AzSustainability.com » Buy Local

Your Help Is Needed to Reinstate the Biodiesel Tax Incentive

James Towner — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 02:19:14 +0000

Below is a note from AZ BioDiesel owner Dan Rees about the federal tax incentive that expired this January. AZ BioDiesel is a local Arizona biodiesel producer that makes their fuel from 100% locally sourced waste vegetable oil.

Hi Everyone,

Az BioDiesel is still alive and producing for now without the $1 a gallon federal biodiesel tax credit.

It will hopefully be passed by Feb/March and be retroactive to Jan 1st but there are no guarantees.

For now, we (AZ BioDiesel) can afford to “weather the storm” and wait until the end of January to see if the tax credit will come back anytime soon.

Most plants around the country unfortunately, have closed or severely reduced production as they can’t weather a long wait to get the tax credit dollars.

The word is that if congress doesn’t get around to it before Feb, most of the industry will close and many may not be able to reopen. 29,000+ jobs will be lost very soon. Congress came back Jan 20th from their holiday break. Health care was still taking priority to anything else when they started.

Our industry is the victim of congress’ focus on health care and not having time to pass the biodiesel tax credit extension which helps biodiesel to be competitively priced to the already subsidized petroleum fuels.

Several senators (Dem & Rep) have sent letters to President Obama to get the extension passed quickly but, no answer yet.

Some are saying that Big Oil is behind this. The EPA was going to pass (this Feb) it’s new alt fuel standards which, for the first time, would include a national minimum requirement for 1 billion gallons of biodiesel to get the industry on its feet and growing. The EPA now is saying they may just give the 1 billion gallons to the ethanol industry to add to the minimum requirement they already have since they don’t believe the biodiesel industry can now live up to the new requirement.

Another win for Big Oil and their support of ethanol! The alternative fuel (ethanol) that isn’t a threat to the future of replacing petroleum oil.

It really concerns me that President Obama had the nerve recently to tout the $2.3 billion he gave out to create new forms of energy and add 17,000 jobs while he knows that the biodiesel industry is about to lose 29,000+ jobs and already can produce new energy but no one in congress or the white house seems to care. You’ll notice very little press about the loss of the biodiesel tax credit and it’s potential to bankrupt this industry even if they get around to passing an extension later in the year.

Please help save the biodiesel industry by going to this link and sending emails to our congressmen:

Your Help Is Needed to Reinstate the Biodiesel Tax Incentive
http://www.biodiesel.org/news/taxcredit/default.shtm

With your help, this industry can survive!!!

Thanks,
Dan Rees, AZ BioDiesel

Food Inc playing at Harkins Camelview

James Towner — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 02:00:07 +0000

Do you know where your food is coming from? Food Inc is a fascinating and disturbing look at where our food in the US comes from. You’ll definitely not look at food the same again. http://www.foodincmovie.com/

Click here to find a showing at Harkins Camelview in Scottsdale.

The film Fuel: Change the world by changing your fuel.

Bashas’ Needs Your Help

Tracy Perkins — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 16:52:22 +0000

Image from PBS story on the Basha Family
It seems everywhere I look another small locally owned shop is going out of business. With a small business, especially in the first few years, there isn’t much keeping you afloat and when customers draw back it is hard to keep your head above water. This seems understandable for the little guy but what about the larger locally owned places? I heard the bad news this week that Bashas’, our locally owned grocer, has filed for bankruptcy. This is bad news personally as I know people who work there who are concerned for their jobs. This is also bad news for our community as with the zillions of grocery stores we have here in the valley, Bashas’ is the only one that is Arizonan owned. I must admit, I do a lot of grocery shopping from various places. I am pretty picky and it seems like I can only find certain things certain places. After hearing this news though, I am going to try to do my part to help Bashas’ by choosing to support them with my dollars as much as possible. Other than their being locally owned, why shop there? Their Full Circle line of organics is really good and reasonably priced, they are always the only place I can find really good fire roasted green chilis, and their natural foods section is well stocked. So here it is.. my pledge to focus my grocery shopping at Bashas’.. what will you do to try to save local businesses?

Click here to read about the Basha family from an interview with Eddie Basha, Jr.

Click here to find the Basha’s closest to you.

Here is some more info from Kimber Lanning over at Local First AZ:

As a proud Arizonan, I was alarmed at Bashas’ Chapter 11 filing last week. As our hometown grocer, Bashas’ family of stores holds a special place in our hearts. In addition to being one of the biggest contributors to Arizona charities, Bashas’ is also the state’s 12th largest employer.

