Under Paid. Under insured. UNION BUSTING. Global reach. Global experience with weather. Sexual Harassing. Wal-Mart should render their experience to a hearing of FEMA by an Independent Investigator/Prosecutor. But, I don't see them taking over the national emergency management authority in this country.
Wal-Mart puts FEMA to shame
9/25/2005
By MURRAY LIGHT
Wal-Mart, the largest retailer in the nation, has become the favorite target of those who say it gives its thousands of employees poor pay and benefits. It also is facing a sex-discrimination lawsuit.
I don't have the information I need to evaluate these charges, which Wal-Mart top management vigorously denies. Before going any further, let me state for the record that I know no Wal-Mart executives, mid-managers or sales associates. In fact, I've never even been in a Wal-Mart store. Nor do I own any Wal-Mart stock.
My friends and colleagues, mostly of liberal persuasion who have been highly critical of Wal-Mart's policies, will undoubtedly challenge much of what I have to say in this column and charge that I've sold out to corporate interests. But the facts are what they are, and without going into the corporation's personnel practices and policies, I have to salute Wal-Mart for its role in responding to the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina on the nation's Gulf Coast.
http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20050925/2066732.asp
THIS IS BECAUSE THEY HAD THE CORNER ON DEVASTED AREAS IN THE USA. THEY WERE LATER THWARTED BY THE RED CROSS.
Wal-Mart's September Sales Are Rising Within Forecast on Food
Sept. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, said September sales at its U.S. stores open at least a year are rising within its forecast in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, led by grocery sales.
The company has forecast a sales gain of 2 percent to 4 percent from a year earlier in the five-week period that began Aug. 27. An increase of less than 2.5 percent would be the smallest since April, when Bentonville, Arkansas-based Wal-Mart reported a 0.9 percent gain. Wal-Mart updated results through yesterday in a recorded call today.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=atPXEM3YZuYI&refer=top_world_news
Area faces Wal-Mart 'superblitz'
By CHRIS G. DENINA/Times-Herald staff writer
Vallejo's Wal-Mart store. (J.L. Sousa/Times-Herald)
In a few years, it may be tough to drive through Solano County without seeing a Wal-Mart Supercenter.
The retail giant aims to dot Solano and Napa counties with super-sized stores in Vallejo, American Canyon, Suisun City, Fairfield and Dixon.
At present, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. only has five Supercenters statewide - the first opened just last year in California - but the company plans to quickly add more throughout the region.
http://timesheraldonline.com/ci_3061504
After Lowe's will be Wal-Mart, Home Depot
Hickory residents, save your neighborhoods. The giant neighborhood-busters are moving in. With the vast Lowe's campus come not only friendly customers from all over the Unifour, but also the lumbering semis, the lurching 18-wheelers creeping up the slow streets, slowing with each traffic light, forcing the rest of us to dart in and out of your neighborhood and mine finding a fast way to get to our destinations.If Lowes is allowed to build beside churches and schools, Wal-Mart and Home Depot will be right behind.
Peace soon will be a relic of the past. Noise, smog, wrecks, traffic jams, strangers whizzing by in a hurry, screeching tires as they barely miss you inching out of your driveway -- these will be the new sights and sounds if Lowe's builds on N.C. 127.
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/local/states/north_carolina/counties/catawba/12736350.htm
IT IS SO GOOD TO KNOW 'WINNEBAGO' OWNERS CAN AFFORD THEIR TRAVELS. I hadn't realized Camp Grounds with sewer hook ups were so expensive.
Travelers like my husband and me rely on Wal-Mart stopovers
Meeting Per and Leif reminded me of the time my husband and I spent the night in an Arkansas Wal-Mart parking lot.
I have always loved to travel. A lot of that probably comes from my family. My parents made sure we visited the "mainland" at least once every other year while we were growing up in Hawaii. So it came as no surprise that I married someone who loves to travel as much as I do.
http://www.jacksonsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050925/NEWS01/509250306/1002
Wal-Mart sale sets land record
By CHUCK STINNETT, Business Editor
September 25, 2005
A fleet of earth-moving equipment is transforming the landscape on U.S. 60-East from which a Wal-Mart Supercenter, Lowe's home improvement store and associated businesses will rise.
But it didn't get started until a lot of legal wrangling had taken place and a lot of money had changed hands. In fact, it appears Wal-Mart's purchase of its tract has set a local record.
Advertisement
Deeds at the courthouse show that Henderson Development Association (the entity created by developer GBT Realty Corp. of Brentwood, Tenn.) paid $3,978,720 to Clark and Cynthia Merrill and Frances M. O'Sullivan for about 58.5 acres.
