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One of the most beloved characters in television history has bid her final farewell.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Jean Stapleton, known for her role as Edith Bunker on All In The Family, passed away on Saturday at her home in New York City of natural causes. She was 90 years old.

In a statement released by her children, Pamela and John, they spoke very highly of Stapleton:

“Being the children of a beloved Mother on Television means sharing the spirit of who Jean Stapleton was with her friends and fans.  It is with great love and heavy hearts that we say farewell to our collective Mother, with a capital M. Her devotion to her craft and her family taught us all great life lessons.”

While not originally written into All In The Family as a series regular, “Edith” quickly warmed the hearts of viewers, partly because she was a very sweet character and partly because she had to deal with the antics of her husband, Archie.  While she seemed to be a little “spacey,” at times, Stapleton’s character always had a moral point that made always made Archie proud.

After the show ended in 1978, Stapleton went on to have roles in several made for television movies and had small roles in big screen films.  A little known fact about Stapleton is that back in the 1980s, Hollywood rumors were swirling that she was going to be starring in a huge television show. Unfortunately (or, depending on the reason, fortunately), she turned the role down.  The job eventually went to Angela Lansbury; yes, Stapleton turned down Murder, She Wrote.

Stapleton’s last known role was in 1998 when she did a voice-over for Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the family. She will be missed.

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If this is true, Dame Dash is drowning in debt right now.

In a report by The New York Daily News, Dash filed papers on Tuesday saying is so deep in debt that he cannot pay his personal bills, which includes his rent in a Carmel, NY mansion where he is currently behind in rent by $100,000.

Over the past few years, Dash has lost two New York City lofts to foreclosure, his vehicle has been seized, he owes $2 million dollars in New York State taxes, an undisclosed amount in federal taxes and he says he’s facing criminal charges for non-payment of New Jersey state taxes.

Wow.

On Thursday, Dame went to court to ask the judge not to garnish his wages (whatever they are). He says that at this time, his money goes to the following (your mouth will drop):

- He pays $24,000 every three months to his ex-wife, fashion designer Rachel Roy, for child support of their two kids, and to cover money owed on the lofts.

- New York state forces Dash to send another $4,341.10 per month for support of his son, Christian.

- He paid nearly $20,000 in garnished wages in late 2012 for other debts.

- And he faces a pending $40,000 tax payment for business earnings.

Dash says in paying for all that, he is barely keeping his business afloat let alone able to pay his personal bills.

Well, we can see how that could be the case.

Dame sent a message through his attorney saying:

“I’m an independent businessman and this is what comes from business.  I have the guts to fight my battles on my own and it’s entertainment to everybody else because I’m so cool about it.”

How “cool” can you really be when you’re obviously still spending beyond your means and barely have a place to lay your head?

It sounds like someone needs to put their pride to the side and get himself together.

Battery Park City from the sky. AP Photo/Craig Ruttle

Public Enforcement Patrol officers who filed a discrimination suit in 2011 are finally getting justice as Battery Park City will pay them thousands of dollars — $165,000 to be exact — to settle their case.

In 2011, the 13 minority officers were transferred from their post and replaced by lighter-skinned officials. That’s a big enough problem, but just as significant are the racist slurs that the officers said were directed at them by some of the privileged  Battery Park City residents and themselves. Swastikas and the N-word littered public property, leading the workers to believe that the graffiti was directed to their attention. This prompted the workers’ lawsuit. Each worker (both the originally employed and replacement workers) will receive $8,000, although one worker, George Parker, will receive $14,000 due to claims that a white resident chased him after being asked why his dog was off the leash. It appears that the Battery City Park Authority, employers of the PEP officers, did not step in to alleviate the problem, but rather masked it in hiring new workers.

The disrespected and discriminated get paid, but the problem still remains. You can’t erase racism and ignorance with a check. What will happen next? Even the lawyer who represented the disgraced PEP workers, Linda Cronin, believes this to be true, stating that “the settlement didn’t address the ‘blatant disrespect.’”

“The lawsuit alleged that the outrageous and despicable comments made towards the minority officers (and) the hostile work environment … have gone unchecked,” says Cronin in the NY Daily News article.

Source: WENN

From StyleBlazer

Fashion’s Night Out was started in 2009 to incentivize shopping high-end retail in a time when the economy was failing. Sponsored by Vogue, the Council of Fashion Designers of America and NYC & Co. the outdoor event quickly expanded from NYC to 30 cities globally.

