Judge dismisses suit of ex-janitor who says he invented Flamin' Hot Cheetos
But a Los Angeles Times investigation in 2021 threw a wrench into the rags-to-riches tale, with Frito-Lay disputing Montañez's claim and telling the newspaper that 'the facts do not support the urban legend.'
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Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Yahoo
Fountain Valley's hometown Fire Chief dies unexpectedly after decades of service
Fountain Valley is mourning the sudden loss of its hometown fire chief, Bill McQuaid, who died unexpectedly Friday afternoon while off duty, city officials announced Saturday. 'It is with profound sadness that we share the passing of our Fire Chief, Bill McQuaid,' the city said in a statement. 'Chief McQuaid was more than a leader—he was a mentor, a friend, and a steadfast pillar of strength within our department and community.' McQuaid is survived by his wife, Tracy, and daughters, Allyson and Julie. He also leaves behind his mother, Judy; his sister, Tracy, and brother-in-law, Keith, along with their children Ashley, her husband Troy, and their son Joshua; as well as his brother Mike and sister-in-law Stacia. Raised in Fountain Valley, McQuaid joined the city's fire department as a reserve before being hired full-time in 1996 as a firefighter-paramedic, according to a 2023 profile published by the Los Angeles Times. He later held the roles of fire engineer, captain, battalion chief and division chief of operations before being named fire chief in January 2023. His career was guided by a promise he made nearly 30 years ago to then-Fire Chief Bernard Heimos, McQuaid told the Times: that if he were given the chance to serve his hometown, he would stay for the duration of his career. 'If somebody was going to give me that opportunity to get into it, then I was going to give them my all,' McQuaid said in the 2023 interview. 'Second, Fountain Valley is my home, so having the opportunity to serve in my dream career in my own hometown, in my own backyard, was an opportunity that I was willing to commit to for the entirety of my career.' McQuaid's service extended far beyond city limits. According to the Times, he led strike teams into some of California's largest wildfires, including the Thomas Fire in 2017 and the Dixie Fire in 2021. He also helped coordinate local vaccination sites during the COVID-19 pandemic. More recently, McQuaid spearheaded efforts to combat the opioid crisis by partnering with local high schools to train staff on how to respond to overdoses and distribute Narcan. 'With the large-scale opioid and fentanyl usage that's going on and the adverse results that are coming out of that, we've partnered with our high schools to train the teachers and train the high school staff how to respond to those emergencies,' McQuaid told the Times. 'We're providing them with the Narcan… so that they can get rapid response, even before we can get there, to help us in the process of saving lives.' A graduate of Fountain Valley High School, McQuaid lived in Huntington Beach with his family and earned a master's degree in public safety leadership and executive management from Arizona State University in 2022, according to the Times. 'His loss is felt deeply across our department and throughout the city he served so faithfully,' city officials said. 'We are grateful for the legacy he leaves behind and will continue to honor his memory in all that we do.' The city has not released a cause of death. Details about memorial services have not yet been announced. Luis Zuniga contributed to this report. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
Fast Company
a day ago
- Fast Company
Private equity has ruined so many more businesses than you realize
On today's episode, hosts Josh Christensen and Yaz Gagne are joined by journalist and author Megan Greenwell to discuss her new book, 'Bad Company: Private Equity and the Death of the American Dream.' Greenwell explores how private equity firms often prioritize profits over the long-term health of businesses and what that means for workers, consumers, and the economy.
Los Angeles Times
a day ago
- Los Angeles Times
Malcolm-Jamal Warner carried a heavy load for Black America
There were three television characters who really mattered to me as a kid: Michael, Leroy and Theo. In elementary school, 'Good Times' was the television show that most closely resembled my family. And seeing reruns of Ralph David Carter's portrayal of a precocious young boy learning what it means to be poor, gifted and Black is what moved his Michael from fiction to family for me. By middle school, I was no longer wearing cornrows like Gene Anthony Ray, but I tried everything else to be like his character Leroy from the television show 'Fame.' For some of my classmates, the performing arts were a fun way to express themselves, and the show was inspirational. For me, it was my way out of the hood, and Leroy was the blueprint. Through the Detroit-Windsor Dance Academy, I was able to take professional dance lessons for free and ultimately earned a dance scholarship for college. But it wasn't a linear journey. Despite being gifted, I struggled academically and required summer classes to graduate from high school. That's why I connected with Theo, whose challenges in the classroom were one of the running jokes on 'The Cosby Show.' The family never gave up on him, and more importantly, he didn't stop trying. Through the jokes about his intelligence, the coming-of-age miscues (and the dyslexia diagnosis), the storylines of Theo — like those of Leroy and Michael — often reflected struggles I foolishly thought no one else was experiencing when I was growing up. It is only through distance and time are we able to see moments like those more clearly. In retrospect, the three of them were like knots I held onto on a rope I had no idea I was climbing. This is why the Black community's response to the death of Malcolm-Jamal Warner this week isn't solely rooted in nostalgia but also in gratitude. We recognize the burden he's been carrying, so that others could climb. When 'The Cosby Show' debuted in 1984, there were no other examples of a successful two-parent Black family on air. We were on television but often trauma and struggle — not love and support — were at the center of the narratives. So even though Black women had been earning law degrees since the 1800s — beginning with Charlotte E. Ray in 1872 — and Black men were becoming doctors before that, the initial response from critics was that the show's premise of a doctor-and-lawyer Black couple was not authentically Black. That narrow-minded worldview continued to hang over Hollywood despite the show's success. In 1992, after nearly 10 years of 'The Cosby Show' being No. 1 — and after the success of 'Beverly Hills Cop II' and 'Coming to America' — the Eddie Murphy-led project 'Boomerang' was panned as unrealistic because the main characters were all Black and successful. The great Murphy took on the Los Angeles Times directly in a letter for its critique on what Black excellence should look like. However, Black characters like Michael, Leroy and Theo had been taking on the media since the racist film 'The Birth of a Nation' painted all of us as threats in 1915. It could not have been easy for Warner, being the face of so much for so many at an age when a person is trying to figure out who he is. And because he was able to do so with such grace, Warner's Theo defined Blackness simply by being what the world said we were not. This sentiment is embodied in his last interview, when he answered the question of his legacy by saying: 'I will be able to leave this Earth knowing and people knowing that I was a good person.' In the end, that is ultimately what made his character, along with Leroy and Michael, so important to the Black community. It wasn't the economic circumstances or family structure of the sitcoms that they all had in common. It was their refusal to allow the ugliness of this world to tear them down. To change their hearts or turn their light into darkness. They maintained their humanity and in the process gave so many of us a foothold to keep climbing higher. YouTube: @LZGrandersonShow
