The World According to Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart looks to block sexual bias lawsuit
SAN FRANCISCO: Lawyers for Wal-Mart Stores urged a federal appeals court on Monday to block a sex-discrimination lawsuit against it that could cost the retailer an estimated billions of dollars.
It is seeking to overturn a June ’04 US district court decision certifying as class-action a lawsuit that now covers more than 1.6m women and charges Wal-Mart with discriminating against female workers in pay, promotions and training. Attorneys for the six lead plaintiffs say the case is the largest civil-rights class-action in US history ever certified. Wal-Mart attorney Ted Boutrous said the appellate judges should overturn the lower court’s decision because the charges of lead plaintiffs were not typical or common of the entire class.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1196147.cms
Wal-Mart Suit Comes To SF Courtroom
POSTED: 10:26 am PDT August 8, 2005
UPDATED: 10:37 am PDT August 8, 2005
Attorneys for Wal-Mart will be in a San Francisco courtroom Monday to fight a class-action sexual discrimination lawsuit.
More than a million of its former and current female employees claim Wal-Mart systematically denied them raises and promotions.
Wal-Mart denies the allegations and wants the case thrown out.
It says if it loses, it would be forced to give raises to its women employees across the board, regardless of whether they are appropriate or not.
Wal-Mart says it would have no way of examining each situation on a case-by-case basis.
http://www.nbc11.com/news/4823111/detail.html
Wal-Mart Is Focal Point Of Democrats' Health Bill
By Amy Joyce
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, June 23, 2005; Page D02
Several congressional Democrats introduced a bill yesterday that would force states to report the names of companies that have 50 or more employees who receive government-funded health care, an effort to pressure Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in particular to improve employee health coverage.
In introducing the Health Care Accountability Act, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), Rep. Anthony D. Weiner (D-N.Y.), and Sen. Jon S. Corzine (D-N.J.) said they are concerned that large employers such as Wal-Mart are transferring responsibility for health care to government-funded programs such as Medicaid.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/22/AR2005062202136.html?nav=hcmodule
DAN THOMASSON: 'United States of Wal-Mart'
Scripps Howard News Service
Monday, June 27th, 2005 12:44 PM (PDT)
WASHINGTON (SH) - Small towns and cities across America were the backbone of the country's virile economy of goods and services. In my own hometown of 12,000 when I was growing up, thriving businesses included local and chain department stores, men's and women's shops, a dozen drug stores, supermarkets and grocery stores and a wide variety of others from auto and hardware to furniture stores.
Now these things still can be bought in my town and hundreds of others like it across the land, but only from one place - Wal-Mart.
http://www.thenewstribune.com/24hour/opinions/story/2514943p-10882966c.html
Attorney General accuses Wal-Mart of selling illegal fireworks
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) _ State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal on Monday accused Wal-Mart of selling illegal fireworks in some of its Connecticut stores.
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/connecticut/ny-bc-ct--wal-mart-firework0627jun27,0,82885.story?coll=ny-region-apconnecticut
Upscale tastes invade Wal-Mart’s hometown
Migration of high-priced executives transforms Arkansas county
By Michael Barbaro
Updated: 12:37 a.m. ET June 27, 2005
BENTONVILLE, Ark. - Wal-Mart's folksy, baseball cap-wearing founder, Sam Walton, so despised public displays of wealth that, after his death in 1992, the billionaire's heirs decided to enshrine his prized possession, a battered Ford pickup, behind a simple storefront on the town square here.
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/8358617/
Wal-Mart plans European expansion - report
Sun Jun 26, 2005 11:58 PM BST
LONDON (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc.(WMT.N: Quote, Profile, Research), the world's largest retailer, wants to expand in central and eastern Europe, its chief executive said in an interview published on Sunday.
Lee Scott said Russia, Poland and Hungary would be attractive at some stage in the future.
"We have a portfolio we are working on," Scott told Britain's Financial Times newspaper. "It doesn't matter to us which of these will be first. We want all of them at some point."
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=businessNews&storyID=2005-06-26T225826Z_01_YUE682693_RTRUKOC_0_RETAIL-WALMART.xml
Wal-Mart puts faith in George
By Jonathan Birchall in New York
Published: June 27 2005 03:00 Last updated: June 27 2005 03:00
As Wal-Mart eyes further international expansion, it is turning to George, the brand it acquired with its purchase of the UK's Asda in 1999, to help revitalise sluggish sales at its more than 3,000 US stores.
About 112m US shoppers pass through a Wal-Mart every week, spending more than $47bn last quarter. But while US shoppers buy their groceries at Wal-Mart, they are turning elsewhere for other goods that offer higher profit margins.
