Profile Of An Anti-Wal-Mart Campaign
March 29, 2006
Residents in Bend, Oregon have been boxing with Wal-Mart for more than a year now. Here are excerpts of a Jobs with Justice account of
March 2006
Citizens Continue Legal Battle Against Wal-Mart
March 29, 2006
For over a year and a half, residents in Batavia, New York have kept a Wal-Mart supercenter at bay through legal appeals. The group Batavia
Opponents Use Robert’s Rules In Wal-Mart Legal Appeal
March 29, 2006
Wal-Mart’s efforts to build a supercenter in Santa Fe have been like a watched pot. But this week the controversial plan is boiling over. Opponents
Wal-Mart Increases ‘Surprise’ Factory Inspections
March 29, 2006
For several years, Wal-Mart critics have charged that the retailer’s inspection program for its more than 5,000 overseas factories is ineffectual, and that the company
Home Depot Adds Convenience Stores To Gas
March 28, 2006
Sprawl-Busters reported recently that Home Depot was experimenting with gas stations. The home improvement store has indicated that it hopes to have 300 stores with
Size Cap Passed “Overwhelmingly” By Voters
March 28, 2006
More bad news out of Mid Coast Maine this week for big box stores like Wal-Mart. On Monday, residents in Newcastle, Maine became the third
County Considers Continuing Legal Fight Against Wal-Mart
March 28, 2006
This is the story of a Wal-Mart delayed. On August 8, 2004, Sprawl-Busters reported that Fulton County, Georgia Commissioners had voted 6-1 against a Wal-Mart
Residents Do Battle With IKEA
March 26, 2006
Sprawl-Busters has received the following communiqu?? from the frontlines of a battle with the Swedish furniture superstore in England: “Mega-mart sprawl is a problem for
Citizens Prepared to Keep Out Second Wal-Mart
March 26, 2006
Residents in the community of Hagerstown, Maryland already have one Wal-Mart supercenter, and are prepared to fight as often as necessary to keep a second
Residents Turn Out In Droves To Oppose Wal-Mart
March 25, 2006
There were no shrinking Violets this week in the township of Violet, Ohio. All it took was a Wal-Mart proposal to turn out the crowd
Wal-Mart Loses In Court Over Comp Plan
March 23, 2006
Sprawl-Busters has not written about Jacksonville, Florida since September, 22, 2004, when we reported that Wal-Mart’s plans to build a Neighborhood Market grocery store on
Voters Elect Anti-Sprawl Slate
March 22, 2006
Residents in Saranac Lake, New York, which fought off a Wal-Mart in the 1990s, are now celebrating a second victory against sprawl. Village elections yesterday
City Approves 13 Homes in Home Depot Parking Lot
March 22, 2006
Parking lots are traditionally thought of as a place to park cars. But not at Home Depot. In Calgary, Canada, the retail giant apparently struck
Bad Plumbing Or Fear Of Unions Shut Down Stores?
March 22, 2006
2,200 Wal-Mart workers who were suddenly laid off recently when the giant retailer shut down 5 stores for ???plumbing problems,??? have a filed an injunction
Town Passes Six Month Freeze On Big Boxes
March 21, 2006
There won’t be any big box stores anytime soon in the town of Nobleboro, Maine. Two days ago the town meeting passed a six month
Will A Super Wal-Mart Play in Peoria?
