November 20th, 20210DEARBORN HEIGHTS — Hassan Beydoun, the football coach and defensive coordinator for Crestwood High School, has been appointed to the Crestwood School Board.
Beydoun, the father of three, moved to Dearborn Heights in 2009 and started volunteering as a coach in 2010 when his neighbor, who was also a coach, got him to come help the...
November 18th, 20210DEARBORN HEIGHTS — An announcement was made at the Nov. 17 school board meeting that the D7 School District will return to virtual learning temporarily.
A letter posted on the district’s Facebook page from Interim Superintendent Dr. Mary Ann Cyr cited recent upticks in COVID-19 cases as the reason.
“Due to the increase and...
November 18th, 20210DEARBORN HEIGHTS — After months of complaints by residents regarding the service received by GFL, the city council has decided on a new trash hauler.
Green For Life Environment (GFL), a Southfield based company, was first awarded in 2016, despite being more expensive than other bids.
Shortly after the June floods that resulted...
November 12th, 20210DEARBORN – Tragedy struck the community when a 6-year-old was struck and killed by a driver on a residential street in Dearborn on Sunday.
The Dearborn Police Department said that on Nov. 7, at approximately 2:50 p.m., officers responded to the 7600 block of Bingham Hit on the report of a pedestrian who had been struck by a vehicle....
November 5th, 20210DETROIT — Residents of Southeast Michigan who experienced uninsured and underinsured damage or losses from the June 25-26 severe storms, flooding and tornadoes only have one week remaining to apply for federal assistance. The deadline to apply is Friday, Nov. 12. It’s important to understand the following six things when applying...
November 5th, 20210This week, headlines regarding Tuesday’s election across local, national and international media included some version of the word "historic."
Not surprising when one takes into consideration that three Arab American candidates in some of the state’s densest cities enjoyed landslide victories for mayoral races: Amer Ghalib in...
November 5th, 20210DEARBORN HEIGHTS — With partial and full terms for City Council and clerk, a full term for treasurer and different proposals on the ballot this year, the results are in for all but one position.
City Council
One of the partial terms on the ballot was to finish out former Councilwoman Lisa Hicks-Clayton’s term when she was...
October 30th, 20211Elections are always important. That is why, in every election since its inception, The Arab American News has encouraged the Arab American community to be involved in the decision-making process and to show up to vote and run for public offices. This local election is no different in terms of importance, but it is also unique in the...
October 30th, 20210The Arab American News is endorsing three candidates for City Council, one for mayor and one for treasurer in the Nov. 2 election.
For mayor, The Arab American News is endorsing incumbent Mayor Bill Bazzi for both the partial and full term.
Bill Bazzi was appointed mayor on January 26 to succeed the late Daniel Paletko, who passed...
October 27th, 20210DEARBORN HEIGHTS — Wayne County has joined forces with the city of Dearborn Heights for “Phase One” of the Ecorse Creek cleanup.
On Oct. 23, teams removed loads of debris and log jams from sections of Ecorse Creek near Swapka Park.
The event started with opening remarks from Mayor Bill Bazzi, Wayne County Executive Warren C....
October 22nd, 20210DEARBORN HEIGHTS — With the general elections fast approaching, some residents may not know what is on the ballot for their precincts.
On all precincts’ ballots, there are the partial terms for mayor, ending on Dec. 31, city clerk, ending on Dec. 31, and a City Council seat, ending on Dec. 31, 2023, as well as the full terms...
October 16th, 20210— Amer Zahr is a comedian, writer, speaker and adjunct professor at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law
I have been closely following the Michigan redistricting process as it pertains to Dearborn and the State House. I presented once in front of the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (MICRC) on Sept. 7...
October 16th, 20210DEARBORN HEIGHTS — District 7 School Board of Education member Nathaniel Cann is responding to rumors about his past and his present.
Residents elected Cann to the school board in the general election last year and he made history by becoming the first Black man to be elected to the D7 School Board.
On Jan. 6, a fellow board...
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 9th, 20210DEARBORN HEIGHTS — Mayor Bill Bazzi and his administration announced their ideas for flood mitigation during a recent town hall meeting.
The meeting was held at the First Assembly of God and included City Engineer Ali Dib and U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit) to discuss the infrastructure and Ecorse Creek flooding issues.
Dib...
October 8th, 20210DEARBORN — Members of the Arab American Political Action Committee (AAPAC) have voted on their endorsements for the 2021 general elections.
AAPAC is the oldest Arab American political organization, established in 1998 and formed by a group of Arab Americans who set out to organize and encourage the political activities of the Arab...
October 7th, 20210DEARBORN HEIGHTS — The Michigan Supreme Court is hearing arguments in the case of a man sentenced to 17 years in prison for the shooting death of a woman in 2013.
Ted Wafer of Dearborn Heights is asking the court to reconsider his second-degree murder and manslaughter convictions.
He is arguing that it was improper to be charged...
October 2nd, 20210The state’s citizen-led redistricting effort is approaching some crucial deadlines and draft maps have been released for public consideration that show how the process could potentially rework the state’s political maps.
Michigan voters approved the creation of the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (MICRC) in...
September 29th, 20211DEARBORN HEIGHTS — With only three members of the City Council attending the Council meeting, there was no quorum and the meeting was forced to be adjourned.
The Council meeting lasted only 12 and a half minutes as only Council Chairwoman Denise Malinowski-Maxwell, Councilman Mo Baydoun and Councilman Bob Constan were in...
September 29th, 20210DEARBORN HEIGHTS — With residents becoming increasingly frustrated over the service being provided by GFL, the city is stepping into action.
Ever since the June flooding that impacted more than 1,500 residents, GFL has not been performing well and some residents have even reported it taking days or even weeks for their yard waste,...
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 12th, 20210DEARBORN HEIGHTS — Mayor Bill Bazzi has recently been accused of faking his military service, his name and using his military uniform for political gain.
Bazzi served four years in the Marine Corps and 17 years as a reserve officer before retiring in 2016 as a gunnery sergeant.
The allegations came forward at the Aug. 24 City...
September 10th, 20210DEARBORN HEIGHTS — After nearly a month of back-and-forth, tension-filled meetings and allegations, Mayor Bill Bazzi is addressing the water bill debacle in detail.
Council Chairwoman Denise Malinowski-Maxwell alleged that Bazzi had written off more than $30,000 worth of water bills for the Bellagio Banquet and Conference Center on...
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 4th, 20210DEARBORN HEIGHTS — The New York sensation, The Halal Guys, has found a home in Dearborn Heights, becoming the first location to open in Michigan.
The Halal Guys began as a hot dog cart in New York City in 1990, founded by three Egyptians.
As many of their customers were Muslim taxi drivers, the customers had told the founders...
September 1st, 20210WAYNE COUNTY — FEMA is reminding residents of Wayne County impacted by the June 25-26 severe storms and flooding that the application deadline to receive assistance is Monday, Sept. 13. The deadline is the same for residents of Washtenaw and Wayne Counties to get assistance towards damage or losses from the storms.
Washtenaw and...
August 31st, 20210MONROE COUNTY — Rescue crews have located the body of a missing Dearborn Heights man in Lake Erie. The man, who has since been identified as Ghaleb Assaf, 59, went missing on Sunday, Aug. 29 after leaving the boat he was on to swim in the lake.
Assaf's body was located in the water near Sterling State Park.
Monroe County Central...
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...
