Wallace Amos Jr., founder of Famous Amos cookies, dies at 88
(NEW YORK) — Wallace “Wally” Amos Jr., the founder of Famous Amos cookies, has died, his family said Wednesday. He was 88.
He died “peacefully” at home following a battle with dementia, his family said.
Amos, a native of Tallahassee, Florida, opened the first Famous Amos cookie shop in Hollywood, California on the famed Sunset Blvd. in 1975. Amos’ cookie brand exploded in popularity over the years, becoming known for its signature beige packaging and blue lettering.
“With his Panama hat, kazoo, and boundless optimism, Famous Amos was a great American success story, and a source of Black pride,” read a statement from the Amos family.
The statement continued, “It’s also a part of our family story for which we will forever be grateful and proud. Our dad taught as the value of hard work, believing in ourselves, and chasing our dreams. He was a true original Black American hero.”
The statement also asked for contributions to Alzheimer’s Association.
“We also know he would love it if you had a chocolate chip cookie today,” the statement finished.
Amos was recognized as the Horatio Alger Award recipient in 1987, an award who recognizes Americans who are “contemporary role models whose experiences exemplify that opportunities for a successful life are available to all individuals who are dedicated to the principles of integrity, hard work, perseverance and compassion for others.”
Amos’ membership page on the award’s website details a career as a music agent prior to Famous Amos. The founder also authored several books including The Famous Amos Story: The Face That Launched a Thousand Chips, The Cookie Never Crumbles: Practical Recipes for Everyday Living and The Man with No Name: Turn Lemons into Lemonade.
(NEW YORK) — This summer brought lots of buzz around “tourist taxes” and other fees that can get tacked on to normal travel expenses. Now, another fee that may be familiar to avid cruisers is increasing on one major cruise line.
The so-called “Crew Appreciation” fee is a daily amount that’s automatically added to a guests’ onboard accounts with Princess Cruises “to recognize the efforts of a wide variety of crewmembers who contribute to the experiences of all our guests” and are pooled and distributed throughout the year in compensation and bonuses.
Travelers will pay slightly more starting later this month depending on the type of accommodations they book, according to the cruise line, which last raised the price in February 2023.
Echoing recent headlines surrounding updates to airline baggage prices, Princess Cruises’ Crew Appreciation fee is rising by just $1 per person, per day in various classes of cabins.
Travelers in suites will see a $19 daily fee, while those in mini suites, cabanas or Club Classes will pay $18. Guests in all other staterooms will pay $17.
“The crewmembers eligible to receive these funds work in various departments, many of whom rotate among different ships, throughout our fleet of ships,” Princess states on its website. “Guests have complete discretion to adjust these crew appreciation [fees] while onboard; however, crew appreciation may only be adjusted prior to disembarking the ship and not refundable post cruise.”
Travelers can choose a prepaid crew appreciation option while managing their booking, but if it’s not adjusted up to the time a passenger settles up the account prior to disembarkation, the payment becomes final and nonrefundable.
Full details of the policy are available on the Princess Cruises website.
(NEW YORK) — Fearless Fund, a venture capitalist firm that invests in female entrepreneurs of color, has settled a discrimination lawsuit over a grant program specifically for Black women.
The lawsuit from the American Alliance for Equal Rights (AAER) claimed that the fund’s Fearless Strivers Grant Contest, which was open “only to Black females,” was discriminatory.
The grant program was at its end when the court case began in 2023, according to an online post by Fearless Fund founder Arian Simone, and the fund said it was motivated to avoid a court ruling so as not to lead to a Supreme Court decision that could end minority-based funding nationwide.
The Fearless Fund said it will continue to focus on “helping under-resourced entrepreneurs who have been ill served by traditional capital markets for far too long.” In a statement on the settlement, it announced a new $200 million debt fund with the goal of lending to more than 3,000 under-resourced founders.
Representatives of Fearless Fund partners Simone and Ayana Parson told reporters in August 2023 that the fund was established to address the wide gap in venture capital funding for businesses led by women of color “who confront barrier after barrier to obtain support and investments for their businesses.”
The Fearless Strivers Grant Contest was created specifically for Black women because Black women-owned businesses receive less than 1% of venture capital funding, according to the organization.
AAER called the grant program “divisive and illegal” and claimed that it “encouraged the Fearless Fund to open its grant contest to Hispanic, Asian, Native American and white women but Fearless has decided instead to end it entirely.”
