A little more than two months after guiding the Novi High School boys basketball team on a remarkable journey to its first appearance in the MHSAA state semifinals, Coach Brandon Sinawi was no longer in charge of the Wildcats.
In late May, he stepped down as Novi coach and was named the coach at nearby Novi Detroit Catholic Central High School.
Read MoreThe race to take Governor Rick Snyder’s place rages on as each candidate works to set themselves apart from their plentiful pool of opponents. Candidates on both sides – including Gretchen Whitmer, Patrick Colbeck, Brian Calley and Bill Schuette – are drawing on their several years of political experience to gain a leg up among the masses and in the race. Others – such as Abdul El-Sayed, Shri Thanedar, and Jim Hines – believe their lack of experience is not an issue as they will be able to bring a fresh perspective to the Governor’s office.
Read MoreWhen U.S. Representative Dave Trott made the surprising announcement that he would not run for another term in Congress for the 11th District, Democrats and Republicans began eying the open seat as opportunity and for State Representative Klint Kesto that became an opportunity to make history. If elected, he will be the first Chaldean ever elected to Congress. His campaign is garnering not just local attention but the interest of Chaldeans around the country. We asked all the candidates in the race why should the Chaldean community support him or her in this race. We share the answers from those who responded on time for the July printed issue.
Read MoreThe pool of candidates running for U.S. Senate is a relatively small one as incumbent U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow is unopposed in her primary. However, political newcomers John James and Sandy Pensler are fighting for the opportunity to go head to head with Stabenow in the general election. Without a primary and several decades of political experience, Stabenow’s GOP opponent – whether James or Pensler – will have to be prepared for a challenge.
Read MoreThe race for the Congressional seat in the 13th District is especially crowded as there are seven Democrats currently running. Since former U.S. Representative John Conyers Jr. stepped down from his position in December amid sexual assault allegations, several candidates have come forward this election cycle to take his seat. While many contenders remain, not all hopefuls were able to make it to the ballot. John Conyers III, Conyers Jr.’s own son who he had endorsed, will not be on the ballot this August. We asked each candidate why the Chaldean community should support him or her in this race. We share the answers from those who responded in time for the printed July issue. The 13th District covers Detroit, River Rouge, Melvindale, Ecorse, Dearborn Heights, Garden City, Inkster, Westland, Wayne, Romulus and Redford.
Read MoreMichigan’s 14th Congressional District, which snakes across parts of both Wayne and Oakland counties, has gone through many redistricting changes having been redrawn numerous times since the 1960s. Considered one of the most gerrymandered districts in the nation, it currently covers a diverse range of communities including the northwest side of Detroit including its enclave of Hamtramck, Grosse Pointe Park, Grosse Pointe, Grosse Pointe Farms, Harper Woods, the Village of Grosse Pointe Shores, Grosse Pointe Woods, the Charter Township of Royal Oak, Oak Park, Southfield, Lathrup Village, Farmington Hills, the Charter Township of West Bloomfield, Orchard Lake Village, Keego Harbor, Sylvan Lake and Pontiac. The traditionally Democratic leaning district includes communities with large Chaldean and African American populations.
Read MoreThe race to replace Congressman Sander Levin is in full swing in the 9th Congressional District. Levin announced his retirement from Congress in December after serving for 35 years. Candidates from all sides have their sights set on the open seat, including Levin’s son, Andy Levin. We asked all the candidates in the 9th Congressional District why they deserve the Chaldean community’s support in this race. The 9th District covers Berkley, Clawson, Center Line, Eastpointe, Ferndale, Fraser, Hazel Park, Huntington Woods, Madison Heights, Mt. Clemens, Pleasant Ridge, Royal Oak, Roseville, St. Clair Shores, Sterling Heights, Warren Bloomfield Charter Township, Clinton Charter Township, Royal Oak Charter Township, Southfield Charter Township, Beverly Hills, Bingham Farms, and Franklin.
