1 Nov 2003

Austin Coalition Forces Wal-Mart Retreat, City Agrees to Big Box Study

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Faced with strong opposition from a broad array of organizations and residents, Wal-Mart has abandoned plans to build a 24-hour supercenter on an ecologically sensitive site in southwest Austin. The 43-acre wooded tract sits over the Edwards Aquifer, the largest underground reservoir in Texas. It feeds Barton Springs and supplies drinking water to thousands of people. Initially, opposition to Wal-Mart centered on its choice of location and the impact polluted parking lot runoff would have on the aquifer. … Read More
1 Nov 2003

California Communities Embroiled in Supercenter Debates

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Voters in Contra Costa County, California, will decide in March whether to keep a law banning supercenters from unincorporated areas in the county. Contra Costa County is home to about one million people and lies east of the San Francisco Bay area. The law, which was approved unanimously by the County Board of Supervisors in June, prohibits stores over 90,000 square feet that devote more than five percent of their floor space to groceries. … Read More
1 Nov 2003

Big Box Wins and Losses on Election Day

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Voters in Lakeway, Texas, about 20 miles west of Austin, overwhelmingly rejected a resolution to allow the construction of a 48-acre shopping center anchored by a 184,00-square-foot Wal-Mart store. The election drew the largest turnout in Lakeway history with residents voting 1,880 to 749 to block the development by retaining the town’s current 100,000-square-foot size limit on retail stores. The city council had earlier voted to lift the size cap and grant preliminary approval to the project. … Read More
1 Nov 2003

Alabama Citizens Sue to Block Wal-Mart Giveaways

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Owners of a small business in Birmingham, Alabama, near the site of a proposed Wal-Mart supercenter, have filed suit against the city for giving the retailing giant a $10 million subsidy. Southeast Meats of Pelham, in operation for over two decades, contends the handout gives Wal-Mart an unfair advantage. The suit also asserts that the city improperly threatened to use eminent domain to force owners of the Wal-Mart property to sell.… Read More
1 Nov 2003

Austin Retailers Urge Shoppers to Ditch Chains for a Day

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Independent retailers in Austin, Texas, are calling on local residents to break the chain store habit by shopping exclusively at locally owned businesses on Saturday, November 15. The one-day event—known as Austin Unchained—is being organized by the Austin Independent Business Alliance (AIBA), a association of some 200 locally owned businesses. The group is promoting Austin Unchained through tee-shirts, flyers, and posters. … Read More
1 Nov 2003

Consumer Reports Gives Top Ranking to Independent Pharmacies

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An article in the October 2003 issue of Consumer Reports opens with the following recommendation: "If you’re among the 47 percent of Americans who get medicine from drugstore giants such as CVS, Eckerd, and Rite Aid, here’s a prescription: Try shopping somewhere else. The best place to start looking is one of the 25,000 independent pharmacies that are making a comeback throughout the U.S." The article highlights the results of a year-long survey of more than 32,000 readers about their drugstore experiences.… Read More

10 Reasons Why Vermont's Homegrown Economy Matters
1 Oct 2003

10 Reasons Why Vermont’s Homegrown Economy Matters: And 50 Proven Ways to Revive It

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This report, a collaboration between the Institute of Local Self-Reliance and The Preservation Trust of Vermont, outlines why locally owned businesses matter and provides practical ways to build a homegrown economy. Most strategies are applicable anywhere, not just Vermont.… Read More
8 Sep 2003

Mad in the USA

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Wal-Mart and its ilk are muscling small businesses aside. But mom and pop are mad as hell and they’re not going to take it anymore. More than 1,000 people attended a rally a few weeks ago in Connecticut to demand fair trade and denounce the sweatshop buying habits of big retailers like Wal-Mart. The speakers were passionate, the crowd pumped. But this rally differed from the usual fair trade gatherings in one key respect: It was not organized by labor, student, or environmental groups. It was organized by an alliance of small and mid-sized manufacturers. "The major retailers and big manufacturers are doing us in," explained rally-organizer Fred Tedesco, owner of Pa-Ted Spring Co. in Bristol. "They’re destroying small- and medium-sized businesses. They’re destroying jobs. They’re destroying the middle class. . . That’s the dirty secret of this whole thing." … Read More

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