A Fax from Sam.
November 20, 1998
Louis Kilgo, a former truck driver from Charlotte, is $2.2 million richer today, thanks to the folks at Sam’s Club. In 1991, Kilgo stepped out
Al Norman
Shed No Tears.
November 20, 1998
You can’t really feel too bad for the people in Warr Acres. As the saying goes: those who fail to understand history, are doomed to
Wal-Mart’s Molester.
November 20, 1998
Wal-Mart doesn’t run TV ads about it — and you won’t hear it mentioned on Paul Harvey, but crime at big box stores like Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart “Not Acceptable”.
November 20, 1998
More than 200 residents of Edmond, OK told planning officials on Nov. 16th. that they don’t want a 200,000 s.f. Wal-Mart supercenter in the middle
Target Pulls Some Strings
November 17, 1998
Target has deadlines to meet! The Minnesota based Wal-Mart clone is in a BIG rush to build a store in Northfield. As one local newspaper
Wal-Mart Parking Lot Nightmare
November 15, 1998
Here’s a story you won’t see in Wal-Mart’s Annual Report. It comes from an Arkansas court case in May of 1998. At approximately 9:30 pm
Tales from Wal-Mart Purgatory
November 15, 1998
Here’s another in occasional tales from Wal-Mart Purgatory. Georgia Ann Smith was shopping at a Wal-Mart store in Springfield, MO. She was looking to buy
Judge Rules Town Skipped Environmental Review In Wal-Mart Case
November 15, 1998
A Judge in Genesee County, New York has handed Wal-Mart opponents a major victory in their on-going battle against a superstore in Batavia, New York.
Wal-Math, Voo-Doo Economics
November 14, 1998
Wal-Math is not taught in your local school system. It’s a form of mathematics employed by developers and big box retailers who want to impress
Target’s Electoral Politics.
November 11, 1998
It’s become commonplace for big retailers to create local “astro-turf” citizen’s groups, designed to look and sound like “grass-roots”, but be entirely financed and directed
Home Depot Spends Big on Ballot.
November 11, 1998
When citizens groups go up against companies like Home Depot on an election ballot, one thing they can expect with certainty: the company will spend
CVS Turns Away Poor People.
November 11, 1998
CVS, the convenience store chain that boasts it has “listened to customers and operated stores to meet their needs,” apparently draws the line when it
Home Depot’s Content Problem.
November 8, 1998
Special Notice to All Home Depot Suppliers: The company is having an on-going problem identifying the content of its merchandise, and kindly requests that manufacturers
A New Use for Rite Aids.
November 6, 1998
Susan Schulman, a reporter for the Buffalo News, has written a news piece that suggests a new use for those Rite Aid stores that have
The Moveable Wal-Mart
November 1, 1998
Now you see it, now you don’t. Wal-Mart has perfected the art of playing one community off of its neighbors (see the Lake Placid entry
Lost American Jobs.
November 1, 1998
The American apparel industry has literally lost its shirt over the past several decades, as the industry, once concentrated in the United States, has had
Wal-Mart Welfare Referendum
October 31, 1998
East side, West side, all around that town. It was Wal-Mart’s original plan to open two new supercenters in Norman, OK on the same day
Wal-Mart Supercenter Provokes Opposition.
October 31, 1998
A citizens group called Smart Growth for Northern York County has organized to battle a proposed Wal-Mart supercenter in Carroll Township, Pennsylvania. According to a
Stop Texas A&M’s Wal-Mart.
October 31, 1998
Sprawl-busters in Commerce, TX have a problem with the kind of commerce Wal-Mart is proposing in their community. Wal-Mart currently has a store in Commerce,
Wal-Mart’s Illegal Avocados.
October 26, 1998
Wal-Mart, the Made in the USA company, is facing $156,000 in fines from the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture for illegally importing avocados from Mexico. According
Wal-Mart’s Sewage Failure.
October 21, 1998
Wal-Mart sent six representatives over the New Hampshire state line into Vermont looking for help with their septic problems. But their plea for a septic
Wal-Mart’s a LULU!
October 18, 1998
The Nassau County Public Works Director is worried about plans for a 183,000 s.f. Wal-Mart supercenter on this small barrier island in Northern Florida. After
Home Depot Up In Smoke.
October 16, 1998
For the third time in as many years, a major fire at a home improvement center has been investigated by the National Fire Protection Association.
Rite Aid Abandons the Palace
October 16, 1998
All the world is a stage, but Rite Aid can’t get into the Pagoda Palace Theatre for all the money in the world. Once again,
Wal-Mart Slams the Door
October 16, 1998
Wal-Mart spent nearly 5 years and several million dollars trying to get a store location in the town of North Elba, NY, right next to
Trampled At Wal-Mart.
