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Walmart has a pretty spotty record when it comes to grassroots support groups. They can’t seem to resist the temptation to simply let PR firms make things up for them. There was the fake blog “Walmarting Across America” which, it was revealed, was actually organized by Walmart’s PR firm. The vehicle the “bloggers” used as well as their meals, expenses and gas, were all provided for them. There was the fake “community group” Working Families for Walmart, which was also run by a PR firm Walmart hired.

And now it seems that Walmart is doing the same thing in Chicago, where they’re struggling to get a foothold for their potential second store within city limits. Chicagoist, a prominent local blog, received some suspiciously pro-Walmart comments on their blog and decided to investigate. They found what seems to be theChicagoland Chamber of Commerce and Serafin & Associates are both working to push Walmart’s agenda in Chicago, and posing as a local community group.

The Chicagoland admitted to launching the site Our Community, Our Choice which proclaims, “Everyone else but Chatham and the South Side are making the decisions – It’s OUR CHOICE, NOT THEIRS.”

You should read the full article from Chicagoist, but the following section is particularly interesting:

Mike Mini told me that Wal-Mart is indeed a member of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, that they have “a representative on the Government Affairs Committee,” and that “our process is kind of open. Any member that expresses an interest can come to meetings and work on issues that are important to them.” Is the Chamber working on behalf of Wal-Mart in the city? “We’re working on behalf of policies that we feel further business and commerce in the city.” Because I got to Mr. Mini through Our Community, Our Choice, I asked what his involvement in the site was. “It’s part of our advocacy effort to gain support,” and that “we set that up as a way to communicate with people. We were expecting this to come up for a vote before the council sooner, but obviously it’s been stalled.” I asked him if he was familiar with Serafin and Associates. “Yes, we have worked with them in our strategy sessions. We’ve worked with [Thomas] Serafin and his team.” When I told him that our site had gotten comments from the email address that led me to him and asked if he knew that it was being used to comment on blogs, he said “no, not that I’m aware of.” Are you surprised that an IP address from Serafin was being used that way? “No, not in particular.” Why not? “I really can’t comment without looking into it further.”

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The battle is not over! Even though the Orange County Board of Supervisors has acquiesced to Wal-Mart’s proposal, there is still time for the retailer to select an alternate location that will not disrupt this historical site.

According to Jim Lighthizer, President of the Civil War Preservation Trust, those who have been at odds with project are trying to stay positive.

“The ball is now in Wal-mart’s court,” he said. “It’s in the corporation’s best interest to work with the preservation community to find an alternative site. ...We are optimistic that company officials will see the wisdom of moving somewhere else.”

Linda Wheeler, a Washington Post blogger, fills us in on the details.

Preservationists Say Wal-Mart Battle Not Over:

The Orange County Board of Supervisors in Virginia voted 4-1 early this morning to approve a special use permit that will allow Wal-Mart to build a super center close to the National Park Service’s Wilderness Battlefield. In a statement released today, the Civil War Preservation Trust said the vote was a “setback for preservationists” but added, “this battle is not over yet.”

Trust president Jim Lighthizer called on Wal-Mart to reconsider its decision to build within the footprint of the Wilderness Battlefield, near Fredericksburg, pointing to what he called, “nationwide anger generated by its proposal.”

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They are back!

While Congress is away on August recess, The Washington Business Journal explores Wal-Mart’s progress towards building a store in our nation’s capital.

The company appears to be zeroing in on land along Howard Road SE, next to Poplar Point. Developer Jeff Epperson, president of Urban-City Ventures LLC, says his company is participating in ongoing discussions with Wal-Mart to bring its first store to the city.

Wal-Mart is searching for enough land to accommodate an 80,000 to 100,000-square-foot store, hoping to take advantage of cheaper land during the economic downturn.

According to Epperson, Wal-Mart’s plan for DC is clear:

“I know they’re toying with it. I think they want to get into urban markets, is what they tell me,” said Epperson, who purchased the land along with partner Richard Powell beginning in 2001. “It’s really just a matter of putting a 10 pound bag into a 5 pound box.”

Ha! There is no doubt that Wal-Mart would sand bag local business in Washington D.C. *ba dum tsss*

No but seriously folks, is it just me or does Epperson’s statement come across as a bit odd?

