0 comments

---

Back in September the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Friends of Wilderness Battlefield, and six nearby residents filed a lawsuit in the Circuit Court of Orange County. They alleged that the country “supervisors failed to comply with the county’s comprehensive plan. The suit also claims the county’s zoning ordinance is invalid because it fails to comply with state laws requiring such ordinances to protect historic sites, and there were procedural defects in the approval process.”

Today, the court heard the first arguments of the case.

Here’s a quick excerpt from the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s press release outlining their central arguments (it was emailed to me, so I don’t have a link):

“The County has an affirmative responsibility to protect those historic resources under Virginia law and under the County’s own Comprehensive Plan for development. Yet, the Board ignored the concerns, objections and offers of assistance from the Governor and the Speaker of the House of Delegates of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the National Park Service, the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, 250 Civil War experts, and others.

The Battle of the Wilderness, where 26,000 men were killed or wounded in May of 1864, may not be as well known as Gettysburg or Antietam, but it marked a milestone in the Civil War. It was the first time generals Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant met in battle. The site of the proposed 140,000-square-foot Wal-Mart superstore, along with 100,000 square feet of additional big box commercial development, stands on unprotected land within the historic boundaries of this battlefield.  It is also immediately adjacent to the Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park, which was established by Congress in 1927. In a split vote, the Orange County Board of Supervisors voted to approve a special use permit allowing the 240,000-square-foot project to proceed on August 25, 2009. This project poses a considerable risk of destruction and increased commercialization of a nationally significant and highly vulnerable historic site.”

We’ll certainly keep our eyes on the case. In the mean time, you can check out the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s website here and read more about the case here.

0 comments

---

The fate of the Wilderness battlefield hangs in the balance of a single vote.

For many, it’s hard to believe that a fields which once echoed with artillery fire from 12 pound howitzer cannons drawn by wooden carriages, may be replaced by metal shopping carts packed with howling children.

After months of public debate and passionate opposition, this classic clash between history and modernity will ultimately be decided by a handful of Country Supervisors in the privacy of their chambers.

Wal-Mart is one vote away from building a Supercenter near a famed Civil War battlefield that preservationists contend is already endangered. The proposal is headed to the public Monday night and county supervisors could vote after the hearing, provided it doesn’t run too late. Supervisors, who are believed to be leaning toward approving the proposal, are also scheduled to meet Tuesday night....

Preservationists including more than 250 historians, congressmen from Texas and Vermont and a handful of celebrities have urged Wal-Mart to find a different location in Orange County. Earlier this month, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine and House Speaker William J. Howell also urged Wal-Mart and the county to find an alternative site. They called the Wilderness “supremely important” among Virginia’s many Civil War battlefields.

In an effort to cover all their bases, Wal-Mart is exhausting all their resources in order to sway public opinion toward approving the building site; a grueling effort that has also produced political casualties.

Last week, Wal-Mart sent out 4,200 mailers urging Orange County residents to show up to Monday’s hearing.

UPDATE: In an outrageous last ditch effort, last night’s meeting was canceled due the intervention of Wal-Mart officials. Mostly likely fearing a loss, Wal-Mart now has more time to rally support for their building site.

Wal-Mart personnel found that one of two legally required notices advertising a May 21 public hearing before the county Planning Commission had not been published by the local weekly newspaper. County officials were notified of the problem yesterday morning and decided to cancel last night’s hearing “out of an abundance of caution,” acting County Administrator Julie Jordan said.

“We regret the inconvenience to everyone,” she said, “but the proper publication requirements were not met.”

0 comments

---

Cynics will tell you that Americans have the best politics money can buy. But Wal-Mart’s money doesn’t always buy support—especially in a controversial vote that pits history against sprawl.

Wal-Mart says its plan to build a 138,000 s.f. superstore near an historic Civil War battlefield near Fredericksburg, Virginia is an example of smart growth. The giant retailer was on the defensive this past week, when Virginia Governor Tim Kaine reached across the political aisle to his rival, Republican House Speaker Bill Howell, to jointly write a letter to the Orange County, Virginia Board of Supervisors urging them to work together with Wal-Mart and state officials to find a less intrusive site for the superstore.

