January 28th, 20220With the 2021 individual income tax filing season now open, residents affected by last year's severe storms and flooding should know they are eligible to save on taxes.
The IRS says that due to the catastrophic flooding this past June and the ensuing losses, as well as the subsequent presidential declaration of a disaster area,...
January 20th, 20220DETROIT — Former Detroit City Councilman Andre Spivey has been sentenced to two years in prison after pleading guilty to bribery.
Spivey had resigned in September after pleading guilty and admitting to accepting more than $35,000 in bribes in exchange for towing contracts.
The court said that it will delay when he has to report...
January 14th, 20220Schools in the U.S. can expect additional COVID-19 tests, being made available by the federal government, in about two weeks.
The additional tests are part of a Biden administration strategy to keep schools open during a nationwide coronavirus surge, accelerated by the highly contagious Omicron variant.
The White House has said the...
January 4th, 20220DEARBORN — 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...
December 29th, 20210The 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...
December 24th, 20210MICHIGAN — 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...
December 16th, 20210DETROIT — The Detroit TCF Center, previously known as Cobo Hall, has gotten yet another name change.
The property is now called Huntington Place after TCF Bank (TCF Financial Corp.) merged with Huntington Bancshares in June.
ASM Global, the company that manages the convention center, says it is the 16th largest in the...
December 16th, 20210DETROIT — The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) is expanding COVID-19 vaccinations at its neighborhood testing sites to also offer the vaccine to children ages 5- 11-years-old. To date, vaccines have only been offered at these sites to adults and children ages 12 and older.
On Nov. 2, Pfizer's COVID-19...
December 14th, 20210LANSING — The state of Michigan announced a new consumer page for residents to learn about the upcoming $400 car insurance refund checks, for which the state has set a May 29 deadline on insurers.
The state has also launched a consumer FAQ page at Michigan.gov/MCCArefund. The web page contains important information and answers...
November 19th, 20210DETROIT - Amid a surge in cases, Michigan officials are now urging people to get their COVID-19 vaccine boosters, that are now approved for anyone over 18 years of age by the FDA.
Daily cases in the state have consistently risen since a drastic reduction last summer, showing an upward cumulative trend. Cases peaked with over 6,500...
November 19th, 20210DETROIT — The National Arab American Bar Association (NAABA) Michigan Chapter held its first annual End of the Year Khalta on Nov. 17 at the Atheneum Suite Hotel in Detroit.
This was the new association’s first event and the organization says it was elated by the turnout.
NAABA Michigan formed eight months ago, with the same...
November 16th, 20210DEARBORN — ACCESS, the nation's largest Arab American community nonprofit providing both human services and programming, announced its CEO transition is now complete, with Maha Freij leading the organization as president and CEO effective Oct. 1.
Freij takes over the role after long-time ACCESS CEO Hassan Jaber announced his...
November 4th, 20210DEARBORN — 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...
November 1st, 20210LANSING — 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...
October 25th, 20210WASHINGTON, D.C. — A new report published by the federal government's consumer affairs watchdog agency shows a disproportionate impact of certain scams which target communities of color.
The staff report by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) highlight the unique types of consumer problems that these communities face, as well as how...
October 22nd, 20210— This article by Abdul El-Sayed originally appeared in the newsletter The Incision. It has been edited for style. Subscribe to The Incision here: incision.substack.com
About a month after my 2018 Michigan gubernatorial campaign ended, I sat among Yemeni American community leaders in the enclave of South Dearborn. With large,...
October 20th, 20210LANSING — On Wednesday, the state announced a proposal for $32 million in law enforcement funding, as part of an overall "$75 million MI Safe Communities" framework, touted by Governor Whitmer as a way to "reduce crime and keep families safe."
The latest funding would have multiple pieces and is geared towards "communities with...
October 15th, 20210DEARBORN — A fresh set of draft maps for the State House, Senate and federal Congressional districts published by the state’s citizen-led Redistricting Commission have been available for public consideration for the past few weeks.
Those draft maps currently in front of the 13-member Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting...
October 6th, 20210DETROIT — A men’s health event in Detroit is providing free essential men’s health screenings and tests, valued at more than $2,000, at Ford Field in Detroit.
The MIU Men’s Health Foundation is hosting the 11th annual Men’s Health Event, presented by Endo Pharmaceuticals, on Saturday, Oct. 9, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Ford...
October 2nd, 20210DETROIT — The Detroit Branch of the NAACP will honor outgoing ACCESS president and CEO Hassan Jaber with a lifetime achievement award this Sunday, Oct. 3 at the TCF Center in Detroit.
The local branch of one of the country’s largest historic civil rights organizations announced that Jaber was named the James Weldon Johnson...
September 29th, 20210DETROIT — Detroit City Councilman Andre Spivey has pleaded guilty to accepting more than $35,000 to influence towing contracts.
The plea comes two months after Spivey, 47, was indicted on the charge.
Spivey entered his guilty plea to conspiracy to commit bribery on Tuesday and will leave his seat on the City Council. He could...
September 27th, 20210— This article was written with generous support from the Education Writers Association's Reporting Fellows program
There is little doubt that the Arab American community in Metro Detroit has made great headway in gaining political and economic security as it grows and evolves. Much of this momentum can be attributed to a culture...
September 22nd, 20210DETROIT — In a unanimous vote, the Detroit City Council officially confirmed the appointment of James White as Detroit’s 43rd police chief.
White is a 24-year veteran with the department and previously served as assistant chief from 2012 until 2020 and is also a licensed mental health counselor. He said he is committed to looking...
September 15th, 20212The Michigan chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI) is asking the Ferndale Police Department to take action after its officers arrested a Muslim woman, subjected her to searches by male officers and coerced her to remove her hijab for a photo, violating her constitutional rights.
At a press conference on...
September 13th, 20210WAYNE COUNTY — On Saturday, Sept. 11, the Wayne County Sheriff's Department arrested a White woman who assaulted a Muslim African American woman on a flight from Atlanta to Detroit.
Aicha Toure, who is visibly Muslim due to her headscarf, was traveling on a Spirit Airlines flight from Atlanta to Detroit when a White woman whom she...
September 8th, 20210WAYNE COUNTY – The deadline for survivors of the June 25–26 severe storms and flooding to register with FEMA for individual disaster assistance has been extended to Wednesday, Oct. 13, the agency announced Wednesday.
The extension applies to survivors living in Wayne and Washtenaw Counties. The original deadline was Sept....
September 3rd, 20210DEARBORN — Hassan Samir Saad, 33, and Ali Hussein Keblawi, 26, both of Dearborn, have been charged for their part in an illegal opioid operation out of a pharmacy in Redford.
On Wednesday, acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Saima Mohsin announced an indictment against Saad and Keblawi as well as two patient...
August 27th, 20211A letter co-led by U.S. Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit) and Debbie Dingell (D-Dearborn) is urging the Biden administration to allow Lebanese nationals an extension of their stay in the U.S. during Lebanon's dire economic crisis, by designating Lebanon for Temporary Protected Status, or TPS.
Support for the letter is growing in the...