If Wal-Mart is eyeing a new store in Washington, D.C., then they sure aren’t trying to hide it. 

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Congratulations are in order to the residents of Miramar, FL who successfully defeated a Wal-Mart supercenter project. Wal-Mart acquired the property in 2005, but after fierce resistance from local residents, the project lost momentum. Read the story below for more details.

Miami Herald, 8/13/09

In the battle of the megastore and the homeowners, the residents won. Looking to build yet another 220,000-square-foot supercenter, Wal-Mart set its sights on 29 acres at Flamingo Road and Miramar Parkway. In 2005, it acquired the property for $10 million.

But then Miramar’s Monarch Lakes residents raised a storm, worried about traffic and congestion for an already bustling hub. The city commission, surprisingly to some, voted the project down—leading to a Wal-Mart lawsuit to overturn the vote.

But now the deal is officially dead. A judge has denied Wal-Mart’s appeal, and the company is listing the land, which has been upgraded since the purchase, for $19.6 million.

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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.”

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With Wal-Mart these days, the discussion tends to be about health care, labor and expensive PR. But there’s one thing that has never changed: Wal-Mart’s impact on local communities. In this article, originally posted at Battlemart, Al Norman tells us the frustrations of Deptford, NJ - which now has 10 different Wal-Mart’s within a 10 mile radius.

The Mayor of Deptford, New Jersey is unhappy with Wal-Mart’s superstore saturation of his community. This trade area is flooded with Wal-Mart---but it wasn’t always so. Sprawl-Busters reported on October 14, 2004, that residents in Deptford were celebrating a victory over Wal-Mart. The township had rejected a Wal-Mart proposal on a tract of land known as the old RCA site.

The retailer had proposed to build a Wal-Mart and a Sam’s Club along Route 41, but the Concerned Citizens of Deptford helped push that project off the tracks. Even in the middle of their victory, however, local residents were organizing to fight two additional Wal-Mart saturation plans. “We’re just going to get some more ducks in a row,” one CCD member was quoted as saying in the Philadelphia Inquirer. “They are not going to go away. We all know that. And we’re not going to go away, either.” The Deptford Planning Board buried the 2004 Wal-Mart proposal based on a zoning code that was only two days old, which changed the town’s Master Plan, and put a cap on the size of retail buildings at 100,000 s.f. Despite the 2004 victory, a long line of Wal-Marts was taking form. A third Wal-Mart was planned near Route 41 and 47.

“The battle continues,” Mike Campbell, a CCD leader, told the media 5 years ago. “We can’t be lulled into a false sense of security at this point. We’re going to have to continue to keep a close eye on this.” Five years later, the Courier Post reports this week that the new Wal-Mart being built is about 2 miles from Deptford’s other 24-hour Wal-Mart Supercenter at the Deptford Landing shopping center, and that store is less than 9 miles from a 24-hour Wal-Mart Supercenter in Washington Township. “When the new store in Deptford is done,” the newspaper reports, “there will be 10 Wal-Marts in an approximately 10-mile radius between Deptford and Burlington townships.”

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It seems that a few peaceful days can never go by in the nation’s premier Wal-Mart site fight in Orange County, Virginia.

Anyone who reads this blog knows about Wal-Mart’s plan to build on the Wilderness Battlefield in Virginia - one of the most storied places in Civil War history. It’s where Grant and Lee first met on the battlefield and where 160,00 Americans fought - and over 20,000 were killed or wounded.

Today could be another big day in the fight over the plan. AP reports that the Orange County planning commission will possibly vote tonight on a recommendation to the Orange County Board of Supervisors, who have the final say on the matter.

And as of yesterday, the planning commission will have some new opinions to take into account. Clint Schemmer reports in the Fredericksburg Free-Lance Star that the Virginia Department of Historic Resources has weighed in on the issue, advising the planners to fully address the concerns of the Park Service”

At the county’s request, VDHR advised Orange planners and the Board of Supervisors on the proposal in a seven-page letter sent Monday to County Attorney Sharon Pandak by Kathleen Kilpatrick, the department’s director. “In our considered judgment, the National Park Service’s concerns about the impact of the proposed development and the park should not be dismissed, but squarely addressed by the county, ideally in the context of a comprehensive planning approach,” Kilpatrick wrote.

