Planning Commission Rejects Wal-Mart Rezoning.
July 21, 2005
So far, so good in Newport News, Virginia. Local officials have handed Wal-Mart a major setback this week, but local residents are not celebrating yet.
Al Norman
Citizens Appeal Home Depot Decision
July 20, 2005
The City Council in El Cajon, California may be looking at a lawsuit from its own citizens in the wake of their decision to approve
Wal-Mart Says Sayanara to Profits
July 20, 2005
Fortune magazine this week has a major story about China as Wal-Mart’s new cash cow, but things are not so bright in the land of
Wal-Mart Goes ‘Green’?
July 19, 2005
Wal-Mart has discovered the environment. Yes, that same environment its been damaging for more than four decades. The giant retailer now is repairing its ways,
Citizens Organize to Slow Down Wal-Mart
July 18, 2005
The following report came in this week to Sprawl-Busters from residents in Denver, North Carolina, who have formed the group Denver First: “Wal-Mart filed for
Plans for Wal-Mart/Sam’s Club Scrapped
July 17, 2005
A developer from Wisconsin has announced that the company is leaving Grandville, Michigan and going back to Wisconsin, abandoning an ill-fated Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club
School Offer To Sell Land To Wal-Mart Just A ‘Ploy’
July 15, 2005
School officials in San Bruno, California learned a painful lesson this week when rumors began circulating that the schools had contacted Wal-Mart over a “surplus”
Wal-Mart Shoppers File Racial Profiling Lawsuit
July 14, 2005
Wal-Mart has spent a great deal of time and money trying to woo black customers and black political organizations, but this week in Massachusetts, the
The ‘Papillion 11’ Hold Wal-Mart At Bay
July 14, 2005
From the heartland of America, here’s another David v. Goliath story from Papillion, Nebraska to Sprawl-Busters: “Eleven brave neighbors are in the midst of a
Home Depot Seeks To Destroy Historic Old Home
July 12, 2005
Home Depot has a commitment to history. Their commitment is to destroy it, if necessary. The Tennessean newspaper reports this week that the world’s largest
Wal-Mart Jilts China, Switches To India.
July 11, 2005
Bloomberg News reports today that Wal-Mart is breaking its addiction to Chinese take-out, and ordering Indian instead. The retailer’s purchases of cheap clothing from India
Groups Forms to Fight Off Wal-Mart.
July 11, 2005
Sprawl-Busters has received the following SOS from a small town in Ohio: “Wal-Mart is attmepting to purchase land in Etna Township, Ohio (near Pataskala). The
Wal-Mart Opens, Grocery Stores Close
July 10, 2005
It’s a common story: Wal-Mart supercenter opens, local businesses close. Net impact: no real gain in tax base for the community. Most recent case in
Wal-Mart Gets Dunked In Canadian River
July 8, 2005
Here’s a report from another Wal-Mart battle in Canada, where the retailer has suffered several prominent defeats recently: “The Big Box Battle in Campbell River,
Wal-Mart Gets A Blackeye in Buckeye
July 7, 2005
Wal-Mart got poked in the eye this week in Buckeye, Arizona. The vote was 4-3 to reject a Wal-Mart supercenter. The town council voted to
Citizens Stall Wal-Mart Once Again In Court
July 7, 2005
Wal-Mart is over a barrel in Niagara Falls, New York. Two years ago, a group called the Citizens Against Sprawlmart blocked a Wal-Mart supercenter, and
Wal-Mart Workers File Retaliation Lawsuit
July 7, 2005
Right from the heartland of America, another two employees of Wal-Mart, and a former worker, have filed a lawsuit claiming that the company retaliates against
City Council Rejects Rezoning For Wal-Mart
July 7, 2005
A project called “Jefferson Landing” will not be landing. In late June, the Planning Commission in Jefferson Hills, Pennsylvania determined that an application for commercial
Wal-Mart Lays Off 1,400 Workers
July 6, 2005
Wal-Mart international has some bright spots, like the expansion possibilities in China, but the Arkansas retailer’s acquisition of British Asda has left much to be
Wal-Mart Fires Factory Inspector For Sexual Affair
July 4, 2005
Wal-Mart has apparently come up with a creative way to get rid of a trouble-maker. Wal-Mart is being sued by one of its former employees
Wal-Mart’s Community Affairs Managers Work Off A Script
July 3, 2005
Whenever things go wrong in a community for Wal-Mart, their local spokespersons have a very narrow script to work from. When in doubt, Wal-Mart “community
LAWMAKER WANTS TO LIMIT HOMEOWNERS APPEAL BIG BOX STORES
July 3, 2005
A state lawmaker in Kentucky wants to make it harder for neighbors of a big box store to oppose unwanted developments are curtailing their access
State’s Supreme Court Gives Voters Right to Referendum on Wal-Mart.
July 3, 2005
The Utah Supreme Court unanimously ruled on July 1st that residents who fought a Wal-Mart supercenter in their community of Sandy, Utah, have the right
Wal-Mart Appeals Rejection To Court
July 2, 2005
What you can’t get by regulation, get by litigation. That seems to be Wal-Mart’s philosophy these days, a far cry from Mr. Sam’s dictum that
land. Residents Upset By Wal-Mart Takeover Of Safeways
July 2, 2005
Retail abhors a vacuum, and Northern Ireland is suffering from a political vacuum, as there is no local government in power that can do anything
Wal-Mart Project Stalled By Legal Challenge
June 30, 2005
A group called American Canyon Community United for Responsible Growth has gone to court to stop a Wal-Mart superstore from being built in their small
Red Hook Neighbors Want State Hearing On IKEA.