In response to the Governor’s letter, Wal-Mart officials defended their plan. The company’s director of public affairs sent an email to the local media which pointed out that the land is commercially zoned, and that “more than 5,000 residential homes and other compatible commercial development are already built out dramatically closer to the preserved boundaries of the Wilderness Battlefield than our project.” But the company went even further, suggesting that “this project presents the unique opportunity to bring the interests of battlefield preservation and smart development effectively into balance, and that is precisely what we have accomplished with our current proposal.”

Wal-Mart did not explain how a 51 acre development with a store on one level more than twice the size of a football field and an enormous parking lot was an example of “smart development.”

Read the rest of this story ...

0 comments

---

Great news out of Virginia regarding the proposed Wilderness Battlefield site. In a letter dated July 13th, Virginia Governor Tim Kaine (D) and House of Delegates Speaker William Howell (R) sent a letter to the Orange County Board of Supervisors encouraging them to choose an alternative site for a new Wal-Mart.

This isn’t the first bipartisan effort we’ve seen to derail Wal-Mart’s plan to build at Wilderness. In January, Democratic and Republican congressmen from Texas and Vermont joined to tell Wal-Mart to find somewhere else to build. Hopefully Wal-Mart - and Orange County supervisors - get the message.

From CWPT:

Governor Kaine and Speaker Howell Urge Orange County to Move Walmart Superstore Away from Battlefield

In a bipartisan letter to the Orange County Board of Supervisors, Virginia Governor Tim Kaine (D) and House of Delegates Speaker William Howell (R) jointly urged the county to reconsider plans to locate a Walmart supercenter on the Wilderness Battlefield. The letter, addressed to Orange County Board Chairman Lee Frame and dated July 13, 2009, emphasizes the Commonwealth’s commitment to historic preservation and the need to bring all interests together to resolve the controversy. The heart of the message states: “[W]e strongly encourage your Board to work closely with Wal-Mart to find an appropriate alternative site for the proposed retail center in the vicinity of the proposed site yet situated outside the boundaries of Wilderness Battlefield and out of the view of Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park.”

Read the rest of this story ...

0 comments

---

If you have been reading our blog, you know we’ve followed Wal-Mart’s campaign to build on the Wilderness Battlefield in Orange County, VA for many months now.  We even recruited two of the most notable civil war reenactors to film this video.  As the time has passed, pressure has mounted on the company to revise their plans and build on a different location, including grassroots lobbying and celebrity engagement like Robert Duvall.  All that pressure affected at least one official in Orange County, Bill Rolfe, County Administrator.  Rolfe spoke out.  The response of the county board was to fire him.  The local paper took a stand this weekend against the Board’s outrageous treatment of Rolfe and no less that U.S News and World Report is opining in support of Rolfe this week.

Wal-Mart’s power in these local battles has been demonstrated in the past, but rarely has there been this clear of a demonstration of their ability to manipulate elected officials.  The Board didn’t even have the courage to have an open meeting to discuss Rolfe.  Instead, they summoned him on a Friday night of a holiday weekend to cut his head off.  Cowardly to say the least.  But then, when you are turning your back on the people who got you elected, not to mention the hallowed land of America’s dead, to favor a giant corporations’ interest, you best do it under cover of darkness.

0 comments

---

This is it, so don’t get scared now.

The Orange County Board of Supervisors is set to make a decision once and for all on the fate of the Wilderness Wal-Mart - a public hearing has been scheduled for July 27th, which will be the last time the public (and Robert Duvall) will be able to make their opinions known before the board takes the matter for good. Note: As a Civil War vet, Robert Duvall can actually comment all he’d like.

What will they decide? Will Wal-Mart be allowed to desecrate a piece of American history? Will they be denied, and an alternate site be recommended?

There seems to be a divide between the County Planning Commission and Orange County residents - the Commission voted 5-4 last week to approve development on the Battlefield site, yet at previous public hearings, the majority of Orange County residents were against the project (by an estimated 2-1 margin). This public outcry, combined with the history of the land at stake, would make it seem appropriate that Wal-Mart would be eager for a compromise that would still allow them to develop in the area, if one were presented...but to this point, no dice. Which is why County Administrator Bill Rolfe believes it’s now up to the supervisors to make the “win-win” a reality.