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/ad0bd21a-e6a7-11d9-b6bc-00000e2511c8.html
Wal-Mart spurs protest
Westminster council will decide tonight on fate of third store
By John Aguilar, Rocky Mountain News
June 27, 2005
WESTMINSTER - In the span of two weeks, Westminster could triple the number of Wal-Mart stores in the city, pushing big-box retail opponents into high gear trying to stop what they see as the potential scourge of their neighborhood.
The city has an existing Wal-Mart at Sheridan Boulevard and West 94th Avenue, and on June 13, it approved a Wal-Mart Supercenter for 136th Avenue.
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_3885184,00.html
Wumart versus Wal-Mart
(Filed: 26/06/2005)
A software engineer who created Beijing's leading supermarket group is leaving Wal-Mart for dust in China, reports James Hall
The name is familiar and a stranger in China might do a double take. But Wumart of Beijing is proudly independent of the world's largest supermarket group, Wal-Mart of Bentonville, Arkansas.
In just over 10 years, Wumart has become the leading retailer in Beijing with 453 stores. It has seen sales growth that would make Lee Scott, Wal-Mart's chief executive, choke on his cheeseburger, and it has ambitious plans to double in size within five years.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2005/06/26/ccwu26.xml&menuId=242&sSheet=/money/2005/06/26/ixcoms.html
Tauzin and Jordan Win Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series Event In Grand Isle
by Will Brantley, communications specialist
Page(s): 1
(Jun. 25, 2005 - GRAND ISLE, La.)... Chief Tauzin of Kingwood, Texas and Clark Jordan of Pearland, Texas caught four redfish weighing 31 pounds to win the Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series Western Division event in Grand Isle. Tauzin and Jordan bested a field of 105 teams, earning $37,500 cash, including a Yamaha bonus, for their win.
"We started out sight fishing yesterday," Tauzin said. "We were catching them in grass flats. But today, the wind picked up and we had to do more blind casting. We probably caught 20 or 25 redfish on soft-plastic crayfish, but most of them were oversized. We lost one keeper, but it all worked out in the end."
http://www.fishingworld.com/News/Read.php?ArtID=000015272
Wal-Mart Has No Plan B
By Liza Featherstone, Women's eNews. Posted June 30, 2005.
Wal-Mart continues to keep Plan B, the "morning-after pill," off its shelves. The megastore's policy, catering to its rural base, complicates its pursuit of new markets.
The political battle over the "morning after pill" is raging, with proposed legislation in 15 states that would protect a pharmacist's right to refuse to fill prescriptionS on "moral" grounds.
http://www.alternet.org/rights/23220/
Wal-Mart versus the tyranny of cities
Terence Corcoran
Financial Post
June 30, 2005
Hard core epithets are flying in Vancouver. After city council turned down a Wal-Mart store, the decision was branded as "political." The spectre of Osama bin Laden rose momentarily over the debate when one council member implied that approving Wal-Mart as a developer might be akin to approving bin Laden as a developer. Wal-Mart was cursed for being a "big box," an epithet in itself these days. The campaign against the Vancouver outlet, specially designed to be the most environmentally friendly retail operation on the planet, was described as the work of "anti-capitalist ideologues."
http://www.canada.com/national/nationalpost/financialpost/story.html?id=eb945441-8cc2-4aea-b139-9c828bf30cf4
Fire forces K-Mart evacuation
By Tim Rowden
Of the Post-Dispatch
06/30/2005
A two-alarm fire forced the evacuation of about 30 employees and customers from a Jefferson County K-Mart store this morning.
High Ridge Fire Chief Michael Arnhart said firefighters were called to the scene at the Gravois Village shopping center off Highway 30 at Little Brennan Road at about 9:30 a.m. after a fire broke out in the grill area the in-store cafe.
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/jeffersoncounty/story/D485876C817F9399862570300067079A?OpenDocument
Wrenches and...wenches?
By Ellen Warren
Tribune senior correspondent
Published May 17, 2005, 7:28 PM CDT
AMERICA, RAW: There is a lot more interest out there in buying sexy underwear than I thought.
I guess I underestimated the market in this particular vector of the retail economy. That's because in the zillion times I've walked past La Perla, the $$ shop with the lacy underthings in the window a few doors down from Tribune Tower, I've hardly ever seen anyone buying anything.
But, I've recalculated and can now report where the savvy sexy undie shopper goes. After spending some time hanging out in the "lingerie" regions of big box stores like Wal-Mart and Target--sounds pervy, doesn't it?--I've discovered that you can find thigh-high hosiery and thongs (by Hanes!) that would get anybody's attention. Go wild, buy both for under $10.
You might not be able to buy CDs with dirty lyrics at many of these family-style emporia, but check it out: There's some naughty black (red, peach, lime) lacy items for all to enjoy.
