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

Local Stores Create Triple the Economic Activity of Chains

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/local-stores-create-triple-economic-activity-chains/

When you spend $100 at the chain Borders Books & Music, your purchase creates only $13 worth of local economic activity. That same $100 spent at locally owned book or record store generates $45, or more than three times as much local economic activity.

That’s the conclusion of a new study conducted by Civic Economics and published by Livable City in Austin, Texas.

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

Midcoast Maine Residents Oppose Coastal Home Depot

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/midcoast-maine-residents-oppose-coastal-home-depot/

Residents of the midcoast region of Maine are petitioning the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the US Coast Guard to deny permits to a planned Home Depot store in the town of Rockland.

The 100,000-square-foot store is slated for a 24-acre site along the coast near Route 1. The project was approved by the Rockland Planning Commission in October. It still needs permits from the DEP, which is accepting public comment through February and is expected to issue a decision in March.

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

Big Box Stores Drain City Revenue, Study Finds

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/big-box-stores-drain-city-revenue-study-finds/

Big box retail, shopping centers, and fast-food restaurants cost taxpayers more than they produce in revenue, according to a fiscal impact analysis in Barnstable, Massachusetts.

The study, conducted by Tischler & Associates, compares the tax revenue generated by different kinds of residential and commercial development with the actual cost of providing public services for each land use. Barnstable is a community of 48,000 people on Cape Cod.

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

McDonald’s Defeated in Oaxaca, Mexico

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

Officials of Oaxaca, Mexico, have turned down an application by McDonald’s to open an outlet in a 500-year-old plaza at the center of town. "There are values that we have to preserve, such as our traditions and culture," city leader Gabino Cue Monteagudo said. A local ordinance allows local officials to reject development projects that endanger the city’s cultural heritage. Continue reading

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

British Government Rejects Big Box Sprawl

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/british-government-rejects-big-box-sprawl/

In a move that could derail big box development projects throughout England, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott has rejected a bid by the furniture chain Ikea to build a 300,000-square-foot store (seven times the size of a football field) outside the city of Stockport.

In a letter explaining his decision, Deputy Prime Minister Prescott said the proposed store violated several provisions of both national and local planning policy.

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

Small Businesses Pay Their Employees. Wal-Mart Doesn’t.

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/small-businesses-pay-their-employees-walmart-doesnt/

In December, an Oregon jury found Wal-Mart guilty of forcing employees in eighteen stores to work extra hours without pay. A separate jury will determine damages in the class-action lawsuit.

Employees testified that store managers used a variety of tactics to extract unpaid labor, including requiring employees to work after they had punched out for lunch, locking the doors at night to prevent off-the-clock employees from leaving until certain tasks were complete, and manipulating employee timecards.

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

Wyoming Town Latest to Open a Community-Owned Store

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/wyoming-town-latest-to-open-community-stor/

The town of Powell, Wyoming, is one of a growing number of places where residents are opening community-owned department stores. More than 800 shares of stock in the Powell Mercantile, priced at $500 each, were purchased by approximately 500 local investors. The 10,000-square-foot store, which sells mostly mid-range clothing and shoes, opened in July and has turned a profit ever since. Continue reading

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

Charleston Merchants Join Forces to Promote Local Stores

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/charleston-merchants-join-forces-promote-local-stores/

A dozen independent businesses in Charleston, West Virginia, have banded together to promote one another and the idea of supporting locally owned businesses.

In November, the group began running print, television, and radio advertisements. The print ads read, "Supporting your locally owned stores keeps your dollars in our community.

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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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