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

Independent Pharmacists Fight Discriminatory Health Plans

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/independent-pharmacists-fight-discriminatory-health-plans/

Pennsylvania pharmacists are up in arms over a new health plan for state workers that bars them from filling prescriptions at locally owned drugstores, requiring instead that they use Rite Aid or a mail order service.

The plan is run by a pharmacy benefit management company (PBM), which the state says will reduce costs by negotiating lower drug prices. In exchange, employees must accept restrictions on where they fill their prescriptions.

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

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

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/austin-coalition-forces-walmart-retreat-city-agrees-big-box-study/

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.

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

California Appeals Court Upholds Formula Business Law

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/california-appeals-court-upholds-formula-business-law/

A California Appeals Court has upheld a local ordinance restricting the proliferation of formula retail businesses in Coronado, a city of 24,000 people near San Diego. The court ruled that the ordinance does not violate the US Constitution’s commerce and equal protection clauses, and is a valid use of municipal authority under California state law.

The ordinance, enacted in December 2000, requires anyone seeking to open a formula retail business to obtain a special permit.

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Article filed under Independent Business | Written by Stacy Mitchell | 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-in-the-usa/

Mad in the USA by Stacy Mitchell Originally published on Alternet, September 8, 2003 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… Continue reading

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

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 | 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

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 | 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