Residents Organize To Take On Home Depot
April 29, 2006
The folks at Home Depot HQ in Atlanta, Georgia may have assumed that they could paint the small town of Rindge, New Hampshire orange, but
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Wal-Mart Seeking a TAD of Public Welfare
April 29, 2006
Residents in Smyrna, Georgia are up against the Wal, and a short timeline as well. Residents in this city of around 45,000 people sent the
Wal-Mart’s Game of Musical Chairs
April 29, 2006
Wal-Mart changes its stores as casually as most people change shoes. Sprawl-Busters received the following report from the frontlines of the battle against Wal-Mart supercenters:”Wal-Mart
Residents Challenge Lack of Water Flow For Home Depot
April 26, 2006
Here’s a somewhat unusual issue to come up in the big box hearing. The Friends of Placer County Communities, which has been fighting big box
Developer Tries To Slip In Plan Before Ordinance Limits
April 26, 2006
Residents in Canton, Georgia have launched an effort to stop a developer who is consciously trying to thwart the efforts of local officials to manage
City Settles Out of Court For Wal-Mart Cut In Half
April 25, 2006
Residents in Lawrence, Kansas have been fighting a Wal-Mart for at least three years now. Sprawl-Busters has written at least five stories since 2001 about
“The time has passed when we’re going to accept a big box.”
April 23, 2006
A Tennessee developer ran into a WAL of questions last week in the community of Abingdon, Virginia. According to an account in the Washington County
Wal-Mart Distribution Center Battle Continues
April 22, 2006
Residents in Crescent City, Florida are fighting to keep an enormous Wal-Mart distribution center out of their community. Florida already has 6 Wal-Mart distribution centers.
Another Wal-Mart Is Not OK in OK
April 21, 2006
Residents in Cushing, Oklahoma have been left out of the loop regarding the proposal to build a Wal-Mart supercenter, which surely means the existing Wal-Mart
Residents Fight to Prevent Wal-Mart From Landing
April 21, 2006
In October of 2005, the Marina, California Planning Commission amended a use permit for property on Beach Road for a project known as The Marina
State Selling Land To Wal-Mart For Distribution Center
April 21, 2006
The state of Oregon is selling 146 acres of land to help Wal-Mart build a distribution center in Salem, Oregon which will supply the stores
Another Wal-Mart Laid to Rest
April 20, 2006
Citizens in Pajaro,California are celebrating this week with the announcement by Wal-Mart on April 19th that they won’t be building a proposed superstore in Pajaro.
City Council Slam Dunks Supercenter Plans
April 19, 2006
Wal-Mart’s dreams of annexing land into Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin to build a 180,000 s.f. supercenter are over — for now. Last night, the City Council
County Caps Store Size, Stymies Wal-Mart
April 18, 2006
Wal-Mart was just about to slice up the territory for one more superstore, when the County Commissioners in Ravalli County, Montana changed the rules on
‘We Don’t Want Superbox Stores.’
April 18, 2006
Anne Arundel County, Maryland, only has five Wal-Marts, but the mega-retailer wants to build a 143,000 s.f. store roughly 6 miles from an existing store.
Citizens Petition for Moratorium on Boxes
April 18, 2006
Mid-coast Maine is buzzing with anti-big box sentiment these days, in the wake of several communities’ regional response to the threat of suburban sprawl. The
Yardbirds Hardware Stores Another Home Depot Casualty
April 16, 2006
When retail giant Home Depot bought 10 Yardbirds hardware stores in California last December, the California chain employed around 650 workers. This week, to no
Wal-Mart Supercenter Takes Great Fall
April 15, 2006
Sprawl-Busters wrote on March 1, 2006 that Wal-Mart’s plans to annex land into Great Falls, Montana had been dealt a setback because of a provision
Home Depot CEO Earns ‘Whopping’ $37.9 Million
April 15, 2006
The next time Home Depot tries to get some local community to pay for road, water or sewer improvements, or to give them tax financing
Home Depot To Sell Auto Parts
April 14, 2006
The world’s largest home improvement chain store is getting behind the wheel to try and drive auto parts dealers off the road. According to Auto
Wal-Mart Wants Special Deal To Escape Moratorium
April 14, 2006
The town of Greece, New York already as a Wal-Mart discount store on Elm Ridge Center Drive. There are a total of six Wal-Marts within
Wal-Mart Seeks To Displace 1,100 Tenants
April 14, 2006
In one of the biggest housing displacement projects ever, Wal-Mart has proposed tearing down 1,100 apartments, mostly occupied by low-income and working class families, just
Lowe’s Asks for ‘Rebate’ Of $1.6 Million in Taxes
April 14, 2006
The Lowe’s “home improvement” chain is telling officials in Castle Rock, Colorado that it is willing to make its store more interesting architecturally — but
Wal-Mart Withdraws Unpopular Superstore Plan
April 13, 2006
Neighbors could hear the sound for miles. When Wal-Mart dropped its plans to locate a 184,000 s.f. supercenter in Asheville, North Carolina, local residents didn’t
Planning Commission Unanimously Rejects Wal-Mart
April 13, 2006
It’s on to Plan B, as Wal-Mart was handed another defeat this week in Fargo, North Dakota, a city that already has one more Wal-Mart
Moratorium Placed On Big Box Stores Over 75,000 S.F.