Imagine, buy a 12-pack of Pepsi, a set of Allen wrenches, two pounds of Idaho potatoes, a pink thong with matching cami and floor mats for your car in one stop. Isn't American retail the best?
http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/chi-shoppingblog,1,6795393.story?coll=chi-homepagebiz-utl
Council delays Wal-Mart decision
BY DEENA WINTER / Lincoln Journal Star
Kathy Abbott has never been motivated or mad enough to go to city hall and state her piece, but on Monday night, she finally found her reason.
With the Lincoln City Council pondering whether to allow a Wal-Mart Super Center near the intersection of 84th and Adams streets, she warned council members to be prepared for the possible side effects of another Wal-Mart.
She owned a small business called Toys and Treasures from 1995 until January 2004, when Wal-Mart moved up the street. She said she lost $50,000 in sales, closed the store and has been unemployed since.
http://www.journalstar.com/articles/2005/05/24/local/doc4292a9d24f5da852669782.txt
Wal-Mart heirs unveil art gallery design
By Jonathan Birchall in New York
Published: May 23 2005 20:15 Last updated: May 23 2005 20:15
The heirs of Sam Walton, the man who built Wal-Mart, on Monday unveiled their plans for a striking new art gallery complex that reflects their gradual emergence alongside the Carnegies, Gettys and Fords as a new force in American philanthropy.
The new Crystal Bridges museum of American art is designed by Moshe Safdie, the Canadian-Israeli architect whose previous work includes the recently opened Yad Vashem holocaust museum in Jerusalem. It will be built within walking distance of the main square of Bentonville, Arkansas, home town of the world's largest retailer.
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/3c8646f0-cbbe-11d9-895c-00000e2511c8.html
CANADA: Closure of First Unionized Wal-Mart Sends Signal
by Paul Weinberg, IPS
May 1st, 2005
TORONTO - Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, may be violating international and Canadian laws by using covert strategies to undermine a unionising drive at its Canadian stores, say labour experts and union activists.
"The refusal to recognise and deal with representatives fairly chosen by employees, the whole notion of compelling unions to go through a whole certification procedure before having to deal with them, is actually contrary to international human rights law," Roy Adams, a labour studies professor at Hamilton's McMaster University, told IPS.
http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=12194
Wal Mart Fshing Champions
http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_123/BFL_columbus_05.html
Wal-Mart Walleye Tour
DAY TWO OF WAL-MART FLW WALLEYE TOUR EVENT ON LAKE ERIE CANCELLED
by J Sealock
Page(s): 1
(Apr. 28, 2005 - PORT CLINTON, Ohio)... Even the best fisheries have their bad days, and this was the case on day two of the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour event on Lake Erie. While forecasts called for improving conditions Thursday, a major storm blew into the Port Clinton area, and competitors were recalled shortly after the field had launched. The second day of competition was subsequently cancelled due to the inclement weather.
http://www.fishingworld.com/News/Read.php?ArtID=000014708
Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League (BFL)
Davis Wins Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Event On Wheeler Lake
Choo Choo Division
by Dave Washburn, communications / FLW Outdoors
Boater William Davis of Russellville, Ala., earned $2,751 as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Choo Choo Division event on Wheeler Lake
Photo by courtesy Wal-Mart BFL
(May. 02, 2005 - ROGERSVILLE, AL)... Boater William Davis of Russellville earned $2,751 Saturday as winner of the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Choo Choo Division event on Wheeler Lake. The tournament was the third of five regular-season Choo Choo Division events and earned Davis 200 points in the Boater Division.
http://www.fishingworld.com/News/Read.php?ArtID=000014747
'Love Mom, Not Wal-Mart' Campaign to Launch at New York City Hall
5/2/2005 7:01:00 PM
To: Assignment Desk, Daybook Editor
Contact: Pat Purcell, 973-583-9651 (on site) or Chris Kofinis of the WakeUpWalMart.com Campaign, 202-486-6422
News Advisory:
-- New York City Council Speaker Gifford Miller, Former Miss America Carolyn Sapp, Labor, Civic and Community Leaders Will Call on all Americans to Join Mother's Day Campaign Targeting Wal-Mart/ Demand Wal-Mart End Discrimination Against Women
http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=46707
Wal-Mart Weekly Sales
By Scott Hoyt in West Chester
5/2/2005
Wal-Mart has stated that for the four-week April reporting period sales will grow between 0% and 2%. Actual growth of about 0.9% is the weakest growth since November’s 0.3% and follows on the heels of March’s 4.3% growth. For the latest week, Wal-Mart reported that food sales were stronger than general merchandise, consistent with recent trends. The weakness in general merchandise sales is likely a sign of the toll high energy prices are taking on Wal-Mart’s customers. They also indicated that sales were strongest in the South and that average ticket, rather than an increase in traffic drove the comparable store sales results again last week. Wal-Mart and most other major retailers will release their official April sales results on Thursday, May 5....
http://www.economy.com/home/login/cnf_proLogin.asp?reason=denied_empty&script_name=/cnflow/pro/article.asp&cid=14084
Aldermen criticized over Wal-Mart vote
Associated Press
RAPID CITY, S.D. - Two Rapid City aldermen are under fire over a proposal for a second Wal-Mart store in Rapid City.