Just yesterday the Free Lance-Star reported that Wal-Mart turned down other possible sites in the area, and is insisting that they build a store on the landmark.

It just doesn’t seem to make any sense, does it? For a company that has clearly become more PR-savvy in the past few years after a string of humiliating press scandals, is this one store worth it? Why continue to accumulate the bad headlines? This is a company that much of the general public already thinks has no respect for the communities and local businesses around its stores.

Either way, Mike Duke’s got himself a big mess on his hands - and it’s not going away any time soon.

We’ll watch for anything that happens tonight, and we’ll keep you posted.

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As you may have seen, last week we rolled out a new initiative to stop Wal-Mart’s plan to use the cover of recession to sneak in to Chicago, New York City, and Los Angeles.

Since then, supporters across the country have sent thousands of letters urging their local city council members to refuse to even discuss Wal-Mart development plans until the Employee Free Choice Act is passed to safeguard their communities. The WMW team would like to thank everybody who wrote in to their local elected officials.

Particularly strong in their effort were New Yorkers. One letter that was particularly articulate, passionate, and well reasoned was sent to by Bill Millard, a resident of NYC. Thanks to Bill for giving us permission to publish the letter in its entirety:

Dear Councilmember Mendez:

Greetings from St. Mark’s Place. I’ve recently read that the Wal-Mart corporation is trying to gain a foothold in the Union Square area. As a constituent living in the East Village, and as a local architecture writer who treasures the unique culture, heritage, and built environment of our city, I would like to urge you to use all available means to prevent that corporation from opening anywhere in New York. Not in Union Square, not in Brooklyn, not in Queens: nowhere in our city, please. Not now, not ever, not here… and not even if they swear on a stack of every major culture’s holy books that they’ll pull an ideological 180-degree turn and start supporting the Employee Free Choice Act. No matter what promises they make, Wal-Mart simply doesn’t belong in New York City.

With a disgraceful record of corporate behavior and a business model premised on exurban sprawl, automobile dependence, a work force with no better options, and a bland commercial monoculture, Wal-Mart represents everything ugly and mediocre and unjust about our nation, the exact opposite of the values that progressive Americans take pride in. Part of the case against Wal-Mart is simply economic: Wal-Mart destroys local economies, puts people out of work, damages local environments with auto traffic, degrades local pay-scale standards, treats workers like cattle, and evades its responsibilities as a major employer to provide its workers with decent health care. I’m sure you’ve heard the grim stories about workers locked into stores, mandatory work hours off the clock, petty efforts to claw back legal settlements from workers with health problems, exploitation of Chinese labor under conditions that border on slavery—all the things that make the Wal-Mart name stink worldwide. The “low prices” that Wal-Mart offers on its goods are no bargain at all: they merely shift the costs of its profiteering onto the people and places that have the least power to bear them.  (The necessary statistics and narratives on all this, as you’re probably already aware, are available at walmartwatch.com.)

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Wal-Mart, meet Mr. Holland.

Yesterday in D.C., the opposition to Wal-Mart’s plan to build on the historic Wilderness Civil War Battlefield gathered strength. The primary group leading the fight - the Civil War Preservation Trust - brought Richard Dreyfuss to a news conference in D.C to release its “History Under Siege” report and rally the troops behind battlefield preservation. The report, which was covered by major news outlets like CNN, names the 10 most threatened Civil War battlefield. The first battlefield out of CWPT President James Lighthizer mentioned at the conference was the Wilderness, in Orange County, Virginia.

The number of voices who argue that Wal-Mart should find somewhere else to build are steadily increasing.  They argue that construction of a Wal-Mart on a road right outside the Battlefield’s gates, would forever destroy the peaceful and relatively un-developed character of the place.

Among those who have now joined the fight versus Wal-Mart are the Vermont Legislature, a Republican congressman from Texas, 253 of the nation’s leading historians and a steady stream of locals (who write in to the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star nearly every day.)

For whatever reason, Wal-Mart hasn’t backed down to public pressure so far. But we do know that the company is ever-conscious about PR, and has got to be terrified of national headlines shouting its intent to desecrate a sacred piece of national history.

