May 8th, 20211DEARBORN — Jon Akkari, an attorney born and raised in Dearborn, is vying for a position on the City Council this year. A primary election is set for Aug. 3, with a crowded field of Council and mayoral candidates.
Akkari is the son of a Lebanese immigrant father and third-generation Dearbornite mother. His father has been a blue...
May 8th, 20211DEARBORN — Lifelong resident Mustapha Hammoud has entered the race for one of seven City Council seats that are up for election.
Having been born and raised in Dearborn, Hammoud attended Dearborn Public Schools, Henry Ford College and the University of Michigan-Dearborn, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in...
May 7th, 20210DEARBORN — A special City Council meeting was scheduled for May 4 and was withdrawn shortly beforehand by Councilman Bob Abraham.
The meeting was scheduled to discuss the option of putting some ballot questions before voters in the August primaries.
The topics scheduled for discussion were to consider and take action on the...
May 6th, 20211DEARBORN — Beginning May 6, the Dearborn City Council will be holding its meetings in person starting with its Committee of the Whole meeting.
The regularly scheduled council meeting on Tuesday May 11 is also planned to be in person.
Both meetings will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers at the Dearborn Administrative...
May 1st, 20210DEARBORN — With all seven seats on the City Council up for grabs in this year’s election, Lola Elzein is one of 18 candidates vying for one of those seats.
Elzein was born and raised in Dearborn and is a graduate of the University of Michigan-Dearborn and the Thomas M. Cooley Law School, and recently earned an MBA from the Ross...
May 1st, 20210DEARBORN— In late February, Khalil Othman was among the first of 19 candidates to announce his bid for a seat on the Dearborn City Council.
“I can best serve the Council because I come from a problem-solver mindset and experience,” Othman said. “Every single issue we have here, I will be advocating for as a core principle I...
April 24th, 20210DEARBORN — With the filing deadline coming to a close, Kamal Alsawafy becomes one of 19 candidates vying for one of seven City Council seats up for grabs.
“What makes me a qualified and unique candidate for Dearborn City Council is my diversified and relevant experience,” Alsawafy said. “Dearborn is a great place to call...
April 23rd, 20211- Ali "Barber Al" Alhashemi withdrew from the race. There are now 18 candidates for the seven city council seats.
DEARBORN — While candidates had until April 23 to withdraw their names from the race, an unofficial list has been announced in Dearborn.
The primary election is scheduled for August 3.
With the retirement of...
April 14th, 20210DEARBORN — Longtime resident and activist Khodr Farhat has announced that he is running for one of seven City Council seats up for grabs in the upcoming election.
Farhat made the announcement in a Facebook post.
“After many long conversations with community members, family and friends, I’m excited to announce that I will be...
April 14th, 20210DEARBORN — The Dearborn City Council approved temporary pop-up outdoor food businesses to operate to accommodate Ramadan gatherings.
The initiative is intended to encourage individuals to celebrate Ramadan safely while practicing social distancing and was recommended by Mayor Jack O’Reilly’s administration and approved by the...
April 10th, 20211DEARBORN — Council President Susan Dabaja kicked off her mayoral campaign with a fundraiser event at Byblos Banquet Center in Dearborn.
The event, which was held outdoors and observed CDC guidelines with mask requirements and social distancing, brought out supporters from all around the community.
Fellow Council member Leslie...
April 9th, 20210DEARBORN — Ali Alhashemi, owner of Uppercutz in Dearborn, has announced that he will be running for a seat on the Dearborn City Council.
Alhashemi, better known as “Barber Al”, is a 26-year-old barber born to Iraqi American immigrants.
“My parents came to this country, to this city, in pursuit of the American dream,” he...
March 27th, 20211DEARBORN — The Dearborn City Council agreed to table four ordinances pertaining to zoning regulations on medical marijuana grow and sell facilities.
Councilman Mike Sareini said it’s important to recognize the three different acts regarding marijuana in the state. Dearborn opted out of the state's most recent medical and...
March 23rd, 20210DEARBORN — Following a Monday protest outside of the Dearborn Administrative Center this week, the Dearborn City Council has tabled four ordinances at its Tuesday meeting.
The ordinances tabled pertained to zoning regulations for medical marijuana grow and sell facilities.