The city is set to hear a land-use plan involving Wal-Mart during a meeting Monday.
But some residents say aldermen Tom Johnson and Bob Hurlbut have conflicts of interest and should abstain from voting.
http://www.aberdeennews.com/mld/aberdeennews/news/11539345.htm
Wal-Mart shuts down student web satirist
A US college student was forced to redesign a class project web site satirising a foundation run by Wal-Mart after the discount retail giant claimed he violated copyright law by using graphics from the company's own web site.
Daniel Papasian said he was forced to change his Web site after lawyers for Wal-Mart sent his web host a cease-and-desist order last week, citing the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Papasian launched the web site on 16 April for a class at Carnegie Mellon University that teaches students about the political uses of satire in the media. Other websites designed by students for the class included a parody of a fitness campaign by McDonalds and a site satirising religious broadcaster Pat Robertson's television show, reported Business Week.
http://www.indexonline.org/en/indexindex/articles/2005/2/united-states-wal-mart-targets-student-web-s.shtml
Land-use change limits Wal-Mart's options
Associated Press
RAPID CITY, S.D. - Wal-Mart officials are looking at their options after the Rapid City Council restricted future zoning on a proposed superstore site.
Wal-Mart was planning a 203,000-square-foot store in south Rapid City along U.S. Highway 16.
http://www.aberdeennews.com/mld/aberdeennews/news/11515705.htm
Wal-Mart employees foil meth plans
4/28/2005 7:32 PM
By: News 14 Carolina
SHELBY, N.C. – Two Wal-Mart employees in Shelby are being honored for improving the safety of their community.
The undercover security employees who work at the store on East Dixon Boulevard received a certificate of recognition. They were recognized for detecting several people who were trying to buy ingredients to make methamphetamines.
http://www.news14charlotte.com/content/local_news/?ArID=92397&SecID=2
Wal-Mart Fires 'Whistleblower'
CHICAGO -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said a former employee who brought a whistleblower lawsuit against the company was fired because he helped a former vice chairman misappropriate funds, Reuters reported.
In a filing with the Labor Department released Thursday, the world's biggest retailer publicly detailed for the first time its claims that former Vice Chairman Thomas Coughlin misappropriated hundreds of thousands of dollars from Wal-Mart to buy personal items, including customized dog kennels, vacations, food, clothing and liquor.
http://www.nysscpa.org/home/2005/705/3week/article3.htm
Wal-Mart Nixes 'Singles Shopping'
The Associated Press
Saturday, July 23, 2005; 12:04 PM
ROANOKE, Va. -- Wal-Mart has ditched a program that helped single shoppers find love in the discount store's aisles.
Officials at Wal-Mart headquarters in Bentonville, Ark., ordered their Roanoke store to put an end to Singles Shopping, the only program of its kind at Wal-Mart's U.S. stores.
Taking a cue from Wal-Marts in Germany, the month-old program encouraged customers on Friday evenings to pick up a red bow they could place on their shopping carts as an invitation to other singles. "Flirt points" were set up in various sections of the store.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/23/AR2005072300381.html
Green and Oliverio Win Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series Event In Charlotte Harbor, FLorida, Collect $50,000
by Will Brantley, communications specialist
(Jul. 23, 2005 - CHARLOTTE HARBOR, FL.)... Howie Green of Bushnell and John Oliverio of Brandon caught a two-day total of four redfish weighing 28 pounds, 15 ounces to win the Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series Eastern Division event in Charlotte Harbor presented by Yamaha. Green and Oliverio defeated a full field of 150 teams "the largest field in the history of professional redfishing" to earn $50,000 cash, which is the largest regular-season first-place award in the history of the sport.
With extensive backwater areas and ideal habitat, Charlotte Harbor is one of the best-known redfish destinations in the country. While the catch was slightly down from day one, anglers still caught an impressive total of 349 redfish weighing 1,913 pounds, 4 ounces during the tournament - the season’s third event of the Eastern Division.
http://www.fishingworld.com/News/Read.php?ArtID=000015493
'Wal-Mart, here is your chance to redeem yourself'
11:53 PM CDT on Saturday, July 23, 2005
Re: "Noble Experiment – But it would be more admirable for Wal-Mart to preserve resources on a larger scale," Friday commentary.
