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Article filed under Independent Business | Written by admin | No Comments | Updated on Nov 1, 2003

Big Box Wins and Losses on Election Day

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/big-box-wins-and-losses-election-day/

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.

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Article filed under Waste to Wealth | Written by admin | No Comments | Updated on Oct 1, 2003

The New Recycling Movement: Part 2. Recycling as Necessary But Not Sufficient for a Sustainable Industrial Economy

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/the-new-recycling-movement-part-2-recycling-as-necessary-but-not-sufficient-for-a-sustainable-industrial-economy/

Recycling, composting and waste reduction have been a basic precept of sustainability . It is essential for a sustainable industrial economy. Continue reading

Article filed under Waste to Wealth | Written by admin | No Comments | Updated on Oct 1, 2003

The New Recycling Movement: Part 1. Recycling Changes to Meet New Challenges

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/the-new-recylcing-movement-part-1-recycling-changes-to-meet-new-challenges/

When we think of great popular movements of the last century, the labor movement, the civil rights movement, the anti-war movement, and the women’s rights movement quickly come to mind. The recycling movement deserves to be added to this illustrious list, for it may be the largest multi-ethnic, multi-class, and multi-generation movement in American history. Continue reading

filed under General | Written by admin | No Comments | Updated on Sep 8, 2003

Mad in the USA

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/mad-usa/

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."

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Article filed under Independent Business | Written by admin | No Comments | Updated on Sep 1, 2003

San Francisco Weighs Restrictions on ‘Formula’ Businesses

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/san-francisco-weighs-restrictions-formula-businesses/

San Francisco Board of Supervisors President Matt Gonzalez has introduced legislation requiring that neighbors be notified whenever a formula retail store or restaurant seeks to open in their neighborhood. Residents would have the option of requesting a public hearing and formal review by the Planning Commission. Continue reading

Article filed under Independent Business | Written by admin | No Comments | Updated on Sep 1, 2003

Homer, Alaska, Bans Big Box Stores

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/homer-alaska-bans-big-box-stores/

The town of Homer, Alaska, has capped retail store sizes at no more than 20,000 square feet in its central business district and 40,000 square feet in other commercial areas. The measure will remain in effect until the Planning Commission implements permanent regulations setting impact standards and size limits for large-scale retail, expected within six months. Continue reading

Article filed under Independent Business | Written by admin | No Comments | Updated on Sep 1, 2003

Controversial Mall will not Boost Jobs or Revenue, Study Concludes

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/controversial-mall-will-not-boost-jobs-or-revenue-study-concludes/

Developers of a massive shopping center in Leominster, Massachusetts, claim the project will create 869 new jobs and boost the city’s property tax revenue by $400,000 annually.

But a study by a nationally recognized land use economist has found that the development will destroy about as many jobs as it creates and provide the city with only $51,000 in additional revenue. To put that into perspective, if the new revenue were used to cut residential property taxes, each of the city’s 17,000 households would save just $3 annually.

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Article filed under Independent Business | Written by admin | 1 Comment | Updated on Sep 1, 2003

Radio Stations Refuse to Pull Anti-Wal-Mart Ads

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/radio-stations-refuse-pull-antiwalmart-ads/

Five radio stations in St. Louis are refusing Wal-Mart’s demand that they pull ads critical of the company’s labor practices. The ads, sponsored by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 655, discuss working conditions, wages, and lack of health care at Wal-Mart stores. Wal-Mart claims the ads are false and misleading, but the UFCW stands behind their accuracy. Continue reading

Article filed under Independent Business | Written by admin | No Comments | Updated on Sep 1, 2003

Wal-Mart Distribution Centers Capture $150 Million in Subsidies

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/walmart-distribution-centers-capture-150-million-subsidies/

Since the 1980s, Wal-Mart has received at least $150 million in local, state, and federal subsidies to build 47 distribution centers in 32 states, according to a study by The Palm Beach Post.

Onlythose subsidies that have been quantified in published reports were counted. "That number likely grows by tens of millions when unquantified breaks, such as government bond financing for construction, and ongoing breaks, such as those given to businesses in enterprise zones, are included," the newspaper notes.

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Article filed under Independent Business | Written by admin | No Comments | Updated on Sep 1, 2003

Small Manufacturers Denounce Big Retailers

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/small-manufacturers-denounce-big-retailers/

Big retailers are increasingly coming under fire from small and mid-sized manufacturers. Last month, more than 1,000 employees and owners of small manufacturing firms attended a rally in Connecticut to denounce Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Target, and other chains for forcing large manufacturers to move their factories to China. Continue reading