Latest news with #Farhat
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
House Dems release school aid budget plans as GOP tees up surprise appropriations meeting
State Rep. Alabas Farhat (D-Dearborn) leads a press conference with fellow House Democrats on June 10, 2025 to discuss their education budget plan. | Screenshot Michigan House appropriators responsible for the state's school aid fund will meet early Wednesday morning for a meeting announced late Tuesday afternoon – which could signal some progress on the Republican-controlled chamber's side of the budget. Meanwhile, House Democrats on Tuesday afternoon held a news conference unveiling their plans for the school aid budget to fund Michigan's public schools. The move was billed as action in light of inaction from their Republican counterparts. The House Appropriations Subcommittee on School Aid and Department of Education, chaired by Rep. Tim Kelly (R-Saginaw Township), released a committee notice for its Wednesday morning meeting at around 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, which one Michigan Capitol news reporter noted landed about 30 minutes before House Democrats introduced their plan. The notice has no agenda items listed for the meeting scheduled at 8:40 a.m. Although Democrats do not control the appropriations process in the House, that didn't stop the caucus from unveiling its plans for the school aid fund on Tuesday. The plan would continue to fund ongoing investment priorities, like universal school meals, special education, funding for at-risk students, mental health and school safety and school district transportation costs. The Great Start Readiness program would be a priority, as well as funding for isolated or rural school districts, bilingual education, career and technical education and Early On programming. A per-pupil funding increase would also be a part of any Democratic school funding plan advanced to their Republican colleagues. State Rep. Alabas Farhat (D-Dearborn) said reports of Michigan's struggling students and schools means that the state, now more than ever, needs a clear and sustained plan for public education. 'Not only are we proposing a $24 billion top-line proposal funding school aid, but we are also increasing the per-pupil allotment to $11,500,' Farhat said Tuesday. 'We're calling on our Republican colleagues to also join us in codifying the categoricals that mean most to our districts. That means at-risk funding, that means school lunch, and that means the hard-fought wins we delivered for parents and teachers over the last two years.' Aside from the per-pupil funding, Farhat said Democrats are proposing $500 million in classroom size reduction efforts, $300 million for literacy interventions, another $300 million for mental health and over $1 billion in school infrastructure grants. Farhat said Democrats' plan would prioritize those items all without raiding school lunches or at risk funding. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
CairoScene
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CairoScene
Hany Farhat to Conduct at Sydney Opera House in Historic Concert
Farhat becomes the first Arab conductor to lead the Australian Metropolitan Orchestra at the iconic Sydney venue. May 12, 2025 Egyptian conductor Hany Farhat is set to make history as the first Arab maestro to lead the Australian Metropolitan Orchestra in a major performance at the Sydney Opera House on May 12th. The performance is part of the seventh edition of the 'Saudi Orchestra Masterpieces' series, an initiative led by Saudi Arabia's Music Commission to spotlight Arabic and Eastern music internationally. Farhat will conduct both the Saudi National Orchestra and the Australian Metropolitan Orchestra in a programme designed to bridge musical cultures. Held under the patronage of Saudi Minister of Culture Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan Al Saud, the event takes place under the theme 'Creativity Expands at Every Stop,' highlighting the Kingdom's Vision 2030 goal to expand global recognition of Arabic music and foster cross-cultural exchange. The evening's programme will include a special joint composition that merges elements of Arab and Australian musical traditions, alongside a segment featuring exclusively Australian orchestral works performed by the Metropolitan Orchestra. Farhat's appearance at the Sydney Opera House adds another landmark to a growing list of international engagements. In recent years, he has conducted joint concerts with the Saudi National Orchestra and international ensembles at venues such as Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, the National Theatre in Mexico, the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, Central Hall Westminster in London, Tokyo Opera City in Japan, and King Fahad Cultural Center in Riyadh.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Michigan House passes police funding legislation targeting high-crime areas
The Michigan House of Representatives passed legislation April 22 to increase police funding that gives priority to places dealing with highest number of violent crimes in the state. House Bills 4260 and 4261 would dedicate $115 million annually in sales tax revenue for a new Public Safety and Violence Prevention Fund. Lawmakers took up legislation in the previous legislative session, but the bills never landed on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's desk. The proposal would initially distribute $72 million to local police departments, with money distributed proportionally based on a city or township's violent crime rate. The fund would also dedicate $1.5 million for a state grant program for community violence intervention initiatives, which seek to reduce violent crime through local outreach. Another $1.5 million would go to the state's fund for crime victims. Remaining dollars in the fund would go to county sheriffs. "Public safety is the most fundamental promise any government can make to its people," said bill sponsor state Rep. Mike Harris, R-Waterford, in a speech. His Democratic partner on the legislation — state Rep. Alabas Farhat, D-Dearborn — called the policy proposal a "national model." "Now this fund will trust those closest to the pain," Farhat said in a speech. He also said it will incentivize law enforcement to spend the money effectively with modest funding cuts for communities that don't see a decrease in violent crime after receiving funding. "We want programs that work," Farhat said. The legislation passed 104-4 in the state House. Republican state Rep. Steve Carra of Three Rivers and Democratic state Reps. Carrie Rheingans of