March 21, 2006
Heads up, Peoria, Arizona: Wal-Mart has big plans for your community. Sprawl-Busters received the following SOS today from Peoria: “Wal-Mart is proposing to move into
Citizens Decide To Appeal Wal-Mart Ruling
March 20, 2006
In late February, a hearing examiner in Pullman, Washington rejected efforts by local residents to block a proposed Wal-Mart supercenter. The City Supervisor said at
Residents Organize Against Home Depot
March 19, 2006
Citizen activism against big box stores knows no political boundaries. Sprawl-Busters received the following report this week from north of the border, where residents feel
Religious Groups Pursue Court Case Against Wal-Mart Location
March 19, 2006
Wal-Mart has already started building a store three times the size of a football field in Guelph, Ontario, in Canada. But a multi-faith religious group
Massachusetts Big Box Developers Sprawling Over Maine
March 19, 2006
With major retail developers from Massachusetts assaulting towns like Damariscotta, Thomaston and other mid-coast Maine communities, the residents in Ellsworth report that another Massachusetts developer
Home Depot Cuts Its Safety Managers Nationwide
March 19, 2006
Sprawl-Busters received word this week from one of our sources that Home Depot has made a major cutback in its store safety program. In past
Union Releases ‘Wal-Mart Tax’ Health Care Study
March 19, 2006
The AFL-CIO released this past week a 16 page study of the public subsidies that state and federal taxpayers provide to the private retailer, Wal-Mart,
Disabled Win $13 M Class Action Suit Against Kmart
March 19, 2006
This past week Kmart offered a $13 million blue light special — but its owner, Sears Holding, was not too pleased. The beleaguered retailer settled
Martin Leedy, Anti-Wal-Mart Music
March 18, 2006
Adam Olson of Giantslayer Records & Publishing sent Sprawl-Busters the following lyrics this week from a new song by Danny Green. Here are the lyrics,
Music To Defeat Wal-Marts
March 18, 2006
Sprawl-Busters received the following email this week: “You don’t know us, but we’re a Canadian roots band called the Dust Poets. We just released a
Citizen Pressure Stops ‘Lifestyle’ Retail Sprawl
March 15, 2006
On March 8, 2006, Sprawl-Busters brought you the first-hand account of a citizen’s revolt in Canton, Michigan against a developer’s plans to convert a golf
Citizen Lawsuit Stalls Wal-Mart For A Year
March 13, 2006
Sprawl-Busters reported in April of 2005 that residents in Lockport, Illinois had taken their city to court fighting a Wal-Mart supercenter in their community. The
Mayor Says Wal-Mart ‘Selfish’ Over Road Fee Dispute
March 12, 2006
The Mayor of Monument, Colorado thinks Wal-Mart is holding a grudge against the town, and is acting in a selfish way. He’s referring to Wal-Mart’s
Wal-Mart’s Retail Musical Chairs
March 12, 2006
The following story, which was sent to Sprawl-Busters by Elizabeth Davis, narrates the intricate tangle of uncontrolled growth in a southern town under development pressure:
State Sues Over Secret Wal-Mart Welfare Deal
March 12, 2006
In July of 2004, Sprawl-Busters reported that Wisconsin’s Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager had filed a complaint in Dodge County Circuit Court against a private development
Wal-Mart Could Hinge On Election Results
March 9, 2006
Sprawl-Busters reported on December 6, 2005 that Wal-Mart had returned to the scene of a defeat back in 1999, when their plans to build in
State Rules Wal-Mart Detention Pond Is a Wetland
March 9, 2006
Wal-Mart is drowning in its own water. We reported on February 15, 2006 that the Conservation Commission in Hadley, Massachusetts ruled that a detention pond
Residents Rally Against ‘Lifestyle’ Center
March 8, 2006
Over the past several years, developers have been trying to mask the huge scale of their retail projects by calling them “lifestyle” centers. Words like
Citizens Push for Size Cap
March 4, 2006
Citizens in Bitterroot, Montana have proposed a zoning ordinance that would limit the size of retail stores, and require developers to measure the impact of
Wal-Mart Scraps Plans to Expand Into Superstore
March 3, 2006
For Wal-Mart, trying to expand their discount store in Punta Gorda, Florida has been like hitting their head against the WAL. And this week, local
Wal-Mart Gets Ethics’Worldwide
March 2, 2006
Just about one year ago, Sprawl-Busters announced that Wal-Mart had introduced a new Office of Ethics for its workers, complete with a toll free number
Residents Gear Up To Block Home Depot
March 1, 2006
Home Depot tries to hide in Wal-Mart’s shadow, hoping that citizens will not consider them as objectionable as a Wal-Mart supercenter. But the fact is,
Residents Revolt Against Two Supercenters 4 Miles Apart
March 1, 2006
There isn’t one good reason to have two Wal-Mart supercenters four miles apart, and the residents of Great Falls, Montana understand that. Residents in Great
Citizens Create ‘Chain Against Chains’ in Wal-Mart Battle
March 1, 2006
Residents of Fairhope, Alabama figure there’s one thing that a chain store like Wal-Mart understands: other chains. So the group of Wal-Mart opponents, known as