Associated Press
This column by Clint Rainey about the "enviro-friendly, experimental Wal-Mart store in McKinney" was something of an eye-opener. Don Moseley, head of experimental projects for the company, gave tours recently, touting the ability of the new facility to conserve, renew or recycle to preserve the environment.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/city/collin/opinion/stories/072405dnccoresponse.1882d75.html
Appraisal protest pays off for Wal-Mart, five others 07-24-2005
RICHARD ORR
Herald Correspondent, From The Plainview Daily Herald
07/23/2005
It pays to protest -- at least it did for Wal-Mart and five individual property owners who contested their appraisals and won.
In Wal-Mart´s case, the $2.7 million appraisal on their old store at 1001 N. I-27 got cut to $1 million after the company filed suit against the Hale County Appraisal District last Dec. 27.
The property was effectively sold earlier that month to West-125 Acres of Fort Worth for $750,000 and Wal-Mart wanted the sale price to be the appraised value. (West is reportedly seeking to locate Tractor Supply or a Dunlap´s on the site.)
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=14911287&BRD=517&PAG=461&dept_id=473182&rfi=6
Gift card scam plagues Wal-Mart shoppers
By Josh Edwards
The Paris News
Published July 24, 2005
Attention Wal-Mart shoppers: If you receive a telephone offer for a $500 Wal-Mart shopping card, it’s too good to be true.
Potential identity thieves are calling residents across Texas telling them they have won a fee gift card, then asking for credit card or banking information before the card can be processed, local Wal-Mart manager Bill Whisenhunt said.
http://web.theparisnews.com/story.lasso?wcd=21708
New breed of critics fight Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in nation's capital
By Anne D'innocenzio
ASSOCIATED PRESS
1:14 p.m. August 2, 2005
WASHINGTON – The battle over Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has long been waged in towns and cities, with opponents using zoning ordinances and referendums to block the big-box retailer from their neighboorhoods. Now the two sides are taking their fight straight to Washington.
Working out of offices that resemble political war rooms, two groups, Wake Up Wal-Mart and Wal-Mart Watch, are running campaigns to pressure the world's largest retailer to be a better employer and corporate citizen.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/business/20050802-1314-wal-mart-lobbying.html
Wal-Mart gets big OK from board
Germantown trustees approve rezoning of 38 acres for supercenter
By TOM KERTSCHER
Posted: Aug. 2, 2005
Germantown - The proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter cleared a major hurdle this week, as the Village Board voted 6-3 to rezone 38 acres for the 200,000-square-foot store.
http://www.jsonline.com/news/ozwash/aug05/345632.asp
Oberlin Residents Lose Fight To Stop Wal-Mart
Store To Employ 300, Open Late 2006
POSTED: 2:32 pm EDT August 2, 2005
OBERLIN, Ohio -- Lorain County residents lost their fight to block construction of a Wal-Mart in Oberlin after the City Council approved plans for the retail store, NewsChannel5 reported.
The plans call for a Wal-Mart to be built at U.S. Highway 20 and state Route 58.
Residents said they feared the store would put local food retailers out of business.
The store is expected to employ 300 people and open in December 2006.
http://www.newsnet5.com/news/4800254/detail.html
Gender-bias suit too big, Wal-Mart to tell judges
By Molly Selvin
Los Angeles Times
The world's biggest retailer hopes to derail history's biggest private civil-rights case next week by arguing before a federal appellate panel that the massive gender-discrimination lawsuit against it is too big.
The lawsuit accuses Wal-Mart of systematically favoring men over women in pay and promotion. An appeals-court ruling that backs expanding the case into a class action affecting as many as 1.5 million women would not only put billions of dollars at stake, but also would set up a battle that both sides say would mean a lot for other employers and employees.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2002415524_walmart02.html
Don't blame Wal-Mart for health-coverage gap
Tribune Editorial
August 2, 2005
Wal-Mart bashers got more ammunition last week when it was revealed that 10 percent of the retail giant's Arizona employees are enrolled in the state's health-care assistance program known as AHCCCS — about twice the rate for other major businesses.
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=45524
Gender-bias suit too big, Wal-Mart to tell judges
By Molly Selvin
Los Angeles Times
The world's biggest retailer hopes to derail history's biggest private civil-rights case next week by arguing before a federal appellate panel that the massive gender-discrimination lawsuit against it is too big.
The lawsuit accuses Wal-Mart of systematically favoring men over women in pay and promotion. An appeals-court ruling that backs expanding the case into a class action affecting as many as 1.5 million women would not only put billions of dollars at stake, but also would set up a battle that both sides say would mean a lot for other employers and employees.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2002415524_walmart02.html
Residents try to block Wal-Mart in Guelph
CP
2005-08-10 01:50:52
TORONTO -- A residents' group battling to prevent Wal-Mart from opening in Guelph tried to convince three judges the development will offend nearby Jesuits' charter-protected freedom of religion.
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/LondonFreePress/Business/2005/08/10/1166228-sun.html
Austin Wal-Mart Now In the Zone
Anthony Welsch
KIMT - NewsChannel 3
Tuesday, August 9, 2005
Nobody's paying more attention to the plans for a new Wal-Mart than the Senior Citizens that live in Austin's Oaks Condominiums.