Ann Arbor, Phil Skaggs of East Grand Rapids and Dylan Wegela of Garden City voted against it. Wegela asked lawmakers to think of the opportunity cost associated with the bills. "What else could we fund with $115 million?" he said. He pointed out that some studies have shown no correlation between police spending and a reduction in crime rates. "We owe it to our communities to explore the crime reduction that comes from ending poverty, reforming criminal justice and reinventing our public safety institutions," Wegela said. Under the legislation, law enforcement would have wide discretion over how to spend the money. They could use it to recruit and retain officers and buy new patrol cars, for instance. But police departments could not use the money to obtain large vehicles designed for tactical use, facial recognition technology or chemical weapons. The legislation is a top priority for Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, who joined House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Township, for an April 7 news conference at the Detroit Police Headquarters to promote the bills. Michigan Politics: Haley Stevens jumps into Senate race, giving Democrats a presumptive early favorite Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel Jr. blasted Duggan in a statement the next day for standing with Hall — a supporter of President Donald Trump — as the Detroit mayor and longtime Democrat campaigns as an independent candidate for governor. Duggan's campaign shot back. "Curtis Hertel has made his stance clear: hating Republicans is more important than putting cops on the streets," Duggan's son and campaign manager Ed Duggan wrote in an April 9 email. The police funding bills next head to the Michigan Senate for consideration. Contact Clara Hendrickson at chendrickson@ or 313-296-5743. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan House passes police funding legislation
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Michigan House passes bipartisan Public Safety and Violence Prevention Fund
State Reps. Mike Harris (R-Waterford) and Rep. Alabas Farhat (D-Dearborn). Michigan House photo. In a nearly unanimous vote, Michigan lawmakers in the state House passed a $115 million annual public safety fund aimed to decrease violent crime in communities. One of the sponsors for the bills to implement a Public Safety and Violence Prevention Fund to fund local law enforcement agencies and community violence intervention groups around the state, Rep. Alabas Farhat (D-Dearborn) told media after the 104-4 vote on HBs 4260 and 4261 that preventing crime looks a lot different today than it did 30 years ago. In having conversations with his partner in the effort to secure the fund, co-sponsor Rep. Mike Harris (R-Waterford), Farhat said it's clear that the expectations and public demand for law enforcement to work in prevention, not just focusing on enforcement of law has made policing more and more expensive. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX 'Go visit these departments. You will not see desk officers like you used to anymore. You're seeing everybody out on patrol. You're seeing people walking in neighborhoods… you're also seeing a demand for officers to do more than just drive a car around and pull somebody over for speeding. You're seeing investigative units, forensics units, that are doing online human trafficking cases… really sophisticated, really expensive stuff,' Farhat said. 'There's some cruel people out there in this world that we have to get to and we have to prevent them from preying on, whether it's young children or our seniors, and that's expensive.' Harris and Farhat have been urging their colleagues in Michigan's partisanly split legislature to put people over politics and approve the Public Safety and Violence Prevention Fund which law enforcement leaders from around the state have said will allow them to hire more staff and strengthen gun violence prevention programs like some in Detroit which have reduced violent crime in some neighborhoods by up to 70%, according to the city. Now, the bills must make it through the Democratic-majority state Senate, where House Republicans are concerned lawmakers will try to tie in other measures rather than approve the package that Republicans and Democrats in the House agreed upon.
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lawmakers, advocates, police call for state violence prevention fund
LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) – According to the FBI, Michigan is home to four of the 20 most violent cities in the nation, with nine cities in the top 100 list. Thursday, state representatives came together to present a bipartisan plan they believe will bring violent crime rates down. Lawmakers were joined by advocates and law enforcement officials to discuss plans for a Public Safety and Violence Prevention Trust Fund, where a portion of state sales tax revenue would be reallocated towards public safety in Michigan communities. Mich. Rep. Alabas Farhat (D-Dearborn) is at the forefront of the plan and says it is the perfect way to put aside partisan differences and accomplish 'big things' for the state. Farhat says the main goal of the trust fund is to make Michiganders feel safe in their neighborhoods again. The funding package, according to Farhat, would ensure law enforcement and community violence intervention groups have the resources and equipment needed to curb crime and bring down high recidivism rates. It's important to note that there will be conditions for receiving this money. 'It's about trusting our local leaders who are closest to the pain, who are closest to the issues, closest to the violent crime to get results,' said Farhat. 'If they don't, this isn't a blank check, we're gonna take money away from cities that fail to meet our standards and give it to cities that are bringing down crime. We're gonna continue investing in cities that are bringing down that trend because that's what we want to see.' The representative went on to say that if communities expect the best policing services, they should expect to pay for them. 'These bills are about neighborhoods struggling with violence,' said State Rep. Mike Harris (R-Clarkston). 'They're about police departments that are struggling with thin numbers of staffing. They're about doing something real and right now, and these are things that will make a real difference to our communities.' With nineteen drafts of the plan so far, supporters say they hope it has lasting effects on the state and becomes a national model for other states to follow. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