Then, Henderson Development resold 25.2 acres to Wal-Mart Real Estate Business Trust for $6,030,635 -- an average of $239,580 per acre.
http://www.courierpress.com/ecp/gleaner_business/article/0,1626,ECP_4481_4102170,00.html
Wal-Mart closes 72 stores as Rita approaches
23 Sep 2005 13:49:15 GMT
Source: Reuters
CHICAGO, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
The world's biggest retailer had closed 64 stores and distribution centers by Thursday evening, and said more than 100 facilities were within a 120-mile radius of where the storm is expected to make landfall overnight on Friday.
The Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer, which has more than 3,500 U.S. stores, had closed 126 locations when Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast. Nine of its stores were severely damaged in that storm.
Wal-Mart shuts 108 facilities before Rita
By Jennifer Waters, MarketWatch
CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has closed down 108 facilities in the path of Hurricane Rita, while loading up more than 200 trucks with emergency supplies to staging areas in Texas.
Edit My Portfolio Edit Alerts
The world's largest retailer, which gained much praised for its quick response to Hurricane Katrina, said on its Web site Friday that it has more than 100 facilities within a 120-mile radius of the hurricane's expected landfall.
Shares of Wal-Mart (WMT: news, chart, profile) bounced around the flat line, last trading lower by 2 cents to $43.15.
Of the stores closed, 52 are Wal-Mart supercenters, 22 are Sam's Clubs and three are distribution centers.
The trucks have been dispatched to a number of outlying communities in Texas. The fleet has already delivered a truckload of water to Camp Gruber in Oklahoma, which is expected to house more than 3,000 evacuees from the Houston Astrodome, the company said.
On the trucks are about 621,000 gallons of water and 24 generators, as well as other merchandise. Forty-two facilities are scheduled to receive dry ice.
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid={5676c655-ea8f-4400-b6c9-06f7c139bae9}&siteid=google&dist=SignInArchive&archive=true¶m=archive&garden=&minisite=
Wal-Mart may buy Sonae Brazil by mid-Oct-report
Fri Sep 23, 2005 11:51 AM ET
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, Sept 23 (Reuters) - U.S. retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) may take over the Brazilian operations of Portuguese conglomerate Sonae SGPS (SON.LS: Quote, Profile, Research) by mid-October, a Brazilian newspaper reported on Friday.
Valor quoted unnamed retail sector sources as saying an auditing process preceding the potential purchase was concluded on Sept. 14, with a deal possibly sealed as soon as in the first two weeks of October or earlier.
However, a Wal-Mart spokeswoman in Sao Paulo, Monica Moreira, said "The company does not comment on speculations."
http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=mergersNews&storyID=2005-09-23T155156Z_01_N23474514_RTRIDST_0_RETAIL-SONAE.XML
A long silence from Wal-Mart
Now and then there's an item in the paper about Wal-Mart elsewhere in Oregon. (Yesterday's was from Milwaukie, where the city government is trying to keep Wal-Mart out.) Every one of these stories reminds us of the company's strange silence on its Albany project or plans.
In May 2004, Wal-Mart representatives submitted an application for changes in the comprehensive plan and zoning so the company could build a big store on Pacific Boulevard Southwest. City officials said it was the most complete application they had ever seen, or words to that effect.
Because the store would attract an estimated 4,000 cars a day, the company had to show what it would do to keep congestion from worsening at several nearby intersections. That's where the project ran into a brick wall — or a railroad crossing, in this case. Evidently there's no way that issue can be solved.
http://www.dhonline.com/articles/2005/09/23/news/opinion/edit01.txt
Jefferson to hold its first recall election over Wal-Mart
Associated Press
JEFFERSON, Wis. - The 7,500 residents of this city will hold the first recall election in their history Tuesday because residents are upset with an alderman who twice rejected a proposed Wal-Mart supercenter.
David Olsen, 46, who is also a funeral home operator, will face off against Chris Havill, a 33-year-old general manager of a local auto dealership.
It started in April when the city council voted 5-3 against the annexation of a 22-acre site on which Wal-Mart wanted to build its store.
http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/news/politics/12733034.htm
Wal-Mart looks to add grocery to Wasilla store
WASILLA: Local food sellers would face stiff competition from a Supercenter.
By KYLE HOPKINS
Anchorage Daily News
Published: September 24, 2005
Last Modified: September 24, 2005 at 06:45 AM
WASILLA -- Wal-Mart wants to supersize its Wasilla store, making it the first of many Supercenters planned in Alaska.
The move could also start a food fight with other Valley grocers.
