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4 The Hampton Roads Messenger Editorial


‘Pass the Buck’ in Your Community this Holiday Season


of these establishments will benefit residents throughout Hampton Roads.


Sharon Clayton, owner of


Eddie's Chesapeake Bay Crabhouse, has raised thousands of dollars to fund college scholarships for Norfolk State University students. The nonprofit she founded, Eddie’s Crabhouse Scholarship Fund, also contributes book scholarships to students every year.


Power couple Mike and Jackie BY ANGELA JONES In some communities, consumers


literally “Pass the buck” several times before the money they spend travels out of their community. This means that several merchants within their community will benefit from each purchase, improving the economic outlook of the entire community.


Conversely, there are other


communities where each person's disposable income immediately exits their community without even one local merchant reaping a benefit. If everyone commits to only making purchases in their community this holiday season, one can only imagine the economic impact it would have.


In Hampton Roads, there are


local merchants, like the owners of Eddie’s Chesapeake Bay Crabhouse and More in Chesapeake, MP Island Café in Norfolk and Boutique She-She in Hampton, who contribute greatly to the well being of their communities. These employers hire people living in neighborhoods close to their establishments to further stimulate the local economy. Patronizing either


Palmer, owners of MP Island Café, give back to their community in a variety of ways. One example of how they show their appreciation for the support that their community gives them is by sponsoring a huge community back-to-school picnic. During the picnic, they distribute school supplies to all of the children in attendance. Their restaurant, grocery store and club also provide a safe place where the community can gather and enjoy delicious healthy food.


If we only spend our money with


local merchants this holiday season, the community as a whole will benefit and businesses like Eddie’s Chesapeake Bay Crabhouse, MP Island Café and Boutique She-She can continue to show their generous support for those in need. A great way to determine where you can find the products or services you need, locally, is by visiting the Hampton Roads Messenger’s website, hamptonroads- messenger.com, and clicking on the Marketplace tab.


We will be updating the


Messenger’s Marketplace with information about local products and services throughout the holiday season. By passing the buck through the Marketplace, you will be supporting your community and perhaps transforming the cradle-to- prison pipeline into a cradle-to-com- merce pipeline.


Volume 8 Number 3 Going Green FROM PAGE 3


to train store operators in the use of the new machines. Both Lee and Chung say the learning curve with wet cleaning is steep.


“There has to be technical support


and education training, alongside the financial incentives, to make these changes successful,” says Chung.


For others, language is the key


obstacle to accessing green tech incentives.


Kum Yun Lee is the owner of


Seoul Market in San Francisco’s Richmond District. Her store, one of only two Korean-owned grocers in the city, sells a variety of dried and fresh goods catering to Korean shoppers. Rows of refrigerators of varying sizes line the walls, containing everything from fresh or pickled vegetables to cuts of meat, imported soft drinks and Korean beer.


“My energy bills typically run


over $3000 a month, which comes to about half of what I pay for rent,” says Lee, who opened her store in 2005. She says the situation is the same for other small Korean grocers that she knows.


To save on costs Lee switched to


more energy efficient bulbs soon after opening the store, but says the savings have been insignificant. She also says PG&E recently installed a device the agency promised would help reduce costs further, though in the end it created more headache than either she or PG&E might have anticipated.


“The serviceperson came to the


store, and installed this device,” recalls Lee, who speaks halting English. “But I couldn’t communicate with the guy at all, and I don’t know what he did back there. Over the next few days I noticed we had a mouse problem because of a hole he created.”


Despite the experience, Lee is


eager to learn about incentive programs available to stores like hers, but says she feels the language barrier prevents her and other business owners from being able to tap into what’s out there.


“I cover my daughter’s college


tuition,” she explains. “It would be great if I could cut down on my energy bills every month.”


Getting Out the Message Sungdo International is a


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Established 2006 Angela Jones, Publisher Chris Parks, Editor


Rae Willis, Graphic Designer Ida Davis, Contributing Writer


PO Box 10414 ● Norfolk, VA 23513


Sales and Information 757-575-1863 info@hamptonroadsmessenger.com Copyright pertaining to contents of this edition. All rights reserved.


Korean-owned textile company in Rancho Dominguez, near Los Angeles. Aided by the Department of Public Work’s Smart Business Recycling program, the company has managed to recycle over 80,000 pounds of mixed paper, plastic and textiles. Data from the program’s website show the company has reduced its annual waste disposal fees by up to $10,000.


The recycling program is one of a


number of similar initiatives that aims to help small-businesses in California make the transition to greener practices.


Anna Frankel is with the Green


Business Program in San Francisco. The group is run through the city’s Department of the Environment and


November 2013


works to promote green practices among local business owners.


“Since the start of the program


in 2005,” she explains, “we have seen more businesses interested in greening their activities and operations.” Certified businesses, she adds, often “see an improvement to their bottom lines from utility savings and increased revenue.”


There are about 198 recognized


Green Businesses in San Francisco currently, and while the program does not track ethnic-specific data, Pam Evans with the Green Business Program in nearby Alameda County says, “Most of the businesses certified through our program are ethnic minority-owned.”


In the Oakland area, she notes,


“over 120 businesses have been certified, including a number of Korean-owned establishments.”


One such business is Turbo


Tire in Oakland. About eight years ago owner Enoch Shin met with rep- resentatives from PG&E’s Energy Solutions and Services Department. The program works with some 75,000 businesses across Alameda and Contra Costa counties, sponsoring campaigns, events and sometimes going from door to door to promote energy efficiency.


Executive Manager Greg


Hoaglin notes that several hundred Korean-owned small businesses have already gone through the program, and that they are already benefiting from “reduced energy use and energy costs, [while] reducing their carbon footprint and environmental impact.”


Shin says that before going


through the program, his shop “was always dark.” At the time, he used a form of lighting, metal halide, that was so costly he had to limit the time he left the lights on, even during business hours. Since installing a more efficient system eight years ago, “the lights are always on. And I haven’t had to switch the bulbs once.”


Shin’s average energy


consumption has now fallen by 40 percent, with “savings as high as 70 percent,” translating to nearly $400 a month in electricity bills, or $5000 a year. He says he is now planning to install solar panels, a project that PG&E is helping him to plan out.


For environmental activist


Tim Song, such success stories are encouraging. Song is general director of the Pacific American Volunteer Association, one of only a few U.S.-based Korean-run environmental organizations. Located in Los Angeles, the group boasts a membership of over 4000 mostly youth, and organizes a range of activities, including coastal clean ups and routine trips to scour LA’s Korea Town.


“Education is a key part of our


mission,” he says, adding that many Korean Americans “are still unaware about environmental issues.” But he remains optimistic. “The fact that our organization even exists shows Koreans care about the environment and want to do something to improve it.”


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