October 13, 1998
There is a bumper-sticker reportedly promoted by Wal-Mart that says:”Outta my way, I’m shopping at Wal-Mart”. That certainly was the case a couple of days
Wal-Mart Drops Fake Tommy Hilfiger
October 13, 1998
You better check carefully that cool Tommy Hilfiger T-shirt you bought at Wal-Mart or Sams. According to Hilfiger, Wal-Mart has knowingly sold at least seven
Disabled Employee Sues Wal-Mart
October 12, 1998
Robert Belfante used to work at the Wal-Mart distribution center in southeast Hernando County, Fl. In 1995, he asked the company to give him a
Wal-Mart’s Dueliing Churches
October 12, 1998
“I am a business person,” explained St.Petersburg City Councilor Larry Williams, “and I always think that encouraging business is usually good. In this case, I
The “Retromood” CVS
October 12, 1998
What do AARP, Emory University, and the Sierra Club have in common? A dislike for CVS drug stores that try to substitute for a full
Keep Your Hands Off Our Neck!
October 12, 1998
The small town of Kilmarnock, VA (pop.1,500) made some loud noise this week against a proposed 109,000 s.f. Wal-Mart superstore plus a 145,000 s.f. Lowe’s
Home Depot Stand Still in Levittown
October 3, 1998
An “outpouring of letters” from residents against Home Depot has knocked a proposed Levittown project off the fast track. The company had hoped to go
Economic Impacts Exaggerated
October 2, 1998
A draft economic impact analysis of what would happen in Bozeman, Montana if Wal-Mart is allowed to expand its discount store into a supercenter, indicates
State Bans Wal-Mart Construction
October 2, 1998
The signs at Wal-Mart say: Watch Out for Falling Prices. But the signs at their Dickson City, PA store should have read: Watch Out For
Wal-Mart Shares Drop 6%
October 1, 1998
According to one Wall St. analyst, retail stocks took a slide on Sept. 30th. because of fears of a consumer slow down. Wal-Mart stock dropped
Love, Wal-Mart style.
October 1, 1998
The 5th. US Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that a former Wal-Mart employee is entitled to $75,000 in punitive damages, and $19,000 in compensatory
Cap on Superstore Size
October 1, 1998
Irland’s Minister for the Environment and Local Government, Noel Dempsey, rocked the development world in June when he issued a two page General Policy Directive
Impact of Large Stores
September 30, 1998
The British Department of the Environment, Transport, and the Regions has published a new study that indicates large foodtores sited outside town or commercial centers
Rite Aid: Dead on Delivery
September 30, 1998
You can’t do much worse than this: Rite Aid lost a vote before the Buffalo Common Council on September 22, 1998 by a vote of
Home Depot Bad Neighbor
September 25, 1998
Newsday newspaper has published an article focusing on the cold reception many residents on Long Island have given to their new neighbor, the orange monster
Wal-Mart in Hiding?
September 25, 1998
The Rockingham County, VA County Board of Supervisors voted Sept. 23rd by 4-1 to allow land zoned industrial to be included as part of a
No H2O, No Sewer for Wal-Mart
September 23, 1998
In August of 1997, the Village Council in the small rural community of Tijeras, NM began hearings on a proposed 155,000 s.f. Wal-Mart supercenter just
A Thousand Rite Aids.
September 23, 1998
Say a last farewell to the Williamsville Inn, which recently was sold to a developer from Buffalo, NY to be demolished to make way for
Depot’s engines shut down.
September 19, 1998
The town board in Riverhead just didn’t follow the law — and as a result, all the bulldozers out on Route 58 shut down their
Wal-Mart By the Bay.
September 12, 1998
You can just imagine the tourist appeal this holds: “Come to Old Town Eureka, California, and be sure to visit our unique Wal-Mart by the
Dead Mall Walking.
September 10, 1998
Sprawl-busters in the Utah community of Ephraim have some bone-chilling news. Rumors of Wal-Mart interest in coming to Ephraim have been rattling around for many
Big News In Town
September 9, 1998
The editor of The Record-Enterprise calls it “big news”. The President of the Chamber of Commerce “thinks it’s great”. The Town Administrator says it meets
A Moment for Bernie
September 4, 1998
According to a Reuters news story, Home Depot Chairman Bernie Marcus has seen his net worth drop by 22%, or roughly $470 million, since July
Wal-Mart’s Pipe Dream
September 4, 1998
At first no one would reveal who the mystery tenant was that wanted 29 acres of land in Rockingham County, VA. The developer, a South
They’re baaack!
September 4, 1998
In January of 1998, sprawl-busters in Kanawha City, a section of Charleston,WV, reported that the city planning commission voted down a Wal-Mart supercenter, and that