June 2nd, 20200WASHINGTON D.C. — At a U.S. House subcommittee hearing on Tuesday, Michigan Governor Whitmer joined Colorado Governor Jared Polis and Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson to discuss their states' responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Entitled, On the Front Lines: How Governors are Battling the COVID-19 Pandemic, the hearing was...
June 1st, 20200
LANSING — On Monday, Governor Whitmer signed another executive order, this time rescinding her previous "Stay Home, Stay Safe" order and moving the entire state to phase four of her MI Safe Start Plan. This is big news for businesses in Michigan, like restaurants, though close contact businesses like gyms and hair salons will...
May 28th, 20200LANSING – Karl Manke, the Owosso barber who violated the state’s COVID-19 executive order by remaining open, will be told to cease operations, thanks to a Thursday ruling by the Michigan Court of Appeals. Manke’s license will also remain suspended.
Manke made national headlines when he decided, on May 4, to reopen his...
May 28th, 20200LANSING — The Michigan Department of Treasury announced this week that business taxpayers who have deferred paying their Sales, Use and Withholding (SUW) taxes due to the COVID-19 pandemic can now participate in an installment payment option to satisfy their outstanding tax balance.
The state's Treasury Department is now allowing...
May 28th, 20200LANSING — Secretary of State (SOS) branch offices will reopen in Michigan on June 1 by appointment only for essential transactions not available online, the state announced on Thursday.
Beginning June 1, all 131 branch offices in Michigan will be open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for appointment-only for transactions...
May 26th, 20200LANSING — Michigan announced a new online tool that displays data, in graphical form, for COVID-19 cases, deaths and tests by economic region. The state said the website, https://www.mistartmap.info, shows regional trends, providing a snapshot of how much of the virus is in a community and whether it is increasing or...
May 23rd, 20201WASHINGTON, D.C. — The shortage of medical supplies and protective equipment to tackle the COVID-19 crisis in the U.S. became apparent early on in the pandemic. In Wayne County alone, workers at a prominent hospital spoke of under 100 masks at the beginning of the disease’s spread.
The country’s national strategic reserve of...
May 22nd, 20200DEARBORN — A front-line nurse at Beaumont Hospital in Dearborn has shared her experience working at the prominent hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic in Wayne County. The region in which the hospital operates has been one of the worst hit in the state, with hospitals and their staff overwhelmed by cases of the virus, especially in...
May 21st, 20200LANSING — Governor Whitmer has won the legal dispute brought up by the state's Republican legislature over her extension of the state of emergency declaration. On Thursday, Lansing announced that the Court of Claims has ruled in favor of Whitmer's decision to extend the declaration without legislative approval.
The GOP-led...
May 21st, 20200LANSING — On Thursday, Governor Whitmer signed a new executive order that reopens retail businesses and auto dealerships, by appointment only, statewide on Tuesday, May 26. The governor’s executive order also lifts the requirement that health care providers delay some nonessential medical, dental and veterinary...
May 20th, 20200LANSING — Earlier this week, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) Director Robert Gordon signed an emergency order allowing for civil fines of up to $1,000 for violations of various COVID-19 executive orders for businesses that operate under licenses.
The new order reinforces Governor Whitmer’s various...
May 20th, 20200HAMTRAMCK — On Monday, District Four state representative candidate Abraham Aiyash hosted his campaign kickoff on Facebook Live with more than 400 live viewers and 5,000 total views in 24 hours. The live event featured prominent local Democrats and Detroit and Hamtramck activists and community organizers, all aligning their support...
May 19th, 20200DEARBORN — The Arab American News has received a letter from an inmate in a Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) facility, describing the conditions in his prison and prisons in the state's system at large. The COVID-19 pandemic poses a further challenge for prisoners and has added a layer of risk to their day-to-day existence...
May 19th, 20200DEARBORN — For those in need of food during this economically trying time, the Michigan Muslim Community Council (MMCC) will be holding a COVID-19 food drive on Wednesday, May 20, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., in which food baskets will be distributed to families.
This "Pandemic Assistance Program" will be launched at the Muslim American...