What many shoppers might have not known was that, on the back end, it was very costly to maintain the level of quality, free food, drinks and entertainment for just one night. According to WWD, the sponsors have decided to put the event on hiatus in the U.S. for 2013.

Read more on StyleBlazer.com.

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Black businesses in New York City have received a much-needed boost. Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the New York City Council have removed various barriers for minority- and women-owned business enterprises by signing into law Introduction 911-A, which will expand city contracts.

This will help small businesses, especially minority- and women-owned firms, as the new law eliminates the $1 million cap on programs eligible for contracts set forth by Local Law 129 signed in 2005. That law was meant to boost opportunities for black and women-owned businesses. It also calls for increased city procurement contracts in areas of goods, professional services, construction, standard services, and architectural and engineering services.

This move is similar to efforts made in Chicago. As we reported in October, black businesses in the Windy City were awarded more city contracts in recent months — 21 percent this year up from just eight percent last year.

If the push in the Big Apple goes as expected, black businesses in the city should see a significant boost. According to a press release, the new law “is estimated to triple the total value of contracts from $433 million to a projected $2.2 billion.”

The city is also planning to track the effort to ensue that progress is being made.  There will be a tracking system for contracts in order to weed out non-compliant M/WBE (minority and women business enterprise) firms. An accountability program, states the press release, will include mandatory meetings for agency leaders to assess progress on the M/WBE goals and efforts to increase participation.

The Reverend Jacques Andre DeGraff , first VP of 100 Black Men and co-chair of The New Agenda, said in a press statement, “Local Law 911-A marks a bold step for the rights of minority- and women-owned businesses.”

Nationally, according to TheStreet.com, the government has missed its stated 23 percent goals for small business contracts, especially for women-owned companies, for the past six years. New legislation signed on the 3rd by President Obama hopes to boost that. If you’re a small business owner, check out the details for being considered in that story.

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If you live in New York or are thinking about making a trip to New York, make sure you get tickets for a huge Carnegie Hall special in March.

“The Music of Prince” will feature The Roots as the house band (band drummer ?uestlove is a lifelong fan of “The purple one”) and Talib Kweli will perform. The lineup also features (at this point) Booker T, Blind Boys of Alabama, Living Colour, Madeleine Peyroux and others set to interpret Prince songs.

Michael Dorf, entrepreneur and founder of many of New York City’s most legendary music venues, will be presenting “The Music of Prince” at Carnegie Hall.  The concert, which in the past has featured the music of Joni Mitchell, The Who, The Rolling Stones and Elton John, also serves as a way to raise money for various music education organizations, according to BET. This year’s recipients include Little Kids Rock, Young Kids New York, The Center For Arts Education and others

Tickets are already on sale for the March 7th show with prices ranging from $48 balcony seats to a $10,000 ultimate VIP package (that price allows you to get on stage with all artists for the encore, backstage passes, access to the afterparty and the best seat in the house).

Dorf puts on the show completely independent of the artist being honored and therefore doesn’t need permission to do the show but because ?uestlove has agreed to do the show, one can only hope that Prince will make an appearance. Besides, it raises money for children and everyone loves them!

If you’re interested, you can get your tickets here.

Anytime a parent shows up to their child’s school outside of a teacher-parent conference you know it’s all bad. Yesterday, Michael Canaii earned the embarrassing daddy of the year award, hands down, after he showed up at the HS of Graphic Communication Arts in New York City with one serious question: “Who’s f**king my daughter?”

Oh my damn.

A law-enforcement source told the NY Post:

“He was yelling and complaining that his daughter was smoking weed and not listening to him, and he wanted the school to do something about that.”

According to a student account, one guy caught the wrong end of that anger when he said something slick about the mouth and daddy Canaii chased him into the school. There, the 35-year-old concerned father not only kept yelling, he was also swinging a heavy chain with a padlock and demanding to speak to both his daughter and the school’s principal — all of this at nine in the morning.

“[He] asked two students to take their stuff off and fight him in the lobby,” the source added. “He also asked security agents and a dean to ‘fight’ him as he was swinging a big chain around yelling, ‘No one is going to touch me.’ ”

Unfortunately for him, someone did in fact touch him — police officers. Canaii was promptly arrested for his potentially violent outburst, although as the NY Post put it, ”his only crime — besides alleged criminal possession of a weapon, menacing and pot possession — was caring too much.”

