February 22nd, 20190Housing affordability is a top consideration when determining where to live. In 2018, the economy was strong and real estate prices went up. In 2019, many are predicting a downturn in the housing market.
The team at HomeArea.com created the cities in Michigan with the most affordable homes using the most recent Census Bureau data of...
February 8th, 20190On Tuesday, the Senate passed S.1, the "Middle East bill" that included the “Combating BDS Act of 2019”, a measure that encourages state and local governments to enact legislation that bars state agencies from contracting with individuals or companies who support boycotts of Israel, more commonly known as the Boycott, Divestment and...
January 18th, 20190LANSING — Betty Jean Alexander worked as a clerical specialist at the Wayne County Clerk’s office this time last year. She made $16 an hour, qualified for food stamps and took the bus to work.
Now, after a surprising primary election win last fall, the 53-year-old Detroiter and single mother of two daughters is a state senator....
January 18th, 20190LANSING — The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) will be issuing Food Assistant Program (FAP) benefits early for the month of February, as the partial federal government shutdown pushes toward a fourth week.
As part of an early move to ensure assistance next month, Michigan is rushing to hand out February food...
January 15th, 20190LANSING — Fadwa A. Hammoud, a resident of Dearborn, has been appointed as the state's solicitor general by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. She is the first Arab American and Muslim solicitor general in U.S. history.
“I am proud of the seasoned veterans who have chosen to return to state government – and to those who have...
December 16th, 20180DEARBORN - An estimated 3.6 million Michigan residents are expected to travel this season according to a press release from AAA, which would be the highest total in more than a decade.
The projected total would constitute a four percent increase from last year, the press release said, with travelers expected to utilize a wide variety...
December 16th, 20180GRAND RAPIDS — Michigan workers have been granted extra protection from one of the most dangerous heavy metals, lead, according to new rules from the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA).
The new rules will lower acceptable blood lead levels, replacing decades-old standards and going into effect on...
December 14th, 20180FARMINGTON HILLS — CAIR-MI filed a discrimination complaint with the Michigan Department of Civil Rights against Greyhound on behalf of a Muslim man who was kicked off of a bus for speaking on his phone in Arabic.
Earlier this year, Abrahaim Mohamed, an American Muslim, traveled from Michigan to Ohio by Greyhound bus.
A press...
December 8th, 20180MUSKEGON — A mother was sentenced to jail time after her young child missed more than three weeks of school without a valid excuse for any of the absences, according to a report.
On November 16, a Muskegon County judge ordered Brittany Ann Horton, 27, to spend five days behind bars and be placed on probation for nine months after...
December 8th, 20180LANSING — Many Michigan workers would not qualify for paid sick time or a minimum wage raise to $12 per hour until 2030 instead of 2022 under changes to citizen-initiated laws approved by the Republican-controlled Senate Government Operations Committee on November 28.
Back in September, the legislature passed bills to raise the...
December 7th, 20180DETROIT— Recreational marijuana became legal at midnight Thursday in Michigan, making it the first state in the Midwest to end the substance's prohibition.
Ten years after voters approved medical marijuana, Michigan is the 10th state to legalize recreational cannabis use, ending its criminalization and creating the potential for...
November 23rd, 20180LANSING — Recreational marijuana will become legal in Michigan starting Dec. 6, according to an official with the Secretary of State's Office.
Officials in Lansing stated that the State Board of Canvassers will meet Monday, Nov. 26 and the that new law will officially take effect Dec. 6.
The law takes 10 days after the election...
November 22nd, 20180DETROIT — A federal judge ordered the release Tuesday of roughly 100 Iraqi detainees held for more than 16 months, saying the federal government cannot indefinitely detain foreign nationals.
U.S. District Court Judge Mark Goldsmith granted two motions filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan in 2017: Release of the...
November 18th, 20180LANSING — Health officials are urging people to get vaccinated against measles and take other precautions after confirming 15 cases in Michigan this year.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services gave an update last Friday, saying it's the highest level the state has seen since 1994 when 26 cases were...
November 16th, 20180FLINT — Amor Ftouhi, a Tunisian national charged with terrorism and stabbing a police officer during a terror attack last year at Bishop International Airport in Flint, was convicted of all charges Tuesday.
