Hamtramck schools extend virtual learning through COVID surge
January 5th, 20220 HAMTRAMCK — The Hamtramck Public Schools District announced this week its schools will be continuing virtual learning for all students until Jan. 14, amid a COVID-19 surge in the region. HPS originally scheduled virtual learning for students upon the week following the district’s holiday break, Jan. 3 – 7, but is now...
Rashida Tlaib to run for newly-drawn 12th District, including Dearborn and Dearborn Heights; Brenda Lawrence to retire from Congress
January 4th, 20220 DEARBORN — U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit) has officially announced she will be running for the newly drawn 12th Congressional District covering Dearborn, Dearborn Heights and surrounding cities, and Southfield, in this year's election. This mean the neighboring 13th Congressional District, covering Detroit, Hamtramck and...
A new era for Dearborn: Mayor Abdullah Hammoud’s first day in office
January 4th, 20220 DEARBORN — Abdullah Hammoud, Dearborn’s newly elected mayor, began his duties on Monday, Jan. 3 at the Dearborn Administrative Center. Hammoud is the first Arab American mayor of the large and historic city, home to the Ford Motor Company headquarters, with a population of close to 110,000. His election made international...
Whitmer calls for special election to fill Abdullah Hammoud’s MI House seat
January 4th, 20220 LANSING — Governor Whitmer announced Monday that she has sent a letter to Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson calling for a special election to fill a vacant seat in the Michigan House of Representatives. The vacancy is caused by the election of Representative Abdullah Hammoud, who previously represented the 15th House District, as...
Hamtramck’s all-Muslim elected government is sworn in during historic inauguration
January 4th, 20220 HAMTRAMCK — New members of Hamtramck’s first all-Muslim City Council and its first Muslim Arab American mayor, Amer Ghalib, were sworn in on Sunday, Jan. 2 Judge Alexis Krot swore in Ghalib and new Council members Khalil Al-Refai, Amanda Jaczkowski and Adam Albarmaki. They joined current Councilmen Mohammed Hassan and Mohammed...
Dearborn’s COVID-19 vaccine clinic is moving
January 4th, 20220 DEARBORN — After nearly a year of being housed at the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center, the COVID-19 vaccine clinic is moving. Beginning Tuesday, Jan. 4, the vaccine clinic will be held at the Dearborn Ice Skating Center (DISC). The clinic will be open for vaccinations and boosters Monday through Saturday from 12 p.m....
Community mourns passing of longtime local teachers union president John McDonald
January 1st, 20220 The passing of a longtime local teachers union president and college professor is being mourned by many in the Dearborn community. John McDonald served as the president of the Henry Ford College (HFC) Federation of Teachers, Local 1650 for an unprecedented 43 years and was a faculty member at HFC for nearly 53 years. McDonald also...
Redistricting Commission adopts final maps, offering possibilities for Arab American enclaves
December 29th, 20210 The state’s citizen-led, bipartisan Redistricting Commission has adopted its final versions of political maps by the expected timeline. Although experts are now anticipating legal challenges to the maps, residents at least get a good glimpse into how they could be represented in state House and Senate seats as well as the important...
Congresswoman Debbie Dingell receives profanity-filled, threatening voicemail, says it’s not the first one
December 28th, 20210 DEARBORN — In a recent interview with CNN, U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Dearborn) shared a threatening, profanity-filled voicemail she received. In the voicemail the caller calls her a series of names before telling her he hopes her family dies in front of her. “You f***ing old, senile b*tch, you’re as old and ugly as...
CDC cuts COVID-19 quarantine recommendation to five days
December 28th, 20210 WASHINGTON D.C. — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has cut the isolation restrictions for COVID-19 patients from 10 to five days. The CDC said the guidance comes from growing evidence that people with COVID-19 are most infectious in the two days before and three days after symptoms develop. Dr. Anthony...
Local religious leaders say people have “religious obligation” to keep others safe during COVID surge
December 26th, 20210 With COVID-19 cases continuing to surge in the area, religious and community leaders are urging people to take caution around the holidays. The Wayne County Health Department COVID-19 dashboard shows Dearborn still in the lead for total cases and deaths. County-wide cases continue to average well above 500 a day and hospital emergency...
Detroit native is the first Black woman U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan
December 24th, 20210 DETROIT — Dawn Ison, a Detroit native, has officially been sworn in as the new U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan. Ison replaces Saima Mohsin, who has been serving as acting U.S. attorney since Matthew Schneider resigned earlier this year when President Biden took office. She is the first Black woman to hold the...
