaf Jaffer,...
Bill Bazzi becomes first Arab American to be elected mayor; beats Council chair
November 3rd, 20210 DEARBORN HEIGHTS — Mayor Bill Bazzi has beat challenger Council Chairwoman Denise Malinowski-Maxwell and will continue being mayor. Bazzi earned 73 percent of the vote for a partial term that ends this year and 72 percent of the vote for a full four-year term that follows. The partial term was to finish the term of former...
State Rep. Abdullah Hammoud makes history as Dearborn’s first Muslim and Arab American mayor
November 3rd, 20210 DEARBORN — State Rep. Abdullah Hammoud became the seventh mayor of Dearborn following the Nov. 2 election, beating Gary Woronchak by nearly 3,000 votes. The votes cast were 13,040 for Hammoud, giving him 54.6 percent, and 10,796 for Woronchak, giving him 45.2 percent. “The people of Dearborn spoke loudly,” Hammoud said....
Children ages 5 to 11 now eligible for COVID-19 vaccine
November 3rd, 20210 The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), doctors and state public health leaders are urging Michigan parents to get their children ages 5 to 11 vaccinated with Pfizer's COVID-19 pediatric vaccine, which received emergency use authorization for this age group from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and was...
Dearborn clerk office open for extended Election Day hours
November 1st, 20210 DEARBORN - The Dearborn City Clerk’s Office will be extending its operating hours to 7 a.m. – 8 p.m. on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 2, for residents who need to register to vote and then complete their voting, and for people who are already registered to vote to drop off an absent voter (AV ballot). The Clerk’s Office is inside...
Whitmer wants $5 billion in refunds to be delivered to Michigan drivers
November 1st, 20210 LANSING — After Michigan changed car insurance laws to give drivers the option to choose levels of injury coverage, the state’s has a surplus of mare than $5 billion in excess claims paid that could be getting back to drivers. Governor Whitmer said Monday that the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association (MCCA) should deliver......
Children’s Garden II to open in Dearborn
October 31st, 20210 DEARBORN — With child care being such an important topic among many working families, Children’s Garden II is set to open next week. The new location, located on Henry Ford College’s campus in Building I at 5101 Evergreen Road, at the south entrance of the HFC campus in Dearborn, will host two open house events for parents to...
The Arab American News endorsements for Dearborn’s municipal elections
October 30th, 20210 DEARBORN — With a historic election on the horizon, The Arab American News has announced its endorsements for mayor, City Council and Charter Revision Commission. The Arab American News made the decision of endorsing State Rep. Abdullah Hammoud for mayor and incumbent Mike Sareini, Mustapha Hammoud, Khodr Farhat, Samra’a Luqman,......
The Arab American News endorsements for Dearborn Heights’ municipal elections
October 30th, 20210 The Arab American News is endorsing three candidates for City Council, one for mayor and one for treasurer in the Nov. 2 election. For mayor, The Arab American News is endorsing incumbent Mayor Bill Bazzi for both the partial and full term. Bill Bazzi was appointed mayor on January 26 to succeed the late Daniel Paletko, who passed...
Why we chose not to endorse either candidate for Hamtramck mayor
October 30th, 20210 Endorsing candidates for important offices is a major responsibility for local organizations and newspapers. For an ethnic newspaper, the voice of the community we advocate for has to be taken into consideration, as should the issues that affect it the most. But decisions on endorsements cannot simply come about with a superficial...
The Arab American News endorsements for Hamtramck’s City Council elections
October 30th, 20211 The Arab American News interviewed the six candidates who are running for the three seats on the Hamtramck City Council and have decided to endorse the following three candidates for the four-year term. Khalil Refai Khalil Refai is the front-runner during this election, leading in the polls during the August primary. Recently, he has...
AAPAC hosts pre-election reception, encourages high voter participation
October 29th, 20210 DEARBORN — As Election Day looms, the Arab American Political Action Committee (AAPAC) hosted a pre-election reception at Byblo's Banquet hall in Dearborn. While the event was not as large as typically would be due to COVID, elected officials and candidates alike were in attendance. “This is probably the most critical and......
Party store owner pleads guilty in Taylor mayor bribery scandal
October 29th, 20210 TAYLOR — A party store owner and developer plead guilty Wednesday to conspiring to commit bribery with Mayor Rick Sollars, the city’s development manager and another developer. Hadir Altoon, 49, who owns the party store Dominick’s Market, along with two property development companies, plead guilty after being accused of letting...
Governor Whitmer signs executive directive expediting distribution of vaccines to children
October 27th, 20210 LANSING — Governor Gretchen Whitmer has issued an executive directive to state departments and agencies to expedite ordering of the COVID-19 vaccine for kids. The directive is also to expedite distribution of the vaccine to ensure that students could continue in-person learning in a safe environment. “Today, we’re taking......
Blockbusters Free Film Series returns to the Henry Ford Centennial Library
October 27th, 20210 DEARBORN — The Dearborn Public Library has announced the return of its popular Blockbusters Free Film Series. The event will start on Sunday, Oct. 31 at 2 p.m. with a recent, family-friendly film and doors will open at 1:30 p.m. The programming schedule has a new time, with movies now showing every Sunday at 2 p.m. in the...
Dearborn Public Library presents “Supplement Your Income with Dividends” discussion
October 27th, 20210 DEARBORN — The Dearborn Public Library is hosting a free, online discussion regarding income and dividends. The discussion will help teach individuals how to supplement their income with dividend-paying stocks. “Supplement Your Income with Dividends” will be offered online through Zoom on Tuesday, Nov. 9 from 6:30 p.m. until......