May 19th, 20200DETROIT — Starting Wednesday, drive-through testing at Detroit's State Fairgrounds is now available to any and all Detroit residents, even those not showing COVID-19 symptoms. The city's Health Department Chief Public Health Officer Denise Fair announced the change on Monday.
There is no charge for the COVID-19 test and residents...
May 18th, 20200LANSING — The Michigan Department of Health and Human Service (MDHHS) and Governor Whitmer’s office announced today more state-wide funding through a federal low-income energy assistance program. Michigan has now been awarded $35 million in funding on top of the $162 million already secured by the state.
The funds go towards...
May 18th, 20200
LANSING — On Monday, Governor Whitmer signed Executive Order 2020-92, allowing for the reopening of retail businesses, office work that cannot be done remotely and restaurants and bars with limited seating in two Michigan regions. The two regions are both in the northern part of the state—specifically, MERC regions six and...
May 17th, 20200WASHINGTON, D.C. – $315 million in federal funds will be awarded to the state of Michigan to expand its coronavirus testing operations, Senators Gary Peters (D-MI) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) announced this week. Peters and Stabenow were able to secure the funding as part of a $25 billion testing package for Michigan they fought to be...
May 15th, 20200LANSING - During a Friday new conference, Governor Whitmer today announced the creation of the Return to Learning Advisory Council via Executive Order 2020-88, formalizing a process for determining how schools may be able to reopen in the fall.
The panel – which will be comprised of students, parents, frontline educators,...
May 15th, 20200CANTON — Many were saddened to hear of the passing of beloved business owner Abdelfattah Abdrabbo, who succumbed to COVID-19 on April 27 at the age of 65. Besides running the successful Sunrise Import and Export in Detroit, Abdrabbo was known for his charity work, selflessness and generosity.
Abdrabbo was ill for four weeks with...
May 14th, 20200
LANSING — Governor Whitmer has temporarily extended protections for tenants and mobile home owners from being evicted from their homes during the continuing COVID-19 pandemic. The new order, signed Executive Order 2020-85, is effective until June 11.
“It’s critical Michiganders can self-quarantine and continue...
May 13th, 20200ANN ARBOR — U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Dearborn) announced today more than $1 million in funding to support rapid response research on the coronavirus. The funding is part of the CARES Act passed by Congress in March. As of May 10, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has issued 10 CARES Act-funded awards...
May 13th, 20200DEARBORN — Sixty small businesses in the city of Dearborn have been selected to receive stimulus grants to help provide working capital amidst the COVID-19 crisis. Grants upwards of $5,000 will be distributed by ACCESS this week and are aimed to support those businesses most often left out of major city, state and federal relief...
May 13th, 20200LANSING — Michigan's Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) announced today some remarkable numbers. $5.62 billion in unemployment benefits have been paid to 1,374,751 workers since March 15, with a further total number of 1,717,555 claimants having applied for state and federal benefits.
The UIA marks March 15 as the “onset of the...
May 12th, 20200DEARBORN — On Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Dearborn) announced that six hospitals in Michigan’s 12th Congressional District received $159 million in grants from the CARES Act passed by Congress in March. The money will be used to support hospitals and health systems on the frontlines that provided inpatient care for 100 or...
May 12th, 20200GENEVA — The World Health Organization’s Tedros Adhanom said on Monday that governments considering reopening their economies should have a plan to deal with a resurgence of COVID-19 cases. Adhanom, the director-general of the WHO, said that those countries gearing up to ease economic restrictions should consider whether the...
May 9th, 20201HAMTRAMCK - Yemeni American community activist Abraham Aiyash officially announced his candidacy for District Four state representative this week, the seat formerly occupied by the late Isaac Robinson. Robinson, a popular political figure in his district, passed away tragically in March due to a suspected COVID-19...
May 9th, 20200DETROIT— The reality of the global health crisis has brought with it a grave and unprecedented economic crisis in a few short months. In the U.S., state and federal bureaucracies, unemployment agencies and research institutes scramble to understand the breadth and magnitude of the effects of economic closures on both workers and...