The dad had to be briefly hospitalized after his arrest and he was arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court last night and held in lieu of a $5,000 bond or $1,000 cash bail. According to the lawyer, Canaii went to the school because he feared his daughter was involved in gangs. What that had to do with who was having sex with her I don’t know but I guess I shouldn’t try to make sense of this whole thing. Nevertheless Canaii’s aunt, Sondra Williams, who told the Post that the daughter in question lives with her mother, vouched for her nephew’s character, saying:

“He’s a decent father.”

I can only imagine what he will say to his daughter when he’s released from custody. I would not want to be her right now.

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I’m sure that when you think of the idea of “Thinking Like A Man,” you conjure up thoughts of a bald head black man cheesing on the cover of a book that tells you ways you can get the respect and commitment you deserve in a full-fledged relationship. But that’s actually the complete opposite of what I mean when I talk about women I know who “think like men.” They’re not looking for commitment necessarily, they’re looking to collect men for leisure to see if they can—just like many men do.

When I moved to New York City, I assumed that meeting men was going to be just like it was meeting young men when I moved away for college. I was going to be in a place where everybody was open and ready to meet, mix and mingle, and in the end, get in a meaningful relationship. I had watched enough hours of She’s Gotta Have It to think that there would be a wealth of men available. But of course, I was incredibly naive. I met guys, but some were clearly not looking for what I was looking for (and would carry on conversations that included stupid inquiries like, “Do you smoke weed and like to have fun?”), or they were nothing like the type of folks I could see myself in a committed relationship with and having my type of fun with (Watching old “Fresh Prince” reruns in the morning with crust in our eyes and our legs tangled under a blanket). They were instead, bossy, bland, creepy, lacked ambition, were corny, and could be indecisive at times. I was getting pretty frustrated.

By the coaxing of a bestie, I was told that I should hang out with a young woman who had been in the city about a year longer than I who could show me around and also show me a good time. I didn’t know her all that well, but after work, I did have time to spare (either hang with her, or I was going home to watch She’s Gotta Have It again). One evening, this young lady and I attended a mixer put on by a popular blog in Manhattan in order to multitask by grabbing drinks and grabbing men.

We separated in the hopes of meeting other people (guys) and while I calmly chatted with a guy at the bar who I started to imagine as the perfect partner for Sunday brunches in the future, she was hopping from guy to guy in the room, lightly slapping shoulders, seeming like the life of the party. Before I knew it, she was walking over to me and my new cute friend, turning on the charm. While we had started a conversation about our different cultural backgrounds, she found an in, and when she told him that her people were Haitian (his were from the Caribbean as well), I found my black a** to be the third wheel all of a sudden. They talked about Caribbean foods they liked and ki’ki’d it up. Before I knew it, she told him that they should try one of the places he talked about and dude was thirstier than someone stranded in the desert in his attempts to pull out his business card for her. When he said his goodbyes, she winked, threw the card in her purse, and kept it moving.

While I made conversation with other guys, including one I could see myself having my type of fun with (including those brunches again), I kept an eye out on her. By the end of the night, when it was time for me to head back to Brooklyn, she was turning on the charm for one of the event’s hosts, and safe to say, he was feeling her. The next morning when I told her about the guy I met, she would later let me know that she and the fine host hit it off big time and that he was all over her on the train home. Too bad she had no interest in anything serious with him, or any of the guys she met that night for that matter. Homegirl even lost the card of the guy she was scheduled to scarf down Haitian food with.  The guy I met, I ended up being disappointed by when I realized that my age was a problem for him. So while I was a little sad, she shared kind words, and kept on the prowl, collecting men with no cares. She had guys she called for entertainment, and a guy in another state that she wanted to be serious about in the future. But in the meantime, she wasn’t looking to be cuffed, or to be committed to, something I low-key realized I was thinking about in the back of my mind after meeting guys. Maybe that’s why she didn’t care when she would get it in with the fine dude in her apartment complex that knew all the dope events to go to, but wouldn’t make the time to go those events with him when he threw the idea around. She didn’t want dates. She was a mack.

Me, I’m not trying to be a mack, but I realized from her love of leisurely engaging with guys and how receptive they were to her, that I was going into the dating game all wrong, and so were some of my friends. I know people (and have been one) who get dressed to the nines and go to every outing (birthday bar hopping, dinner, movies, etc.) in the hopes of meeting Mr. Right. I realized that the nice guy I meet at the lounge who’s cute should be taken for face value in the hours I get to know him and not thought of as a long-term boo because he’s nice. By looking for a Mr. Right every time I went out, I was going home more disappointed than I needed to because they weren’t all enthralled with me like I had hoped. Though I wasn’t trying to mack, I could learn a lot from her.