Wal-Mart's discount stores sell a few staples such as cereal and snacks, but Supercenters offer full-blown grocery sections with delis and baked goods. Wal-Mart already hopes to build two of the expanded stores in Anchorage, but the company's Wasilla plans could come first.
http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/7007773p-6909336c.html
Wal-Mart targets upscale consumers
Posted September 24, 2005
Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, is offering more varieties of digital music players and items such as a $2,632 Panasonic LCD television to attract more upscale shoppers. Wal-Mart is "not as well represented at mid- and high price points," Chief Financial Officer Tom Schoewe said Thursday at an investment conference in San Francisco. In a test, Wal-Mart will offer a mobiBLU cube-shaped digital audio player on its Web site for just under $100, he said. The retailer also is seeking to lure more affluent shoppers by adding products such as organic foods and 400-thread count sheets as sales growth slows compared with Target Corp., the second-largest U.S. discount retailer. Wal-Mart's strategy with electronics may challenge retailers such as Circuit City Stores Inc. and Best Buy Co.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-bizbriefcase2405sep24,0,2651490.story?coll=orl-business-headlines
Tate & Lyle- Wal-Mart drops own-brand sucralose
Wed Sep 21, 2005 6:05 PM BST
LONDON (Reuters) - Tate & Lyle (TATE.L: Quote, Profile, Research) says retailing giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) has removed its own cut-price brand of sucralose sweetener from stores, closing a potential risk to Tate's highly profitable product.
The London-based sugar and sweeteners producer said on Wednesday it had identified the Wal-Mart sucralose as its own patented product, Splenda, which it had supplied to a manufacturing customer who had then sold the sucralose on to Wal-Mart.
Tate said it had enforced its contract requirement that the customer could not sell the product on to a third party, such as Wal-Mart, closing off the retailer's supply.
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=businessNews&storyID=2005-09-21T170535Z_01_MCC161470_RTRUKOC_0_UK-FOOD-TATELYLE-SUCRALOSE.xml
NOT ONLY THAT BUT I HEAR WAL-MART IS A FAVORITE OF MILITARY RECRUITERS.
Some suburban Detroit residents oppose Wal-Mart for racial reasons
September 21, 2005, 2:47 PM
LIVONIA, Mich. (AP) -- Some residents are angry about a planned 24-hour Wal-Mart Supercenter, making racially-charged comments about the people they say the store would attract to their suburban Detroit community.
The Livonia City Council will review the issue at an Oct. 17 meeting before voting on it Oct. 26, Marge Watson, a planning commission official, said Wednesday. Both meetings are open to the public.
On Tuesday night, the planning commission voted 6-1 to recommend the project to the city council after a six-hour-plus meeting in which more than 500 residents showed up.
http://www.freep.com/news/statewire/sw121599_20050921.htm
Eating Wal-Mart's Lunch
By Alyce Lomax (TMF Lomax)
September 21, 2005
Some headlines that many might find unsavory plagued retail giant Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) earlier this week. According to allegations waged in court in California, Wal-Mart bilked its employees out of the unpaid lunch breaks they were entitled to under that state's laws -- paltry half hour that those required breaks may have been. But wait a minute, you say. Shareholders (gulp) require that companies save money and make profits, and sometimes that stands squarely in opposition of some employee benefits.
Should investors throw up their hands and dismiss a story like this because of what could be called the natural antithesis between the concepts of happy employees and happy shareholders, particularly in the retail universe?
http://www.fool.com/News/mft/2005/mft05092111.htm
Wal-Mart in court over right to stop for lunch
By David Usborne in New York
Published: 21 September 2005
Wal-Mart, the world's largest discount retailer and owner of Asda supermarkets in Britain, faced new legal difficulties yesterday as jurors in a California court heard claims that the company denied employees lunch breaks and forced them to work overtime without compensation.
The case being heard in an Oakland court has been brought on behalf of 115,919 current and former Wal-Mart employees. Fred Furth, the lawyer for the plaintiffs, said that for years most employees dared not ask management about missed meal breaks. "Some of the braver ones did ask, and I'm going to prove Wal-Mart ignored their pleas to hire more help," he said.
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article314018.ece
Bennington Wal-Mart hearing focuses on traffic issues
September 21, 2005
BENNINGTON, Vt. --Traffic issues are emerging as a major point of debate as a developer seeks town permission to more than double the size of the local Wal-Mart store.
Opponents and some regional planners worry that the 112,000-square-foot store would worsen traffic conditions on Northside Drive near the new Bennington Bypass highway.
Consultants for the developer told the town Development Review Board that traffic likely would increase 6 percent over 10 years, but critics said that estimate was based on the existing size of the store. They also argued that the estimate did not take into account the possibility of greater traffic on the Bennington Bypass, which is only partially complete.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/vermont/articles/2005/09/21/bennington_wal_mart_hearing_focuses_on_traffic_issues/
Wal-Mart plan moves ahead to Livonia council
Residents worry about possible crime, noise; earlier racial comments spur scornful reaction.
