Wal-Mart Goofs on Traffic Projections
July 4, 2002
According to a report in the Daily Progress newspaper in Louisa County, Virginia, Wal-Mart seriously underestimated the amount of truck traffic that its planned distribution
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Residents Organize to Block Wal-Mart Expansion
July 4, 2002
Last January, rumors started flying in LaGrande, Oregon that Wal-Mart wanted to morph its discount store into a supercenter. Brett Kelver of Oregon Rural Action
Wal-Mart Wants to Tear Down Drive-In Theater
July 4, 2002
According to the Albany, Oregon Democrat-Herald newspaper, Wal-Mart wants to level one of the few remaining drive-in movie theaters in the state, and replace it
Planners Want Demolition Bond for Big Boxes
June 26, 2002
The very visible and costly proliferation of “dead” big box stores that are littering American highways has caused some communities to try and deter the
Residents Put Out SOS Against Wal-Mart
June 26, 2002
The community of Osprey, Florida has put out an SOS against Wal-Mart. The SOS in this case stands for the “Save Osprey Society”, and here’s
Wal-Mart Company ASDA Involved in Shopper Deaths
June 26, 2002
In the United States, companies like Wal-Mart and Home Depot have accumulated a significant record of customer injuries and deaths, including serious cases of falling
New Hampshire Passes New Predatory Pricing Law
June 24, 2002
The Governor of New Hampshire signed a new law on May 18th, based on H.B. 1429, that addresses the issue of predatory pricing by big
Residents Fight Wal-Mart Distribution Center.
June 24, 2002
Several residents in the small community of Smyrna, Delaware (pop. 5,000) contacted sprawl-busters this week about a suprise attack from a combination of Wal-Mart officials
Wal-Mart Proposal Ignites “Asian War”.
June 17, 2002
One of Denver, Colorado’s must unique shopping areas is under fire from the Wal-Mart corporation. The Alameda Square shopping area, a collection of 25 local
Wal-Mart Along Chesapeake Bay Loses in Court
June 17, 2002
Local activist Stan Ruddie sent this account of a 3 year old battle with Wal-Mardt: “Once upon a nice spring day in April 1999 a
Sam’s Club rejected for refusal to build green store.
June 2, 2002
Jock Westbrooks says he has a perfect record. In his years of working for Wal-Mart, he has located over 450 stores, he told The Capital
Residents Wants Owls and Cypress Trees–Not Wal-Mart.
June 2, 2002
Residents in Chalmette, Louisiana are gathering troops to fight a proposed Wal-Mart supercenter. According to the Times Picayune newspaper, Wal-Mart wants to build a superstore
City With Cap on Size Fights to Stop Wal-Mart’s Last Big Mistake
June 2, 2002
The Mt. Hood/Columbia River Gorge region in Oregon is surely one of the special places on earth, and residents in Hood River County (pop. 20,000)
Wal-Mart Watched for Noncompetitive Pricing South of the Border
May 28, 2002
According to a May 28th report from Reuters news service, Wal-Mart is being investigated by Mexican government anti-trust officials for engaging in possible noncompetitive practices.
No Room At the Inn:Lowe’s Loses Two Year Battle!
May 23, 2002
As a follow up to our March 6, 2002 story regarding the town of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Ted Morgan of the group NoMall filed this report
Crime At Wal-Mart “Overwhelmes” Local Cops.
May 20, 2002
According to an article in the May 19th. St. Petersburg, Times in Florida, petty crimes at Wal-Mart can add up to a high price tag
Wal-Mart Developer Bought More Than Just Land
May 14, 2002
In New Orleans, Louisiana, money doesn’t just talk — it speaks at public hearings. According to the Urban Conservancy and the Times Picayune newspaper, the
Court Rules Against Home Depot in “Visual Character” of Town
May 14, 2002
In late April, the Journal News of Westchester County reported that a four judge panel of the State Supreme Court’s Appellate Division in Brooklyn unanimously
Wal-Mart Lays Off 250 Workers At Distribution Center
May 13, 2002
Word has reached us that Wal-Mart announced that it was laying off 250 “associates” at its Laurens, South Carolina distribution center. The layoffs took place
Kmart Offers City an Estate
May 13, 2002
A sprawl battlefield is unfolding on North Battlefield Boulevard in the city of Chesapeake, Virginia. At least three neighborhoods have taken up the battle against
Wal-Mart Developer Finally Gets Day In Court
May 2, 2002
A Wal-Mart developer faced off in court against city officials in Nashua, New Hampshire just before the Labor Day weekend began on September 1st. The
After Six Years of Trying, Will Home Depot Be Accepted?
May 1, 2002
Like a suitor who has been repeatedly rejected, Home Depot’s orange has been squeezed badly in the City by the Bay. After six years of
“Village” Wal-Mart Rejected
May 1, 2002
It was such a good idea — but the locals just didn’t buy it. Wal-Mart asked city officials in Lacey, Washington, to change their village
The Politicians Get Their Wal-Mart.