June 30, 2005
Residents in the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York think that a huge IKEA furniture store is a bad IDEA. The group issued the
Developer ‘Stunned’ by Wal-Mart Defeat
June 29, 2005
Wal-Mart has lost a second Canadian battle in just over a week. After years of fighting the giant retailer, residents of Vancouver, British Columbia are
Wal-Mart Developer Gets Stuck In His Own Traffic Jam.
June 28, 2005
A California developer has gotten stuck in his own bumper-to-bumper traffic. Those pesky citizens in Temecula, California have been wreaking havoc on the timetable of
Legal Battle Ties Up Wal-Mart Distribution Center
June 28, 2005
The only thing standing between the city of Alachua. Florida, and a 1.l million s.f. Wal-Mart distribution center, is a lawsuit filed in 2003. The
City Has Right To Reject Big Projects
June 28, 2005
The city attorney in Miami, Florida has issued a legal opinion that will send chills through the big box developers preying on small neighborhoods. According
Home Depot Now a ‘Dead Deal” As Time Runs Out.
June 28, 2005
Residents in Bellevue, Idaho received some good news this week, when representatives of Atlanta-based Home Depot pulled the plug on their plans to build a
Wal-Mart Shuts Down Old Store, Opens Supercenter
June 26, 2005
When I did the 60 Minutes TV show in 1995, part of the segment focused on how a small Wal-Mart in Donaldsonville, Louisiana, only 43,148
City Council Rejects Wal-Mart Rezoning
June 25, 2005
Another small town has voted to reject the big box formula for success. The City Council in Harrison, Ohio this week voted down a rezoning
Residents Battle To Hold Off Wal-Mart
June 25, 2005
Residents in Monroeville, Pennsylvania are trying to prevent their town from becoming Wal-Martville. Here’s their local report on the battle: ” We are currently fighting
Town Council Rejects Land Use Change
June 25, 2005
The Town Council in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina voted this week not to allow a land use plan change that would have allowed a large
Residents Gear Up to Stop Big Box Retail Development
June 24, 2005
There is no corner of America that big box retail has not affected. The residents of Anchorage, Alaska, who may have wanted to leave big
Wal-Mart Rezoning Defeated
June 19, 2005
In April, 2005, Wal-Mart Canada approached the city of Burlington with a proposal to rezone land from Mixed Use Corridor Retail to allow the construction
More Child Labor Violations At Wal-Mart
June 19, 2005
For the past ten years or more, Wal-Mart has run afoul of federal and state officials in a number of states for violating child labor
Wal-Mart Faces Two ‘Whistleblower’ Lawsuits
June 19, 2005
Two Wal-Mart “associates” from very different backgrounds have filed lawsuits against their former company, charging that they were dismissed for blowing the whistle on unethical
Citizens Beat Wal-Mart After Three Year Battle.
June 18, 2005
It took more than three years, but the stalwart residents of Front Royal, Virginia have finally overcome a Wal-Mart threat to build a 184,000 s.f.
Environmental Commission Votes To Deny Wal-Mart
June 16, 2005
The score in St. Petersburg, Florida is Citizens 1, Wal-Mart 0. This week the city’s Environmental Development Commission, after nearly 10 hours of debate, voted
Planners Reject Wal-Mart Expansion
June 16, 2005
The Cobb County, Georgia, Planning Commission has unanimously rejected expansion plans submitted by Wal-Mart. The decision now goes to the Cobb County Commissioners. The Planning
Wal-Mart’s Ethics Code Slapped Down by Germans
June 16, 2005
Wal-Mart lost something in translation this week, when a German labor court ruled that part of the American retailer’s ethics code of conduct for its
Court Upholds No Sewer Decision, Wal-Mart proposal sinks.
June 16, 2005
A resident’s committee in Kent Island, Maryland (Stevensville) in Queen Anne’s county called Up Against the WAL has finally poked a hole in Wal-Mart’s efforts
Wal-Mart Developer Threatens City
June 16, 2005
Residents in Portland, Oregon are working to fend off an unwanted Wal-Mart superstore. Here’s their latest report from the frontlines, “There was a neighborhood meeting
Wal-Mart Reverses ‘Work Always’ Policy
June 16, 2005
Short as the life of a fruit fly, Wal-Mart’s “open availability” workshift policy we wrote about yesterday has been cancelled. Apparently, Wal-Mart’s home office realized
Court Grants Managers At Home Depot Class Action Status
June 15, 2005
Home Depot has found itself with a huge legal problems this week, as a group of managers at the home improvement giant have won class
Dateline To Air Wal-Mart Sweatshop Story
June 15, 2005
The National Labor Committee reports that this Friday, June 17th. At 8 pm EST, NBC’s Dateline show will air “an in-depth, undercover investigation of sweatshop
Wal-Mart Workers Must Be Available’Always
June 15, 2005
The Charleston Gazette in West Virginia carried a story this week that Wal-Mart workers have been informed that they must be available to work for