Wal-Mart Looking for $500,000 Subsidy
June 26, 2000
A Wal-Mart developer in Charlotte, North Carolina is looking for a handout. In fact, he’s looking for a half million dollar tax bailout in order
Al Norman
Pharmacist Sues Wal-Mart
June 25, 2000
It’s a dog’s life. Just ask Mark Braun, who worked for Wal-Mart in California as a pharmacist, until he was fired for refusing to fill
Fighting the Sea Serpent Sprawl
June 25, 2000
Wal-Mart pulled out of Rockland, Maine recently (see newsflash below) and is now trolling for more land in nearby communities. Local activists in Belfast, Maine
Underwear Lawsuit on Hold
June 24, 2000
Robert Washington is no Emperor, but he had to leave Wal-Mart looking very much like the fairy tale Emperor’s New Clothes. Six years ago, Washington
Home Depot’s Zoning Crap Shoot
June 24, 2000
Homeowners in Las Vegas are gambling with the future of their largest investment, as Rodney Helm found out. He never had to enter a gambling
Judge Rules Citizens Can Join Lawsuit Against Wal-Mart
June 24, 2000
A group of citizens in Liberty, Ohio are fighting for their libery from Wal-Mart, and a federal judge ruled this past week that they can
Handicapped Woman Wins Wal Mart Suit
June 24, 2000
Elizabeth Swenson was shopping at a Wal-Mart in 1994 when she went to use the handicapped stall. Swenson, who is wheelchair bound, was using the
Residents Organize to Block Mall
June 17, 2000
Sprawl-busters in Long Grove, Illinois have decided there’s more to life than a cheap pair of underwear. A citizen’s group called Long Grove Citizens for
Wal-Mart Gives Farmers the Boot
June 17, 2000
“I am certainly displeased that (Wal-Mart) did not contact me directly, since they have my phone number, and, instead, they had the police come down.
Konover, All Over
June 17, 2000
They’re everywhere! The Konover Development Corporation, based in Farmington, Connecticut, is pushing sprawl throughout New England. But citizen’s groups are all over Konover. The latest
The Book-End Malls
June 17, 2000
“We’ll use a little bit of compromise, and a whole lot of cooperation.” So says a developer in Kent, New York, who wants to construct
Wal-Mart Abandons Two Malls
June 15, 2000
Love ’em and leave ’em. That seems to be Wal-Mart Canada’s attitude towards the Woolco stores they purchased within the past six years to gain
Wal-Mart Says No Economic Study
June 13, 2000
Many communities across the country have enacted zoning changes that require large scale projects to produce an economic impact study to asesses the cost/benefit of
Home Depot’s Greenbacks.
June 11, 2000
How appropriate! Home Depot wants to build a 132,000 s.f. store on a road called Greenback Lane. But many of the residents of Orangevale, California
Allstate’s Deal with Home Depot
June 11, 2000
You’re in good hands with Allstate — orange hands, that is. According to a report in the Home Center News, if you are an Allstate
More Wal-Mart Court Problems
June 11, 2000
The National Law Journal (6/5/00) reports that May 25th. was a “bad day in court for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.” First, the company admitted to “misguided
Wal-Mart’s Misguided Conduct
June 7, 2000
In my book,Slam Dunking Wal-Mart, I describe the case of Donna Meissner, who said in 1996 she was abducted from a Wal-Mart parking lot and
IKEA idea condemned
June 3, 2000
More than 400 supporters of the Westchester Residents Against IKEA Now (WRAIN) jammed their cars into the City Park neigbhorhood of New Rochelle today to
Home Depot Delays the Game
May 28, 2000
Since April, Home Depot has been forced to delay votes at the Wheaton City Council, having already had two strikes against them in lower boards
Welcome to China Mart!
May 24, 2000
Would it change your shopping habits if the name of the company was “China Mart” instead of “Wal-Mart”? Or “Import Mart”? Would it help you
Home Depot’s Racial Woes
May 23, 2000
Home Depot has more to worry about these days than rising interest rates and falling stock value. It has these external issues to grapple with,
Wal-Mart on Hold
May 19, 2000
On December 19, 1998 in a “newsflash” report (see index), I reported on a visit I made to this community at the request of the
Wal-Mart Gets Slam Dunked!
