It’s been a big day for Wal-Mart photo centers. Early this morning, news broke that an employee at a Louisiana Walmart store stole compromising photos of Jamie Lynn Spears, with intent to sell the images to the media. Because Jamie Lynn is a minor, and because getting your personal photos copied and sold by your photo developer is creepy, Wal-Mart could potentially face penalties for the act.

But that’s not all. News ALSO comes today that the retailer has partnered with Jones Soda, maker of delicious and unusually-flavored colas, to let customers order custom-printed soda cans at Wal-Mart photo centers. Just when you thought you’d never find soda packaging that embodied your life outlook, Jones Soda has made it possible.

We really hope these two events aren’t somehow connected. It’s bad enough that stories about Jamie Lynn flooded our Google alerts this morning: it’d be even worse if we have to see her staring out at us from the soda case at the deli, too. And for those of you interested, you don’t have to go to a Wal-Mart to get your face on a Jones soda can: you can order a six-pack right on their website, and yes, we’re planning to get a case.

Jones Soda introduces myJones at Wal-Mart photo centers [Smart Briefs]
Celeb-a-razzi: Wal-Mart may be in trouble over Brit, Jamie Lynn photos [Detroit News]

The past couple weeks have seen plenty of stories describing ways in which Wal-Mart has mobilized to aid the Gulf Coast in preparation and relief efforts during hurricane season.

It seems, however, that even though the corporation was making efforts to lessen the blow of the storm, they still haven’t lost sight of the bottom-line.  In a story posted yesterday in The Examiner, Wal-Mart was accused of price-gouging gasoline at one of their stations along an evacuation route in Southeast Texas. The Wal-Mart/Murphy USA located on U.S. 69 in Lumberton raised their price of gasoline a total of 12 cents in the day leading up to the evacuation for Hurricane Gustav, then another 10 cents when the evacuation was announced. 

These prices were NOT consistent with other gas-stations in the area and following the storm, prices dropped again to reflect market prices. And despite a gas station manager claiming that prices went up because of a “gas price rise”, the cost of oil per barrel dropped over each of the three days. 

Evacuation Gas Game [The Examiner (Texas)]:

In the days and hours leading to the potential call for a mandatory evacuation for Southeast Texas residents the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) blasted across its electronic billboard alert system that a hurricane was coming and residents needed to fill up their tanks with gasoline.

According to a local wholesale fuel provider, most everyone heeded TxDOT’s advice, but The Examiner also kept close watch on one gasoline retailer located along the main evacuation route from Southeast Texas.

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Because there’s definitely not enough college football on the Wal-Mart Watch blog. And it’s Friday.

This, from Gamecocks fan: Wal-Mart sends out a bunch of LSU promotional fliers...in South Carolina.

Wal-Mart Is Confused [FITSnews]:

Unfortunately, somebody forgot to tell the “Every Day Low Prices” crew that SEC rivalries run deep, and it’s probably not a good idea to send a friggin’ Louisiana State promotional mail piece to a bunch of South Carolina mailboxes - particularly after the a**-whooping the Bayou Bengals administered to our beloved Gamecocks in Baton Rouge last year.

The Gulf Restoration Network has written extensively on how damaging cypress deforestation is: southern Louisiana’s clearcut cypress forests are part of why Hurricane Katrina wreaked so much damage on the area. A letter to the editor of the Washington Post today highlights the fact that Wal-Mart is still selling this environmentally harmful product, despite the retailer’s efforts to “green up” its image.

The Toll of Producing Cypress Mulch [Washington Post]

The May 11 Business article “Shreds, Reds and Stony Beds” recommended the use of cypress mulch. But the Sierra Club, along with its partners in the Save Our Cypress Coalition, has been fighting for years against the destructive and unsustainable logging practices of the cypress mulch industry.

Louisiana, Florida and the other Gulf states are paying a premium so that unknowing consumers can use cypress mulch in their gardens. Cypress mulch is not a byproduct of milling operations. The mulch industry is clear-cutting tens of thousands of acres of century-old trees, which lack the commonly touted rot- and insect-resistant characteristics of the ancient growth, and is putting them into a chipper and sending them off to your local retailer or garden center.

While the federal government is setting aside billions of dollars to restore storm-damaged and eroding coastlines, our best natural storm protection is being clear-cut at an alarming rate for the sole purpose of making mulch. And despite claims by the forestry industry, the cypress trees are not growing back.

Until major retailers such as Lowe’s, Home Depot and Wal-Mart take a stand against selling cypress mulch from clear-cut forests, we will continue to permanently lose vital storm protection and precious habitat for our fishing industry and our endangered and threatened species.

Ferriday undecided on Wal-Mart money [Natchez Democrat (Miss.)]

