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

Big Box Proposal Tests Regional Planning in Pennsylvania

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/big-box-proposal-tests-regional-planning-pennsylvania/

Wal-Mart wants to build a 150,000-square-foot supercenter in Upper Hanover Township, a rural corner of Pennsylvania about one hour northwest of Philadelphia. The supercenter would anchor a large shopping complex, including twin strip malls on opposite sides of the highway.

Two years ago, Wal-Mart would have needed no more than an okay from Upper Hanover officials to proceed.

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

Puerto Rico Okays Wal-Mart Acquisition

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/puerto-rico-okays-walmart-acquisition/

Small business owners are crying foul over an agreement reached between the Puerto Rican government and Wal-Mart. The deal allows Wal-Mart to proceed with its purchase of an island supermarket chain, which will give it control of 40 percent of Puerto Rico’s grocery sales.

Last year Wal-Mart won approval from the Federal Trade Commission to purchase the Amigo supermarket chain. Puerto Rican officials said the deal violated local antitrust laws and sued to block the merger.

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

Missouri Coalitions Works to End Big Box Subsidies

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/missouri-coalitions-works-end-big-box-subsidies/

In Missouri, a coalition of independent businesses and union members are backing a bill that would reform the state’s tax increment financing (TIF) law and put an end to subsidies for suburban big box stores, shopping malls, and other sprawling developments.

TIF allows a municipality to issue bonds to pay for part of the costs of a new development. Future tax revenue from the development is then diverted from the public coffers to pay off the bonds.

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

Cincinnati Planning Department Abolished at Behest of Big Box Developer

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/cincinnati-planning-department-abolished-behest-big-box-developer/

In an effort to reduce a budget deficit and make the city more "developer friendly," in the words of Mayor Charles Luken, Cincinnati has abolished its planning department.

Eight staff members and the remnants of the city’s planning activities have been transferred to the community development department. The department will carry out state-mandated functions, such as zoning and historic preservation. Planning will largely be subordinate to economic development.

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

Iowa Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Activists, Against Wal-Mart

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/iowa-supreme-court-rules-favor-activists-against-walmart/

Years of fighting a Wal-Mart supercenter slated for a flood plain in a rural area of Decorah, Iowa, have finally paid off for a tenacious group of residents and small business owners.

On April 2, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that the Decorah City Council acted illegally when it approved a Wal-Mart supercenter in the Upper Iowa River flood plain.

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

Shenandoah Valley Residents Fight Big Box Development

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/shenandoah-valley-residents-fight-big-box-development/

Citizens in Front Royal, Virginia, a town of 13,000 in the Shenandoah Valley, are organizing to block a 184,000-square-foot Wal-Mart superstore. The development is slated for 121-acre tract of flood plain land bordering the south fork of the Shenandoah River. In order to proceed, Wal-Mart must convince the town to re-zone the land from residential to commercial.

Residents have organized under the banner "Save Our Gateway" to fight the project.

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

Cape Cod Coalition Promotes Local Ownership

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/cape-cod-coalition-promotes-local-ownership/

"Now you know who really has your interests at heart," reads a recent advertisement in the Cape Cod Times that explains that a locally owned business returns a much larger share of its revenue to the local economy compared to an absentee-owned chain.

The ad is part of a series of ads published in Cape Cod newspapers last fall by a new grassroots organization called the Smart Planning and Growth Coalition (SPGC).

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

Supermarket Concentration Harms Farmers and Consumers

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/supermarket-concentration-harms-farmers-and-consumers/

Supermarket chains in the northeast are using their market power to reap record profits on milk at the expense of both dairy farmers and consumers, according to a new report.

The findings are fueling legislative efforts in several New England states to rein in the power of grocery chains. One proposal in Maine would tax big box retailers to support dairy farms.

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

Taos, New Mexico, Battles Big Boxes… Again

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/taos-new-mexico-battles-big-boxes-again/

Hundreds of citizens packed a Town Council meeting in Taos, New Mexico, in late January to voice their opposition to a proposed Wal-Mart supercenter.

With the meeting room filled to capacity, many were forced to sit out the proceedings in other rooms, hallways, and even outside the building. More than 70 people testified against the development over a three-and-a-half hour period. Opponents wore green ribbons to identify themselves and presented a petition with 6,800 signatures.

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