Waite Park, MN. Wal-Mart Strives for Saturation
Waite Park may get a Wal-Mart [St. Cloud Times (Minn.)]
A Wal-Mart could be built in Waite Park in two years along Minnesota Highway 23, and the city conducted necessary studies on its behalf this fall, city documents show.
The development could include four commercial buildings and a gas station, including one 50,000-square-foot building along Highway 23, according to a layout produced by a traffic consultant for the city and used to analyze traffic in the area of the development.
Waite Park entered into an agreement with Wal-Mart in August to prepare an environmental assessment worksheet and traffic-impact analysis of the proposed development.
Wal-Mart agreed to reimburse Waite Park for the administrative, engineering and legal expenses, estimated at $25,000.
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Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Tuesday, December 04 | 0 comments | Permalink
Frenchtown, MI. Still Time to Fight
Frenchtown Wal-Mart plans pushed back [Monroe News (Mich.)]
Construction of a planned Wal-Mart Superstore in Frenchtown Township across the street from an existing store on N. Telegraph Rd. may still be months away, local authorities say.
First, several buildings need to be demolished on the site and approval from the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) is needed on a plan to widen Telegraph.
“They pretty much have everything taken care of” with the township, Supervisor James McDevitt said about Wal-Mart’s plans. “They still have to get their demolition permits, though.”
Wal-Mart bought about 35 acres off N. Telegraph north of Mall Rd. and east of the state highway to build a superstore. The township board approved rezoning the land to commercial in January and the planning commission okayed a final site plan in June. The giant retailer must first tear down the old Wickes Lumber Co. and Foster Trucking facility plus several abandoned homes on the site before doing anything, Mr. McDevitt said.
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Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Tuesday, December 04 | 0 comments | Permalink
Stoughton, WI. Wal-Mart Puts One More City On Hold
On December 15, 2005, Sprawl-Busters reported that the city council in Stoughton, Wisconsin had approved a land annexation measure by a vote of 8-4, which brought 185 acres of land into the city, and essentially opened the door for Wal-Mart to proceed with its plans to build a supercenter. A citizen’s group called Stoughton Forward fought the annexation. This case goes back to 2003, and has been a four year controversy in the city. In January of 2004, the City Council voted 9 to 3 to put a size cap of 110,000 square feet on retail stores. But by April of 2004, following a city council election that brought in new Wal-Mart supporters, the pro-growth council voted to lift the 110,000 sq. ft. size cap set in the Big Box ordinance. But then in September of 2005, the City Council voted against annexation of land for a Wal-Mart. Three months later they reversed themselves and voted to annex. It’s been like this in Stoughton for more than four years. When the annexation first failed, Mayor Helen Johnson was quoted as saying, “My concern is that we have a place for our elderly or those who do not own cars to buy a pair of pajamas or a pair of socks here at home.” Her comment must have made the manager of Wal-Mart store # 1176 on Highway 51 West scratch his head---since his store carries pajamas and socks, and is in Stoughton. And there is a new supercenter only 11 miles away in Monona. But it looks like Mayor Johnson could be in for a long wait for that pair of pajamas, because Channel 3000 reports this week that Wal-Mart has now put its four year supercenter battle for Stoughton on hold---another casualty of Wal-Mart’s supercenter rollback.
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Posted by Al Norman on Friday, November 30 | 0 comments | Permalink
Cleveland, OH. Fighting Over the Scraps of a Once-Robust Economy
For Cleveland, OH., Wal-Mart is a curse packaged up as a blessing. The retailer has heralded its new store in the city as a boon to the local economy, but Wal-Mart damages the communities it sells to in a number of ways. Most relevant to this story from the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the company lowers median wages, reduces the overall number of jobs in a community by putting local stores out of business and frequently violates labor laws, both domestically and abroad. Wal-Mart claims to help working class Americans, but by paying low wages, exporting jobs overseas, failing to provide adequate health care for its employees and bilking the communities it sells in, Wal-Mart is helping create the poverty-related problems that are now damaging its sales. For more information, click on our Labor Relations or Community Impact page.
Wal-Mart draws huge crowd - of applicants [Cleveland Plain Dealer]
As the world’s largest private employer, Wal-Mart is used to being greeted by large numbers of applicants almost every time it opens a new store.
But the 6,000-plus people who applied for jobs at the new Supercenter in Cleveland’s Steelyard Commons took everyone, even Wal-Mart, by surprise.
“We had to recount [the applications] three times,” said Mia Masten, Wal-Mart’s director of corporate affairs, Midwest division.
When thousands of people compete for a few hundred ordinary jobs, trend watchers say it’s an indication not only of a less-than-stellar economy but also of a workforce short on marketable skills.
The huge number of applicants wouldn’t have caught anyone’s eye had these been skilled, high-paying jobs, the types of positions that thousands of people always seek.
