The 48 year old daughter of Sam Walton was found guilty on May 29th. of driving while impaired, failure to wear a seatbelt, and failure
On December 14, 2008, Sprawl-Busters described the real estate deal that a public school system in Jackson, Michigan hopes will rescue its distressed budget. The
It’s hard to believe that a company with nearly $13 billion in profits last year can convince city officials they need financial help — but
This week the police in Nassau County, New York published a new plan designed to prevent the recurrence of a trampling death that took place
Wal-Mart discount store #2143 is located on Fairgrounds Market Place in Skowhegan, Maine. There’s a Wal-Mart superstore 14 miles away in Waterville — which for
On September 28, 2005, Sprawl-Busters reported that a homeowner in Ripon, California had sent out this SOS: “Wal-Mart is currently quietly seducing our local officials
On May 22, 2008, Sprawl-Busters reported that Wal-Mart had been rejected twice in the small town of Zionsville, Indiana (pop. 12,500). This is a community
If you haven’t shopped recently at your locally-owned music store, you may want to hurry up before it’s gone. Roy Lowdermilk probably thought that locating
Residents in Brookfield, Connecticut have organized to block the construction of a Costco warehouse store in their community. Brookfield is a small community (population roughly
Wal-Mart must be hoping that a lawsuit brought against it in a small Pennsylvania town will go away if they just ignore it. On September
In 2006, Wal-Mart approached the city of Lompoc, California to super-size its discount store. The current Wal-Mart store #1989 is located on West Central Avenue.
Wal-Mart’s new strategy on superstores is playing itself out in a small city in California. Willows, California has a population of less than 6,300 people.
‘Twas the settlement before Christmas. This one has to go down in the Guinness Records as a legal milestone. Wal-Mart has apparently decided to settle
If there’s a middle ground in Tracy, California, Wal-Mart can’t find it. Wal-Mart wants to expand its store #2025 on W. Grant Line Road in
Wenatchee, Washington is known as the “Apple Capital of the World.” But this city of roughly 30,000 people has some priorities that are more important
New Smyrna Beach, Florida, located due south of Daytona Beach, already has a Wal-Mart discount store on State Road 44. There’s also a Wal-Mart superstore
Ten little words have made citizens in Copley, Ohio very happy. The headline in the Beacon Journal this week read: “There will be no Wal-Mart
The state of Wisconsin has seven dead Wal-Mart buildings on the market, and number 8 is well on its way. Sprawl-Busters reported in a February
City officials in Spooner, Wisconsin were spoon-feeding Wal-Mart — but it just wasn’t enough. This week, the giant retailer abruptly withdrew its dream of a
Wal-Mart has a great opportunity in Florida to show that it is an environmentally sensitive company. On November 22, 2008, Sprawl-Busters reported that Wal-Mart opponents
Mobile home owners should be mobile. That seems to be the attitude at Wal-Mart. The retailer is not reluctant to build stores on the site
On August 3, 2003, Sprawl-Busters reported on the unlikely plan for a Wal-Mart supercenter in Drumore, Pennslyvania, population roughly 2,400 people. Wal-Mart had chosen a
School departments should build schools and manage quality education — but not try to use publicly-owned land to act like real estate moguls. When school
At any point in time, Wal-Mart has more than 200 dead stores on the market. These are buildings — more than a third of them
On May 1, 2008, Sprawl-Busters reported that the Big Box of the retail world wanted to come to the Little Egg. Wal-Mart was heading for
The Mayor of Lodi, California cast the critical vote in the early morning hours of December 11th to support the construction of a huge Wal-Mart
It took four years of legal wrangling, but another Canadian Wal-Mart store has become unionized. The Winnipeg Sun reports this week that the Saskatchewan Labor
Wal-Mart suckers many communities into playing their game of retail musical chairs. The retailer opens up a new superstore, and closes down its existing discount
On October 8, 2008, Sprawl-Busters reported that Wal-Mart was getting desperate in Lodi, California. They have agreed not to leave their existing store empty if
Wal-Mart’s proposal to add a liquor license to its superstore in Macomb, Illinois got smashed this week by local residents. A full liquor license is
One of the top-sellers at Wal-Mart this month is the Nintendo Wii Nurf-N-Strike Bundle, which you can pick up for $59.74. The first 908,102 customers
On August 7, 2007, Sprawl-Busters reported that developer Louis J. Ceruzzi of Fairfield, Connecticut, had suddenly withdrawn his Notice of Intent (NOI) with the Conservation
The City of The Dalles, Oregon, is located in the north-central part of the state on the scenic Columbia River. It is the Wasco county
Florida resident Patrick Donovan, 53, died over $393 in Wal-Mart merchandise, lying face down in the giant retailer’s parking lot last week. The media reported
Hercules has defeated Wal-Mart. It took more than two years to accomplish, but this week the retailer was pinned to the mat. On December 2,
On June 11, 2008 Sprawl-Busters reported that a controversial Wal-Mart superstore proposal in Cudahy, Wisconsin had initially been rejected by the city’s Planning Commission, but
Once again, Wal-Mart has been cut down to size. Roughly a year ago, on December 1, 2007, Sprawl-Busters reported that a local citizen’s group in
Wal-Mart is moving big time into Big Sky country. Unfortunately, all the company is doing is shutting down its “old” stores, and replacing them with
Big stores leave big eyesores. That’s what has happened in Garland, Texas, where Wal-Mart and a private developer teamed up to build a prototype of
Anti-Wal-Mart activists in Stratford, Ontario had good news to share this week. On November 7, 2008, Sprawl-Busters reported that Wal-Mart Canada, after three years of
“Outta My Way, I’m shopping at Wal-Mart.” That actual bumper-sticker sums up the attitude of the only thing worse than Wal-Mart in our culture: Wal-Mart
On July 15, 2008, Sprawl-Busters reported that the village of Ellenville, New York was fighting a ‘secret’ Wal-Mart. Ellenville describes itself as “cute” and “one
On September 30, 2002, Sprawl-Busters reported that a Tennessee developer had run into a WAL of questions in the community of Abingdon, Virginia. According to
There are 30 properties owned by Wal-Mart Realty in Louisiana that are for sale or lease. For some reason, the discount Wal-Mart store on Highway
Citizens in one small community in upstate New York have held up the world’s largest retailer for four years, and there is no immediate end
New Prague, Minnesota is a community with roughly 7,000 people. New Prague is located 45 miles southwest of Minneapolis/St. Paul, straddling the two counties Scott
Officials from TIAA-CREF, the huge retirement fund, are meeting with community activists on December 4th to discuss — among other things — the fund’s continuing
After four years of pushing — Wal-Mart has given up the battle for a superstore-by-the-river. On October 17, 2008, Sprawl-Busters reported that Wal-Mart had been
In the town of North Smithfield, Rhode Island, the retail question of the moment is not “Where’s Waldo?” but “Where’s Walton?” Since at least the
The city of Mankato, Minnesota, population roughly 36,000 people, already has one Wal-Mart superstore on Madison Avenue. One store for a community this size is
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.