"The Oaks is a tight knit community. We love our property, we're trying to maintain it, and we're disappointed that we can't have some affect on the zoning," resident Diane Amacher tells KIMT Newschannel 3.
They tried and on this night, they failed in the first attempt to stop plans for a Wal-Mart SuperCenter in Austin.
http://www.kimt.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=KIMT/MGArticle/IMT_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031784346686&path=
DETROIT RIVER TO HOST WAL-MART BASS FISHING LEAGUE MICHIGAN DIVISION TOURNAMENT
by Will Brantley, communications specialist
Page(s): 1
(Aug. 09, 2005 - Trenton, MI.)... The Michigan Division of the $8.4 million Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League will visit the Detroit River near Trenton Aug. 20 for the fourth of five regular-season events. As many as 200 boaters and 200 co-anglers are expected to compete in the tournament, which will award as much as $39,000 in cash, including as much as $5,500 to the Boater Division winner.
Anglers interested in fishing the tournament may register by calling (270) 252-1000. If the tournament is not yet full, entries will also be accepted at the pretournament registration meeting, which will be held Aug. 19 from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Wal-Mart located at 2155 N. Telegraph Road in Monroe. Entry fees are $200 for boaters and $100 for co-anglers.
http://www.fishingworld.com/News/Read.php?ArtID=000015622
VANDE MARK, ZOLLER WIN WAL-MART FLW WALLEYE LEAGUE SUPER TOURNAMENT ON SAGINAW BAY
Michigan Division
by J Sealock
(Aug. 08, 2005 - LINWOOD, MI.)... Boater Steve Vande Mark of Linwood caught a total of 10 walleyes weighing 49 pounds, 11 ounces to convincingly win the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League Michigan Division Super Tournament presented by Evinrude held Saturday and Sunday on Saginaw Bay. Vande Mark claimed $2,880 plus a $750 bonus for meeting the contingency guidelines.
Vande Mark caught his walleyes trolling in-line spinners 30 to 32 feet deep over 60 to 62 feet of water. He trolled at speeds between .8 and 1 mph in the area around Tawas Point with #5 sliver and rainbow colored blades on his spinners.
http://www.fishingworld.com/News/Read.php?ArtID=000015616
Cabco say Wal-Mart deal could net sales of up to $50m
10 August 2005
Auckland company Cabco says it had won a contract to sell 15,000 "entertainment shopping carts" to the world's largest retail company, Wal-Mart.
Although not revealing the contract details, the company said sales to Wal-Mart's 3300 stores had the potential to produce sales of $50 million a year.
The carts, which double as a shopping trolley, would not be out of place in a Spy Kids movie - with LCD movie screens to keep children happy and built-in monitoring technology.
They even text the nearest service agent when they break down.
The plastic toy cars aim to keep the kids quiet while mum or dad concentrate on shopping and "stay in store longer and spend more money".
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3372520a13,00.html
New Issue - Wal-Mart sells $800 mln in 5-yr notes
Mon Aug 8, 2005 6:07 PM ET
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., Aug 8 (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc.(WMT.N: Quote, Profile, Research), the world's biggest retailer, sold $800 million infive-year senior notes, market sources said on Monday.
The size of the deal was increased from an originallyplanned $500 million.
Goldman Sachs & Co., Samuel Ramirez & Co. and UtendahlCapital Partners, L.P. were the joint lead managers for thesale, the sources said.BORROWER: WAL-MART STORES INC.AMT $800 MLN COUPON 4.75 PCT MATURITY 8/15/2010TYPE SR NOTES ISS PRICE 99.872 FIRST PAY DATE 2/15/2006LAST MOODY'S Aa2 YIELD N/A PAY FREQ SEMI-ANNUALLAST S&P AA SPREAD 50 BPS NON-CALLABLE
MORE THAN TREAS
http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2005-08-08T220730Z_01_N08649847_RTRIDST_0_RETAIL-WALMART-DEBT-TABLE.XML
Wal-Mart charges in
By Alexander Coolidge
Post staff reporter
Mega-retailer Wal-Mart is marching on Greater Cincinnati in a big way, with 17 of its massive supercenters either open, under construction or in the planning stages.
The supercenters - full-size, discount general merchandise stores combined with a full-size supermarket - could transform the retailing landscape in the region, diverting hundreds of millions of shopping dollars away from independent mom-and-pop stores, grocers and other big boxes.
The giant stores, roughly double the size of a traditional Wal-Mart, can have the same impact on shopping patterns as a regional shopping center, says one expert.
http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050808/NEWS01/508080353
Asahi
Nagasaki mayor blasts U.S.
