A Court of Appeals in California has ruled invalid a $2 million tax subsidy given to Wal-Mart by the Chula Vista Redevelopment Agency. A lower
In the midst of this American recession, Wal-Mart is emphasizing the creation of “new” jobs to local communities. The retailer’s media office cranks out the
September was a rough month in the small town of Gardnerville, Nevada. The submission of a 152,495 s.f. Wal-Mart supercenter was compared to the dropping
On August 1, 2009, Sprawl-Busters reported that the Planning Commission in Chico, California had rejected a proposed expansion of an existing 126,000 s.f. Wal-Mart discount
On April 19, 2009, Sprawl-Busters reported that it might be several months before an Administrative Law Judge made a very big decision about a very
Early next week, residents in Merced, California are likely to be heading to court to try and stop a huge Wal-Mart distribution center. Wal-Mart distribution
What more symbolic location for a Wal-Mart supercenter than a battlefield? It came as no surprise this week that a proposed Wal-Mart store near one
Voters in Cave Creek, Arizona better fasten their seatbelts. Wal-Mart is going to hit them with a tsunami of cash designed to buy their votes.
Over the years, Wal-Mart has taken advantage of public tax incentives to write down some of the costs of its distribution center infrastructure, and the
This week, Wal-Mart officially climbed onboard a huge retail mall in Bayonne, New Jersey that is propped up by a massive amount of public welfare.
Wal-Mart has hired a private real estate broker to sell its empty store at 461 High Street in Ellsworth, Maine. You can buy the 94,160
Can an aggressive developer bring a Wal-Mart supercenter back from the dead? The people in Mentor, Ohio are not holding their breath. On April 13,
On September 17th, the New Orleans City Council is expected to take up a proposal from a politically-connected developer to use sales tax money collected
Before local officials skip merrily down the retail trail looking for big box revenues, they should seriously assess the costs of having these huge stores
On April 6, 2008, Sprawl-Busters reported that Wal-Mart wanted to expand its discount store on Community Road in Poway, California. In September of 2007, Wal-Mart
A retired couple found out that shoplifting charges at Wal-Mart can be literally a load of crap. According to Associated Press accounts, Charlie and Cheryl
Like many other California communities, Kerman, California is a small town with dreams of big revenues. Kerman tries to market itself to tourists as a
Wal-Mart has 16 discount stores in New Hampshire, and 11 supercenters. Their goal is to convert all their existing discount stores into supercenters, or shut
Local officials climb on their high horse when their citizens appeal a local land use decision, but when a company like Wal-Mart files an appeal,
There are 15 Wal-Mart’s within 25 miles of New Britain, Connecticut, including a superstore 13 miles away in Wallingford. In early July, 2009, Wal-Mart stunned
On June 23, 2009, Sprawl-Busters reported that the Mayor’s office in North Tonawanda, New York had described a court decision to send a Wal-Mart supercenter
Lake City, South Carolina’s main claim to fame is that astronaut Ronald E. McNair, who died in the Challenger shuttle explosion in 1986, was a
The Wilderness Battle in Orange County, Virginia may have been hard for Union or Confederate troops to predict — but the outcome of the Wal-Mart
In his autobiography, Sam Walton wrote: “We saturated Missouri… In the Springfield, Missouri area, we had 40 stores within 100 miles… we just started repeating
All it takes is the shadow of a Wal-Mart to get people upset. It doesn’t matter what part of the country you live in —
While many American retailers are just one lackluster back-to-school season away from disaster, the malingering recession has been very good to some retail manufacturers —
One anti-Wal-Mart activist from a small community in upstate New York fought hard against a superstore, and now she’s fighting to protect her entire village
Wal-Mart has more closed stores for sale than most retailers have open. On June 3, 2009, Sprawl-Busters reported that Wal-Mart was systematically going through its
Wal-Mart has had many problems locating superstores in California. The retailer currently has 37 superstores and 138 discount stores in California. This is the reverse
An army of citizens has defeated another Wal-Mart in Florida, and a court ruling has rejected Wal-Mart’s legal appeal. This week, the project was officially
The gloves are off in the small town of Halifax, Massachusetts, where two large grocers are fighting over the future of a proposed ‘conversion’ of
After six years of fighting Wal-Mart, residents in Clovis, California are understandably cynical about their elected officials. But this week, the City Council sunk below
Wal-Mart has broken many a shovel on projects in big cities like Boston, Chicago and New York, where organized opposition has made the soil rocky.
Wal-Mart likes to toss around the word ‘sustainability,’ but it’s a concept Wal-Mart Realty has never seemed to master. Wal-Mart has torn down more useable
On July 26, 2009, Sprawl-Busters reported that a proposed Wal-Mart superstore in tiny Brooklyn, Connecticut had attracted two lawsuits. Wal-Mart’s application for the 162,000 s.f.
To understand the following story, its important to note that the city of Frisco, Texas already has a Wal-Mart supercenter. It also has two more
America has plenty of homeless people. We don’t have to create more. There are Blue Ridge Mobile Home Parks in Louisiana, Virginia, New York and
For years, Wal-Mart has tried to drape itself in environmental correctness, promoting its image as a ‘green’ developer. Despite its environmentally wasteful habit of building
Since 1990, the population of the city of Chico, California has almost doubled. In 2006, the city had more than 73,000 residents. There is already
This breaking news story should be placed in the circular file. Watch what you say around Wal-Mart Canada. Over the years, the giant retailer, in
A Newsflash on October 30, 2002 provides the background on a ballot question vote in Maplewood, Missouri to keep out a Wal-Mart/Sam’s Club project. Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart can now count two lawsuits against its efforts to pave over tiny Brooklyn, Connecticut. On March 19, 2009, the Inland/Wetlands Commission in Brooklyn, Connecticut
Cynics will tell you that Americans have the best politics money can buy. But Wal-Mart’s money doesn’t always buy support — especially in a controversial
It was announced this week that Wal-Mart has agreed to shell out up to $35 million to a class of its employees in Washington State
Hall County, Nebraska is located along Interstate 80 in picturesque central Nebraska. According to the County Board of Supervisors, Hall county has “the ideal blend
The Mayor of Oxford, Alabama has earned the nickname The Mayor of Big Box. During his tenure in office, Leon Smith, the seven-term Mayor, has
The Mayor of Deptford, New Jersey is unhappy with Wal-Mart’s superstore saturation of his community. This trade area is flooded with Wal-Mart — but it
Another important land use case was decided by the Appeals Court in Connecticut this week, affirming a town’s right to deny a retail store based
Another long-standing family-owned food retailer is starving for sales — thanks to Wal-Mart. On February 19, 2009, Sprawl-Busters reported that Bruno’s supermarkets, a chain store
Sometimes the impact of Wal-Mart’s dominance in the grocery sector is so obvious that even the media can see the fingerprints. This week, the media
The strategies written here were produced by Sprawl-Busters in 2006 at the request of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), mainly for citizen groups that were fighting Walmart. But the tips for fighting unwanted development apply to any project—whether its fighting Dollar General, an Amazon warehouse, or a Home Depot.
Big projects, or small, these BATTLEMART TIPS will help you better understand what you are up against, and how to win your battle.