I have no doubt Bashas’ will emerge from these bankruptcy proceedings a better company, but right now I can not encourage you enough to make the effort to shop locally. This is the time for Arizona to stand up and say ENOUGH!

We understand that investing in ourselves is the smartest, most sustainable thing we can do for our communities. In addition to their staff, Bashas’ also employs a team of accountants, attorneys, sign makers and web developers, to name a few, who live right here in Arizona. Bashas’ makes the effort to buy their office products from Wist, another Arizona company, and they have a credit union for their workers, which means more money staying here to be invested.

If you are a service provider of any kind, you know first hand how important it is to have strong Arizona businesses. Out of state corporations, even those operating here among us, do not hire locals for their administrative work, and that includes marketers, graphic designers, promotions people and a whole host of other jobs that are outsourced every day.

We are all in this together. Remember, almost three times more of our money stays here in Arizona when we shop locally, and that money goes to our libraries, our parks, our fire departments.

We are seeking long-term solutions for our great state, and a big part of that is supporting Arizona’s own companies. Please take a moment to reflect on a personal story that you have that relates to the Basha family. Perhaps it was the cookies donated to your child’s Little League team, or a charity that Eddie’s wife Nadine funded. Or, like me, maybe Eddie Basha came to your Coalition for World Peace class at ASU in 1985 and significantly changed the way you thought about the world.

These are hometown folks that need us now. Go the extra mile to reach a Bashas’, AJ’s, or Food City store near you. Because of your effort, Arizona will be a better place.

Locally yours,

Kimber Lanning
Director
Local First Arizona
(602) 956-0909
kimber@localfirstaz.com
_____________________________________________

Here’s what one community member is doing for Bashas’:

CLICK HERE

Read more about what Bashas’ has done for our community:

CLICK HERE

Independents Weeks Is Coming Up June 29th – July 5th!

James Towner — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 04:10:55 +0000

Take the pledge to shop local June 19th thru July 5th and help keep independent business alive in Arizona! Why support local business?

For every two jobs national retailers bring to a community, three jobs are lost as a result of local businesses closing down.

When you shop locally-owned businesses, your money is re-circulated over and over and creates up to 75% more tax revenue to our community and state.

Independent businesses raise the standard of living in your community because they take their profits and buy products and services from other local businesses, thus creating more and more tax revenues needed for the community to thrive.

Millions of dollars of tax revenue subsidies handed to chains by financially-starved local governments drain even more tax revenue from our community and state.

Blighted empty shopping areas are created in your community when chain stores re-locate to a more lucrative shopping center, or leave altogether. Literally hundreds of big stores are abandoned each year across the United States.

Independent businesses are unique enterprises that contribute to the character of our community by offering a more diverse selections of goods and services.

Independent businesses provide meaningful service with a personal touch. It matters to them that you are satisfied and will come back again.

Carefully planned predatory pricing practices have allowed national chains to establish virtual monopolies as they drive local competition out of business. And then they raise their prices.

Check out Local First Arizona’s site for more information about this event.

Happy Earth Day Arizona

James Towner — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 13:01:46 +0000

Lots of events going on today! Take a look at our events calendar to find something to do today. Working? There’s still many events on the weekend. Personally I’ll be working, but after that I’m heading over to the Phoenix Public Market and checking out all the many faces of small businesses that will be there today.

Have a great day!

tea, tea, and more tea

Tracy Perkins — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 01:33:26 +0000

photo by modomatic from flickr

I love tea and there have been a few tea shops I’ve really loved in town but I didn’t realize there were so many! I will never complain about nowhere to go for tea again! Here are some tea places you can go to all over the state to support local business. Skip the Starbucks and try something new. Some of these places offer high tea, great for groups of friends. Most of them have a great selection of teas, some organic and fair trade so search around and find your favorite. I have so many to try, Souvia and Mandala are my favorites right now but I plan to check out as many as I can and hope you will do the same.