“The question that begs to be asked is, ‘Why isn’t the county trying to broker a deal that keeps Wal-Mart in the county and moves it further away from the congressionally approved boundary line of the Wilderness Battlefield?’ Both would be in our best interest,” Rolfe wrote the Board of Supervisors in a June 15 e-mail...He noted two goals--that Orange enlarge and diversify its tax base, and not do anything that would “detract from the [Wilderness] battlefield as a tourism destination for our community.”

Rolfe went on to point out that the coalition of historic preservation groups currently fighting the Wilderness plan would appear to be amenable to a development located farther from the battlefield park. And it just so happens that just such a piece of land could be made available next to a nearby 51-acre retail development. The question is, will County Supervisors go for it, or will they doom the Wilderness Battlefield to witnessing another brutal defeat?

Seeking win-win in store debate [Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star]

Read the rest of this story ...

0 comments

---

The Virginia Democratic Primary is tomorrow, and with it gubernatorial candidates on both sides of the aisle are making their views known on the controversial Battlefield Wal-Mart. This also comes just days before the Orange Planning Commission is scheduled to meet to consider the site developer’s request for a special-use permit for the 138,000-square-foot Wal-Mart store.

By now we all know that Wal-Mart wants to build a 141,000-square-foot supercenter on the edge of the Wilderness Battlefield National Park in central Virginia. The plan came under heavy opposition last year by several groups focused on everything from preserving the site’s historical significance to protecting the local environment. Collectively these groups have come to be known as the Wilderness Battlefield Coalition.

This past weekend, the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star took a look at the positions of the Virginia gubernatorial hopefuls. Democratic candidates Creigh Deeds and Terry McAuliffe both are in favor of preserving the site, having sent letters expressing as much to current Wal-Mart CEO Mike Duke, with Deeds going so far as saying he felt an obligation to do so. Both of their letters echo the sentiments of preservation groups - that alternative sites exist that would allow Wal-Mart to build while protecting the sanctity of the Battlefield site.

Deeds:

“The opponents of the proposed project have identified [alternative] sites within two or three miles of the current site,” he wrote Duke. “With this compromise, we can continue to preserve the land and history of the Wilderness battlefield while still providing your company a location for a store.”

McAuliffe:

He asked Duke to “consider moving the Wal-Mart a little ways down the road so that we can preserve this historic site. The Wal-Mart you are building could potentially jeopardize the most popular tourist attraction in Orange County.”

Read the rest of this story ...

0 comments

---

Yesterday, we told you that hundreds of people were expected to show up at hearing at a public hearing last night regarding the ‘Wilderness Wal-Mart’—which would make it the most heavily attended public meeting in the history of the county.

Channel 19 News in Charlottesville, Virginia, had the story. We now graciously share that story with you.

0 comments

---

HUGE CROWD COMES TO OPPOSE 'WILDERNESS WAL-MART' AT PUBLIC HEARING

• Opposition to Wal-Mart Near Va. Battlefield [Washington Post]
  Wal-Mart officials have a return date in Virginia to discuss their proposal to build a Supercenter near a Civil War battlefield.
  

• Public Speaks On Wal-Mart [Free Lance-Star (Va.)]
  A public hearing last night on a proposal to build a Wal-Mart Supercenter near the Wilderness Battlefield park drew a big crowd, but little noise and no vote.
  

• Orange Wal-Mart Plans Spark Debate [WCAV-TV (Va.)]
  Plenty of folks who live near the proposed Wilderness Wal-Mart are excited to see it coming; yet many others are fighting to keep it away.
  

Read the rest of this story ...

0 comments

---

FINAL RULING: NORTH CAROLINA COURT SAYS NO $33 MILLION TAX REFUND FOR WAL-MART

• NC appeals court upholds tax bill for Wal-Mart [Associated Press]
  The state Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday against Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and its efforts to get a $33 million tax refund, upholding a trial judge's ruling that found a complex corporate structure was used primarily to avoid corporate income taxes.
  

• Wal-Mart loses appeal to get $30M in North Carolina tax refunds [Triangle Business Journal (N.C.)]
  The North Carolina Court of Appeals has denied Wal-Mart’s attempt to win $30 million in tax refunds from the state of North Carolina.
  

Read the rest of this story ...

