Lawrence,NJ. Wal-Mart Dumps Another Town
On March 4, 2007, almost a year ago, Sprawl-Busters reported that the Planning Board in Lawrence, New Jersey was holding hearings on what the media called a “controversial application” to build a Wal-Mart superstore on Spruce St. The site Wal-Mart wanted was where two car dealerships used to be. A group called LET’s (Lawrence/Ewing/Trenton) Stop Wal-Mart held an informational picket line and rally before the hearing. The Wal-Mart proposal was to build a 143,233 s.f. store on a 23.5-acre lot. The used-car dealerships would be razed to make way for the store. This was the third version submitted by Wal-Mart since 2004.
The Lawrence Planning Board sent the earlier plans back for further changes. Wal-Mart needed a stream buffer variance, because part of the proposed driveway, parking lot and loading area were within the 100-foot buffer zone for a stream. The Shabakunk Creek also bordered the property. Residents have been fighting this proposal since it first came to light in 2004. “Wal-Mart was wrong for the area for three years and it is still wrong,” one Lawrence resident protested at the hearing. “(The site) is an environmentally sensitive area. The people who live in Tiffany Woods (an adjacent residential
development) won’t be able to get out because of the traffic.”
The group LET’s Stop Wal-Mart’s petitioned the Township Council to adopt a living-wage ordinance in an effort to force Wal-Mart to raise its employees’ salaries and provide them with better fringe benefits. A second group, the Lawrence Living Wage Coalition, gathered more than 1,000 signatures on a petition to require the Township Council to act on a proposed living-wage ordinance. But the town’s lawyer sought a judicial ruling in state Superior Court on the legality of a township passing its own minimum wage. A Superior Court Judge ruled that a municipality cannot set its own minimum wage. In November of 2007, the township finally voted to approve the supercenter, despite such strong local opposition. But that was not the end of the story.
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Posted by Al Norman on Friday, February 15 | 0 comments | Permalink
Wal-Mart Uses Local Funds to Build in Chesapeake, VA.
Wal-Mart drains money out of local communities in a number of ways: the company shuts down locally-owned businesses, asks for tax breaks, and has thousands of employees on state-sponsored health plans. This story from the Virginian-Pilot illustrates another way that Wal-Mart uses public funds for its private business. Chesapeake, Virginia, will be picking up the $4.3 million tab to build the road Wal-Mart needs to reach its new store. Patricia Willis, the only Chesapeake council member who disagreed with this decision, was voted down. To quote the story, “she felt uncomfortable with the city putting tax revenue toward something that should be the developer’s responsibility.”
Chesapeake to pay for roadwork tied to proposed Wal-Mart [The Virginian-Pilot]
The City Council voted 5-1 this week to pay up to $4.3 million in tax revenues for road improvements that will aid traffic in an Edinburgh development that also includes a proposed Wal-Mart and Cracker Barrel.
Even though parts of the project would cut through a private project called Edinburgh West, City Manager William Harrell said the road improvements were important to the city’s effort to address growth and traffic increases in southern Chesapeake.
“In my view, this is a proactive way of addressing what will be a major transportation hub,” Harrell said.
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Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Thursday, February 14 | 20 comments | Permalink
James Island, SC. Residents Have Mixed Feelings About Wal-Mart
James Islanders have mixed views on Wal-Mart plan [The Post and Courier]
A Wal-Mart Supercenter may be coming to James Island now that the first of two major environmental hurdles has been cleared.
Last week, Charleston Board of Zoning Appeals-Site Design gave Wal-Mart Stores East permission to cut down 30 grand trees near its Folly Road store. The next obstacle will be getting permission to fill about 3 acres of protected wetlands.
“Without those things the project can’t move forward,” said Larry Barthelemy IV of ADC, the engineering firm hired by Wal-Mart.
Wal-Mart Stores East received permission last week to cut down 30 grand trees near its James Island location to make room for a new supercenter.Wal-Mart Stores East received permission last week to cut down 30 grand trees near its James Island location to make room for a new supercenter.
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Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Thursday, February 14 | 0 comments | Permalink
Lawrence, N.J. Wal-Mart Abandons Plans
Wal-Mart scuttles plans for Lawrence store [The Record (N.J.)]
Three months after winning a prolonged battle to build a megastore on Spruce Street, Wal-Mart announced Wednesday it is scrapping plans for the controversial project.
Citing changes in its growth strategy, the nation’s largest retailer says it no longer is interested in building a 141,000-square-foot discount store and garden center on a former car dealership site.
“It’s still a good place to do business. That hasn’t changed,’’ said John Simley, a company spokesman. “But the fact is, we’ve reprioritized. We’ve decided that we’re going to develop a fewer number of stores in this next year and the year after.”