Read MoreAs the 2018 mid-term congressional elections rapidly approach, races around the country are heating up, including Michigan’s 8th District, which includes all of Ingham County, Livingston County, and north Oakland County. The district runs from north of Detroit through the Lansing area, and encompasses a mix of suburbs and farms and conservative and liberal leaning voters.
Read MoreOn November 7, voters under the jurisdiction of the 48th District Court will be asked whether or not to re-elect Judge Diane D’Agostini to a fourth term on the bench.
The 48th District Court covers seven, high Chaldean population communities: Birmingham, Bloomfield Township, Bloomfield Hills, West Bloomfield, Keego Harbor, Orchard Lake and Sylvan Lake.
Read MoreOn the Grand porch, in the dining room, parlor and even while walking down the hill from the Grand Hotel, candidates vying for several state and congressional seats were communicating, connecting and collaborating on the island at the Mackinac Policy Conference. It has been a premier networking event of who’s who in Michigan since its inception.
Read MoreSince the inception of the Young Catholic Professional’s (YCP) Detroit chapter in August of 2017, the organization has hosted their executive speaker series once a month. Each month, YCP Detroit hosts this event in which executives “share their professional and faith journeys with young professionals in their 20’s and 30’s, challenging them to ‘Work in Witness for Christ’.” The executive speaker series is free and open to both members and non-members of YCP.
Read More“A gift from God,” that’s how Dawn Pullis, of Troy, describes her 2-year-old daughter, Evelyn.
Many parents consider their children a gift from above, but, Pullis has a very personal reason why. She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer at the age of 21.
“My ovaries were the size of melons and needed to be removed immediately,” Pullis explained.
Her hopes of having a biological child were dashed that day.
Read MoreI don’t have to deliver a history lesson to remind people that this country was founded on immigrants and the vital impact each ethnic group has contributed to the prosperity of this country. Metropolitan Detroit is a shining example! But in a time of increased restrictions on immigrants and a shortage of skilled and unskilled workers, Congress and the Trump Administration need to develop and pass immigration laws that will help fill the talent gap and support persecuted communities throughout the world.
Read MoreAfter more than a year of speculation, the word came out on May 3 — Fr. Frank will be the new Bishop. Headlines from Catholic news agencies, Middle Eastern news and from the Vatican press spread around the globe via social media: “The Chaldean Catholic Diocese of the Eastern United States will soon have a new leader. Rev. Frank Kalabat has been named the new religious leader for the growing Chaldean population in the United States.”
Read MoreIn response to the raids carried out by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in June of last year, several elected officials and community leaders have come forward to help, with some even mobilizing efforts to help those at risk of deportation.
Read MoreOn Saturday, May 12, Iraqis casted their votes for the nation’s fourth election since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. In the days prior to the election, on May 10 and on May 11, Iraqis living outside of the nation had the opportunity to vote. Shoki Konja of Franklin, Michigan, and Director of the Chaldean Voice Radio, was one of those people. He voted in Warren, Michigan at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Chaldean Church. “It was an incredible, exhilarating feeling to be able to vote in this election and to have some sort of say in the process. My stained finger is proof that there is hope for Iraq,” said Konja.
Read MoreIn May, Shamasha Khairy Mikha Foumia published his seventh book, Catalogue Manuscripts of the Church in Telkeppe (540 pages), written in Aramaic and Arabic, which describes the 240 manuscripts he found in the library of the church of Telkeppe. He started this project nearly 30 years ago, in 1989. Born in Telkeppe, Foumia lived in Baghdad in his later years. Because his parents and other relatives still lived in Telkeppe, he and his family would visit there during the holidays and in the summertime.
Read MoreEd Babbie of Farmington Hills noticed a glaring need in his community. He saw fathers not getting as involved in school events and school related activities with their children, and he decided to make a plan and do something to change that.
Read More“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted,” Matthew 5:4
As we honor mothers in the month of May, we asked some of our moms to share with us the stories of the children they have lost. It is with courage, they pen these pieces.