0 comments

---

CALIFORNIA WAL-MART FINED FOR NOT PROTECTING WORKERS FROM HEPATITIS B

• NorCal Wal-Mart workers to be tested for Hepatitis [San Jose Mercury News (Calif.)]
  About 20 employees of Wal-Mart's Yuba City store will be tested for Hepatitis B after one worker was diagnosed with the bloodborne disease in December.

AMERICA'S OLDEST STATE PRESERVATION GROUP JOINS FIGHT TO SAVE WILDERNESS BATTLEFIELD

• Preservation group: Civil War battlefield at risk [Associated Press via Forbes]
  Preservation Virginia has joined a growing opposition that says a proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter near the Wilderness Battlefield threatens the Civil War site where nearly 29,000 troops were killed or injured 145 years ago.
  

Read the rest of this story ...

0 comments

---

MORE RELIGIOUS LEADERS CALL FOR EMPLOYEE FREE CHOICE

• Sam Stein: Rabbis Lobby Specter On Employee Free Choice Act [Huffington Post]
  Adding a religious element to the day's biggest labor-policy debate, a group of 30 rabbis penned a letter in Philadelphia's largest Jewish newspaper on Thursday, urging Sen. Arlen Specter to support the Employee Free Choice Act.
  

DICK CHENEY BATTLES CLERGY OVER EFCA

• Art Levine: The Dark Lord -- Dick Cheney -- Battles Clergy Over Employee Free Choice Act [Huffington Post]
  While most recent media attention about Dick Cheney has focused on his pro-torture comments, it's worth noting that his remarks Tuesday attacking the Employee Free Choice Act also aired on the same day as a new coalition of religious leaders, Faith Leaders for Workplace Fairness, pressed the case for the pro-worker legislation.
  

• Sam Stein: Cheney Whacks EFCA, Labor Welcomes Him As Spokesman [Huffington Post]
  Former vice president Dick Cheney keeps elevating himself to the role of Republican Party spokesman on key political issues. Usually the topic has to do with foreign policy. But in his interview on Tuesday afternoon on Fox News, he grasped hold of one of the GOP's biggest rallying cries -- the Employee Free Choice Act.
  

Read the rest of this story ...

33 comments

---

He’s grizzled. He’s mentored Cole Trickle and knows that on the track, rubbin’ is racin’. He’s fought Yankees in the Civil War, to the delight of Red Sox fans everywhere. He’s Robert Duvall...and he’s now Wal-Mart’s worst enemy.

Joined by two congressmen whose states suffered heavy losses in the Battle of the Wilderness, Duvall--who lives in Virginia’s horse country--pledged to do “anything we can” to support the fight against the Wal-Mart store. The proposed construction has drawn opposition from 250 historians, including David McCullough and James McPherson, and filmmaker Ken Burns.

Duvall toured the grounds with Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., and Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas. Welch, for his part, comes from a state in Vermont that has already made some noise concerning the Wilderness site. Earlier this year the Vermont Legislature passed a joint resolution asking property owners and elected officials in Orange County, Virginia, to protect the historic battlefield - many Vermonters died fighting there during the Civil War.

Welch and Duvall both spoke out not only on the importance of the site, but of Wal-Mart’s ability to take the high road:

“The impact of the Wal-Mart is that it will totally change the context of that battle site,” Welch said. “With the immense increase in traffic and congestion and additional development, you’re going to get very large-scale commercial activity.”

“The Wal-Mart Corporation has it within its power to be a savior of the Wilderness Battlefield,” Duvall said in a statement released by Welch’s office. “Simply by moving to an alternate location slightly further from the battlefield, they have the ability to protect this critical piece of American history for generations to come.”

Already, hundreds of historians have signed on in opposition to the development.

Actor Duvall enters battle to save Va. battlefield [AP via the Daily Press]

Read the rest of this story ...

0 comments

---

The Battle of the Wilderness was among the most significant engagements of the Civil War. The number of voices who argue that Wal-Mart should find somewhere else to build are steadily increasing. And now a national audience is getting the story of the most recent battle to be fought there.

Both the Washington Post and prominent blog The Daily Kos posted stories on the Wilderness struggle on Sunday, and both are great reads. The Post entry was written by James McPherson, the George Henry Davis ‘86 Professor of History at Princeton University and a past president of the American Historical Association. McPherson won the 1989 Pulitzer Prize for “Battle Cry of Freedom” and is a two-time winner of the Lincoln Prize.

