Wal-Mart Plan Doesn’t Get Far in Fargo
June 22, 2006
On April 13, 2006, Sprawl-Busters reported that a proposed Wal-Mart plan had been slam-dunked by the Fargo, North Dakota Planning Commission. The Fargo Forum reported
Al Norman
Wal-Mart Supercenter Opens, Supplier Factory Closes Down
June 22, 2006
Sometimes two seemingly-unrelated events happen in such close proximity, that even the casual observer can’t help but notice the connection. On November 10, 2004, Sprawl-Busters
Wal-Mart Wants God’s Front Yard
June 22, 2006
Wal-Mart has made a financial deal with the Lord. The retailer has found religion in this small community, and is willing to pay good money
Pension Fund Drops Wal-Mart Stock For Human Rights Violations
June 21, 2006
Sprawl-Busters has received a copy of the recommendations of the Norwegian Government Petroleum Fund to drop Wal-Mart stock from its portfolio because the company runs
Wal-Mart Opponent Says Company Offered Big Money To Switch Sides
June 7, 2006
Georgia Thacker says she was stunned when she took a phone call recently from a person who said he was calling from Wal-Mart in Arkansas.
Home Depot Annexation Fails
June 7, 2006
Citizens fighting Home Depot in El Cajon, California hammered the home improvement store this week. Opponents received the following email: “Dear Neighbors and Friends: In
Residents Fight Wal-Mart In Beach Community
June 7, 2006
Residents in Neptune Beach, Florida are trying to throw sand on Wal-Mart’s plans to locate an out-of-scale superstore in their picturesque community. Here’s a report
Wal-Mart Loses Again
June 7, 2006
Chalk up another victory for citizens. After two defeats, will Wal-Mart ever come back to Saranac Lake, New York? The village Board voted June 5th
Wal-Mart’s PR Mail Campaign Disturbs Officials
June 4, 2006
If you live in Saranac Lake, New York, you’ve got mail. Wal-Mart recently sent out a mailing to village residents trying to bolster more support
Wal-Mart Annual Meeting: Milky Way or Chardonnay?
June 3, 2006
In case you weren’t one of the 15,000 people who swarmed at the Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Arkansas yesterday for the Wal-Mart Annual Makeover
Home Depot Admits No-Show Board, and Cannibalization
June 2, 2006
Attention Home Depot Shareholders! Home Depot is going to listen to you — next time. Home Depot CEO Bob Nardelli had to hold down the
City Council Mulls ‘Living Wage’ Big Box Ordinance
June 1, 2006
The Chicago City Council is reviewing two ordinances that would require big box stores like Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Target and Lowe’s to pay their workers
Wal-Mart Rejected, Comes Back For A Second Try
June 1, 2006
If at first you don’t succeed, go to court. On September 16, 2005, Sprawl-Busters reported that town officials in Rotterdam, New York had rezoned land
Wal-Mart’s First Hawaiian Supercenter Draws Opponents
May 31, 2006
These days, you can’t pave over paradise without a fight. Wal-Mart has proposed building a superstore in the Kapolei neighborhood of O’ahu, Hawaii, but even
Another Home Depot Catches Fire
May 31, 2006
This is one of those stories that Home Depot doesn’t like to talk about. The fact that Home Depot is a warehouse repository of hazardous,
Wal-Mart Apologizes Over Eminent Domain Threat
May 30, 2006
Savor this, because it does not happen often: a “dismayed” and “outraged” Wal-Mart apologizing to a community. But that’s exactly what happened recently over the
Police Warn Of Wal-Mart Crime Impact
May 29, 2006
More than ten years after the Vermont Supreme Court ruled that Wal-Mart could not build in the town of St. Albans, Vermont, the retail giant
Another Town Adopts Size Cap
May 23, 2006
It was as improbable as Great Burnham wood coming to Dunsinance hill. But it finally happened in Hadley, Massachusetts, where voters at an annual town
Wetlands & Size Sinks Home Depot
May 23, 2006
They said a smaller “Home Depot Lite” might have worked — but not a 132,000 s.f. big box store. With that, the Zoning Board in
Town Looks For Way To Make Superstore Illegal
May 22, 2006
On September 7, 2005, Sprawl-Busters printed this short plea for help from the residents in Davie, Florida: “WE NEED HELP! We live in a small
Lowe’s Project Going Nowhere Fast
May 22, 2006
The developer who’s trying to build a Lowe’s home improvement store in Geneseo, New York, better reset his watch. Opponents of the project are delighted
Wal-Mart Crashes In Korea
May 22, 2006
Wal-Mart’s crash and burn in South Korea today was not the first time the retail giant stumbled badly on the international stage. Before South Korea,
Home Depot Developer Sues Town Over Rejection
May 21, 2006
Home Depot used to say, “Good things happen when Home Depot comes to town.” And the corollary of that must be: Bad things happen when
‘ Wal-Mart: High Everyday Crime’Always
May 20, 2006
For years, Sprawl-Busters has reported on the serious epidemic of crime at Wal-Mart stores. In 1999, “Slam Dunking Wal-Mart” contained a chapter on crime at
Developer Ends Challenge to City’s Cap on Retail Size
May 20, 2006
A North Carolina developer’s legal challenge to a Georgia city’s cap on the size of retail buildings has been settled out of court on the
Two Lawsuits Dropped, Wal-Mart Officially Dead