Here’s a hunch: if we keep the pressure on, we’re going to win this one.

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It’s official: Wal-Mart is trying to get back into Big Apple. Says the New York Post today:

The giant discount chain has shopped for space in Union Square and among the big-box stores along Sixth Avenue in Chelsea, The Post has learned.

Wal-Mart recently passed on a proposal by Related Companies for a two-level store of about 57,000 feet in Union Square where Virgin Megastores and Circuit City are closing, sources said.

The company’s real-estate scouts have also been roaming the area around 620 Sixth Ave., said the sources.

Wal-Mart spokesman Steven Restivo said the Union Square sites “were never under consideration.” But he said the company is “still interested” in opening stores in New York, despite strong political and union opposition.

But it won’t be without a fight from local politicians, citizens, and as of Monday - Mayoral candidates. That’s when the Wal-Mart-hatin’ Reverend Billy just declared his candidacy for Mayor of NYC. From a Gothamist interview with the Rev:

Wal-Mart tries to come here—well it’s a good thing for New Yorkers because we’re waking up in a city that’s been asleep and soon we’ll all be awake and Bentonville will never know what hit it. We need Wal-Mart to keep the knives of our conscience sharp. Wal-Mart is a war-mongering company—we call them WAR-Mart, since for election after election they showered Bush with money. They were the biggest donor to Republicans through several election cycles. Their union-busting is famous, of course—the red phone in the middle of the store that workers are supposed to pick up and spy on any possible organizing. Come on, Wal-Mart in New York City? DEVIL GET THEE BEHIND ME! As Mayor, I will take that company to the LAKE OF HELLFIRE!

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Wal-Mart’s recession power play is no joke. Wal-Mart is one of the only company’s with a strong hand right now, and it clearly plans to play it aggressively.

In a matter of weeks, Wal-Mart has revealed intentions to use the recession to move in to virtually every untapped urban market in the U.S. First it was Chicago, which was shocking enough - given that the company was just handed a major defeat only months earlier. Then it was New York, although that plan still appears to be mostly speculation. Now the Los Angeles Times profiles the very real plan to move a Wal-Mart in to Central L.A., despite the understanding by project proponents that it would put dozens of local retailers out of business.

Unlike other major urban centers, Los Angeles hasn’t entirely resisted Wal-Mart. As you can see from the map above, Wal-Mart has a good number of stores surrounding the city - but hasn’t yet tapped the millions living in Central L.A. Clearly Mike Duke and company, as well as some number of Angelenos - think that the recession is a good time to change that.

We certainly won’t be keeping quiet about Bentonville’s designs on American’s great Wal-Mart-free urban frontiers. And we’re on watch here in D.C. to here any Wal-Mart plans to move into our neck of the woods.

Inviting a Wal-Mart into Florence-Firestone [Los Angeles Times]:

The little tortilleriatortilleria, hidden away in the Florence-Firestone neighborhood near Watts, could be mistaken for a thousand others in the city’s immigrant core. It’s on a mostly residential stretch of Nadeau Street, a few blocks removed from commercial corridors where the buildings that look newer than others nearby are the ones that were rebuilt after the 1992 riots.

Playa Azul is a family business, and pork is the house specialty. The front door is just past a brick wall covered with a large mural in which a cartoon pig looks happy as can be, which is odd because he’s sitting in a tub of cooking oil and will, presumably, be reduced to chicharrones by the end of day.

Inside, Maria Hernandez was in the corner of the muggy kitchen, hand-pressing corn tortillas, one at a time, on an old wooden press brought from Mexico. She has made 300 tortillas a morning this way for 10 years, except on Sundays. Across the room, the market’s owner, Jose Gomez, 58, grimaced and leaned into his long knife while slicing huge pork bellies into fatty strips.

The place was humming, as it has been for half a century. That’s when a man walked in the door with an unlikely plan—so unlikely, in fact, that some around here have equated it to dealing with the devil.

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Al Norman takes a good look at the Wal-Mart saga in Marion County, South Carolina. Originally posted on Battlemart.