A snippet from the Post:

Preservationists are not opposed to Wal-Mart opening a superstore in the region. A coalition of national and local conservation groups has merely asked Wal-Mart to choose a different location...The Wilderness is an indelible part of our history, its very ground hallowed by the American blood spilled there, and it cannot be moved. Surely Wal-Mart can identify a site that would meet its needs without changing the very character of the battlefield.

And from Daily Kos:

Development has spread out in all directions from Washington DC, devouring landscape and culture.  McPherson notes that only 21% of the actual site of the Battle of the Wilderness are in the national park, that many key areas are “privately held and vulnerable to development”...We perhaps cannot preserve every place of possible historical importance, but in our shortsightedness we have already lost much.  Too many historic buildings are now gone, and sacred spaces are increasingly threatened as our cities spread out.

Again, both are really good reads, and the post on The Daily Kos has already inspired 150 comments, so head on over and join the discussion!

Wal-Mart vs. the Wilderness [Washington Post]

Wal-Mart vs. the Wilderness [Daily Kos] [And yes, they have the same title...]

0 comments

---

SENATOR HARKIN OPEN TO COMPROMISE ON EMPLOYEE FREE CHOICE

• Harkin May Drop ‘Card-Check’ to Pass Milder Labor-Law Changes [Bloomberg News]
  The chief Democratic sponsor of a measure to promote union organizing says he may have to sacrifice its “card-check” centerpiece in favor of more modest labor-law changes that could clear the U.S. Senate.
  

• Card-check may be stripped from bill [Philadelphia Business Today (Pa.)]
  U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, who sponsored legislation to make it easier for workers to join unions, has said the main provision of the proposal may have to be dropped to get the votes to pass it.
  

U.S. REPRESENTATIVES TOUR WILDERNESS BATTLEFIELD WITH ROBERT DUVALL

• Actor Duvall enters battle to save Va. battlefield [Associated Press]
  Academy Award-winning actor Robert Duvall has fired a verbal salvo against plans to build a Wal-Mart Supercenter near a Virginia Civil War battlefield where Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee first fought the Union's Ulysses S. Grant.
  

Read the rest of this story ...

4 comments

---

We’ve written often on Wal-Mart’s plan to build a 141,000 sq. ft. Superstore next to the Wilderness and Chancellorsville Battlefields in Virginia. The site is undoubtedly one dripping with historical significance:

The Battle of the Wilderness was among the most significant engagements of the Civil War. It marked the first time legendary generals Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant faced off against one another on the field of battle. During two days of desperate conflict in a harsh, unforgiving landscape tangled with underbrush, 4,000 Americans lost their lives and nearly 20,000 were wounded.

That very fact has caused opponents from across the country to converge on Virginia - the Civil War Preservation Trust is leading the fight, Mr. Holland and his Opus have tagged along too, blogs have been dedicated to the issue, letters to the editor have been written (some even making excellent points):

To those who argue that the Wilderness Wal-Mart issue should not be influenced by outsiders, would you like to see a big-box retailer next to the Washington Monument or the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, should zoning be permitted, even though you do not live there?

Heck, even the Vermont Legislature has threatened to get itself involved, and they don’t even live in Virginia (I think).

Anyway, I’m getting off point, since two former Civil War Generals can very well sum up the conflict nicely themselves. The point is that in an act of good faith, one group, the Wilderness Battlefield Coalition, has offered to provide funds for a study that would evaluate the effects of development in the Wilderness and surrounding areas. The only negative (for Wal-Mart, at least) is that the study would push back the planning and permitting process by six months, something that one would think should hardly be a deal breaker in terms of timing. Still, the County Supervisors voted to reject the offer, and go ahead with a public hearing scheduled for May 21. At least one supervisor, however, was not pleased with the vote.

District 4 Supervisor Teri Pace said the coalition’s request was important and worth county officials’ consideration. “I think it’s really short-sighted for this board not to accept an asset at no cost to the county,“ Pace said. “All they’re asking is to hold back six months.“

We will, of course, continue to follow the Wilderness Battlefield battle.

Read the rest of this story ...

31 comments

---

It’s official - Armageddon will soon be upon us.