Ftouhi, 51, faces up to life in prison for the June 2017 attack and will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Leitman...
November 16th, 20180DEARBORN — There have been several confirmed coyote sightings across Dearborn in recent months, some in highly-populated residential areas.
A more recent sighting was near Grindley Park.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources offered several suggestions and best practices on how to avoid conflicts with coyotes.
The...
November 13th, 20180LANSING - Michigan Attorney General-elect Dana Nessel recruited a team of experts to assist with the transition as she prepares to take office as Michigan’s 55th attorney general on Jan. 1.
Nessel chose former Attorney General Frank Kelley, who served as Michigan’s AG for 37 years, as chair of her team. He was the longest-serving...
October 22nd, 20180DETROIT, Michigan — The leading contributor to infant mortality is Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). SIDS is the unexplained death of a seemingly healthy baby, usually occurring during sleep among infants less than 1-year-old. As part of its Infant Mortality Reduction Plan, Michigan is promoting reducing sleep-related infant deaths...
October 21st, 20180DEARBORN — On Tuesday, October 16, State Rep. Abdullah Hammoud (D- Dearborn) and U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D- Dearborn) joined Jocelyn Benson, the Democratic candidate for secretary of state, for a town hall meeting at the Henry Ford Centennial Library.
Hammoud and Dingell both made opening remarks.
Benson said she believes...
September 26th, 20180LANSING — On Monday, September 24, former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abdul El-Sayed announced that he'll launch a state-based political action committee to boast liberal candidates and progressive causes in Michigan.
El-Sayed’s new group, SouthPaw MI PAC, will emphasize grassroots organizing and provide financial support to...
September 15th, 20181DEARBORN – Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gretchen Whitmer has reaffirmed her “unwavering support” for Israel and said she is 100 percent opposed to BDS.”
In response to what Whitmer’s campaign calls “baseless smears” from her Republican opponent Bill Schuette's “partisan attack dogs” in the form of articles...
September 14th, 20180LANSING — A recent survey by the Detroit News and WDIV-TV found that Michigan voters favor a recreational marijuana initiative on the ballot this November.
The new poll of 600 Michiganders suggests marijuana Proposal 1 would pass comfortably nine weeks before the election, while Proposal 2, to end gerrymandering, was split in...
September 8th, 20180LANSING — On Wednesday, state lawmakers adopted proposals to raise Michigan’s minimum wage and require employers to offer paid sick leave, keeping the citizen-initiated proposals off the November ballot and making it easier for the GOP-majority legislature to amend them after the elections.
The proposals that Michigan’s Senate...
September 8th, 20180ANN ARBOR — For the first time, students from Palestine Polytechnic University (PPU) were able to have the opportunity to be a part of the abroad Entrepreneurial Education Program taking place in Ann Arbor and Detroit.
Global Ties Detroit, in partnership with the University of Michigan (U of M) and the Arab American Women’s...
September 3rd, 20180LANSING — Michigan’s state-wide reading and writing exam results may concern residents after the state invested around $100 million to improve reading instruction.
The results, which were released Wednesday morning by the Michigan Department of Education (MDE), stated that only 44 percent of students in grades 3-8 who took the...
August 31st, 20180A proposal to increase Michigan’s minimum wage to $12 an hour over the next four years will be on the November ballot, pending the outcome made by the the Michigan Supreme Court.
The members of the Board of State Canvassers voted 3-0 to certify the ballot proposal on Friday, Aug. 24.
The proposal, which is backed by a committee...
August 31st, 20180LANSING – Michigan voters are gearing up to elect candidates for governor, attorney general and secretary of state, among others, on November 6.
Following the primary elections, which saw the defeat of progressive candidate Abdul El-Sayed to his rival and establishment Democrat, Gretchen Whitmer, elected officials and Arab Americans...
August 19th, 20180WASHINGTON, D.C. — As women line up to run for U.S. political office at historic rates, state legislatures — where some of America’s most critical policy decisions get made — could see a slew of new female lawmakers after November’s vote, according to a Reuters analysis of election data.
In Michigan, for example, a state...
