Priceless Vol 7 Number 5


Personal and Professional Empowerment www.hamptonroadsmessenger.com


Serving Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Suffolk, and Virginia Beach since 2006


Urban League's Holiday Mixer at Bryant & Stratton College


Page 9


Bar-Coded License Plates in Virginia: Money-Maker, Privacy-Breaker


NCMP Student Merit and Donor Appreciation Awards


Page 8 Ray Lewis'


Statement on NFL Retirement


Page 15


New iPhone App Points the Way to Minority-Owned Businesses


BY FREDERICK H. LOWE


a New York-based company,


Around The Way, and


RADIO ID: Virginia could become the first state in the nation to embed its license plates with radio frequency identification tags.


BY KENRIC WARD FREDERICKSBURG —


A proposal to embed bar codes and radio-frequency ID tags in Virginia license plates is running into opposition.


Proponents say the first-in


the-nation surveillance program would aid law-enforcement agencies and could even “unclog traffic.”


Delegate Joe T. May,


R-Loudoun, who chairs the House Transportation Committee, asked the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Virginia State Police to study the high-tech venture.


“Automated reading of


license plates is going to have to be developed if we’re going to continue with tolling activity that’s already in existence,” May said in a statement.


But civil-liberties groups


see a more sinister agenda, and ulterior motives.


“Someone obviously has


a lot of time on their hands,” says John Whitehead, president of the Rutherford Institute in Charlottesville.


“My sense is that there’s


corporate influence at play – there’s money to be made on this.”


“If you want to unclog


traffic, the state already has an opt-in program called EZ Pass,” Whitehead suggests.


“If you want to track


suspect cars, police can put on a GPS. But you need a search warrant for that,” he said, citing the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in United States v. Antoine Jones.


The state’s 76-page report


acknowledges potential pitfalls “associated with an Orwellian ‘Big Brother’ government.”


“RFID (radio frequency


identification), in particular, is often cited as a key offender of privacy and, in fact, Virginia statute 46.2-323.01 prohibits the use of RFID tags in driver’s licenses. DMV reports that LICENSE PLATES PAGE 6


THIS EDITION’S HIGHLIGHTS


Your Opinion Matters Editorial Career Opportunities Hampton Roads Upcoming Events Scholarships Watch


Voters Should Accept Responsibility for the Newtown Shootings The 'Irresponsible' Fiscal Cliff Deal


Become a State Farm Agent Suffolk Introduces Business Reinvention Project Finding Money for College: Financial Aid 2013 Dr. Alma S. Adams Scholarship


5 4


10 12 13 11


Clearly Innovative, a Washington, D.C.-based mobile-app development firm, have launched a mobile app that backers claim will empower and support black-owned businesses.


"Other ethnic


groups have been supporting their own businesses literally for thousands of years," said Eric Hamilton, chief marketing officer and co-founder of Around The Way. "Around The Way is our attempt at doing what other ethnic and racial groups have been doing for a long time."


The app, currently available only for the


Apple iPhone, helps users find the nearest black-owned business. iPhone owners can download the app from the Apple app store.


Sian Morson, Chief Technology Officer of Around The Way


Eric Hamilton, Chief Marketing Officer of Around The Way


Janine Hausif, Chief Executive Officer of Around The Way


"The app can locate 17,000 black-owned


businesses in all 50 states. Many of the businesses are located in New York City, and other major metropolitan areas," Hamilton wrote in an e-mail to The NorthStar News & Analysis.


The U.S. Census Bureau Survey of


Black-Owned Business: 2007, which was released on Feb. 8, 2011, reported that


IPHONE APP PAGE 13


Providing Financial Aid: Saving for a Child's Future


Start planning and saving


for college expenses as early as possible. How early? “Preferably before your child can even talk,” said Luke W. Reynolds, Acting Associate Director of the FDIC’s Division of Depositor and Consumer


A good option is to arrange


to automatically transfer money from your bank account or paycheck into a college savings fund. Online calculators can help you estimate how much you might need to save for college.


There are many ways to save


for education. The following may have tax benefits depending on your income and other factors, but consult a tax advisor for guidance: “Section 529” college savings plans consisting of both pre-paid tuition programs (to lock in today’s prices at designated universities) and traditional savings or investment accounts; U. S. Savings Bonds; traditional and Roth Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs); Coverdell Education Savings Accounts (also known as Education IRAs); and accounts


created under the Uniform Gifts to Minors Act (UGMA) or the Uniform Transfer to Minors Act (UTMA).


Save and invest for purposes other than


education. Choices may include buying bank certificates of deposit, which are insured by the FDIC, and various products that are not FDIC-insured against loss, such as stock and bond mutual funds.


FINANCIAL AID PAGE 2


Free January 2013


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