Gooseberries Tea Room
13216 North 7th Street
Phoenix, AZ

Souvia Tea Phoenix
15414 N 7th St #8
Phoenix, AZ

Souvia Tea – Scottsdale
4320 N. Miller Rd. #107
Scottsdale, AZ

English Rose
201 Easy Street
Carefree, AZ

Arizona Biltmore
2400 E Missouri Ave
Phoenix, AZ

Tea Court at The Phoenician
6000 East Camelback Road
Scottsdale, AZ

The Urban Tea Loft
11 West Boston Street, Suite #2
Historic Downtown Chandler, AZ

The Teeter House Tea Room
622 E. Adams Street
Phoenix, AZ 4 reviews

Seven Cups
2516 East 6th Street
Tucson, AZ

Mandala Tearoom
7027 E. 5th Ave
Scottsdale, AZ

Tessa’s Tea and Treasures
4700 N. Central Avenue
Phoenix, AZ

Tohono Chul Park
7366 North Paseo del Norte
Tucson, AZ

Hackett House
95 West 4th Street
Tempe, AZ

Chantilly Tea Room
5185 Genematas Drive
Tucson, AZ

Kimberly Ann’s Victorian Tearoom
7153 N. 59th Ave
Glendale, AZ

Steve’s Espresso Coffee & Tea House
1801 E Baseline Rd
Tempe, AZ

Francesca’s Tearoom
4628 North 7th Street
Phoenix, AZ

Tea Infusion
2000 East Rio Salado Parkway Suite 1064
Tempe, AZ

White August Tea Company
3607 E Bell Road, Suite 1
Phoenix, AZ

Applesauce Tea House
213 S San Francisco St
Flagstaff, AZ

Christine Moss & Allison Barta Tea Dreams
1090 S Gilbert Rd Ste 105
Gilbert, AZ

Chakra 4 Herb and Tea House
4773 N. 20th St
Phoenix, AZ

Tea Celebrations Studio
4200 N. Marshall Way
Scottsdale, AZ

Arcadia Farms
at the Phoenix Art Museum
2301 N Central Ave
Phoenix, AZ

Victorian Garden Tea Room
216 N Alarcon St
Prescott, AZ

The Library of Wine and Tea
212 W. Gurley St.
Prescott, AZ

The Tea Shoppe
7005 N 58th Ave
Glendale, AZ

The Many Faces of Small Business

Tracy Perkins — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 19:07:34 +0000

Here is another great opportunity to get to know your local small businesses. Mark your calendars for April 22 from 4-8pm. Stop by after work and have a great time.

Why Shop Locally? When you shop at a locally owned business, 45 cents of every dollar stays in Arizona – versus only 13 cents of every dollar spent at a national chain!
Read more on Local First AZ >>

“The Many Faces of Small Business Festival”
Wednesday, April 22
4 – 8pm
Downtown Phoenix Public Market
712 N. Central Avenue
Phoenix, AZ 85004

Come downtown and visit the market for this special evening as Local First Arizona partners with The Downtown Public Market and ASBA to bring a great festival to the downtown area: “The Many Faces of Small Business,” – in celebration of the Market’s new, permanent “brick and mortar” building!

Expect to see the following vendors:
1.Sweet Republic
2.Kokopelli’s Kitchen
3.Belinda’s Pickles
4.Lizabel’s Treasures
5.Samurai Comics
6.Audrey Thacker
7. Wicked Wicker
8. Dos Cabezas
9. Green / That’s A Wrap
10.Strawberry Hedgehog
11.Tapino
12. Bruce Brown Catering
13. Cibo
14. Moira Sushi
15. Naturoli
16. Meat Shop
17. Bookmans
18. Shopdevious
19. Spinatos
20. Cookie Lee Jewelry (Bizemoms)
21. Seesaw Designs / GoGetGeek
22. Urban Farm / Yourguidetogreen.com
23. Melrose Pharmacy / Jeff Jameson (Jameson Associates)
24. SMoCA / Art On Boston
25. Foresite Foam / One Solar
26. Le Tutor
27. Maximum Business Advantage / Reconnect Locally
28. Mane Attraction / Healing Quest
29. Savvycollector / Allison Gee
30. Swedeclean / London Luxury
31. MJ Management Solutions / Watermark Insurance
32. Jamax Publishers / Design One

charity through pampering

Tracy Perkins — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 21:03:32 +0000

Self indulgence is not typically a very philanthropic activity, however, with rough economic times we all could use some extra TLC. This is a great way to give back to the community while pampering yourself and getting acquainted with a fantastic local business. From the strawberry hedgehog blog:

As you know from my last post I have been really excited about the Soap for Hope soaps I have available where 50% of the price goes directly to support cancer charities. The soaps are available online as well as at my favorite Mesa cafe/yoga studio, Inside the Bungalow, who just so happen to be hosting a super cool event on May 2nd to support the St. Baldrick’s charity. So, last week I went to drop off the fresh lemon-rosemary soap there but before leaving I checked their blog only to find that Inside the Bungalow’s massage therapist, is donating ALL of the massage proceeds to the charity!

