In the News: Mellody Hobson Onboard with Groupon; Diddy Settles Civil Suits; Twitter Selling You Out?

In the News: Mellody Hobson Onboard with Groupon; Diddy Settles Civil Suits; Twitter Selling You Out?


Groupon elected Ariel Investments President Mellody Hobson to its board of directors (Image: File)

  • Groupon Brings Mellody Hobson Onboard

In wake of Groupon’s initial public offering, the online discount-offering company elected Ariel Investments President Mellody Hobson to its board of directors, announced the company yesterday.

“Mellody is an advocate for savvy consumer spending and educated business decisions,” said Andrew Mason, the chief-executive-officer of Groupon. “We expect her insights to be invaluable.”

Hobson will add her latest position onto an already full career plate, which includes financial contributor on Good Morning America, the consumer finance expert on the Tom Joyner‘s Money Mondays radio program, and Black Enterprise contributor, to name a few.

  • NAACP Suit Is Latest Salvo in Fight Over Schools

As states grappled with ways to reinvigorate the public education system, charter schools were offered up as an attractive alternative: a way to break outside the mold and offer the kind of innovative learning environment and accountability for results that is more often associated with private schools.

Some critics fear that this alternative is now crowding out the public school system it was meant to supplement, creating a two-tiered system that leaves children in more traditional settings with fewer resources and options. That argument is the crux of a lawsuit filed by the NAACP and the United Federation of Teachers against the New York City Department of Education. They charge the city with favoritism toward 18 charter schools that share space in public schools.

The suit, filed last month in New York State Supreme Court, claims that charter schools are getting more than their fair share of space within public school buildings and have better access to playgrounds, gyms and cafeterias. It also disputes the rationale for closing 22 failing schools, including 15 that were part last year by the UFT and the NAACP.

Read more at The Root…

  • Diddy Settles Civil Suits Related to Club New York Shootings

In 1999, when Diddy was still known as “Puff Daddy” and dated J.Lo, Sean Combs was involved in an infamous shooting.  At the now defunct Club New York, Diddy, J.Lo and a large entourage had intended to celebrate the signing of the then-aspiring rapper Jamal “Shyne” Barrow. The night transformed from party to nightmare as a fight between this crew and clubgoer Matthew Allen resulted in three people being shot. The civil cases brought by these victims against Combs, Barrow and the former Times Square hot spot have finally come to a close, culminating in large monetary settlements for each victim.

Read more at The Atlanta Post…

  • Twitter Could Put Promoted Tweets In Users’ Timelines

Twitter is considering placing its Promoted Tweets in consumers’ timelines and introducing Groupon-style offers, according to a report.

The Financial Times, citing “people with direct knowledge” of Twitter’s plans, reports that company executives plan to migrate Promoted Tweets from searches to users’ timelines, a move that is likely to irritate some users.

Read more at Mashable…


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