4 The Hampton Roads Messenger Editorial


Spring Brings Opportunities for Saving Money While Eating Healthier


plants are easier for a novice to grow.


One should not let the fear of the extra work that gardening may bring deter them from planting their favorite fruits and vegetables. The health benefits of growing one’s produce without pesticides and the savings that would have been spent at the grocery store should be enough to motivate even the most reluctant potential gardener.


Another way to save money and BY ANGELA JONES With the arrival of Spring


last month and the anticipation of consistently warmer weather patterns, families can begin to thaw their ideas for healthier eating habits. The “meat and potatoes” comfort diet of the winter should be ditched for the bounty of colorful and nutritious fruits and vegetables that will be available to family meal planners throughout the Spring, Summer and Fall. There are even healthier choices for meat and eggs as pressured producers opt to give less antibiotics to chickens, as well as other factory farm raised animals, and laws prohibiting backyard birds, chickens, are repealed.


Although the possibility that


cooler temperatures may still loom, serious gardeners have already began planting seeds in pots so that they will be ready to transplant when there is no longer a chance for frost. Some people save egg cartons to use for planting seeds or purchase small plants that have begun sprouting in a nursery before their purchase.


Tomatoes, strawberries, cucumbers, green beans and melons are excellent choices to begin a spring garden. Herbs such as sage, dill, basil, mint and rosemary are great additions to any garden. They can also be kept in pots inside to supplement herbs and spices purchased at the supermarket.


Most sales associates


in the gardening section of your local home improvement store or nursery can provide more information on what


eat healthy is by raising backyard chickens. While roosters can be noisy, aside from the occasional “Cluck,” you barely hear a peep out of hens. The benefits of having hens in your backyard are limitless. According to mypetchicken.com, the most work you will have to do for your chickens is gather their eggs. But wait, fresh hormone-free eggs benefit humans not chickens. On the other hand, you will be saving a chicken from the tortures of factory farming.


To provide humans with fresh eggs, most chickens from factory farms must endure having the ends of their beaks removed to prevent them being


showing their dismay for


in such tight quarters with so many other chickens.


Since


the chicken-filled tight quarters encourage the spread of bacteria and viruses between the birds, they are infused with antibiotics. The overuse of these antibiotics can breed drug resistant microbes. Hormone-free and antibiotic-free eggs can cost more than six dollars per dozen at a health food store.


being


Despite news reports of eggs high


in cholesterol, they


are generally a healthy source of protein. Less meat in one’s diet leaves room to indulge in the more beneficial nutrients in eggs. Anyone with health problems should check with


their doctor before changing


their diet. According to a study by the Department of Nutrition, in the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, the essential nutrient choline, found in egg yolks, has numerous health benefits particularly for brain development. Eggs provide one of the most concentrated food sources of


choline. Choline may also In addition previously


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.


mentioned be


beneficial in preventing heart disease, inflammation and breast cancer.


to the ways


chicken eggs can improve one’s health, according to mypetchicken.com,


chickens


can also provide protection from outdoor pests like spiders, beetles and grubs; eat leaves, weeds and lawn clippings; have great personalities; and provide fertilizer for your lawn and garden. With recent


changes


in laws that allow backyard chickens in some municipalities, raising chickens and planting a garden this spring may save one’s family on trips to the grocery store as well as trips to the doctor’s office.


BY GENETTA M. ADAMS


When the hashtag #IfThey- GunnedMeDown landed on the front page of the New York Times last year, it was a game-changing moment in the evolution of black Twitter, particularly in how social media was forcing mainstream news media to look at the way they portrayed African Americans.


“Through the posting of two


photos and a hashtag, thousands of people where able to change the media narrative around the coverage of Mike Brown and around the coverage of individuals who might find themselves in a similar situation,” said Meredith Clark, a journalism professor at the University of North Texas, during a panel discussion titled “The Bombastic Brilliance of Black Twitter II” at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas. She was joined on the panel by Kimberly Ellis, a scholar and social media strategist who has written a book about the power of black Twitter.


The panel was a follow-up


session to Ellis’ 2012 SXSW panel of the same name (which is also the name of her upcoming book), which was born out of frustration at mainstream media’s early dismissiveness of black Twitter. Both women cited a 2010 article from Slate, “How Black People Use Twitter,” which presented a series


Wind Energy FROM PAGE 1


to build a new Virginia economy," said Attorney General Mark Herring. "As we compete for the jobs of the 21st century and work to mitigate the effects of climate change on vulnerable areas,


including Hampton Roads, a


groundbreaking clean energy project like this shows that Virginia is ready, willing, and able to lead."


The Commonwealth applied for the research lease in 2013 and has named


as the designated


Dominion Virginia lease


Power operator.


Execution of the 30-year lease is an important step in the project to allow Dominion to construct and operate the Virginia Offshore Wind Technology Advancement


a grid-connected, offshore wind demonstration


Project (VOWTAP), project


consisting two Alstom 6-megawatt turbines


of to


be located approximately 24 nautical miles east of the Virginia Beach shoreline. The intent of VOWTAP is to demonstrate successful installation and generation of power 24 nautical


of funny, sometimes ratchet, hashtags that failed to capture what was really happening on black Twitter.


and my experience doesn’t reflect this truncated


“I’ve been on Twitter since 2009, analysis,” said Ellis. She


set out to show that black Twitter— like the black community itself—was more than a series of ratchet hashtags.


And over time, Ellis has been proved right, with black Twitter becoming the driving force behind some of the most important stories over the last several years. Many of these


Volume 9 Number 8


April 2015


SXSW: How Black Twitter Is Changing the Narrative of Black Stories


stories would have otherwise gone unreported or underreported— think Trayvon Martin or Michael Brown—if not for the power of black Twitter.


As to how black Twitter can


better harness its power, Ellis believes that forming stronger bonds with other like-minded immigrant


communities—LGBT, activists, feminists and


others—will only make their voices louder.


“We have the power to literally


change the world, and we constantly underestimate what we can do together,” she said. “And quite frankly, there’s no social movement that has occurred in this country where one ethnic group acted alone and did it alone.”


miles offshore, validate the estimated wind resource potential in the lease area, identify inefficiencies and gaps in offshore wind development, and utilize a previously untested regulatory process established by BOEM.


to


Energy Area. Data the two test turbines


life,


The research lease area is adjacent Dominion’s commercial Wind gathered from will


support


Dominion’s future commercial-scale wind power development by reducing costs, maximizing turbine availability and service


and minimizing


environmental impacts. This research will benefit wind energy developers across the globe.


Future commercial wind energy


development projects that will result from VOWTAP research are expected to create several thousand jobs in Virginia and add to the development of domestic clean energy resources in the United States. Virginia is well positioned


along the Mid-Atlantic


coast to become the central hub to support wind power development planned in Virginia and other states to the north and south. governor.virginia.gov


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