Back to top Jump to featured resources

Viewing all content from Stacy Mitchell Page 34 of 46

About Stacy Mitchell

Stacy Mitchell is a senior researcher with the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, where she directs initiatives on independent business and community banking. She is the author of Big-Box Swindle and also produces a popular monthly newsletter, the Hometown Advantage Bulletin.  Connect with her on twitter and catch her recent TEDx Talk: Why We Can’t Shop Our Way to a Better Economy. More

Contact Stacy   |   View all articles by Stacy Mitchell

Article filed under Independent Business | Written by Stacy Mitchell | No Comments | Updated on Apr 1, 2004

Peterborough Residents Nix Stop & Shop Superstore

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/peterborough-residents-nix-stop-shop-superstore/

By a 2-to-1 margin, residents of Peterborough, New Hampshire, voted to reject a plan to build a giant Stop & Shop superstore on the outskirts of town. Peterborough is a community of 6,000 people about an hour west of Manchester.

"We’re a small, closely knit town with strong affection for our local merchants," said Jane LaPointe, one of several residents who spoke out against the development and distributed information on the impacts of big box stores in the weeks leading up to the vote.

Continue reading

Article filed under Independent Business | Written by Stacy Mitchell | No Comments | Updated on Apr 1, 2004

Albany County Declines Wal-Mart Donation

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/albany-county-declines-walmart-donation/

 

Citing Wal-Mart’s failure to provide a decent wage and health benefits for most of its employees, the Albany (New York) County Legislature voted in March to decline a $1,000 donation from the corporation. Continue reading

Article filed under Independent Business | Written by Stacy Mitchell | No Comments | Updated on Apr 1, 2004

Community-Owned Stores Provide Alternative to Chains

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/communityowned-stores-provide-alternative-chains/

RKG concluded that Middlebury consumers are spending nearly $7 million elsewhere each year and recommended that the city stem the leakage by enticing Wal-Mart to build a supercenter. But many Middlebury residents refuse to accept the inevitability of the low-wage retailing giant. They have their own ideas about solving Middlebury’s dilemma. They want to open a community-owned department store in the center of town. Continue reading

Article filed under Independent Business | Written by Stacy Mitchell | No Comments | Updated on Apr 1, 2004

Corvallis Business Alliance Urges Residents to Shop Locally

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/corvallis-business-alliance-urges-residents-shop-locally/

 

Three years ago, after learning that Borders Books & Music planned to open an outlet in Corvallis, Oregon, Jack Wolcott, who has owned a local bookstore, Grass Roots Books & Music, for more than thirty years, contacted Bob Baird of The Book Bin and several other local business owners whose stores were likely to be affected by the chain. They began meeting, at first discussing a possible legal challenge to Borders and ultimately deciding instead to organize local businesses and launch a public education effort. Continue reading

Article filed under Independent Business | Written by Stacy Mitchell | No Comments | Updated on Feb 1, 2004

Brattleboro Group Urges Residents to Support Local Merchants

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/brattleboro-group-urges-residents-support-local-merchants/

Last year when Home Depot announced that it would open in a former Ames department store building in Brattleboro, Vermont, a group of residents organized a campaign urging people to avoid the store and continue supporting their hometown merchants.

The group, BrattPower: Supporting Our Local Economy, gathered 3,200 petition signatures in this town of 12,000, organized a community forum, and began running radio and newspaper ads outlining the hidden costs of large chain stores and the benefits of locally owned businesses.

Continue reading

Article filed under Independent Business | Written by Stacy Mitchell | No Comments | Updated on Feb 1, 2004

Local-Only Shopping Day Boosts Austin Business Alliance

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/localonly-shopping-day-boosts-austin-business-alliance/

Austin residents responded enthusiastically to a call by independent retailers to shop exclusively at locally owned businesses on Saturday, November 15. The one-day event, called Austin Unchained, was organized by the Austin Independent Business Alliance (AIBA) and was promoted through posters, tee-shirts, and flyers distributed throughout the city.

Continue reading

Article filed under Independent Business | Written by Stacy Mitchell | No Comments | Updated on Feb 1, 2004

Santa Fe Alliance Releases Independent Business Study

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/santa-fe-alliance-releases-independent-business-study/

Chains are multiplying much faster than locally owned businesses in Santa Fe, New Mexico, according to a new study commissioned by the Santa Fe Independent Business & Community Alliance (SFIBCA). The study concludes that the decline of independent retailers is eroding Santa Fe’s distinctive character and undermining its economy.

The study was conducted by Angelou Economics, a consulting firm based in Austin, Texas, that helps cities draft and implement economic development plans.

Continue reading

Article filed under Independent Business | Written by Stacy Mitchell | No Comments | Updated on Feb 1, 2004

Tuolumne County Caps the Size of Retail Stores

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/tuolumne-county-caps-size-retail-stores/

Before a standing-room-only crowd, the Tuolumne County, California, Board of Supervisors voted unanimously in January to ban retail outlets over 60,000 square feet, about half the size of the average Home Depot store.

The vote came after several months of review and more than two hours of public testimony in which residents overwhelmingly endorsed the measure. "Towns that have resisted the boxes have a vital diverse downtown business climate," one resident told the board.

Continue reading

Article filed under Independent Business | Written by Stacy Mitchell | No Comments | Updated on Feb 1, 2004

Vermont Governor Proposes Closing Tax Loophole that Favors Chains

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/vermont-governor-proposes-closing-tax-loophole-favors-chains/

In his State of the State address, Vermont Governor James Douglas proposed closing a tax loophole that gives national chains an advantage over local businesses. The loophole allows multi-state corporations to shift income made in the state to subsidiaries in low- or no-tax states like Delaware and Nevada, thereby evading Vermont corporate income taxes.

Continue reading

filed under General | Written by Stacy Mitchell | No Comments | Updated on Jan 13, 2004

Wal-Mart’s False Plays at Ignorance

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/walmarts-false-plays-ignorance-2/

In the Wal-Mart economy, where an inexhaustible supply of cheap consumer goods has become more important than family wages for American workers, it should come as little surprise that a company which is known for its ability to track the sale of products down to the penny across a far-flung empire, would plead ignorance when accused of violating labor laws.

After courts in California and Minnesota granted class-action status to two separate lawsuits alleging that the company routinely forced its employees to work extra hours without pay, Wal-Mart spokesperson Sarah Clark said "We have no reason to believe that these isolated situations. . . represent a widespread problem with off-the-clock work."

Continue reading