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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.

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Article filed under Independent Business | Written by Stacy Mitchell | No Comments | Updated on Dec 8, 2004

New Jersey Considers Regional Impact Studies for Big-Box Stores

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/new-jersey-considers-regional-impact-studies-bigbox-stores/

Lawmakers in New Jersey have proposed legislation that would require communities to weigh the regional economic impact of proposed big-box stores before granting approval.

As drafted, the law would apply to stores over 130,000 square feet that sell at least 25,000 items with a minimum of ten percent of their revenue in nontaxable groceries. The measure would therefore cover Wal-Mart, Target, and Kmart supercenters, but would not affect big-box stores that do not sell groceries, such as Home Depot and Staples.

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Article filed under Independent Business | Written by Stacy Mitchell | No Comments | Updated on Dec 6, 2004

Contract Talks Underway at Wal-Mart’s Only Unionized Store

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/contract-talks-underway-walmarts-only-unionized-store/

Negotiations that could lead to the first union contract at any of Wal-Mart’s 5,000 stores worldwide began last week in Jonquiere, a town about 250 miles north of Quebec City in Canada. 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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Article filed under Independent Business | Written by Stacy Mitchell | No Comments | Updated on Oct 8, 2004

Austin Study Says City Pays Price for Big-Boxes

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/austin-study-says-city-pays-price-bigboxes/

A coalition of organizations in Austin, Texas, released a report this week that concludes that big-box retailers impose significant costs on the community. It recommends that the city scrutinize big-box projects more thoroughly and adopt a long-range plan to strengthen locally owned businesses.

The report reviews and refutes several of the findings of another big-box study commissioned by the city and released in June.

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Article filed under Independent Business | Written by Stacy Mitchell | No Comments | Updated on Oct 4, 2004

NYC’s Newsstands Fight Corporate Takeover

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/nycs-newsstands-fight-corporate-takeover/

Newsstand owners in New York City have filed a legal challenge to a new law that would transfer ownership of the city’s 300 independent newsstands to a single corporation.

Under the law, which was backed by the mayor and endorsed by all but three city councilors, the eclectic newsstands will be replaced by identical kiosks under central ownership. Five companies, including JCDecaux, which manages "street furniture" in 3,500 cities worldwide, are bidding for the contract.

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