Democrats and Republicans are...gasp...working together to keep Wal-Mart from building near a Civil War battlefield in Virginia. Representative Ted Poe of Texas and Representative Peter Welch of Vermont [NOT pictured] have teamed up to oppose the Wal-Mart battlefield plan.

Two congressmen on opposite ends of the political spectrum--a liberal Democrat from Vermont and a conservative Republican from Texas--are speaking out against plans for a Wal-Mart store at Virginia’s Wilderness battlefield. U.S. Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., just joined Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, in writing Wal-Mart CEO Mike Duke to oppose the company’s plan for a 139,000-square-foot Supercenter at what was a key Civil War crossroads.

According to history professors anywhere and everywhere, the 1st Vermont Brigade fought bravely in the Battle of the Wilderness, losing 1,232 men in one day. That fact combined with Wal-Mart’s general unpleasantness prompted the Vermont Legislature to get involved in the Virginia battle earlier this month, and urge relocation of the planned supercenter store. And now Congressis lending a voice.

“While we may represent different political parties and states on opposing sides of the Civil War, we stand united in our support of respecting hallowed ground such as The Wilderness battlefield,” Welch and Poe wrote the retail giant’s president.

To join the fight yourself, simply click here and signup.

Congressmen oppose Wal-Mart in Orange [The Free-Lance Star]

Read the rest of this story ...

1 comments

---

In an unusual move, the Vermont Legislature is considering a resolution that would recognize the significance of Virginia’s Wilderness Battlefield’s to Vermonters, many of whom died in this turning point in the Civil War. The measure, though seemingly unconventional, is not out of character for sustainable development-friendly Vermont: the state’s Land Use and Development Act, enacted in 1970, created District Environmental Commissions with the power to deny permits to real estate developers under certain conditions. As a result of this and other measures, Wal-Mart has been relatively unsuccessful opening new stores in Vermont. Since a Vermont Civil War Historian, Howard Coffin, is proposing the resolution, the move would not necessarily be indicative of the Vermont Legislature’s own politics on Wal-Mart, but rather a further indicator that historians nationwide acknowledge the irreplaceable value of the Battlefield. If the Legislature agrees with historians’ position, their voice would add clout to a recent groundswell of citizens who believe Wal-Mart should not trade history for sprawl.

Vermont may weigh in on battle over Civil War battlefield [Burlington Free Press (Vt.)]

One hundred forty-four years after Vermonters waged a key Civil War battle on a Virginia field, the state is considering weighing in on another battle over the surrounding land.

Proposed development of a 144,000-square-foot Wal-Mart on land outside the Wilderness Battlefield in Locust Grove, Va., threatens the area near a monument that honors the 1st Vermont Brigade, which held the ground there for the Union Army in 1864, said Howard Coffin of Montpelier, a Vermont Civil War historian.

Coffin has asked the Vermont Legislature to help. He urged the Senate Economic Development Committee on Wednesday to pass a resolution laying out how important the area is to Vermont history and asking Wal-Mart and the Orange County, Va., Board of Supervisors to reconsider the project.

“This site in Wilderness is Vermont’s most important Civil War site, surpassing Gettysburg,” Coffin said.

Read the rest of this story ...

51 comments

---

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 begins on Wal-Mart and the economy, and whether Wal-Mart sales statistics can be used as a new barometer for the U.S. economy. You’ll also find stories on changes in shopper behavior, now that consumers are faced with less disposable income. And, you’ll find stories on Wal-Mart’s slowed growth, and the switch to smaller store formats by retailers across the country.

In addition to the economy, you’ll find stories related to next week’s election. Barack Obama highlighted the story of a 72-year-old man forced to go back to work for Wal-Mart in his half-hour special this past Wednesday night. Meanwhile, according to Reuters Wal-Mart vows to remain non-partisan in the 2008 election season, while the Financial Times reports on the candidates attempting to woo the so-called “Wal-Mart Moms.” Plus, there are suspicions that Wal-Mart is behind a new grassroots group recently set up to fight the Employee Free Choice Act, as reported in The National Journal.

Also: Find out whether a Wal-Mart case in Montana could lead to changes in that state’s campaign finance law.

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. A California ballot measure could lead to increased demand for more humane animal products, while citizens in Virginia continue to fight Wal-Mart’s attempt to build near an historic Civil War battlefield.

Wal-Mart Watch Weekly Update for Elected Officials [October 31, 2008]