Detroit Metro Airport police suddenly under new management
December 24th, 20210 WAYNE COUNTY — Despite the holiday rush expected over the next week, the Detroit Metro Airport Police Department is suddenly under new management. The department used to be part of the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office, but became its own agency 14 years ago. The airport authority sent Local 4 a statement saying the current police...
City releases tribute video to Mayor Jack O’Reilly, Jr.
December 24th, 20210 DEARBORN — As Mayor Jack O’Reilly, Jr.’s tenure in public service nears an end, the city has released a video tribute dedicated to him. O’Reilly was City Council president for 17 years before being elected mayor in 2007. He announced that he was not running for re-election earlier this year. The city described the video in...Redistricting maps continue to face criticism for lack of minority and ethnic representations
December 24th, 20210 MICHIGAN — The Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (MICRC) is expected to vote on the final political district maps starting Dec. 28. The upcoming finalization of the state’s political boundaries comes after months of debate and deliberation over the drawing of state and federal districts, with the aim to give......
U.S. authorizes Merck pill to fight COVID-19
December 23rd, 20210 WASHINGTON D.C. — Just one day after authorizing Pfizer's Paxlovid pill for at-home use, health regulators have authorized a second pill to combat COVID-19. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized Merck’s molnupiravir, although Pfizer’s Paxlovid is likely to become the first-choice treatment due to having milder...
Local nonprofit seeks community engagement to continue to help students
December 23rd, 20210 DEARBORN — Communities In Schools (CIS) Michigan is looking to the community for help for local students in the Dearborn School District. Superintendent Dr. Glenn Maleyko brought the program into 10 schools in the district five years ago. Gina Mroczka, program director of Ypsilanti and Dearborn, said that the role of CIS is......
Michigan Muslim Community Council delivering gifts across Metro Detroit
December 22nd, 20210 ROYAL OAK — Hundreds of families in Detroit will wake up to Christmas gifts thanks to volunteer efforts by local Muslims. As part of its annual Days of Ihsan campaign, which is meant to amplify and encourage volunteer efforts by local Muslims, the Michigan Muslim Community Council (MMCC) is joining other organizations on Christmas...
Public school athletic programs – they’re more than “just sports”
December 22nd, 20210 — This article was contributed by Brian Anderson, Hamtramck Public Schools’ athletic director. It has been edited for style. For many students, school sports are much more than an after-school activity. Athletics provide a way for kids to interact with their peers, exert energy and be a part of a team working towards a common...
Dearborn native releases her first album as a member of a band
December 22nd, 20210 DEARBORN — Dearborn native Ameera Husein and Ver Novum —the band for which she sings lead — released their first album together on Friday, Dec. 17. Husein, a first-generation American and the daughter of Palestinian and Algerian parents, had been singing independently for about seven years before joining Ver Novum. In 2018,...
Pause on student loan repayment extended through May 1
December 22nd, 20210 WASHINGTON D.C. — The Biden administration has extended a student loan moratorium through May 1, giving borrowers an additional three months before repayments start back up. Under the action, payments on federal student loans will remain paused, debt collection efforts will be suspended and interest rates will remain at 0......
Pfizer pill Paxlovid becomes first authorized home COVID treatment
December 22nd, 20210 WASHINGTON D.C. — Health regulators have officially authorized the first pill against COVID-19 that Americans can take at home. The milestone comes as cases, hospitalizations and deaths are rising at rapid speeds, with the omicron variant also spreading rapidly. The drug Paxlovid, created by Pfizer, will have limited supplies...
CDC updates side effects of COVID-19 vaccines
December 22nd, 20210 WASHINGTON D.C. — While the COVID-19 cases keep increasing nationwide, the CDC has updated the side effects of getting the vaccine. As of Dec. 20, 241.9 million people or 72.9 percent of the U.S. population had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Of those, 204.1 million or 61.5 percent are fully vaccinated and more......
$15 million cash bond set for two involved in Dearborn strip club shooting
December 21st, 20210 DEARBORN — The Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office approved a 16-count felony complaint against Khalil Elgarmi and Izeddine Elgarmi for the double shooting at BT’s Executive Club last Saturday. The two were also arranged on a $15 million cash bond. The incident occurred Saturday, Dec. 18. Dearborn Police Department officers...
Biden signs drunk driving prevention bill honoring Abbas family
December 21st, 20210 NORTHVILLE — President Biden signed a bill into law this week that brings drunk driving detection systems to vehicles in honor of a local Arab American family killed by a drunk driver. U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Dearborn) first introduced the bill in 2019. The Honoring Abbas Family Legacy to Terminate (HALT) Drunk Driving Act is......
