Thirteen years After Defeat, Wal-Mart Returns
December 17, 2005
A developer based in Fairfield, Connecticut has filed plans with the state of Massachusetts for a 160,000 square foot big box store in Greenfield, Massachusetts,
Al Norman
City Gives Wal-Mart $2.5 Million In Welfare
December 17, 2005
Wal-Mart dislikes being portrayed as a welfare queen, yet the company continues to take welfare from local cities and towns, while running up enormous profits.
Jesus Saves–By Shopping At Wal-Mart?
December 17, 2005
As we head into the season that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ, here is a letter that was sent to Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott
Will Global Trade Agreements Trump Local Zoning?
December 17, 2005
According to a recent article in The NewStandard, international negotiators at the World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting in Hong Kong are considering trade rules that
Home Depot Gets Fried in Frisco
December 15, 2005
Mayor Bernie Zurbriggen of Frisco, Colorado found himself on the wrong side of the vote this week, when voters in his small town dumped plans
The Age of Wal-Mart?
December 15, 2005
A consulting company called Retail Forward is selling a research study called “The Age of Wal-Mart”, which says that the world’s largest retailer could grow
Wal-Mart Pays $50,000 Penalty To Settle Air Pollution Case
December 14, 2005
Wal-Mart likes to put out eco-friendly press releases, but here’s one you won’t find on their website. The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reached
Town Wants Wal-Mart, Lowe’s To Help With Crime Costs
December 14, 2005
Big box stores come with a big public price tag. Many communities learn this the hard way. About a month ago, the Planning Board in
Citizens Group Makes Wal-Mart Wait 15 Months
December 13, 2005
Wal-Mart may have thought that local officials in Batavia, New York were going to grease the skids to allow the retailer to build a superstore
City Reverses Itself To Allow Wal-Mart
December 11, 2005
Don’t say public officials in San Luis, Arizona don’t know what they are doing. Just because they banned a Wal-Mart two weeks ago, and this
With Wal-Mart Gone, New Urbanist Project Thrives
December 11, 2005
When Wal-Mart caved into local opposition, and abandoned its plans to build a “Neighborhood” Market in northwest Denver, Colorado, the real neighbors knew that something
City Willing to Force Land Annexation For Wal-Mart
December 11, 2005
Lelan Stallings owns 50 acres of land on the north side of Illinois 13. It happens to lie right in the middle of an annexation
Developer Funds Pro-Home Depot Vote
December 10, 2005
Is it possible for a corporation to buy an election? Of course it is, just ask companies like Home Depot and Wal-Mart, who rely on
Wal-Mart Wades Into Wetlands
December 10, 2005
A developer from Atlanta says that the 123,000 s.f. Wal-Mart has “insufficient room” to remain competitive in the Valdosta, Georgia trade area, so they want
Residents Out To Hammer Lowe’s
December 9, 2005
Lowe’s may think it has the small town of Geneseo, New York, nailed down, but according to the lastest report from the Geneseo Community Alert,
City Adopts 65,000 S.F. Size Cap
December 7, 2005
After months of discussion, the City Council in Frankenmuth, Michigan, a beautiful small community known as the “Little Bavaria” of Michigan, voted yesterday to cap
Residents Object to Wal-Mart Supercenter.
December 7, 2005
One Wal-Mart is one more than enough for Montevideo, Minnesota. One local merchant sent the following letter to the editor of his local newspaper, with
Wal-Mart Returns 7 Years After Defeat?
December 6, 2005
Wal-Mart is so hungry for locations, it’s revisiting its old haunts where defeat met them the last time. Wal-Mart unsuccessfully tried to build a store
Wal-Mart Uses PR Firm to Write Citizens
December 6, 2005
Sprawl-Busters noted this week the abrupt withdrawal of Wal-Mart from the city of Helotes, Texas, which is now led by elected officials who ran last
City Passes Cap On Size Of Retail Buildings
December 5, 2005
The Miami City Commissioners have voted unanimously this week to place a cap of 75,000 s.f. on big box stores in the Coconut Grove, one
Wal-Mart Denied 24 Hour Superstore Hours
December 4, 2005
Residents of Livonia, Michigan have been fighting a Wal-Mart superstore, and at the same time city officials who seem unwilling to do much to stop
Shoplifter Death At Wal-Mart Ruled Homicide
December 4, 2005
When alleged shop-lifter Stacy Driver, 30, died in a Wal-Mart parking lot in Atascocita, Texas, was the deadly force used to subdue him justifiable? A
More Environmental Troubles For Wal-Mart
December 3, 2005
The environmental woes at Wal-Mart just keep spilling over. Federal Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules require corporations to disclose certain environmental matters, and Wal-Mart
Racial Incident Over Xmas Gifts Cards At Wal-Mart
December 3, 2005
Here’s a heart-warming tale of Christmas giving, and good will towards men, Wal-Mart style. Wal-Mart officials allegedly had a hard time imagining a black man
Honey, I Shrunk The Store
December 2, 2005
Stopping Wal-Mart can sometimes seem like trying to bottle smoke. In the case of Gresham, Oregon, the citizens group Gresham First slam-dunked the retailer twice
Wal-Mart Drops Out’But May Return
December 2, 2005
To celebrate, or not to celebrate? That is the question in Helotes, Texas. Seven months after an anti-Wal-Mart slate of citizens swept into office in
Wal-Mart Boasts As Central America Joins ‘Global Family’
December 1, 2005
John Menzer, Wal-Mart’s Vice Chairman, did some global flag-waving in the December, 2005 issue of Wal-Mart World, the internal company newsletter that is read by
Same Sex Couple Files Discrimination Lawsuit Against Wal-Mart
December 1, 2005
A national class action lawsuit against Wal-Mart was filed by a same sex married couple from New Bedford, Massachusetts this week. The case, Cote V
Neighbors Turn Up Flame on Proposed Wendy’s
December 1, 2005
A citizen’s group in Columbus, Ohio is fighting off a Wendy’s store in the restaurant’s corporate home town. Here is their statement, as sent to
City Council’s Emergency Size Cap Stops Wal-Mart
November 30, 2005
City officials in the small border town of San Luis, Arizona believe that a proposed Wal-Mart supercenter is more than just an ordinary threat —
Wal-Mart Pulls Plug On Superstore
November 30, 2005
Wal-Mart officials have blamed pesky local citizens and a County Commissioner for their embarrassing withdrawal of plans for a 130,000 s.f. superstore in East Orange
Residents File Lawsuit Over Wal-Mart Plan.
