Dearborn : In the News

Wait, wait, wait... Don't leave Dearborn yet. There is a possibility you haven't seen it all, especially if you spend most of your time on the west side. You may have forgotten the gem that is East Dearborn. Or you may have just passed through that little gem. Either way, you should get out and explore the businesses, the restaurants, and the sidewalks of East Dearborn.

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While there are vacant suites, as there are in any downtown today, East Downtown Dearborn is a beautiful business district. Visitors will find new sidewalks, landscaping, tucked-in on-street parking spaces and more.

Business owners there wisely decided to keep paying the special assessment district fund and due to their foresight, east downtown has free customer parking.

Boettcher and I visited the M&M CafÈ across from City Hall, owned by Maurice and Elaine Ltief. The food and service was incredible, and M&M CafÈ is a restaurant I highly recommend to anyone looking for great food and service at reasonable prices.

I also spoke with Ron Amen, director of the Arab American National Museum, across from City Hall. Many people do not realize its affiliation with the Smithsonian. It is also the first museum in the world devoted to Arab-American history and culture. What it offers Dearborn, and America, is incredible and can clear up many misconceptions pertaining to our wonderful Middle Eastern neighbors. Visit the museum's Web site at http://www.arabamericanmuseum.org/ to find out more.

Read the entire article here.

Now it's serious, folks. A movie studio is moving into Allen Park. But it's not just a win for Allen Park, it's a win for neighboring Dearborn. At least that's what city officials are saying.

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East Dearborn Downtown Development Authority Executive Director Michael Boettcher Thursday said the construction and subsequent opening of a movie production studio in Allen Park -- to be called "Unity Studios" and located at Southfield Road and Enterprise Drive, near I-94 -- is an outstanding idea and believes that while the studio is technically in Allen Park, the project could prove to be an economic boon for the city of Dearborn, as well.

"I think Dearborn can be a destination for people who come into the area to work at the studio," Boettcher said.

Dearborn Mayor Jack O'Reilly shared Boettcher's sentiments, adding that with the studio being minutes away from Dearborn, the city's restaurants and hotels could see a huge increase in business.

Read the entire article here.

This editorial is about West Dearborn but the guy has a point and his sentiments can be applied to any community or city. Pulling cash from your pocket to put in the pocket of the local bakery keeps that money local. Shopping in your own community can save your community businesses. He's right.

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Nonetheless, the success of DTWD is also in the hands of loyal residents, who in sheer volume and repeat business can still make a positive difference. Therefore, we need to ask ourselves: do we want to lose more locally-owned businesses that are great meeting places and have excellent food at bargain prices, such as the Little CafÈ and Angelo's Pizzeria?

If we do not want to lose more of these businesses, it is now time for us to consider where we shop.

Rather than going to neighboring communities, people with disposable income should again choose to spend it in downtown West Dearborn or we will lose even more unique, locally-owned businesses that have been around for quite some time.

Read the entire article here.

After years of speculation and meetings, the Detroit to Ann Arbor light rail should begin in October. Some communities, like Dearborn, are hoping to get a jump on the process to expedite the ride.

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A three-year trial system of a proposed intermodal rail passenger station that would allow passengers to ride from Ann Arbor to Detroit is slated to begin next October.

Officials in the city of Dearborn are looking to get a jump on the process, as on March 2, the Dearborn City Council unanimously approved a resolution authorizing Mayor Jack O'Reilly to execute an amendment to renew and extend a contract with the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) through Sept. 30 for site selection, environmental assessment and preliminary engineering and design of an intermodal station in Dearborn.

Read the entire article here.

Not everyone goes to Cancun for spring break. Some people don't go anywhere. And some other people stick around and volunteer their time to improving metro Detroit. It's called Alternative Spring Break. And instead of sunscreen and sand in the shorts these kids have a hammer and nails and toolbelts.

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Alternative Spring Break participants not only give up potential time in the sun relaxing, they also forego trips to volunteer in hurricane-damaged areas along the Gulf Coast. Instead, they perform service projects to help those in need elsewhere. Detroit is one of several non-disaster locations.

About 50 students are working in metro Detroit, building wheelchair ramps in Detroit and Warren and performing service projects at Vista Maria in Dearborn, the Lighthouse Path in Pontiac and Franklin Wright Settlements in Detroit.

The student volunteers are from several different states. Many were here last year for the inaugural program and are returning this year as project site leaders.

Read the entire article here.

Maybe not so much right now, but one day Dearborn may be high on the list of tourist destinations. At least that's what Dearborn Mayor Jack O'Reilly is aiming for.

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"People would come in to shop and eat. We're 10 minutes away from the airport. We have hockey, baseball and even football," O'Reilly said, poking fun at the awful Detroit Lions.

"I think something like that would be very successful. It's not pie in the sky, either. It's very viable."

O'Reilly also discussed the prospects of business and tourists corridors on both Warren and Dix in the South End. He said a corridor on Warren could introduce visitors to the Middle East.

Although he doesn't expect to be around that long, O'Reilly touted going beyond the usual five-year stretch that is looked at when a community does its master plan. He said he thinks that plan should project out to where the city could be "25 years from now."

"I want to make sure Dearborn is a desirable place to be years down the road," O'Reilly said.

Read the entire article here.

Winning anything that's gold is a pretty sweet deal. Gold medal, gold watch, gold tooth... and a gold seal, which is exactly what four Oakwood Healthcare System hospitals have won.

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Oakwood Healthcare System has been awarded the Gold Seal of Approval from the Joint Commission, the nation's accrediting body measuring safety and quality in health care.

