PENNSYLVANIA SITE FIGHT: WAL-MART OPPOSITION TO HOLD MEETING NEXT WEEK IN NORTH WHITEHALL
Sustainable Development holds session Oct. 23 [Morning Call (Pa.)]
Sustainable Development will provide information on the status of the Wal-Mart proposal and offer share the harvest at 7 p.m. Oct. 23 at the Schnecksville Grange, 5322 Route 873, North Whitehall Township.
Sustainable Development is a volunteer community organization dedicated to promoting responsible development that conserves natural resources while providing for the needs of residents in and around North Whitehall.
Posted by Luke West on Thursday, October 16 | 0 comments | Permalink
Nike to Wal-Mart: “Imitation is NOT the sincerest form of flattery”
Nike Inc., the world’s largest athletic shoemaker, has sued Wal-Mart for allegedly selling footwear that infringes one of its patented designs. Or so says the footwear giant, who filed a patent infringement suit against the retail giant on Monday in federal district court in Illinois.
The case revolves around two of Nike’s designs, both having been patented back in late 2004. As you can see by photos included in Nike’s complaint, Wal-Mart’s shoe looks like a pretty spot-on match, at least design-wise. Kudos to Wal-Mart’s apparel design team - if your own products aren’t selling, why not copy those that do? And who wouldn’t want a shoe with pogo springs right in the heel?! I couldn’t find the offending models online, although most of Wal-Mart’s own athletic shoes appear to retail for between $10-25...I would guess the original Nike version sells for just a little bit more. Several Nike models, in fact, use the copied design and generally retail for $90 and above. You can draw your own conclusions, though my guess is that these two shoes are similar on face value only - it wouldn’t surprise me if for $15, Wal-Mart’s springs were filled with marshmallow or tiny foam peanuts.
The retail mega-chain has faced a couple of infringement suits already this year - recently by Pepe Jeans, and prior to that by Adidas, which settled its case with Wal-Mart in September. You can read more about those two instances here, here, and here.
Read Nike’s complaint here.
Nike sues Wal-Mart, alleges patent infringement [Rueters]
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Posted by Corey Himrod on Thursday, October 16 | 2 comments | Permalink
Closing REIT loophole nets Maryland beaucoup dollars
The collection is from an undisclosed company - unnamed because of state tax confidentiality laws.
The REIT loophole issue, which focuses on the use of captive real estate investment trusts to avoid paying state corporate income taxes, has been in the national spotlight for going on two years now. In North Carolina, Wal-Mart saved millions of dollars in state tax bills by essentially transferring its properties to its own REIT and paying rent to itself, then writing it off as a tax deduction. These transactions were frequently followed by rather suspicious looking characters in black masks trudging back to Bentonville with big old gobs of money that could have gone to funding state programs.
North Carolina got wise to the scheme and assessed Wal-Mart for back taxes. Additional states have sought ways to close the loophole up, either through attacking it directly or by adopting combined reporting. Maryland is one of those states - last year Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot announced that his state would no longer allow payments to captive REITs to be deducted from state tax returns. Now following its first publicized audit since then, Maryland will receive $10.8 million in back taxes for a 3-year period from the unnamed company.
We’ve chronicled again and again that Wal-Mart is one of the worst offenders in this area. Simply closing the loophole is one way to fix it. Adopting combined reporting is another. At least in Maryland’s case, the effort has already resulted in nearly $11 million coming back into the state treasury.
Maryland collects millions after closing tax loophole [Washington Post]
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Posted by Corey Himrod on Tuesday, October 14 | 2 comments | Permalink
VERMONT SITE FIGHT: ST. ALBANS COUNCIL DROPS WAL-MART OBJECTIONS
St. Albans Council Drops Wal-Mart Objections [Fox 44-TV (Vt.)]
The St. Albans City Council has unanimously passed a deal with JLD Properties, the developer proposing to build a Wal-Mart store in St. Albans Town.
In the agreement, the city dropped its objections to the store’s construction. In return, JLD Properties agreed to spend at least $1.5 million in purchasing four downtown buildings and at least $1 million in renovating them.
The city could also receive up to $750,000 in cash payments, depending on when construction begins on the store, which would be located off of Interstate-89’s exit 20.
Calvin Bourn, a resident of nearby Sheldon, supports bringing a Wal-Mart to town, but resented the conditions set by the city.
“If Wal-Mart decided to come to town, they shouldn’t have to promise this, this, this and this,” Bourn said.
He said, despite criticisms to the contrary, Wal-Mart would increase business downtown by bringing in more traffic.
“Years ago when Woolworth and Ames [were] here,” Bourn said, “it was a booming town.”
Nonetheless, the Vermont Natural Resources Council continues to object to the store’s Act 250 permit - the environmental impact review required by Vermont law and necessary for large-scale construction. In previous conversations about the topic with Fox 44 Local News, the VNRC said it could support a Wal-Mart in St. Albans, but not at that location and of that size. The VNRC also took issue with potential storm water runoff and traffic problems.
Posted by Luke West on Tuesday, October 14 | 0 comments | Permalink
East Patchogue, NY. Wal-Mart Rounding Up Supporters For Long Island Fight
Wal-Mart is spending a lot of time and money these days behaving like a grassroots community organizer. On September 16, 2008, Wal-Mart announced proposed plans to build a new store in East Patchogue, New York, on Long Island. There are currently 5 Wal-Mart stores within 15 miles of this site, including the Wal-Mart in Centereach, New York, less than 8 miles away, and the Wal-Mart in Middle Island, New York less than 9 miles away. According to Wal-Mart, “The proposed store will benefit this Long Island community by offering low prices and shopping convenience for consumers, as well as providing new jobs and tax revenue.”
