November 10th, 20170DEARBORN HEIGHTS — It looked to be a close race between Mayor Dan Paletko and City Councilwoman Lisa Hicks-Clayton in Tuesday's election, but once the absentee votes were counted, Paletko won by 1,143 votes.
Paletko won with 4,467 votes, which was 55.83 percent of the total votes for mayor, and Hicks-Clayton received a total of...
November 10th, 20170DEARBORN — A few months ago, a slew of new names on the Aug. 8 ballot signaled a community was gaining leverage in the local political sphere.
While Arab Americans dominated the polls on Nov. 7, their victories were not among the elected candidates, but in the weight of their vote.
Dearborn's primary elections saw a handful of...
November 3rd, 20170DEARBORN – The Arab American Political Action Committee’s (AAPAC) 20th anniversary gala was a celebration of political successes.
Six days before the Nov. 7 municipal elections, Arab Americans packed a large dinner hall at the Bint Jebail Cultural Center in Dearborn and reflected on two decades of achievements and looking forward...
October 27th, 20170
DEARBORN HEIGHTS — The main races in the November 7 election are between incumbent Mayor Dan Paletko and challenger Lisa Hicks-Clayton, and also for the four open City Council seats.
Paletko has been mayor since 2004. He came in first in the Aug. 8 primary election, with about 1,000 votes more than Hicks-Clayton.
In the City...
October 27th, 20170DEARBORN — There are only ten days left until the November 7 general election and residents are still considering their options, but not much has changed since the primary election.
The city council and clerk races are still overshadowed by the contentious mayoral race.
City Council President Susan Dabaja and Councilman Michael...
October 27th, 20170By Laida Sukari
The Arab American News-intern
DEARBORN— On Friday, October 20, The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) and The Breast Cancer Student Association (BCSA) hosted their second fundraising dinner called “Get Your Pink On” (GYPO) at Byblos Banquet Center.
The SWE organization at the University of Michigan-Dearborn...
October 27th, 20170DEARBORN — There is a lot on the line in the city — from major investments and revitalization projects, to alleviating high property taxes and diversifying the workforce. As they battle in a heated race, the two mayoral candidates say that on Nov. 7, Dearbornites will have a chance for the first time since 2001 to stick with already...
October 27th, 20170DEARBORN – In the Southend of Dearborn, across the street from the first mosque constructed in Michigan, a restaurant hangs a United States flag above a red, white and green flag. Although it may surprise some, the flag is not Lebanese, Jordanian or Palestinian.
It’s Italian.
“Our cultures aren’t very different,” Robert...
October 27th, 20170DEARBORN — This Monday, mayoral candidate and council President Pro-Tem Tom Tafelski was supposed to take part in a video interview with reporters from The AANews, as Mayor Jack O’Reilly had done, but due to a bout of laryngitis, he was unable to participate. Instead, he answered our questions via email.
Some people believe...
October 27th, 20171HAMTRMACK – A few divisive races and shake ups in the City Council are bound to emerge during elections in a town as diverse as Hamtramck.
After a contentious debate over who to appoint as the new city manager, disparaging remarks by a Council member and a state investigation over voter fraud by an incumbent Council candidate,...
October 20th, 20170DEARBORN — Miscarriage and infant loss are not easy subjects of discussion for anyone, and especially not for those experiencing bereavement firsthand.
October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, and there are initiatives in the Metro Detroit area and online to bring the conversation of pregnancy and infant loss out in the...
October 20th, 20170DEARBORN – It was an unfavorable outcome for some new candidates in Dearborn and neighboring cities' primary elections, but some might have another shot at making it into office on Nov. 7.
After a passionate debate on Tuesday, Oct. 17, The Arab American Political Action Committee (AAPAC) endorsed candidates in the general elections...
October 6th, 20170DEARBORN — For the past 51 years, a popular local donut shop and coffee bar has been witness to the cultural changes that swept the city.
Located on Ford Road, a few miles east of the Southfield Freeway, Donutville, which has been in business since July 4, 1966, has served as a gathering place for residents of various races, creeds...
October 6th, 20170DEARBORN — East coast media outlets have been accused of being out of touch with middle America, so The Huffington Post embarked on a multi-city bus tour on September 12 titled "Listen to America."