Oakwood is the only organization in the state to have four hospitals receive the award for its hip and knee joint replacement surgeries. Overall, seven hospitals in the state offer knee and hip replacement, including the four Dearborn and Downriver area Oakwood facilities.

Read the entire article here.

It's not exactly grocery shopping online yet... but it might not be far off. For right now Westborn Market has opened up an online shopping component for floral arrangements as well as a number of bakery fruit, and gift baskets.

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If you're looking for a convenient way to shop and avoid the rush on Valentine's Day and other occasions, Westborn Market is encouraging customers to visit its new online store at www.westbornmarket.com.

Floral arrangements along with a large variety of bakery, fruit and gift baskets, all starting at $29.99, are now available on the store's web site with full color photos and descriptions of each selection.

Read the entire article here.

People have been screaming it for months now. Clean and alternative energy could put a huge dent in the unemployment number by supplying hundreds of jobs to out of work Michiganders. And here is another one of those screams.

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Hundreds of jobs could be created in Southeast Michigan and more than 3 million nationally if President-elect Barack Obama earmarks $150 billion toward clean energy technology, according to a report released Tuesday by Dearborn-based Environment Michigan.

"Our nation can no longer afford the toll dirty energy is exacting on our environment and economy," said Shelley Vinyard, environmental associate at Environment Michigan. "Clean energy can protect our environment and rev our economic engine to generate a brighter future for Michigan."

Read the entire article here.

Dearborn is one of Metro Detroit's oldest cities and home to one of Detroit's most famous sons, Henry Ford. Over the decades it has also attracted the largest population of Arabs and Arab-Americans in America. With such history and culture, the city has accumulated a number for historical sites. Dearborn's Press & Guide asks local residents not to forget about these spots.

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One of our city's special places is the Dearborn Inn that Henry Ford had designed by famed artist Albert Kahn.

The Dearborn Inn opened in July 1931, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and features 229 rooms, including five Colonial guest homes. It became the first airport hotel in the country serving Ford's Dearborn airport.

Additional features include The Early American Room, a fine dining restaurant; the Ten Eyck Tavern, a home-style dining establishment; a seasonal outdoor pool and 17,000 square feet of meeting space, including the Alexandria Ballroom, which Ford built to satisfy his love of dancing

Read the entire article here.

Gran Torino hit the theaters with a bang and a splash and Michigan was all over that thing. In the next few months nearly a dozen of other films will be released that were filmed here. And next year, well, that number could be doubled. Especially if the studios come in and put up a few stages. Dearborn and Allen Park are in talks right now to possibly be a few of the takers of those studio stages.

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Dearborn Mayor Jack O'Reilly on Thursday said he recently took the deputy director of the Mich-igan Film Commission on a guided tour of Dearborn as a way for the deputy director to gauge the possibility of housing a movie studio in Dearborn.

"(The Michigan Film Commission) has strong interest in southeast Michigan," O'Reilly said. "They want to have studios in a number of areas in the state, including the Grand Rapids area and Traverse City.

"The city of Dearborn has been proactive in the area of attracting filmmakers. We were the first community in the state to change an ordinance allowing filmmakers to shoot on public property without getting permission from the city. They just have to go to the police department."

Read the entire article here.

The Arab American National Museum in Dearborn is the only one of its kind. It's the only museum devoted to Arab American's in nation, and the world for that matter. To help secure long-term stability in an unstable economy the Kresge Foundation have awarded the AANM $500,000.

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The Troy-based Kresge Foundation has awarded a $500,000 grant to the Arab American National Museum.

The grant is for general operating support of the museum, a project of the Dearborn-based nonprofit human services agency ACCESS.

But the overarching goal of the grant is to help the museum secure long-term stability, the organizations said in a press release.

For the entire article go here.

For more information about the Arab American National Museum go here.

It's getting closer and closer and closer. And, soon, coming to a city near you, will be a depot station for it. Cities running along the Ann Arbor-Detroit commuter line are looking for funding for their rail stations.

It's another step forward, and closer to all aboard.

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City of Dearborn officials have said they have a three-phase plan in place to complete the city's new high-speed rail passenger intermodal station that will be a part of an Ann Arbor to Detroit commuter rail line. If funding is allocated, the station would sit on the south side of Michigan Avenue just east of Brady near the Henry Ford.

But Dearborn isn't the only city looking for funding for an updated station, as each city on the line -- Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Wayne/Westland and Detroit -- have plans for new or updated intermodal stations, according to city of Dearborn Director of Economic & Community Development Barry Murray.

Read the entire article here.

Dearborn's Arab-American National Museum was honored for a digital photography program for middle schoolers.

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A free digital photography program for middle school students offered by the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn has been honored by the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities.

The SURA Arts Academy is one of 15 programs nationally that received the committee's Coming up Taller award Friday in Washington. First lady Laura Bush, the committee's honorary chairwoman, presented the award.

Read the entire article here.

Whether you like Dearborn's Miller's Bar or Royal Oak's Red Coat Tavern, you favorite burger joint is bound to show up somewhere on the Freep's list of best burgers in town. Not into red meat? Don't worry, check out No. 24. Ferndale's Flytrap has a salmon burger just waiting for consumption.

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When we asked readers this fall to point us toward Detroit's best hamburgers, hundreds of you sent recommendations. We read every one, picked the places that sounded best and then hit the streets in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties to taste them. Six weeks and innumerable antacids later, here are our favorites.

Read the entire article here.