The night sky will soon be returning to Mullins, South Carolina. Actually, the stars might not be visible, but the lights should be turned down lower at midnight, now that Wal-Mart has announced that superstore #1869 will close from midnight to 6 am. The decision takes effect on March 13th, and Wal-Mart’s website still lists the store at 305 Commerce Drive in Mullins as open 24 hours. According to a company spokesperson, the overnight shift of workers will be absorbed into the store’s other shifts during its new operating hours. No one will lose their job, but store Manager Willie Holland refused o answer any questions from South Carolina News about the why the hours were cutback as his supercenter. A sign posted on the doors to the store tell customers that the new hours will change in mid-March.

In October of 2007, the Mullins store was reopened as a superstore. The location for 15 years had been a Wal-Mart discount store with few groceries. When Wal-Mart expanded the store, it said 100 jobs were added, making the grand total 250 jobs. The superstore opened on October 24, 2007. In announcing the new store, Wal-Mart said: “After more than 15 years of serving the community as a discount store, residents will now find groceries, general merchandise and time-saving services in one convenient location. Located at 305 Commerce Drive, the new store was painted in a color palette complementary to the area. “This is an exciting time for our associates,” said Store Manager Jason Eudy, who is no longer the store manager. “We’ve all been working hard to prepare the store for
opening and are looking forward to serving our customers in Marion County with the conveniences, savings, selection and services that a Supercenter
provides.” The 153,430-square-foot Supercenter features a full line of groceries including bakery goods, frozen foods, meat and dairy products, fresh produce and a variety of organic offerings. Additional store features include a Tire & Lube Express, a family fun center, a one-hour photo lab, pharmacy and a Wal-Mart Connect Center for wireless phone sales. Leased areas and services include a SmartStyle Family Hair Salon, a branch of Woodforest National Bank and a Subway restaurant. “The store will be open to customers 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” Wal-Mart boasted.

Now, less than a year and a half later, Wal-Mart is shutting down its overnight hours. There is only one reason why Wal-Mart would close down at night: business has not been as robust as the company expected. But corporate headquarters is not about to shed any light on why this Wal-Mart went dark.

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Despite being shut out of Chicago after years of attempts to crack the windy city, Wal-Mart is back at it again. A report from the Chicago Tribune today tells us that the company is in talks to get “as many as five” stores approved for Chicago - citing “the need for new investment to boost the sagging local economy.”

Al Norman’s post below is cross-posted on the Battlmart Blog

Wal-Mart would not comment publicly on this story---but they’ve clearly been talking to the politicians behind the scenes. The Chicago Tribune reports today that the giant retailer wants to give its one store in the windy city some company. Despite the stiff winds that have blown against them, Wal-Mart management is trying to fly in below the O’Hare radar.

On May 11, 2008, Sprawl-Busters reported that Wal-Mart had decided to abandon efforts to locate a store on the South Side of Chicago, and that the corporation was “turning its attention to a backup plan of opening stores just outside city limits.” The Tribune reported that Chicago Mayor Richard Daley had advised Wal-Mart that he didn’t want controversial headlines about Wal-Mart battles in his city while his Administration pursues an effort to host the 2016 Olympics in Chicago. That decision won’t be made by the Olympic Committee until the fall of 2009. If true, that put a strangle hold on any Wal-Mart projects. In March of 2008, city officials denied Wal-Mart’s request to build a 150,000 s.f. store in the huge Chatham Market project, which spreads out over 50 acres on the site of a former steel plant, with a total of 418,000 s.f. of retail space.

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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.

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After a stinging loss to the Chicago Bears in 2006, coach Dennis Green flipped out at a post game press conference and uttered the now famous phrase “we are who we thought they were!” In other words, the Arizona Cardinals were prepared for the game and understood the other team’s flaws, but failed to capitalize on them. This quote reminds me of the many site fights around the country. Residents understand what Wal-Mart brings to the table before they get a store, yet are still surprised by some of the negative aspects after they get it. Despite what Wal-Mart says during the planning process, a supercenter will bring more traffic, more crime, and small business destruction.