I couldn’t resist this opportunity to pamper myself while giving to charity. What a fabulously rewarding combination! Melissa, the massage therapist, is incredibly friendly and talented. She sets you at ease the moment you arrive, has a healing touch and warm personality, listening to your concerns and adjusting to your preference. The prices are out of this world and with all of the proceeds going to St. Baldrick’s through May you really have no excuse not to go! :c) Their scheduling and online payment system is super simple and I highly recommend you leap at the opportunity as I did. I am so impressed with Melissa’s ability as a massage therapist and her huge heart, I cannot believe her generosity donating all of her time and energy to heal her clients and support finding a cure for childhood cancer. WOW!

Click here for more info.

No related posts.

AZ Biodiesel drops price of bio to $2.50 a gallon

James Towner — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 03:45:48 +0000

Not bad for only being open for a couple weeks! If you haven’t been over there yet now is a great time to check them out.

Here’s a quote from AZ Biodiesel’s owner Dan Rees from local diesel forum sparkfree.com.

You told us…………”appointments are lame”

So………….no more appointments!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here is the map to our Gilbert location for you to get fuel:
http://azbiodiesel.com/contact.htm

And just to celebrate……..biodiesel now $2.50 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah!!!!!!!!! lower methanol prices allowed us to lower our price again!!!

Thanks everyone!
Dan

Save Taxpayer Money And Help Create Locally Made Fuel By Recycling Your Turkey Grease This Year.

“green” essence bakery gets it right!

Tracy Perkins — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 13:00:28 +0000

Essence Cafe on Hardy and University in Tempe, AZ

Essence Bakery and Cafe resides on Hardy and University, just a few blocks from Arizona State University in Tempe. It is in the same building that one of my favorite restaurants of all time, Sabuddy, used to be in. While Sabuddy just moved to Scottsdale it is a further drive from my local stomping grounds so I don’t get to go there much these days and while it is entirely irrational some how I held this against Essence and did not go there for ages. I finally bit the bullet and couldn’t resist their charming outdoor seating any longer. I stopped in for tea to go and it was great. Then this past weekend we decided to give it a real chance.. the true test. Brunch.

The decor was really cute, they redid everything with Earth-friendly paint and replaced countertops with recycled glass and old cabinets with bamboo. Their remodeling has really paid off as the atmosphere is welcoming and the colors are really lovely and warm. We eyed the pastry case while we waited, filled with fluffy cream puffs and boxes of adorable miniature cakes and sweet treats. This would be the ideal place to pick up something special to celebrate. James seemed to enjoy their fresh coffee as much as I enjoyed their tasty iced tea while we waited for our food. The menu is fantastic for anyone (vegetarians to foodies to locavores or even carnivores). They use “cage-free” eggs (though I have issues with that terminology, at least they are trying) and buy local and organic produce as often as they can.

I ordered the Mediterranean Roasted Vegetable sandwich from the lunch menu without the cheesy pesto (though it sounded delicious). They even went so far as to cut the cheese sprinkled on top of the focaccia bread off for me! Now that is service. The sandwich was amazing, bursting with flavor from sweet roasted red repper, zucchini, eggplant done just right and organic greens. The side salad was fabulous with nutritious and delicious dark green leafies abound and a light refreshing vinaigrette. I could not have been happier!

James had “The Big Breakfast” without the sausage. It came with 2 fried eggs, a golden mashed potato cake, sautéed mushrooms and toast from freshly baked multigrain bread with jam. He fell head over heels for these mashed potato cakes, it looked amazing, fluffy golden mashed potatoes inside with a crisp top. Everything looked great and he was smitten. He declared it his favorite breakfast in town! That is a big deal as there are some pretty serious contenders up there so I was impressed. I tried some of his jam… it was like the jam from the inside of the best jelly donut you’ve ever tasted, jam you could only dream of! You think I’m kidding.. well.. a little bit I am but seriously, it is unbelievable jam. Get it!

I think we were both seriously impressed with Essence Bakery and would be fools to miss going there as often as we can. With an incredibly friendly and accomodating staff, beautiful pastries, delicious and wide ranging menus, and an eye for eco-friendly, Essence has really gotten it right.

Do It Green event