November 30, 2005
Residents in Papillion, Nebraska are willing to fight to the bitter end to keep a Wal-Mart out of their town. According to the Omaha World-Herald
Residents Try To Stop Third Supercenter
November 30, 2005
Sprawl-Busters has received the following frontlines report from residents in Tennessee: “We are fighting our THIRD Supercenter in Murfreesboro, a city of 80,000 people in
Home Depot, Lowe’s Kill Another Competitor
November 27, 2005
The apologists for the national chain stores, who like to pretend they’ve never heard the term “category killer,” will say this story is just about
Another ‘Shoppers Trample Each Other’ At Wal-Mart Story
November 27, 2005
It seems like every Thanksgiving, we print another story about greedy Wal-Mart shoppers trampling each other in a mad race to get their hands on
Home Depot Apologizes For Pencil ‘Theft’
November 26, 2005
Home Depot had to eat a little lead this week, when it issued an apology to a carpenter from Lawrence, Massachusetts, who was doing business
Wal-Mart Rezoning Denied.
November 23, 2005
The Zionsville, Indiana Planning Commission this week dealt Wal-Mart a setback — at least temporarily. The Commission voted not to rezone 12 acres of land.
Wal-Mart Defeated, Now Home Depot Next
November 23, 2005
There is no rest for the weary in Lorain, Ohio. Earlier this month, voters rejected a Wal-Mart supercenter at the polls, but now another big
Ted Kennedy’s 10 Commandments for Wal-Mart
November 21, 2005
Today U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy listed his “Ten Commandments for Wal-Mart” as part of a blog posting at the Huffington Post. Here are exerpts from
Residents Hold First Wal-Mart Chuck-Off.
November 21, 2005
Borrowing a page from David Letterman, anti-Wal-Mart activists in Pittsfield Township, Michigan, organized an unusually graphic way of displaying their unhappiness with a proposed Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart Responds To Greenwald Film: Our Workers Are Liars
November 20, 2005
Against all norms of social convention, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. yelled “fire” in a crowded theater this past week, after viewing the Robert Greenwald film, “The
Wal-Mart Says ‘Stolen’ List ‘Not Accurate’
November 20, 2005
The Wal-Mart store openings list that Sprawl-Busters obtained last week and leaked to Wal-Mart Watch, which showed 484 planned store openings, by size, type and
Residents Continue Effort To Beat Wal-Mart Again
November 19, 2005
If Wal-Mart at first does not succeed, they will try, try again. Residents in Tallahassee, Florida turned back a Wal-Mart proposal once, but now Wal-Mart
Unions Strike Grocery Chains–But Wal-Mart Is the Real Issue.
November 19, 2005
A falling tide lowers all boats. Although Wal-Mart denies that it is forcing down wages at other grocery stores, the giant retailer’s competitors admit that
City Begins Move To Shut Down Home Depot
November 18, 2005
Home Depot kept gambling that the city of Reno, Nevada would turn a blind eye to its repeated code violations. But the bet didn’t pay
State Prisoners Building Wal-Mart Distribution Center
November 18, 2005
Sprawl-Busters has written many stories about how Wal-Mart’s distribution center system has been built with public welfare — usually in the form of large infrastructure
Activists Ask UN to Intervene With Wal-Mart, Costco
November 16, 2005
Activists in Mexico have written a letter to the United Nations Secretary General asking that body to “guarantee that no more damage is done to
Lawmakers Propose Bills To Limit Corporate Welfare
November 16, 2005
State Representative Mark Pocan (D-Madison) announced this week that he is filing two bills that would limit large corporations like Wal-Mart and other big box
Sprawl- Busters & Wal-Mart Watch Release Wal-Mart Store Openings List
November 15, 2005
On November 14th, a list of 484 planned Wal-Mart openings over the next 12 months was released to the media. Here’s the original release that
Citizens Get Wal-Mart To Pay for Road Improvements
November 15, 2005
Residents in Pittsfield Township, Michigan have been trying to block the permitting of a Wal-Mart supercenter. The citizen’s group, Pittsfield Community First, has at least