Weeks later I attended a party and was having a good time dancing with one of my old girlfriends. I wasn’t on my old “Mr. Right” mission and was just out this time to have a good time. When I decided to hydrate myself at the bar, I saw a guy looking good in a suit and thought I’d try my hand at turning on the charm like my new friend was so good at. While at the bar, I got my drink and before I walked back to my girlfriend, I tapped the guy and told him he looked nice in his suit. He smiled wide and said thanks, and as I smiled back, I could tell he was surprised when I told him to have a good night and walked away. In his mind, he thought I was going to jock him, but I wasn’t looking for Mr. Brunch Sundays anymore. As the night went on and my friend and I resurrected the wop, that same guy at the bar approached me later and tried to start a conversation. I quickly realized that he wasn’t my type, smiled at his compliments and let him know that I was going to get back to dancing with my friend. The ball was in my court, and he was just a squirrel trying to…well, you know. And while I wasn’t picking up stacks of cards and phone numbers for fun like my friend from the mixer, it was nice to see how much more men are into you when you play it cool and look to have a good time rather than going out looking for a knight in shining armor. But that’s not to say I’m done looking…

Carrie Bradshaw might be the only fictional white woman (aside from Nancy Drew) who I wouldn’t have had a problem trading places with. She had maaaad style, great friends, a dope job, and the New York City dating life transplants like me could only dream about. But after six seasons, a whole lot of sex, and two movies (one that was hella forgettable), we only had reruns to get our Carrie fix. But now, you can catch up with her again, the old-school Carrie that is, via the show “The Carrie Diaries.” In it, we meet Bradshaw in high school, trying to cope with the death of her mother, trying to survive high school (and boys), and getting the opportunity of a lifetime to intern in New York City. Where it all began.

In her first big trip to the Big Apple, Bradshaw meets a lot of interesting characters, including Larissa Loughton, a black “It girl” working for Interview magazine who helps Carrie transform her style and get acquainted with the New York nightlife, becoming her mentor. Shout out to Brit star Freema Agyeman (of Ghanaian-Iranian background) for nabbing the role and looking fabulous while doing it. From what I take from the trailer, the show is bound to be a very interesting one, and the fashions are interestingly enough some of the same ish people are wearing now. Here’s to hoping the CW doesn’t fail this show as they’re known to do (remember how they dropped the ball with “The Game” and let it go to BET to become a mess?). But only time will tell. What do you think of the trailer? Would you watch?

If you’re down, the show premieres in January on the CW.

Image: AP Photo/Mary Altaffer

The New York City Board of Health today passed Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s proposed soda ban, prohibiting the sale of sugary drinks larger than 16 ounces. The ban will go into effect March 2013 and will impact restaurants, food trucks, movie theaters and lots of other places where these large drinks are typically sold.

The ban passed eight to zero (there was an abstention, a vacancy and an absence) despite opposition from the large sugary drink companies themselves and many voters. All of the voting board members said they took the opposition into account, but felt they had to act in the face of sky-high obesity rates.

The black community has been hit hard by this epidemic. According to the US Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Minority Health, “African American women have the highest rates of being overweight or obese compared to other groups in the U.S. About four out of five African American women are overweight or obese.”

Many question whether this will really have an impact on the issue it’s trying to tackle. Earlier this month, filmmaker Byron Hurt led a discussion about obesity and weight-related disease after a screening of his documentary Soul Food Junkies. The film takes a closer look at Byron’s dad who died of pancreatic cancer but, before that, spent his life eating unhealthy soul food. In the post-viewing discussion about diet and health, the soda ban, and the widespread skepticism of the policy among African-Americans, came up.

“Panelist and author Marc Lamont Hill answered that Americans have a healthy distrust of government. Mr. Hill continued by saying that government bans are often ineffective as ‘the government does not invest in providing people with a healthier alternative,’” The Wall Street Journal reports.

This is a valid point. You can put all the laws in place that you want. If there’s no alternative, people will keep doing what they’re doing. There’s no rule against buying multiple small sodas. The whole point of the ban goes out the window.

Right now, it just sounds like the government’s overstepping, getting in people’s personal business where it doesn’t belong. If the city can also come up with ways to make healthier drink options more affordable and accessible, then feelings about the government’s intentions could shift. Part of the problem is food policy, which drives up the cost of healthy food. That’s an issue that goes above and beyond what the city can do. But there have been rumblings about adding drinking fountains around the city, a great option. Make refillable water bottles widely available for free, and you might have more people drinking water instead of soda.

What do you think of the soda ban?