May 20, 2006
A landowner in Duluth, Georgia appears to have finally pulled the legal plug on his dreams for a Wal-Mart supercenter. On May 3, 2008, Sprawl-Busters
Home Depot/Costco vs. East Harlem
May 20, 2006
A citizens group called the East Harlem Business and Residents Alliance (BARA) has taken a stand against the proposed East River Plaza Home Depot/Costco shopping
Residents Declare War On Wal-Mart Saturation
May 18, 2006
North of the border, Wal-Mart Canada has pushed local communities around in the same trademark way that characterizes the retailer’s U.S. real estate operations. The
Calpers Goes After Home Depot Executive Pay
May 18, 2006
When Home Depot shareholders gather in corporate-tax-free Delaware next week, this issue of how much the retailer pays Bob Nardelli, it’s CEO, will crowd out
Residents Raise Issues With Wal-Mart
May 18, 2006
Wal-Mart seems to have found some low-hanging fruit in Olathe, Kansas, but not everyone in town is welcoming them in. Sprawl-Busters received the following email
Taxpayers Give $2.8 Million In Corporate Welfare To Wal-Mart
May 16, 2006
The taxpayers of Little Falls, Minnesota have a big heart. They respond to need when they see it. So when Wal-Mart, which only made $11.2
Rejected Developer Puts Target, Lowe’s Mall On The Ballot
May 14, 2006
Just a little over a year ago, Sprawl-Busters reported that voters in San Luis Obispo in a special election voted 51% to reject a big
Citizens Force Wal-Mart Into Holding Pattern
May 14, 2006
Unhappy residents have forced Wal-Mart to put its plans for a superstore in Tallahassee, Florida in neutral. The proposal, located on the site of an
Wal-Mart Dumps One Town For Its Neighbor
May 14, 2006
On April 5, 2006, Sprawl-Busters reported that the village of East Dundee, Illinois was in an uproar because a real estate listing showed that the
Shareholders Say Executive Pay At Wal-Mart ‘Out of Control’
May 13, 2006
Every springtime, as Wal-Mart prepares to hold its gala Annual Meeting at the Bud Walton Arena at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, the company’s
Court Temporarily Halts Wal-Mart Annexation
May 12, 2006
A proposed Wal-Mart supercenter in Jefferson, Wisconsin has become one of the most exposive issues in the history of this small southern Wisconsin community. Sprawl-Busters
Wal-Mart Plan Catches Residents By Surprise
May 11, 2006
Wal-Mart is like a cheap pair of underwear. They keep creeping up on you. The Economic Development Director for Lancaster, Ohio says he’s been working
Falling Merchandise Bill Passes
May 10, 2006
A California warehouse store safety bill is now in Gov. Gray Davis’ hands. According to the National Home Center News, the California State Assembly, by
Wal-Mart Rejected In Canada
May 9, 2006
On April 30th, Sprawl-Busters reported from Rothesay, New Brunswick, Canada, that Wal-Mart had a rough hearing night before local residents, and their plans for a
Wal-Mart’s Fingerprints All Over the Finger Lakes
May 8, 2006
The beautiful Finger Lakes region of upstate New York is beginning to look more like the Finger-Mart region, as Wal-Mart proposes superstores every few miles.
Violence Erupts As Merchants Displaced For A Wal-Mart
May 8, 2006
On May 3, 2006, a group of flower vendors in San Salvador Atenco, Mexico, were forcibly removed from the streets to prepare for the coming
Residents Force Home Depot Into Old Kmart
May 6, 2006
Home Depot’s plans to build a new store in the community of Sunland-Tujunga, California, got hammered by local residents, so the retailer has had to
‘Front Porch Attitude’ Runs Into Super Target
May 6, 2006
Residents in Apple Valley, Minnesota are learning that the developer who sold them homes based on a small town sales pitch, now has another target
The Northern Pine Snake Bites Wal-Mart Superstore
May 6, 2006
Many residents in Dover Township, in Ocean County, New Jersey may think of Wal-Mart as a “snake in the grass” to be avoided at all
Residents Unhappy With Wal-Mart Saturation
May 6, 2006
When town officials in Lima, New York opened up the hearing on a proposed Wal-Mart supercenter this week, they got exactly what they should have
Local Merchants Speaks Out Against Wal-Mart
May 6, 2006
Pat Nelson signs her emails, “proud to live and do business in Woodland.” From where she lives in Woodland, Washington, there are no less than
City May Use Eminent Domain On Wal-Mart
May 5, 2006
Sprawl-Busters reported on April 5, 2006 that Wal-Mart was trying to woo the city of Hercules, California by proposing a smaller store than the original
Wal-Mart Workers Becoming More Ethical?
May 3, 2006
The Wal-Mart corporation, which has very structured cultural rules about how “associates” should look and act, reports to its employees that they are growing more
Home Depot Pays $150,000 To Settle Sex Discrimination Suit
May 3, 2006
Big box stores and the federal Equal Opportunity Employment Commission ought to go into business together. They spend enough time together. This week, the EEOC
Home Depot Pays $672,000 Settlement In Credit Card Interest Case
May 2, 2006
Roughly 8,000 Home Depot credit card holders in Connecticut are going to be getting a small rebate from the giant “home improvement” retailer — but