Back to top Jump to featured resources

Viewing all content from admin Page 21 of 47

Article filed under Independent Business | Written by admin | No Comments | Updated on Dec 15, 2004

California court voids approvals for two big-box projects

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/california-court-voids-approvals-two-bigbox-projects/

In a ruling that could have broad implications, a California appeals court this week nullified zoning approvals given to two big-box shopping centers by the city of Bakersfield. The court held that the environmental impact reports (EIRs) prepared for the projects were insufficient and did not adequately address the potential for urban decay and associated ecological effects that could be caused by extensive new retail development.

The ruling orders the city to complete new impact studies and public hearings, and reconsider the projects.

Continue reading

Article filed under Independent Business | Written by admin | No Comments | Updated on Nov 23, 2004

Shoppers Urged to Break Free of Chains

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/shoppers-urged-break-free-chains/

Independent businesses in two dozen cites joined forces to urge residents to "unchain" themselves on Saturday, November 20, by patronizing only locally owned stores and restaurants that day.

The event, dubbed America Unchained, was organized by the American Independent Business Alliance (AMIBA). The goal, according to AMIBA’s director Jennifer Rockne, was to broaden awareness of the local economic benefit of choosing to shop at locally owned businesses instead of chains.

Continue reading

Article filed under Independent Business | Written by admin | No Comments | Updated on Nov 9, 2004

Big-Box Ballot Initiatives: Wins & Losses

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/bigbox-ballot-initiatives-wins-losses/

Voters in Hudson, Ohio—a community of 23,000 people thirty miles southeast of Cleveland—overwhelmingly rejected a ballot initiative that would have opened the way for big-box stores and allowed developers to skirt the town’s development review process.

"We are ecstatic," said Liz Murphy, owner of the Learned Owl bookstore and member of Smart Growth Hudson, a citizens group that formed to defeat the initiative.

Continue reading

Article filed under Independent Business | Written by admin | No Comments | Updated on Nov 9, 2004

California Lawmakers Seek to Drop Wal-Mart Stock from State Pension Fund

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/california-lawmakers-seek-drop-walmart-stock-state-pension-fund/

A group of California state lawmakers, led by Assemblywoman Sally Lieber, are calling for the legislature to require that the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) sell its 18.8 million shares of Wal-Mart stock, valued at about $1 billion.

"The Legislature needs to take a close look at how we put our money behind our values," Lieber told the Associated Press. "Wal-Mart is making a big push to expand in many areas of our state.

Continue reading

Article filed under Independent Business | Written by admin | No Comments | Updated on Oct 29, 2004

Wal-Mart Hinders Poverty Reduction, Study Finds

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/walmart-hinders-poverty-reduction-study-finds/

Counties that gained Wal-Mart stores during the 1990s fared worse in terms of family poverty rates than those that did not, according to a new study by researchers at Penn State’s Center for Economic and Community Development.

Wal-Mart often characterizes its stores as beneficial to the working poor.

Continue reading

Article filed under Independent Business | Written by admin | No Comments | Updated on Oct 21, 2004

Independent Businesses Produce Bigger Economic Benefits, Study Concludes

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/independent-businesses-produce-bigger-economic-benefits-study-concludes/

Chicago’s locally owned businesses generate 70 percent more local economic impact per square foot than chain stores, according to a new study.

The study, conducted by the firm Civic Economics, analyzed ten locally owned restaurants, retail stores, and service providers in the Andersonville neighborhood on Chicago’s north side and compared them with ten national chains competing in the same categories.

Continue reading

Article filed under Independent Business | Written by admin | No Comments | Updated on Sep 16, 2004

National Survey to Assess Spread of “Clone Towns” Across Britain

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/national-survey-assess-spread-clone-towns-across-britain/

In a new report titled "Clone Town Britain," the London-based New Economics Foundation warns that the country’s town centers are rapidly being overrun by chain stores. "Retail spaces once filled with independent butchers, newsagents, tobacconists, pubs, book shops, greengrocers and family-owned general stores are becoming filled with supermarket retailers, fast-food chains, and global fashion outlets," the report says.

Continue reading

Article filed under Independent Business | Written by admin | No Comments | Updated on Aug 17, 2004

Los Angeles Requires Economic Impact Studies for Supercenters

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/los-angeles-requires-economic-impact-studies-supercenters/

After months of debate on the consequences of big-box development, the Los Angeles City Council this month enacted a law that requires supercenters to undergo an economic impact analysis before being approved.

The law applies to retail stores larger than 100,000 square feet that devote more than 10 percent of their floor space to food and that are seeking to locate in economic assistance zones.

Continue reading

Article filed under Independent Business | Written by admin | No Comments | Updated on Aug 16, 2004

Maryland County Mandates Smaller Stores

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/maryland-county-mandates-smaller-stores/

Calvert County, Maryland, has enacted regulations limiting retail stores to 120,000 square feet in the town of Prince Frederick, 75,000 square feet in three other towns, and 25,000 square feet in the rest of the county.

The regulations block Wal-Mart’s plans to double the size of its 97,000-square-foot Prince Frederick store, the only Wal-Mart in the county, and to build a new supercenter in the town of Dunkirk.

Continue reading

Article filed under Independent Business | Written by admin | No Comments | Updated on Aug 9, 2004

Vermont Closes Chain Store Tax Loophole

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/vermont-closes-chain-store-tax-loophole/

In May, Vermont became the seventeenth state in the nation to close a loophole that major chain retailers are using to evade paying state income taxes.

The loophole allows multi-state corporations to shift income made at stores in Vermont to subsidiaries in low- or no-tax states like Delaware and Nevada. Income shifted in this manner, although earned in Vermont, is not subject to the state’s corporate income tax.

Continue reading