How the town of Ferriday will spend Wal-Mart’s $300,000 check is still up in the air, but was discussed Tuesday night at the town meeting.

Mayor Gene Allen said the money will not complete the renovation of the Florida Street gym and that the town should focus on other forms of recreation.

He suggested that the money be used to get matching funds to build a swimming pool.

“We’ve got to make sure we’ve got something for our children to do this summer to keep them off the street,” he said. “Organized recreation is the best thing we can do for our children.”

Alderman Johnnie Brown was the first to bring up an idea that all the aldermen and the mayor agreed on.

He offered that a committee should be formed of board members and citizens to make recommendations on what should be done in the city.

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Many communities are eager to see a new Wal-Mart come to town, but few think of the effect the retailer will have if and when it leaves. This article from Minnesota’s St. Cloud Times gives a local perspective to the retailer’s global prospects. Visit Battle-Mart for more information about fighting Wal-Mart in your local community.

Wal-Mart’s exit is boon, bane for communities [St. Cloud Times (Minn.)]

An empty Wal-Mart building sits along a stretch of road in Little Falls and shoppers have been rerouted to a newer, bigger Wal-Mart down the street.

Its owners have taken care of the old building after the Wal-Mart Supercenter was built in August. It’s been repainted a shade of light green, masking signs of what once thrived there.

At any given time, about 300 to 400 former Wal-Mart stores sit empty around the nation, in some cases for as long as five to seven years, said Ken Stone, a retired professor from Iowa State University who has studied Wal-Mart for about 20 years. Those empty buildings can be a blight to a community and area businesses if they sit untouched for too long.

“It’s a real problem, there’s no question about it,” Stone said.

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St. John wants Wal-Mart to listen [New Orleans Times-Picayune]

Parish seeks firm’s help to pay for road repairs

The St. John the Baptist Parish Council is trying to get Wal-Mart’s attention.

The council asked parish administrators Tuesday night to write a letter to the company about a road used by the retail center’s transport trucks that needs repairs.

Council members said they might consider imposing a load limitation on Carrollwood Drive if Wal-Mart will not help pay for the repairs.

“It’s absolutely terrible,” said Steve Lee, who represents the area and made the motion to send the letter. “It’s a shame for anyone to ride down it.”

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Objections to Wal-Mart’s selling of Louisiana cypress mulch surfaced several months ago, when the Gulf Restoration Network raised concerns that the endangered cypress trees were being ravaged. The trees play a huge role in the health of the Lousiana wetlands, which in turn help prevent flooding. Wal-Mart’s recent decision to stop selling the mulch is a victory for these local environmental activists.

Wal-Mart will not sell La. cypress mulch [Associated Press via BusinessWeek]

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world’s largest retailer, will stop selling cypress mulch from Louisiana, where environmentalists say the logging of the tree threatens this coast’s eroding wetlands and puts the state at greater risk from hurricanes.

Wal-Mart will refuse to buy cypress mulch harvested, bagged or manufactured in Louisiana “in order to extend the life-span of the coastal wetland forests,” Tara Raddohl, a spokeswoman for Wal-Mart Stores Inc., said Wednesday.

Wal-Mart’s decision was lauded by the Save Our Cypress coalition, an environmental group that has urged retailers to drop Louisiana cypress mulch.

The campaign is targeting The Home Depot Inc. and Lowe’s Companies Inc. Officials of both companies have said they do not use the mulch from coastal Louisiana, but environmentalists say they have traced it going into bags sold by company suppliers. Save Our Cypress is asking both companies to take a stance like Wal-Mart’s.

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Wal-Mart says Veterans store plans in flux [The Times-Picayune]

More than two months after its designs for a new store at the Kenner-Metairie line were rejected, Wal-Mart said it remains interested in the site but has no timeline for development.

The retailing giant’s proposal for a Supercenter this year lacked the parking spaces and other features needed to satisfy parish codes. It was partially withdrawn and partially voted down at a Jefferson Parish Council meeting in April.

A Wal-Mart official said then that it would take about two months for the store to return with new plans, but he said this week that a companywide slowdown in growth and the possibility of buying more property around the site are causing delays.

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Wal-Mart foes vow to continue fight [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]

ST. PETERS — An attorney representing opponents of a St. Peters Wal-Mart said Wednesday that he expects to appeal the matter after a St. Charles County judge declined to reconsider the case.

Nelson L. Mitten said opponents of the Wal-Mart Supercenter project at Spencer and Mexico roads planned to appeal the case within the next 10 days. Their lawsuit said the development would knock out small businesses and snarl traffic. They also said approval by the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission violated city ordinances and architectural restrictions in the area.

But St. Charles County Circuit Judge Jon Cunningham said in May that state courts had no jurisdiction. The opponents should have gone to the city’s Board of Adjustment first, he said.