May 17, 2000
Another city in the heartland says no to a Wal-Mart supercenter. The Mason City, Iowa City Council voted 2-4 yesterday to reject a zoning change
Dumbing Down Smart Growth
May 16, 2000
The state of Maryland is learning a civics lesson that smart growth can be outsmarted by wealthy developers. In Kent Island, Maryland, residents have been
Another “University” Wal-Mart
May 13, 2000
Why are institutiona of higher learning promoting the construction of Wal-Marts? I have listed in these newsflashes at least 4 universities that are moon-lighting as
“The Wal-Mart Effect” Report
May 13, 2000
Wal-Mart likes to assert that it is a “retail magnet” that attracts more sales to a community, enhancing the business environment, adding jobs, revenues, and
Wal-Mart Tries to Block Vote
May 6, 2000
When Wal-Mart wants to use the ballot box to try and get a rezoning, they support the referendum process.But when citizen’s use the same process,
Wal-Mart Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing
May 6, 2000
Nobody ever accused Wal-Mart of knowing how to read a map. How else to explain all the times the company has had to ask local
Wal-Mart Sued by State for Pollution
May 4, 2000
Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has stirred up a storm of controversy in Bentonville, Arkansss over the issue of stormwater pollution. The AG announced this
Wal-Mart Drops Superstore Plan
April 28, 2000
The headline in today’s Bangor Daily News made a lot of Rockland, Maine residents very happy: WAL-MART DROPS PLANS FOR SUPERCENTER. According to the newspaper,
Adidas & Nike Sue Wal-Mart
April 27, 2000
It seems like every few months the federal courts are approached by manufacturers suing Wal-Mart for selling counterfeit goods. In the past, its been Tommy
Wal-Mart Salaries
April 22, 2000
Wal-Mart is the largest private employer in America. All those hundreds of thousands of clerks and baggers can take heart in new information the company
Wal-Mart Rejected, Wants Referendum
April 22, 2000
What part of NO don’t they understand? A developer from Liverpool, NY apparently feels entitled to a zoning change from the Maine community of Wells.
K Mart “Leap Frogging” Rejected
April 22, 2000
Here’s an update to our April 15th. newsflash story about Kmart’s efforts to overcome community opposition in south St. Louis, Missouri. On April 18th, the
Dixie Loses Winn-Dixie
April 21, 2000
There’s trouble in Dixieland, and southern states are the big losers in the latest grocery store casualty of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. This week Jacksonville, Florida-based
Home Depot’s One Size Fits All
April 18, 2000
Home Depot was cut down to size this past week by the Miami-Dade County Commissioners. In a unanimous vote, the Commissioners voted to allow a
Kmart Losing its Edge in Boston
April 15, 2000
Just as activists in urban St.Louis are fighting Kmart (see previous story), the giant retailer has run into similar grassroots resistance in the Jamaica Plain
Kmart Faces Urban Fight In Southtown
April 15, 2000
No less than 20 community, business and church groups have united to say No Way to Big K in south St. Louis. One of the
Wal-Mart Gives Up on Court Case
April 14, 2000
An 80 year old woman has outlasted Wal-Mart in the Maine court system, but she needed a jury, a judge and the Supreme Court to
Wal-Mart Kills a Dairy Farm
April 14, 2000
Richard Blowers owns a farm on Old Trail Road in Montgomery County, New York. In September of 1999, contractors hired by Wal-Mart were using earth
15 Year Battle Against Sprawl
April 13, 2000
The residents of Keene, New Hampshire have never been too keen on the idea of a superstore on prime agricultural land. For more than a
Take the bus to Wal-Mart?
April 13, 2000
Federal and state taxpayers are going to help shoppers in Waukesha, Wisconsin find their way to Wal-Mart. This generous offer of corporate welfare to Wal-Mart
Two Strikes Against Home Depot
April 12, 2000
Home Depot deals with lumber, but they can’t seem to get their bat on the ball in Wheaton, Illinois (see 3/10/00 newsflash below). Just about
Wal-Mart’s Trooper in a Trailer
April 4, 2000
In an arresting case of public-private cooperation, police officers in Mesa, Arizona (where citizens just happen to be fighting a proposed Wal-Mart superstore), can now
Use “All Means” to Keep out Wal-Mart
April 2, 2000
When we last checked in on Clemson, South Carolina (see 1/27/00 Newsflash below) the land-owner promoting a 204,000 Wal-Mart supercenter was boasting that the store
Home Depot Blasting Halted
April 1, 2000
It’s been one darn thing after another in Home Depot’s mission to build a store in Merrimack, NH. In March of 1999, the Merrimack Planning
Vote Nears for 65,000 s.f. cap
March 30, 2000
The Newsflash for 10/26/99 (see index) indicated that the Rockville, Maryland City Council had passed a zoning moratorium on the development of big box retail
No Boxes in Boxborough.
March 29, 2000
Voters in the town of Boxborough, Massachusetts voted on March 27th. to pass two zoning articles at town meeting limiting the size of big box
Building Cap Draws 51% of Voters
March 29, 2000
We reported on 12/4/99 (see newsflash index) that the town of Exeter, New Hampshire was going to vote on a zoning amendment to limit the
Building Cap Voted into law
March 29, 2000
On 11/3/99 (see index), Newsflash reported that Wal-Mart folded its tent in Stratham, New Hampshire, and left behind many happy residents who watched them leave.