April 27, 2002
The political “Battle of New Orleans” over a suburban Wal-Mart superstore in an urban historic district has been won — for now. After nine months
Stop the Big Blue Wal-Mart Box
April 26, 2002
Residents in Southbridge, Virginia are organizing an effort to “Stop the Big Blue Box.” According to a report in the Potomac News, Wal-Mart has it
Wal-Mart Kills Off Another Superstore
April 24, 2002
2008 will turn out to be the Year Of Major Letdowns for big box retailers like Wal-Mart. Consumers are jittery, and Wal-Mart continues to cancel
Would You Buy a Used Car from this company?
April 23, 2002
The media is reporting today that soon you’ll be able to get furniture, Fritos and Fords at Wal-Mart. Apparently five Wal-Marts in Houston, Texas will
Boulderizing Wal-Mart, or Walmartizing Boulder?
April 21, 2002
Residents in Boulder, Colorado, report that Wal-Mart has signed an agreement with a California development company called Macerich Co. to become an anchor in the
Wal-Mart Returns for Third Time.
April 20, 2002
You can’t say that Wal-Mart didn’t warn the citizens of Asheville, North Carolina. Newsflash reported on December 9, 2000 that Wal-Mart had taken two black
Farewell to Formula Franchises.
April 19, 2002
Residents in Ocean Beach, California have no taste for Starbucks coffee, and are hoping their boycott efforts will slow-drip the company out of town. But
Retailers Fight Sales Tax Sharing Bill.
April 18, 2002
State Assemblyman Darrell Steinberg of Sacramento, California has filed legislation that has companies like Wal-Mart and Home Depot lobbying for their life. The proposal, A.B.
Wal-Mart Sued by Disabled Woman
April 14, 2002
A lawsuit against Wal-Mart has been filed in the US District Court for Nebraska by a woman from Fremont who says the company failed to
Flatley’s Folly: Residents Oppose Target
April 14, 2002
On February 25th, the Flatley Company of Braintree, Massachusetts was on the agenda of the Bedford, New Hampshire Planning Board. Flatley, which is a sole
City Welfare Saves A Dying Kmart.
April 4, 2002
Would you lift a finger to save a dying Kmart? Consider the $2.5 million in subsidies the city of Buffalo, New York came up with
Home Depot Still Trying After 4 Years.
April 4, 2002
Citizens and merchants living and doing business in San Juan Capistrano, Dana Point and Capistrano Beach, California communities have been fighting off Home Depot since
Voters Pass Advisory Ban on Formula Businesses
April 3, 2002
Residents in Ocean Beach, California are working to protect their unique sense of place from corporate logos. Here’s a report on their efforts to keep
Citizens Take Wal-Mart rezoning to the ballot
April 3, 2002
Citizens in Bristol, Tennessee have asked city officials to rescind a vote they took to rezone land that would pave the way for a Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart Officially Loses Vote
April 3, 2002
The Reedley, California city clerk announced on March 28th. the official results of the town’s vote on two zoning questions regarding the location of a
Home Depot Drills Black & Decker All the Way to China.
April 3, 2002
In 2001, Home Depot accounted for almost one out five tools sold by Black & Decker. Today, according to the Home Channel News, the Towson,
City Wants $25 Million From Wal-Mart For Mitigation Measures
April 3, 2002
The City Manager in Bozeman, Montana wants Wal-Mart to pay for the damage its supercenter will bring to his town. The bill comes to a
Wal-Mart Wants Property Taxes Lowered.
March 17, 2002
The Wal-Mart corporation brings in $420,471 a minute in sales. So it is somewhat surprising to residents of the little community of Saukville, Wisconsin that
Wal-Mart Buys Into Japan
March 16, 2002
Roughly seven years ago, a delegation of Japanese businessmen came to my hometown of Greenfield, MA to learn how we had stopped Wal-Mart. They were
Wal-Mart Owns 14% of food market in U.S.
March 16, 2002
Wal-Mart didn’t get into selling groceries in a big way until 1988, when they started swallowing up market share with their supercenters. Today, according to
Wal-Mart Buys Its Vote Into Town
March 15, 2002
On March 12th, 19,916 voters in Mesa, Arizona voted in favor of Proposition 300 — to approve the city council’s 4- to 3 vote earlier
Wal-Mart Project Withdrawn
March 12, 2002
Residents in north St. Louis County, Missouri were celebrating this week after it was announced in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that a proposed 74 acre
Kmart Closings Offset Wal-Mart Openings
March 11, 2002
The conventional wisdom is that Kmart’s implosion will be to Wal-Mart’s gain. The shutting down of 271 Kmart discount stores and 12 Kmart Supercenters, will
IKEA Still Up In the Air
March 10, 2002
Swedish furniture retailer IKEA can’t open its 300,000 s.f. carton yet in the community of East Palo Alto, California. On March 5th, the question of
Wal-Mart Gets Socks Blown Off
March 10, 2002
The city of Springboro, Ohio has boxed out stores like Wal-Mart and Meijer’s. According to the Dayton Daily News, officials in Springboro think such stores
Voters Give Boot to Home Depot Gorilla
March 8, 2002
On March 5th, voters in Mountain View, California finally got the Home Depot gorilla off their back. The grassroots citizens group which sent Home Depot
Wal-Mart Out Spends Residents on Ballot
March 7, 2002
Our contacts in Calexico, California filed this report regarding their March 5th.election, in which Wal-Mart successfully nullified an existing Calexico zoning ordinance that limited to