Wal-Mart began a public relations campaign to support their proposal to build in East Patchogue. The company issued a press release which read: “Wal-Mart announced it has filed plans to build a new 120,000 square foot store in East Patchogue, New York, at the northeast corner of Hospital Road and Sunrise Highway. Plans were filed with the Town of Brookhaven and are in the early stages of consideration. The new store will provide approximately 200-250 new jobs. The average hourly wage for regular full-time associates in New York is $11.53/hour. Both full-time and part-time associates are eligible for benefits including medical, 401 (k), profit sharing, stock purchases and bonus incentives. The proposed store also is expected to pay tens of thousands of dollars in local property taxes annually.”
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Posted by Al Norman on Tuesday, October 14 | 0 comments | Permalink
Weekly Update for Elected Officials: Oct. 10, 2008
Check out this week’s issue of the Wal-Mart Watch Weekly Update for Elected Officials – a compilation of Wal-Mart news from across the country and beyond.
This week’s issue focuses on Wal-Mart and the current economic crisis. You’ll find stories on how Americans are shifting to thrift stores in order to save money, and whether September’s retail sales figures reflect a downturn in consumer spending. You’ll also find an article from CNN Money discussing whether the state of the economy will affect Wal-Mart’s hiring, especially with the holiday season coming up.
In addition to the economy, you’ll find stories on Wal-Mart’s move to small stores. Are Wal-Mart’s Marketside Stores the wave of the future? And in health care news, Wal-Mart is rolling out electronic personal health records to all of its employees, and has announced changes to its health plan for 2009.
And finally, check out our “Stateside” and “Wal-Mart International” sections to find out what’s going on with Wal-Mart around the country and across the globe.
Wal-Mart Watch Weekly Update for Elected Officials [October 10, 2008]
Posted by Corey Himrod on Friday, October 10 | 0 comments | Permalink
NEW YORK SITE FIGHT: SUFFOLK COUNTY SUPREME COURT DENIES WAL-MART
Wal-Mart Riverhead opening barred [Newsday (N.Y.)]
A Suffolk County Supreme Court judge has overturned the Riverhead Town Board’s approval of plans to construct a 169,547-square-foot Wal-Mart supercenter with a car repair shop and a food center near the Tanger Outlets on Route 58.
Judge Thomas F. Whelan ruled that Wal-Mart’s site plan violated the town’s zoning codes for that area and the town’s comprehensive plan. Whelan also concluded in his decision, issued Monday, that the town board did not have the authority to grant Wal-Mart variances of zoning restrictions.
The supercenter, which the retailer has in other states and which also includes a supermarket and garden center, would have been Long Island’s first.
“The Town Board, in its role as site plan administrator, cannot approve site plan applications that run counter to the Town Law, its Comprehensive Plan, and its own zoning code,” Whelan wrote. “One of the most cherished principles of our democracy is the respect and deference accorded our governing laws by our citizenry. Town Boards are not exempt from that fundamental ideal.”
Also see: Riverhead, NY. Court Nixes Town Approval of Wal-Mart [Battle-Mart Blog]
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Posted by Luke West on Friday, October 10 | 0 comments | Permalink
Riverhead, NY. Court Nixes Town Approval of Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart suffered another legal setback this week on Long Island. Newsday reports that the town of Riverhead, New York---which already has a Wal-Mart discount store on Old Country Road---has had its approval of a Wal-Mart supercenter overturned. The giant retailer wanted to build a 169,548 sf. store on Route 58, which would have been the first supercenter on crowded Long Island. Despite approval by the Riverhead Town Board, local residents refused to take ‘yes’ for an answer, and threw the case into court. On October 6th, Judge Thomas F. Whelan of the Suffolk County Supreme Court tossed out the Town Board’s approval. The judge ruled that Wal-Mart’s site plan violated the town’s zoning code, and the town’s comprehensive plan. According to the court, the Town Board did not have the discretion to give Wal-Mart variances from the zoning restrictions.
“The Town Board, in its role as site plan administrator, cannot approve site plan applications that run counter to the Town Law, its Comprehensive Plan, and its own zoning code,” Judge Whelan wrote. “One of the most cherished principles of our democracy is the respect and deference accorded our governing laws by our citizenry. Town Boards are not exempt from that fundamental ideal.” Two lawsuits had been filed against Riverhead and Wal-Mart in the wake of town approval in June of 2007. The owner of a shopping center on Route 58 and Riverhead residents filed the lawsuits. The plaintiffs were pleased with the outcome of their court battle. “It’s a rational, sound, well-written decision,” said James Gaughran, the attorney who filed the appeal on behalf of Riverhead residents. “I think it will be difficult for them to overturn on appeal.”
Wal-Mart issued its standard disclaimer in such cases, noting that the real losers in this battle were Wal-Mart customers. “We are obviously disappointed in the decision,” Wal-Mart told the media. “Our customers in the area were very much looking forward to shopping in the upgraded Wal-Mart store that was planned for Riverhead. In addition, the project would have created about 100 construction jobs during that phase of the project, as well as about 100 additional permanent jobs at the store, when construction was complete.”
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Posted by Al Norman on Friday, October 10 | 0 comments | Permalink
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