In each city, HuffPost partnered with a news organization to host an event so that it could record stories from local residents.
The...
October 4th, 20170With a large population of Muslim and Arab Americans, Dearborn has the most per capita residents on a shadowy and unaccountable watchlist. It is nearly impossible to find out if you’re on it, let alone get your name off.
By Christopher Mathias, Rowaida Abdelaziz, Hassan Khalifeh, and Afaf Humayun
DEARBORN, Mich. — There’s...
September 22nd, 20170DEARBORN — For the last few months, all eyes have been on the city's government and how it will respond to calls for proper representation of Arab Americans, who make up about half of its population. Many also have deep roots in the community.
As the city's residents and officials argue over the fate of the statue of famous...
September 22nd, 20170DEARBORN — The cries of a local mother's children as they were dragged away by state officials still echo after three decades.
Wrongfully accused in 1985 of murdering her 2-year-old son, Rehab Amer relives the horrors of trying to bring her other children back every day. Now, she's making sure other children's distress calls do not...
September 15th, 20170On September 7, 1984, The Arab American News was established to purely tell Arab Americans' and the Arab world's untold stories, but instantly developed into something more— an unexpected educational center for thousands to learn what they'd been denied access to elsewhere.
Our mission has been and will continue to be to provide a...
September 12th, 20172WICHITA ― Sattar Ali, a Dearborn man who moved his family to Kansas says he regrets the decision, after he, his wife, and daughter were all in handcuffs while attempting to deposit a large check that was acquired through the sale of their home.
According to the Kansas-based TV station, the Ali family recently sold their Dearborn...
September 8th, 20170DEARBORN — There is little doubt that Arab Americans have become significantly more civically engaged in the past decade, yet Dearborn residents and businesses have not yearned any less for their issues to be better adequately reflected in city government.
In this Detroit suburb – with about half its population as Arab Americans,...
September 7th, 20170HOUSTON, DEARBORN — Striding strenuously down a freeway, mostly mothers and their children were knee deep in water, making the journey away from their drowned homes.
They carried on their shoulders only what they could save. The water rose so fast that few families in Southeast Texas were left unthreatened by Hurricane Harvey's...
September 3rd, 20170DEARBORN — Henry Ford College has named Sam Bazzi to be the college's first Arab American community liaison. The position is in its first year and will attempt to, "promote the mission of HFC within the Arab American community, continue to build and nurture personal relationships and facilitate a productive dialogue regarding...
August 20th, 20171By Abed Hammoud
The recent tragic events in Charlottesville, VA should be a lesson to our Arab and Muslim community here in Metro Detroit, specially in the Dearborn-Dearborn Heights area. These events show that personal attacks, character assassination and the spread of false information on social media and elsewhere can have...
August 18th, 20171BLOOMFIELD HILLS — The Muslim Foster Care Association (MFCA) is a nonprofit founded in 2015 by Ranya Shbeib and Sameena Zahoor that assists Muslims in the foster care system, and also facilitates licensure for parents wanting to foster children.
Two years ago, Shbeib, a former teacher and administrator, received her foster care...
August 18th, 20177DEARBORN — On August 7 and 8, Christian missionaries from California visited Hemlock Park in East Dearborn. In the span of two days, workers face-painted with children, handed out prizes and shared their faith. A number of the parents who were in the park allowed their children to venture into the event unaware of the religious...
August 18th, 20170DEARBORN — Many gears work in concert to make a city run. Government bodies like the mayor's office and the City Council, as well as departments like human resources and engineering, and several commissions, all play vital roles in maintaining the high quality services residents expect.
Most Dearbornites, almost half of whom are of...
August 18th, 20171WASHINGTON, D.C. — On July 25, the Pew Research Center released a report on Muslim Americans and their concerns regarding their place in society; despite the data showing high concern from U.S. Muslims, 92 percent of them are proud to be American.
The survey was conducted between January and May. It showed that half of Muslim...
August 18th, 20170CHARLOTTESVILLE/DEARBORN — Dearborn residents assembled in healing and solidarity with Charlottesville, Virginia on August 13 and 16, against White supremacy — reemphasizing the city's cohesive nature in visible diversity that trumps hate.
The first peaceful vigil, in which at least 100 demonstrators gathered on Sunday, was...