White women-founded companies take home 64% of “Diversity Investments” by deal count, meanwhile women of color-owned businesses only take home 10%, according to an analysis of Crunchbase data by venture capital firm BBG Ventures.
Fearless Fund partners have long defended their work, citing the poor representation of women of color among venture capital recipients and evidence of racial bias in the investment decisions of asset allocators.
“From the moment the lawsuit was filed, I pledged to stand firm in helping and empowering women of color entrepreneurs in need. I stand by that pledge today and in fact my commitment remains stronger than ever,” read a statement from the organization’s co-founder Arian Simone. “Our overarching mission remains focused on helping and empowering entrepreneurs who have been historically overlooked in the venture capital marketplace.”
AAER’s founder Edward Blum also leads the Students for Fair Admissions, the group that initiated the anti-affirmative action case that reached the Supreme Court and won the case, setting new limits on the use of race-based policies in college admissions.
The conservative group claimed that affirmative action, which was implemented to address racial inequities in access to higher education, violated the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.
(NEW YORK) — A new bill that would allow some undocumented immigrants to receive loans to buy homes is sparking debate as it passes through the California Legislature.
Assembly Bill 1840 would make it clear that a person who applies for a loan under the California Dream for All Program cannot be disqualified solely because of their immigration status. It passed the state Senate with a 25-14 vote.
The program is run by California Housing Finance Agency, which generates revenue “through mortgage loans, not taxpayer dollars,” according to the agency’s website.
Their program provides a shared appreciation loan — which typically means that first-time homebuyers do not pay interest. Instead, they only have to pay back the original loan amount, plus 20% of any home value appreciation. The loan covers 20% of the purchase price or up to $150,000 to cover a down payment or closing costs.
The loan must be paired with a 30-year fixed interest rate first mortgage from the California Housing Finance Agency and the recipient does not have to make payments on the share appreciation loan until the first mortgage is paid off.
In a general statement on the program’s mission, Gov. Gavin Newsom stated: “As part of the state’s comprehensive efforts to improve affordability, build generational wealth and unlock access to housing, Dream For All is paving the way home for thousands of Californians. This program is more than just financial assistance – it’s about providing a pathway for individuals to achieve their California dream.”
It is not clear if Newsom intends to sign the bill. A two-thirds vote in each chamber of the legislature would be needed to override a veto — which could be achieved with the votes in favor of the bill thus far.
If the new bill is passed or signed into law, undocumented borrowers would be able to apply for the housing loan. However, they would be required to have a valid Social Security number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number in addition to meeting existing legal residency and documentation requirements.
This language would allow, for example, people who pay taxes but are not legal citizens, such as recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy, known as DACA, to apply for the loan.
Supporters say the bill is intended to allow all those who pay taxes in the state to be able to qualify for the assistance.
“Homeownership is one of the largest contributors to building wealth for low and middle-income families,” said Cynthia Gomez, a deputy director at The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights in an April hearing on the bill. “However, it’s also well understood that there are many barriers to access for homeownership, in particular for communities of color. California is solution-orientated, and we have implemented various policies that have made homeownership a reality for Californians.”
Critics argue that the money should not be geared toward people who are undocumented and that noncitizens should not be eligible for state programs.
“I just can’t get behind using our limited dollars for people who continue, who are in this country undocumented when we have very limited funds,” said state Rep. Joe Patterson during a hearing on the bill in April.
The Trump campaign told Politico that it believed the bill to be “fundamentally unfair but typical Democrat policy.”
The Senate Appropriations Committee said in a mid-August meeting that the cost pressures on the program, if it were to undergo an expansion, are “unknown,” but the California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) indicated “that any costs to update program regulations to prohibit application disqualification based on immigration status would be minor and absorbable,” according to filings in the legislature on the bill.
The debate comes as immigration has continuously ranked as a top issue for 2024 voters, according to Gallup.
California has the largest undocumented population in the country, with an estimated population of 1.85 million undocumented immigrants in 2021, according to the Pew Research Center.
At the same time, California is dealing with a housing crisis, with a growing homeless population and increasingly high costs for housing.
California mid-tier homes are twice as expensive as the typical U.S. home — selling at more than $700,000, according to California’s Legislative Analyst’s Office, and 28% of all homeless people in the U.S. live in California, the point-in-time report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development recorded.