June 2nd, 20200DEARBORN — Arab Americans will continue to participate in actions in solidarity with African Americans and in demonstrations against police brutality across the country. In Metro Detroit alone, prominent Arab Americans are joining others to condemn the senseless killing of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer last...
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 — 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 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 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, 20200DEARBORN — Many in the state may have heard of the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission. Michiganders voted to create the commission in 2018 to give citizens exclusive power over the drawing of district boundaries for the Michigan Senate and House, and the U.S. Congress, every 10 years.
This means that 13...
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, 20201WYANDOTTE — Wyandotte's city government announced the passing of Wyandotte Mayor Joe Peterson today.
"The city of Wyandotte is deeply saddened to announce the passing of our mayor, Joe Peterson," the city government posted on its Facebook page. "Mayor Peterson served the city in numerous capacities for many years and his love for...
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, 20200ROYAL OAK — The Michigan Muslim Community Council (MMCC) is organizing a televised celebration marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan on May 24 at 10 a.m., to be aired on the station WMYT, TV 20 Detroit (found on all local cable networks). This event will also be live-streamed on multiple social media platforms.
In accordance...
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, 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, 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, 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...
May 7th, 20200DETROIT – The 1,000-bed TCF Center field hospital in the city's downtown is no longer caring for COVID-19 patients and is "officially closed down," Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said Thursday.
At most, the care center inside the convention center cared for about 15 to 20 patients at any given time, the mayor said during an afternoon...
May 7th, 20200LANSING — On Thursday, Governor Whitmer signed Executive Order 2020-77 to extend Michigan’s "Stay Home, Stay Safe" order to May 28. The governor’s order will allow manufacturing workers, including those at Michigan’s Big Three auto companies, to resume work on Monday, May 11 as part of her MI Safe Start Plan.
“This is...
May 6th, 20200
LANSING — On Wednesday, Governor Whitmer signed Executive Order 2020-76, expediting the unemployment benefits process during the continuing COVID-19 pandemic. The most significant takeaway from this development: The state will now only look at an unemployed individual's most recent job separation, which is the cause of the...
May 6th, 20200While there have been multiple reports of Asian giant hornets attacking beehives in Washington, it will be years before they spread to the Midwest according to a board certified entomologist.
Dubbed “Murder Hornets” by researchers, the species has a venomous sting that can kill a human if they are stung several times.
The hornets...
May 4th, 20200LANSING — Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) Director Robert Gordon issued an Emergency Order today that shortens the time frame hospitals and funeral directors have to contact individuals with authority over disposition of the body of a deceased individual and the amount of time that individual has to make a...
May 4th, 20200DEARBORN — Dearborn Public Schools has officially postponed high school graduations scheduled for early June and early college ceremonies set for May.
“As we continue to see encouraging signs that social distancing and other preventative measures ordered by the governor are making a difference in slowing the spread of COVID-19,...