Wal-Mart did not have an easy time building a supercenter in American Canyon. Finally, in late September 2007, a Wal-Mart supercenter opened, replacing another location in Vallejo, which had been open for 16 years. After one year of service at the new location, the supercenter is getting mixed reviews according to the Times-Herald. While Wal-Mart supporters and some local business leaders welcome the creation of good jobs and tax revenue, Wal-Mart critics feel the store

“...has hurt the area in the last year mostly by increasing already heavy traffic, and boosting crime.” Joel Feller, who also fought a Wal-Mart super store in Vallejo, goes on to say that “The store has had a profoundly negative impact on the regional economy for a couple hundred in sales tax revenues.”

To be fair, some residents are happy with the new Wal-Mart supercenter. They point to sales tax figures and the convenience of one-stop shopping; however, Wal-Mart’s growth is not without consequences. As Stacy Mitchell points out in her paper “Major Flaws Uncovered in Study Claiming Wal-Mart Has Not Harmed Small Business,” Wal-Mart will do more harm than good to a community in the long run. Also, don’t forget Wal-Mart’s use of subsidies and Medicaid as a way to drain funds from a local community.

For the latest story, see the Times-Herald:

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It’s a classic battle plan, really.

First you open your coffers to buy a little love from the locals. Then you slowly solidify a ring of fortresses around the city, including a strategic outpost at the Wilderness Battlefield in Fredericksburg, VA. Next you ride up to Fairfax in the night, swift and silent with your new secret weapon, and seize the western flank. Then all that’s left for Lee Scott is the final move, the death blow: sound the war horn and ride in from the Beltway right straight at the heart of the nation’s capitol. When you’re done and the smoke has cleared, it’s checkmate: hang a blue vest on the Washington Monument, you’ve conquered D.C.

That or just driven it into the Chesapeake Bay, but either way you’ve got what you want: no more pesky labor reforms, no more outspoken politicians or nonprofits, and no more union bosses telling you to raise your wages.

And, oh, the stores you can open.

The Washington Business Journal tells us this past weekend that Wal-Mart is planning a new store in Fairfax County, VA. It’s already got a handful of stores in the D.C. metro area (including one already in Fairfax.) The Journal tells us this one doesn’t look like your everyday Wal-Mart - it could be the secret weapon, indeed. In fact, it could be a new store-prototype altogether:

Under the plan, Wal-Mart would occupy 80,000 square feet, Chuck E. Cheese would be relocated to the north end of the property and a 10,000-square-foot space in between would be leased to a future tenant. The Wal-Mart would be a new concept for the company, made up of 50 percent grocery offerings and including sustainable building elements such as skylights and a reflective roof.

Make no doubt about it: Wal-Mart wants D.C. It’s been shut out of Chicago, and doesn’t stand much of a chance in New York any time soon. D.C. offers millions of potential of untapped customers, and Wal-Mart wants them so bad it can taste it.

Be ready, D.C.’ers - we may have a new General in town, but the fight is just beginning…

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Today the Civil War Preservation Trust rolled out a letter to Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott, signed by 253 historians, urging the company not to build a supercenter across the street from the Wilderness Civil War Battlefield in Central Virginia. The CWPT brought in some big-timers, too - including David McCullough and Ken Burns - arguably the nation’s most prominent history writer and documentary filmmaker, respectively. 

Wal-Mart finally submitted its application for a special building permit this week, so the site fight has officially begun. And don’t look for it to quiet down anytime soon. DC media has picked up the story, and we know that the CWPT isn’t going to let up any time soon.

This morning, stories on the letter ran in the Fredericksburg Free-Lance Star and in Associated Press.

Read the full letter and full list of signees here.

Dear Mr. Scott:

I urge you in the strongest possible terms to pursue alternate building locations for the Walmart Supercenter proposed in Orange County, Virginia. The site currently under consideration lies within the historic boundary of the Wilderness Battlefield and only one quarter mile from the current boundary of the Wilderness Battlefield unit of Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park.

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.

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After a great story ran yesterday on the front page of the the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star (to your right), a few local D.C. news stations have run our ‘Wilderness Wal-Mart’ video on air.

If you haven’t read about it here before, Wal-Mart is forging ahead with its plan to build a 148,000 square foot supercenter directly adjacent to the federally-protected Wilderness Civil War Battlefield in Central Virginia - where Generals Grant and Lee met for the first time in battle, and where there were 29,800 estimated American casualties.