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Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Monday, November 26 | 19 comments | Permalink
Canfield, OH. 95% Of the Residents Don’t Want Wal-Mart
Canfield, Ohio is a small community that has lost around 400 people since the year 2000. The township’s motto is: “A Nice Place to Call Home.” Wal-Mart has decided that Canfield would be a nice place to call home, too. The population stands now around 7,000 people. Located in Mahoning County at the intersection of Route 224 and Route 46, the township is about ten miles southwest of Youngstown. In 1992, the city of Canfield, which is surrounded completely by Canfield Township, voted to secede from the township. This created two separate governmental entities — one a city, the other a township. Canfield is a relatively affluent suburb, with strict zoning regulations that prohibit government housing, large signs, overgrown lawns, and above-ground pools. A tree-lined “Village Green” sits at the heart of the New England-style village. The idea of a Wal-Mart supercenter coming to the township does not sit well with many residents.
There are already seven Wal-Marts within 23 miles of Canfield, including a discount store 5 miles away in Austintown, and a supercenter 9 miles away in Salem. Last week, according to the Vindicator newspaper, Wal-Mart put the township on notice that it was going to delay asking the county’s planning commission for a zoning change on 30 acres of land it wants for another supercenter---about half of which needs to be rezoned. In October, the giant retailer went to the planning commission---but when it became clear that the commission was going to vote against the zone change, Wal-Mart withdrew its petition. Wal-Mart then went to the township directly, to its zoning commission, and told local officials why the land should be rezoned from residential to commercial. Wal-Mart wanted officials in Canfield to approach the county to amend the land use plan to change the parcel to commercial. But the Canfield zoning commission told Wal-Mart to go back to the county planning commission, and once the county board had voted on it, the issue would move to the township commission---which would hold a public hearing. The final vote up or down on the rezoning would be made by the Township trustees. Wal-Mart could have been on next Tuesday’s planning commission’s agenda, but they failed to submit a zone change application on time. A spokesman for Wal-Mart said they want to submit a quality proposal, not a rushed one---which means they have not lined up their votes yet. But Township and city officials are saying that nearly everyone they talk to is against the store’s coming to Canfield. “Ninety-five percent or more don’t like the idea,” Andrew Skrobola, city council president told the Vindicator. “It would cause extreme traffic problems and a deterioration of competition.” Township Trustees said traffic on Route 224 is already a nightmare. They told the newspaper that Wal-Mart’s presentation to the township zoning board was vague. “It was as poor a presentation as you can get,” Trustee Paul Moracco said. “99.9 percent” of the people he met at the polls in the Nov. 6 election told him, unsolicited, that they are against the store’s coming here.
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Posted by Al Norman on Monday, November 26 | 0 comments | Permalink
Editorial: Wal-Mart’s Green Report Overlooks the Basics
This editorial from Wisconsin’s Capital Times points out that no matter how good or bad Wal-Mart’s green report might be, the company is still overlooking some crucial aspects of retailing.
Wal-Mart’s reputation [Capital Times (Wisc.)]
Wal-Mart is working hard to clean up its image, with new “green” stores and moves to improve its health care program.
But the chain still has a bit of a problem when it comes to the basics of retailing. Here in Wisconsin, state inspectors have uncovered a pattern of Wal-Mart stores overcharging customers. The stores charge for the weight of the packaging of bulk items, such as potatoes and coffee.
This puts Wal-Mart in violation of Wisconsin’s clearly defined weights and measures rules—so clearly that the chain is being required to pay fines of $90,000.
It is good that Wal-Mart is starting to recognize that its critics over the years—particularly those involved with the fine group Wal-Mart Watch—have been right about the need for the corporation to be more responsible with its workers and the environment.
But the bottom line for any retailer is how it treats consumers. And when Wal-Mart gets caught overcharging for the basics, the company tarnishes its own reputation more than any critic ever could.
Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Monday, November 19 | 5 comments | Permalink
Canfield, OH. Wal-Mart Won’t Welcome Anyone
Welcome to Wal-Mart? In Canfield, not so much [The Vindicator (Ohio)]
Wal-Mart will not ask the Mahoning County Planning Commission this month to recommend a zone change for property it wants in the township.
But that doesn’t mean it won’t be asking in the future, said Ron Mosby, the company’s senior manager of public affairs.
Residents, businesses and officials in Canfield city and township continue to wait to see what the company’s next move will be.
With glee, city resident Cindy Makselan contemplated the store’s coming.
“I would love it,” she said, in the parking lot of Giant Eagle on U.S. Route 224. “My girlfriends and I want this.”
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Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Monday, November 19 | 0 comments | Permalink
Chicago, IL. Mayor Dodges Questions on Wal-Mart
Daley mum on OKing Wal-Mart [Chicago Tribune]
Mayor Daley bobbed and weaved on Friday when asked whether he was prepared to grant a developer’s request for administrative approval within 30 days to build a Chatham Wal-Mart.
“Developers ask for a lot. [That’s] one thing about developers. And we’ll assess that. I’m not gonna answer that,” the mayor said.
Daley continued to do the political sidestep when asked whether he believes there needs to be another City Council vote—or should be one politically—before Wal-Mart gets the go-ahead to build a supercenter at 83rd and Stewart.
“I don’t know. I just don’t know,” he said.
Pressed on whether he wants to re-live the City Council donnybrook that gave birth to the big-box minimum-wage ordinance he killed with his first-ever veto, Daley said, “I don’t know. I have no idea.”
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Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Monday, November 19 | 0 comments | Permalink
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