April 10, 2006
The County Commissioners in Orange County, Florida have put big box stores into the deep freeze — for at least a year. According to the
Long-Time Wal-Mart Worker Tells Why She Was Fired
April 9, 2006
A Wal-Mart employee of 14 years was fired just before Thanksgiving by the manager of the Wal-Mart store in Chicopee, MA. Sprawl-Busters wrote about this
Home Depot Hit With Another Racial Discrimination Lawsuit
April 9, 2006
Walter Robinson, of Willingboro, New Jersey, a Home Depot employee and shareholder, has sued Home Depot in the U.S. District Court of New Jersey for
To Open Superstore, Wal-Mart Will Shut Its Discount Store
April 9, 2006
As sure as the sun rises in the East, Wal-Mart will eventually try to build in your town. Just ask the residents of Sunrise, Florida,
City Votes To Annex Land For A Wal-Mart Supercenter
April 9, 2006
A controversial Wal-Mart proposal in Stoughton, Wisconsin continues to make headlines this week, as the city reversed itself and voted to annex land for Wal-Mart.
Wal-Mart Pays $15,943 To Destroy Gopher Turtle Habitat
April 9, 2006
Everything in America is for sale, everything has a price. At Wal-Mart, they know the price of everything, and the value of nothing. On April
Island Town Meeting Bans Chain Stores
April 7, 2006
The historic island of Nantucket, Massachusetts has just voted to ban chain stores from the island’s unique downtown. The ban was endorsed this week by
Women Opposed to Wal-Mart
April 7, 2006
A group calling itself Women Opposed to Wal-Mart (WOW) has sent a letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers regarding a proposed Wal-Mart supercenter
Wal-Mart Loses Second Court Appeal in Size Cap Case
April 6, 2006
Zoning ordinances which place dimensional limits on the size of stores won a major victory — for the second time — in the same California
Village Learns Wal-Mart Is Moving Out
April 5, 2006
Officials in East Dundee, Illinois are scrambling about trying to figure out how to plug the sudden hole in their revenue stream, now that Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart Returns With Smaller Plan B
April 5, 2006
Wal-Mart has shrunk its superstore by 30% — but it still may not be enough to fit into Hercules, California. On February 5, 2006, Sprawl-Busters
Selectman Asks For Size Cap
April 2, 2006
East Longmeadow, Massachusetts Selectman Jim Driscoll announced this week that he has filed a zoning by-law amendment that would place a dimensional limit on the
Planning Commission Approves Size Cap
April 1, 2006
Another Wal-Mart supercenter has been scrapped because of the heads up work of local citizens. On March 28, 2006, the Planning and Zoning Commission in
Opponents Use Robert’s Rules In Wal-Mart Legal Appeal
March 29, 2006
Wal-Mart’s efforts to build a supercenter in Santa Fe have been like a watched pot. But this week the controversial plan is boiling over. Opponents
Wal-Mart Increases ‘Surprise’ Factory Inspections
March 29, 2006
For several years, Wal-Mart critics have charged that the retailer’s inspection program for its more than 5,000 overseas factories is ineffectual, and that the company
Profile Of An Anti-Wal-Mart Campaign
March 29, 2006
Residents in Bend, Oregon have been boxing with Wal-Mart for more than a year now. Here are excerpts of a Jobs with Justice account of
Citizens Continue Legal Battle Against Wal-Mart
March 29, 2006
For over a year and a half, residents in Batavia, New York have kept a Wal-Mart supercenter at bay through legal appeals. The group Batavia
County Considers Continuing Legal Fight Against Wal-Mart
March 28, 2006
This is the story of a Wal-Mart delayed. On August 8, 2004, Sprawl-Busters reported that Fulton County, Georgia Commissioners had voted 6-1 against a Wal-Mart
Size Cap Passed “Overwhelmingly” By Voters
March 28, 2006
More bad news out of Mid Coast Maine this week for big box stores like Wal-Mart. On Monday, residents in Newcastle, Maine became the third
Home Depot Adds Convenience Stores To Gas
March 28, 2006
Sprawl-Busters reported recently that Home Depot was experimenting with gas stations. The home improvement store has indicated that it hopes to have 300 stores with
Citizens Prepared to Keep Out Second Wal-Mart
March 26, 2006
Residents in the community of Hagerstown, Maryland already have one Wal-Mart supercenter, and are prepared to fight as often as necessary to keep a second
Residents Do Battle With IKEA
March 26, 2006
Sprawl-Busters has received the following communiqu?? from the frontlines of a battle with the Swedish furniture superstore in England: “Mega-mart sprawl is a problem for
Residents Turn Out In Droves To Oppose Wal-Mart
March 25, 2006
There were no shrinking Violets this week in the township of Violet, Ohio. All it took was a Wal-Mart proposal to turn out the crowd
Wal-Mart Loses In Court Over Comp Plan
March 23, 2006
Sprawl-Busters has not written about Jacksonville, Florida since September, 22, 2004, when we reported that Wal-Mart’s plans to build a Neighborhood Market grocery store on
Bad Plumbing Or Fear Of Unions Shut Down Stores?
March 22, 2006
2,200 Wal-Mart workers who were suddenly laid off recently when the giant retailer shut down 5 stores for ???plumbing problems,??? have a filed an injunction