Some are expecting Wal-Mart to file the application before the 1st of the year, and some shortly after. But what we definitely know is: Wal-Mart wants to build. The company has been asked repeatedly by media about the controversial plan, and has consistently said that it is pushing forward despite any and all opposition.

But the controversy isn’t going anywhere. The Civil War Preservation Trust is leading the charge against the plan, and has enlisted other groups like the National Trust for Historic Preservation, National Parks Conservation Association and Piedmont Environmental Council to join the fight as well. And media coverage in the nation’s capital won’t make it any easier.

WJLA-7 in D.C. went out to the battlefield yesterday and briefly interviewed Craig Rains, who lives nearby and is a member of the Friends of the Wilderness Battlefield:

NBC-4 in D.C. went down the battlefield as well, see the video here:

Watch the full Wal-Mart Watch video featuring Generals Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee uniting to oppose the ‘Wilderness Wal-Mart’ here.

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Some site fights bubble and brew for years before erupting. Others seem to just appear overnight, and explode spontaneously. The controversy in Brooklyn is definitely one of the latter.

Brooklyn is a small town of 7,900 in Northeast Connecticut - the “quiet corner” of the state. Residents were stunned on October 22nd when they were informed on WINY radio that a Wal-Mart supercenter was coming to town, and further shocked when First Selectman Robert Engle told residents that the 158,000 square foot project on Route 6 was a ‘done deal.’ Unfortunately, Wal-Mart and Mr. Engle forgot to ask town residents what they thought.

Residents all over Brooklyn were shocked, and have been speaking out about the project and flooding city meetings over the issue.

Local resident Jeff Arends told the Norwich Bulletin:

“I was devastated when I heard that Wal-Mart wanted to come to Brooklyn. I think Wal-Mart is going to destroy our small businesses. It’s just going to drive a stake into them.”

A reader from Brooklyn wrote in to us:

It is has recently been divulged that town officials have quietly been making plans to accommodate the construction of a 24 hour Wal-Mart Super Center on Route 6 in our little agricultural town. Residents were shocked to hear this news as there has been very little public information about such a radical change to our neighborhood. We feel that this project – a 150,000 to 200,000 square foot building is out of portion to the size of Brooklyn with its 7,800 residents. We’ve formed a grassroots group called Brooklyn For Sensible Growth.

Check out the group’s website here - it seems very well organized.

Wal-Mart just formally submitted its application to build a store, but the city still must fully approve it - and there’s still time for residents to speak out against it.

TAKE ACTION NOW!

Send an email to First Selectman Robert Engle and Sherry Soucy - Chairwoman of the Inland Wetlands Commission, which holds a meeting over the Wal-Mart project on December 9th.

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Some insights from the ”China Entrepreneur”:

Wal-Mart China’s chairman Chen Yaochang’s confirmed that in 2007 Wal-Mart opened 30 stores in China (50 were originally planned).  In 2008, only 15 stores have opened for business.
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“These past two years, Wal-Mart has really ran into many obstacles,” a business insider told the “China Entrepreneur”.  The number of Wal-Mart’s waiting to open for business in China are not few.  A Wal-Mart store in Quanzhou, Fujian is but one example. 
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In Fujian, Xiamen; Jiangxi, Jiujiang; Hunan, Yiyang; Shandong, Weifang; Hubei, Jingzhou, etc. there all exists similar circumstances of Wal-Mart stores waiting to open.  A Wal-Mart spokesperson confirmed this, but refused to supply exact details about how many Wal-Mart’s are unable to open on schedule.
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It seems that the greatest cause of Wal-Mart being unable to open stores is that Wal-Mart has been unable to gain the approval of the Department of Trade, as well as China’s domestic retail’s tenacious resistance.
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Department of trade specialist, professor Huang Guoxiong from Renmin University, said that in Xiamen, Wal-Mart’s two stores have not received the approval of the Department of Trade mainly because Xiamen’s retail business is 80% foreign investment.  This certainly needs the Department of Trade’s macro-control.  At the same time, the locations of these two stores do not match up with the business network’s plan.  One of the stores is only 200 meters away from Wal-Mart’s already opened store in the World Trade plaza.  The other store is only separated from Wal-Mart owned Trustmart by one block.