According to Dearborn City Council President Susan...
February 5th, 20210DEARBORN — Former City Council President Tom Tafelski and financial advisor Jim Parrelly have entered the race for Dearborn mayor, both announcing their intent to run in recent days.
The Dearborn City Clerk’s Office told The Arab American News on Thursday that only Dearborn School Board member Hussein Berry, former Wayne County...
January 27th, 20210DEARBORN — In a unanimous vote, the Dearborn City Council voted to remove former Mayor Orville Hubbard’s name from the ballroom inside of the Ford Performing Arts Center.
Hubbard served as mayor from 1942 until 1978, was the city’s longest-serving mayor and was known as a segregationist.
The city's slogan "Keep Dearborn...
September 30th, 20201DEARBORN — With the COVID-19 pandemic greatly impacting multiple companies globally, Amtrak announced not only cuts to service, but also 2,000 jobs starting Oct. 1.
Amtrak and other railroad employees rallied outside of the John D. Dingell Transportation Center in Dearborn to raise awareness of these coming changes.
Event...
August 28th, 20200DEARBORN — Despite Police Chief Ron Haddad urging residents to dial 911 to report large gatherings or unmasked people in public spaces, the City Council has requested residents to stop calling the emergency 911 line for these reports.
With Dearborn leading Wayne County in new cases of COVID-19 over the last six weeks, excluding...
June 20th, 20200DEARBORN — The COVID-19 pandemic has hit state and municipal budgets hard. Businesses came to a screeching halt at the height of cases in Michigan, but with the state slowly transitioning into more relaxed phases, city governments are cautiously looking forward to a summer of economic activity.
The Arab American News spoke to...
March 5th, 20200DEARBORN – The public is welcome to attend workshops in March, April and May in which the City Council will be focused on the proposed budget for fiscal year 2021.
The proposed FY21 budget covers July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021.
Traditionally, multiple meetings take place between the administration and the City Council...
December 13th, 20193DEARBORN — The city of Dearborn unveiled a new look this week. Reactions from Dearbornites to their city’s new image ranged from utter disappointment, confusion and complete ambivalence to positive reactions to the fledgling and diverse new rebranding project.
Much was made of the city’s introduction of its new, more modern...
August 26th, 20190DEARBORN - On Tuesday, August 20, Dearborn City Council voted not to renew its prisoner housing contract with Calhoun County after a decade-long arrangement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to hold detainees.
This agreement was caused from controversy over detentions of undocumented immigrants by ICE.
The contract...
June 30th, 20190DEARBORN—The Dearborn City Council voted 4-1 last Tuesday to amend fixed rates charged to the city's water customers. According to Councilman David Bazzy, the move led to heated discussions.
“There was a lot of good discussions back and forth, some of it slightly heated, some of it not so heated," he said. "I think that either...
August 2nd, 20181DEARBORN – To many residents' satisfaction, the city won’t ask voters whether they want to sell a 40-acre parcel of land in Camp Dearborn that houses trailers to fund necessary infrastructure renovations.
Property and home owners are already paying hefty taxes, having to support a school district that includes a college, public...
August 2nd, 20180DEARBORN — The City Council rejected putting a millage proposal on the November ballot for the repair, renovation and operations of the Dearborn Historical Museum for up to five years.
According to a draft of the proposed millage as read by Councilman Mike Sareini, if adopted, it would raise an estimated $1.2 million the first year...
June 29th, 20180CORRECTION: Although its unfortunate to make errors in a story, The AANews cares deeply about reporting the facts and issue corrections when necessary.
This article has been updated to attribute quotes to the names of two current City Council members, instead of members who left the Council earlier this year.
An earlier version also...
March 30th, 20180DEARBORN – After much deliberation and suspense, the City Council unanimously voted March 27 to deny the rezoning of a parcel of land that would have allowed for the development of a Holiday Inn Express within a few hundred feet from schools, a handful of churches and Dearborn’s largest mosque.
The hospitality chain sought to...
February 9th, 20180γ By Stephen Martin
The Arab American News
DEARBORN — The Dearborn City Council unanimously approved a plan to spend no more than $4,256,200 on a new pool complex in Ford Woods Park, despite an estimated price tag of about $2 million less on a proposal posted on the city's website last year.
Council President Susan Dabaja...