Opponents of the plan, who fought it vigorously throughout the approval process, were elated.
“We beat the Beast of Bentonville,’’ crowed Carol Lerner, referring to the chain’s Arkansas hometown. “I view it as a real victory after three and a half years of hard work.’’
Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Thursday, February 14 | 0 comments | Permalink
Rep. Al Wynn, Wal-Mart Supporter, Soundly Defeated in Maryland Primary
In 2005, Al Wynn voted for Wal-Mart. Now Maryland Democrats have voted against Al Wynn.
Three years ago, Representative Albert Wynn of Maryland voted against an amendment to the 2006 labor appropriations bill put forward by Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut. As explained on TomPaine.com at the time, “This bill barred any spending of money by the Department of Labor to implement the part of the deal the department had made with Wal-Mart calling for advance notice of inspections any time the DOL planned to investigate Wal-Mart.”
Rep. Wynn, who voted against this amendment, wanted to give Wal-Mart full warning when the Labor Department was coming for a visit. This would allow the company to clean up any labor law violations before inspectors arrived. Maryland voters, it turns out, won’t stand for this kind of corporate fawning. Yesterday Wynn lost Maryland’s Democratic primary to newcomer Donna Edwards.
Perhaps if Wynn had stood up against Wal-Mart, he’d still be in office. Instead of protecting the interested of multi-billion dollar corporations, Wynn would have done better to side with working class Americans and to see that our labor laws are fairly implemented. Ms. Edwards: we wish you luck in your campaign. May Al Wynn’s legacy be a cautionary tale.
Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Wednesday, February 13 | 11 comments | Permalink
Op-Ed: Preserve Carrollton, VA.
Protect county from Benn’s Grant [Daily Press (Va.)]
We have been residents of Carrollton for almost 30 years. We have observed Eagle Harbor come in and destroy our beautiful and tranquil community with stop lights, heavy traffic, a higher crime rate and an ugly strip mall with no class to it.
We would certainly hate to see this happen to the quaint and historic town of Smithfield with the new development of Benn’s Grant.
Some people say they do not want to drive 30 minutes to a Wal-Mart. With the coming of Benn’s Grant, it will soon take 30 minutes to drive from Benns Church to Main Street in Smithfield. If these people wanted to be so close to a Wal-Mart, why did they move to a country environment?
Since Eagle Harbor came in and destroyed the northern part of the county, please try to save the rest of our county. Please, please carefully consider any decision in this matter.
Guy and Shirley Jacobs
Carrollton
Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Monday, February 11 | 0 comments | Permalink
Friday Blog Round-Up: Gap Toothed Edition
JANUARY SALES MAKE WAL-MART CRY
The entire retail sector announced poor January sales this week, with Wal-Mart leading the charge. Many have mentioned the fact that Wal-Mart is partly responsible for the recent economic downturn, as lost jobs and low wages mean less consumer capital. Financial bloggers weigh in on the state of American shopping:
Will Gift-Card for Food [Wall Street Journal Marketbeat]
Amid the poor sales results from retailers for the month of January, this little bit from Wal-Mart Stores stuck out:
“Gift card redemptions were below expectations, and customers appear to be holding gift cards longer and using them more often for food and consumables rather than discretionary purchases.”
So as it turns out, consumers are taking free money - and rather than spend on electronics, shoes or apparel, they’re buying the likes of garbage bags, soap, razor blades, light bulbs and bread.
January Bleak for Retail; Wal-Mart Hit Hard [24/7 Wall Street]
Wal-Mart reported a meager 0.5% increase in January same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, when excluding fuel sales.
“Gift card redemptions were below expectations, and customers appear to be holding gift cards longer and using them more often for food and consumables rather than discretionary purchases,” Wal-Mart said in a statement.
After the jump, greener greenwashing and Consumerist asks, “Would you go to a Wal-Mart clinic?”
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Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Friday, February 08 | 1 comments | Permalink
Wal-Mart to Appeal North Carolina Tax Ruling
This brief story notes that Wal-Mart intends to appeal last month’s ruling in a heated North Carolina tax-shelter case. A state court judge in North Carolina dismissed Wal-Mart’s request for tax refunds after the retailer took advantage of a real estate loophole and essentially paid rent to itself. Click here for the original story.
Wal-Mart to appeal tax refund ruling [Raleigh News and Observer (N.C.)]
Wal-Mart said it will appeal a court decision that denied the retailer a $30 million tax refund from the state.
Last month, a Wake County judge rejected the retailer’s argument that the state improperly assessed its corporate income tax for a four-year period.
The state Department of Revenue contended that Wal-Mart tried to use tax shelters to obfuscate its earnings in North Carolina.
Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Tuesday, February 05 | 0 comments | Permalink
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