June 24th, 20220DETROIT — A local outreach program of the FBI, the FBI Detroit Citizens Academy, aims to educate and address the public on different societal issues such as crime, terrorism, drugs and violence.
The FBI Citizens Academy is a national program with several branches around the country, including one based in Detroit.
The program is...
June 23rd, 20220HAMTRAMCK — The city of Hamtramck is on track to provide its residents election ballots and materials in Arabic for the August primary.
City officials confirmed the progress of the ballots with The Arab American News this week.
Hamtramck passed a language access resolution to provide federal voting rights act language...
June 22nd, 20220DETROIT — The Detroit-Wayne Joint Building Authority's Executive Director Gregory McDuffee has announced his retirement effective this December, after serving as executive director for 17 years.
McDuffee began his career with the Authority as an appointed commissioner, serving from January 2002 through September 2005, followed by...
June 7th, 20220DEARBORN — On Monday, Diabolique Paris Johnson, 35, of Indianapolis, pleaded guilty to charges of second degree murder, felony firearm and armed robbery for a string of crimes he committed in Dearborn and Detroit in 2020.
Due to the nature of the crimes and the victims involved, state and Wayne County officials alleged the man had...
May 28th, 20220WAYNE COUNTY — With a dedication to public service, Samer “Sam” Jaafar has been named Wayne County’s new director of Homeland Security.
The appointment is subject to Wayne County Commission approval.
Jaafar has served as deputy director of Homeland Security and Emergency Management since February 2011.
In his role,...
May 20th, 20220DETROIT/DEARBORN — Wayne County Sheriff Raphael “Ray” Washington received major endorsements at a rally on Tuesday, as he runs to retain his position in this August’s primary election.
The endorsement rally took place at the Union Carpenters and Millwrights Skilled Training Center on the city’s west side, a 147,000 square...
May 5th, 20220DEARBORN — Democrat Jeff Pepper defeated Republican challenger Ginger Shearer for the District 15 State House partial term in Tuesday’s special election, amid low voter turnout and heavy absentee voting.
The low overall turnout was consistent with the special primary that preceded Tuesday’s general. Only 9.5 percent of...
May 4th, 20220DETROIT — Two Metro Detroit men have been charged with conspiracy and embezzling $1.7 million in Wayne County funds.
The funds were intended for the Wayne County Roads Division.
The suspects, Kevin Gunn, 64 of West Bloomfield, and John Gibson, 54 of Detroit, were both employed with Wayne County when they allegedly solicited...
May 3rd, 20220A new online tool lets Michigan residents track down the nearest spots where they can find testing and therapeutic treatments for COVID-19.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) said the tool for Michigan residents and health care providers. The tool is provided through Solvhealth.com, a company that connects...
April 16th, 20220DEARBORN - Wayne County Clerk Cathy Garrett appeared at the Dearborn City Council meeting this week to give her input, in public, to the city’s present language access efforts.
The Council passed a resolution in March, brought forth by Councilman Mustapha Hammoud, that sought to ensure ballots and other election materials would be...
April 14th, 20220WAYNE COUNTY — On Tuesday, April 12, Wayne County Commissioners declared April as Arab American Heritage Month in the county, unanimously approving a resolution sponsored by Commissioners Sam Baydoun (D-Dearborn) and Al Haidous (D-Wayne).
“It is more important than ever that we recognize the many contributions Arab Americans...
April 6th, 20220DEARBORN — Drivers can expect to see delays when using Miller Road between Rotunda Drive and Dix Avenue, starting on April 6, as construction is expected to last until the fall.
The construction project will consist of more than one mile of concrete pavement removal and replacement, including new driveway approaches, sidewalk ramps...
March 31st, 20221DETROIT — On Thursday, Governor Whitmer announced the appointment of Susan Dabaja to the Third Circuit Court of Wayne County for a partial term in order to fill out a vacancy.
Whitmer also announced the appointment of Christopher Blount to that court for a partial term.
A former City Council president in Dearborn, and a former...
March 11th, 20220DETROIT – A dozen doctors are among 16 people in Michigan and Ohio who have been sentenced to prison in an opioid scheme that included the distribution of 6.6 million pills and $250 million in false billings, authorities said.
The health care fraud exploited patients suffering from opioid addiction, the Justice Department said in a...
March 7th, 20221DEARBORN — With local drivers suffering through a particularly bad pothole season, we reached out to the city of Dearborn to get insight on how it’s tackling the problem on the neighborhood roads it maintains.
Damage from deteriorating roads is a real financial burden for drivers, in Michigan and beyond. AAA says U.S. drivers...
March 4th, 20220WAYNE COUNTY — Pothole season continues in Metro Detroit and across the state, with drivers facing expensive repairs and even insurance claims from damaged wheels and suspensions.
Wayne County announced last week its highway division was increasing crews and work hours on roads it’s in charge of maintaining, expanding repair...
February 21st, 20220WAYNE COUNTY — County residents should see increased road repair work from a new annual program that aims to address the potholes emerging from freezing weather.
The Wayne County Department of Public Services' new program begins the week of Feb. 21 and will see Wayne County expanding staff schedules to 10 hours per day/six days a...
February 16th, 20220LANSING — The state’s health authority said this week that COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continue to decline since this winter’s surge brought on by the spread of highly infectious variants and that it is adjusting its approach to the pandemic in the recovery phase.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services...
February 12th, 20220WAYNE COUNTY — Wayne County will be opening five hybrid sites throughout the county to offer both COVID-19 testing and vaccinations.
The sites will offer first doses, second doses and boosters.
The sites will have both the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and tests and Antigen Rapid Tests.
COVID-19 vaccines are available for...
February 12th, 20220WAYNE COUNTY — Wayne County officials said in a press release that they are expecting to lift the mask mandate by Feb. 28, joining counties like Oakland and Washtenaw.
The decision comes from a downturn in daily COVID-19 cases over the last month and the most significant decline over the last week.
“We are encouraged by the...
February 2nd, 20220WAYNE COUNTY — There is financial help available to veterans who may be struggling with their rent and utility payments in Wayne County.
While the county has more than 84,000 veterans, the COVID-19 pandemic has made it difficult for the Wayne County Veteran Services Division to make the community aware of the resources it offers to...
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 25th, 20220DEARBORN — Wayne County officials have partnered with the CDC and the city of Dearborn to host a COVID-19 testing site this week.
The testing site will be located at the south side parking lot of Ford Field Park at 22051 Cherry Hill Street in Dearborn.
Testing will be available on Tuesday, Jan. 25 from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. and...
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...
December 26th, 20210With COVID-19 cases continuing to surge in the area, religious and community leaders are urging people to take caution around the holidays.
The Wayne County Health Department COVID-19 dashboard shows Dearborn still in the lead for total cases and deaths. County-wide cases continue to average well above 500 a day and hospital emergency...
December 10th, 20210WAYNE COUNTY — Since the Nov. 30 Oxford High School shootings, 20 students were charged with making threats to Metro Detroit schools, while a 21st was charged with having a weapon.
The Nov. 30 attack at Oxford High School was the deadliest school shooting since May 2018.
There have been 29 school shootings so far this year,...
December 1st, 20210By Kathy Angerer
Hamtramck is a very unique community. The 2020 Census revealed that our population is among the fastest-growing in Michigan. We are the most diverse city in Michigan, with a wide range of cultures from all around the world represented among our people. 41.4 percent of our population was born outside the United States;...
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...