08/10/2005
The Asahi Shimbun
Mourners offer prayers as lighted lanterns dedicated to the souls of those killed in the atomic bombing of Nagasaki 60 years ago are cast afloat on the Urakamigawa river near ground zero. Peace messages were written on each of the roughly 1,600 lanterns.
NAGASAKI-Amid observances to mark the 60th anniversary of this city's atomic bombing, Mayor Iccho Itoh on Tuesday blasted the United States for clinging to its policy of nuclear deterrence.
He urged Americans to pursue world peace without having to resort to the use of nuclear weapons.
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200508100137.html
A-bomb survivor puts brave face on tragedy
08/10/2005
By KAZUYO NAKAMURA The Asahi Shimbun
NAGASAKI-Katsuji Yoshida, 73, knows his scarred face makes people uncomfortable.
Entering a classroom filled with children, Yoshida breaks the ice with a joke, "When I was a young guy, I was as hot as (the SMAP heartthrob) Kimutaku-and I'm not kidding."
The classroom fills with laughter. Even those students who couldn't look at him at first now turn to him.
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200508100135.html
Parties now in a rush to draw up manifestoes
08/10/2005
The Asahi Shimbun
Political parties were scrambling Tuesday to draw up policy manifestos ahead of the Sept. 11 election for the Lower House.
At issue is what spin to put on the defeated postal reform that triggered this latest political upheaval.
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's Liberal Democratic Party is set to put overriding stress on the need to privatize postal services.
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200508100142.html
Killer surfed suicide Web sites to search for victims
08/10/2005
The Asahi Shimbun
OSAKA-A 36-year-old man who surfed Internet suicide sites to find people to kill told police he figured their disappearances wouldn't attract attention.
The suspect, Hiroshi Maeue, also said he took photographs of his victims while he was choking them, investigators said. Earlier, he told police he got a sexual thrill watching his victims die.
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200508100132.html
The Washington Post
SEA OTTERS ARE CONSIDERED MARINE MAMMALS.
Alaskan Sea Otter Listed as Threatened
Population Drops Below 9,000
By Juliet Eilperin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 10, 2005; Page A03
Federal officials yesterday designated the southwest Alaska sea otter -- a species that teetered on the edge of extinction in the late 1800s -- as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, alarmed that its numbers have dipped sharply over the past 15 years.
Fur hunters nearly wiped out the otters, whose range stretches from Cook Inlet to the Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak Island, by 1911, at which point the otters received international protection. By the mid- to late 1980s, as many as 74,000 otters thrived in Alaska's Aleutian Islands alone, but this number has now dropped to below 9,000.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/09/AR2005080901286.html
Roberts Papers Being Delayed
Bush Aides Screen Pages for Surprises
By Jo Becker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 10, 2005; Page A01
Thrown on the defensive by recent revelations about Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts Jr.'s legal work, White House aides are delaying the release of tens of thousands of documents from the Reagan administration to give themselves time to find any new surprises before they are turned into political ammunition by Democrats.
Before Roberts's July 19 selection by President Bush, there was no comprehensive effort to examine the voluminous paper trail from his previous tours as an important legal and political hand under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, administration officials said.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/09/AR2005080901232.html
Four Soldiers Killed in Iraqi Insurgent Attack
Escalation in Violence Expected Ahead of Deadline for New Constitution
By Salih Saif Aldin, Bassam Sebti, and Fred Barbash
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, August 10, 2005; 8:54 AM
BAIJI, Iraq, Aug. 10 -- Four U.S. soldiers were killed and six were wounded late Tuesday when insurgents attacked an Army patrol near the northern town of Baiji, the military announced Wednesday.
The killings brought to nine the number of U.S. service members whose deaths have been announced since Saturday while 38 have been killed in the month of August.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content//article/2005/08/10/AR2005081000289.html
U.N. Removes Seals at Iran Nuke Site
By ALI AKBAR DAREINI
The Associated Press
Wednesday, August 10, 2005; 8:57 AM
ISFAHAN, Iran -- U.N. inspectors removed the final seals from equipment at a uranium conversion plant in central Iran on Wednesday, paving the way for Tehran to fully open the facility despite U.S. and European calls for it to maintain a suspension.
In Vienna, Austria, diplomats with the International Atomic Energy Agency were discussing how to persuade Iran to step back from its nuclear activities and de-escalate its standoff with the West over U.S. allegations that it secretly plans to build atomic bombs.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/10/AR2005081000290.html
4-Star General Relieved Of Duty
Rare Move Follows Allegations of an Extramarital Affair
By Josh White
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 10, 2005; Page A01
In a rare move, the Army relieved a four-star general of his command amid allegations that he had an extramarital affair with a civilian, Army officials said yesterday.
Gen. Kevin P. Byrnes, 55, led the Army's Training and Doctrine Command at Fort Monroe, Va., where he supervised the recruitment and academic programs at 33 Army schools, from basic training to the war colleges. Byrnes, who several military sources said had a previously unblemished record, was set to retire in November after 36 years of service.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/09/AR2005080900515.html
Dana Reeve Gets Diagnosis of Lung Cancer
By Chip Crews
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 10, 2005; Page C01
Dana Reeve, who won nationwide admiration as she cared for her husband, Christopher, through nine years of paralysis that ended with his death last year, announced yesterday that she has lung cancer.
"I have an excellent team of physicians, and we are optimistic about my prognosis," Reeve, 44, said in a statement.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/09/AR2005080901542.html
In Heartland, Stem Cell Research Meets Fierce Opposition
By Peter Slevin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 10, 2005; Page A01
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The moral debate over embryonic stem cells stretches far beyond Capitol Hill to state capitals and research parks across the country, where a fierce competition is underway from Maryland to California for cutting-edge research and the profits that could follow.
In Maryland yesterday, advocates began a campaign to secure state money for stem cell research. A House of Delegates effort to spend $23 million a year on research died in the Senate earlier this year after a filibuster threat by Republicans and conservative Democrats.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/09/AR2005080900793.html
The New Zealand Herald
Harry Potter bewitches Guantanamo prisoners
10.08.05 3.20pm
WASHINGTON - Harry Potter has bewitched detainees at the United States prison at Guantanamo Bay, where tales of the young wizard and mysteries by Agatha Christie top the list of most popular books, a prison librarian said.
"Harry Potter is a popular title among some of the detainee population," said the librarian, a civilian contractor identified only as "Lorie" who works at the prison camp for foreign terrorism suspects at the US naval base in Cuba.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10340111
Australian intelligence examines terror video
10.08.05 2.20pm
SYDNEY - Threats of terrorism attacks by a masked man with an Australian accent on Arab television are being examined by Australian intelligence officers, the attorney-general's office says.
A videotape of a man wearing a balaclava and speaking English with an Australian accent was aired on the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya satellite channel and repeated on Australian TV.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10340121
Iraq's Aziz says will not testify against Saddam
10.08.05 10.20am
BAGHDAD - Tareq Aziz, the Iraqi former deputy prime minister, denied on Tuesday that he might testify against his former president Saddam Hussein in a trial that could begin in a couple of months.
In an effort to quash speculation that the man who was Saddam's envoy to the outside world might turn star witness for the prosecution, Aziz delivered a statement through his lawyer.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10340057
'The people of Niger look well-fed' says President
Severely malnourished Issa Saraka, 3, sits on the floor at an emergency feeding centre in the town of Tahoua in western Niger. Picture / Reuters
10.08.05 1.00pm
By Kim Sengupta
Maradi, NIGER - The little boy lies on the blanket at a relief centre wrapped in his own pain, lost to the world. The doctors are uncertain whether his life can be saved. He is one of 32,000 children the United Nations says is in danger of dying in Niger - "the number one neglected emergency in the world".
The Medecins Sans Frontieres camp in Maradi is one of the busiest trying to cope with the unfolding catastrophe. There are many other victims there.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10340074
Don't return militants to homelands, UN warns UK
Omar Bakri Mohammed, who praised the London suicide bombers, fled the UK in the weekend. The Home Office wants to tighten immigration rules to prevent his return. Picture / Reuters
10.08.05 1.00pm
By Nigel Morris and Marie Woolf
Tony Blair's plans to deport Islamic extremists and foreign terror suspects could fall foul of international human rights law because they face torture in their home countries, the United Nations has warned.
The verdict from Manfred Novak, the UN's special rapporteur on torture, came as the Government's problems deepened over its anti-terror crackdown.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10340072
Gwynne Dyer: Iran and the US - a crisis unfolds in slow motion
10.08.05
Nobody, the Bush Administration included, really wants the United States to attack Iran. So everybody will drag their feet as much as possible. There may be 12 more months of diplomatic manoeuvring before the crisis hits.
But there is going to be a crisis, and it is going to be big and dangerous.
Work at the Isfahan uranium conversion plant - suspended temporarily last November - has resumed. At the same time Iran has rejected the last offer of the "EU-3" (Britain, France and Germany) - a package of economic inducements designed to persuade it to abandon its nuclear ambitions.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10339952
Pop stars record fastest ever album for war children
10.08.05 1.00pm
By Louise Jury
Pop stars Radiohead, Razorlight and The Coral are to record the fastest album ever made to raise funds for children affected by wars.
Around 20 acts will each record a new song in a single day on the 10th anniversary of the first "War Child" album, Help, which raised nearly £2 million for children in Bosnia.
The new album, Help: A Day in the Life, (and individual tracks) will be available for downloading on the War Child and other websites on the day of recording on September 9, making it the fastest album ever made. A CD will be released in the following weeks.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10340087
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