By Catherine Jun / The Detroit News
LIVONIA -- The Planning Commission early today recommended a plan to bring a Wal-Mart Superstore to a defunct mall, a proposal opposed by most of the 500 residents who attended the meeting.
The City Council will hold a public hearing on the measure on Oct. 17.
The proposal triggered a racial controversy following published comments Tuesday reportedly made by a few residents at meetings with the developer. Those comments indicated some people feared the development would bring more African-Americans into the predominantly white suburb.
In response to residents' concerns, the commission recommended that the store, ordinarily a 24-hour operation, limit its hours from 6 a.m. to midnight.
After Tuesday's six-hour meeting, Victoria Kowaleski, who lives behind the property on Middle Belt and Plymouth, left City Hall crying. She said lights from the all-night Wal-Mart would shine through her bedroom window and noise from the stores would be a nuisance.
http://www.detnews.com/2005/metro/0509/21/B01-322457.htm
Livonia board approves plans for new Wal-Mart
September 21, 2005
BY ZLATI MEYER and CECIL ANGEL
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
Photos by RICHARD LEE/DFP
Residents of Livonia and interested parties attend a hearing of the City of Livonia Planning Commission, Tuesday night. The hearing lasted 6 1/2 hours.
City officials voted early this morning to recommend the development of a Wal-Mart Supercenter in Livonia after more than 500 residents thronged to a city meeting Tuesday night, fueling an ongoing battle against the proposal, which has drawn some racially charged complaints.
At a 6 1/2-hour meeting, the planning commission voted 6-1 to recommend the project which will include a neighboring Target and approximately 40 specialty shops and restaurants. The City Council will consider the recommendation, but a council vote on the issue has not been scheduled yet. The tension at previous meetings caused the chairman of the Planning Commission, John Walsh, to warn Tuesday night's audience against racial outbursts. "The issue of race will not have an impact on the meeting tonight," he said. "I recommend that people who harbor racist fears keep them to themselves."
http://www.freep.com/news/locway/walmart21e_20050921.htm
Jeremy Warner's Outlook: Wal-Mart has gone crying to the regulator, yet Tesco has simply out-traded the retail goliath
Published: 21 September 2005
Complaining to regulators about supposedly unfair competition is what business losers do best. What better place to hide, when the going gets tough, than behind Europe's dizzying cacophony of competition law, which in the name of diversity and consumer choice can usually be relied upon for protection from better managed, more innovative rivals.
This is a point of view that Wal-Mart would wholeheartedly endorse back on its own home turf in the United States, where it has swept all before it to become the most powerful retailing force in the world. In little ol' Britain, however, this bully boy of the global retailing industry has chosen to complain to the Office of Fair Trading about the growing power of our very own Tesco.
http://news.independent.co.uk/business/comment/article314088.ece
Wal-Mart Gets Even Bigger
April showers and Southern winds are in Wal-Mart's weather forecast.
By Rick Aristotle Munarriz
Updated: 10:21 a.m. ET Sept. 20, 2005
In a pair of moves that will further widen Wal-Mart's (NYSE: WMT) retail reach into the world's wallets, the discount giant acquired a minority stake in a Latin American grocer and signed a pact with H&R Block(NYSE: HRB) to open tax-preparation centers inside some of its stores.
First, the supermarket deal. Wal-Mart announced this morning that it would be buying a 33% stake from Dutch giant Ahold(NYSE: AHO) in Central American Retail Holding Company, an operator of 363 grocery stores in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/9408469/
U.S. Stock Futures Fall on Energy Prices; EBay, Wal-Mart Drop
Sept. 19 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures declined as oil and gasoline prices increased, sparking concern higher fuel costs will hinder profit growth. Shares of EBay Inc. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. dropped.
http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=a4TWNb9eMbKs&refer=news_index
Wal-Mart still suffering growing pains in Japan
By Mariko Sanchanta
Published: September 18 2005 20:47 Last updated: September 18 2005 20:47
When Wal-Mart first dipped its toe in the Japanese retailing market in 2002 by purchasing a small stake in Seiyu, it was seen as a shrewd way of slowly expanding its share in Japan without taking on too much risk.
But three years later, Wal-Mart and Seiyu are still in the red and stuck in fourth place, unable to have captured a lead on Japan's top three players.
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/eaa8a1a0-287b-11da-97c7-00000e2511c8.html
Suspects sought in Wal-Mart shooting
11:40 AM CDT on Monday, September 19, 2005
From 11 News Reports
Baytown Police still have no answers as to why a customer was shot Saturday night in a Wal-Mart parking lot.
The store is located in the 4900 block of Garth Road.
Investigators said Libby Farabee was putting groceries into the trunk of her vehicle.
Two men in another car pulled up near her, and the passenger said something to Farabee.
The victim said she heard a gunshot, and the other car sped off.
It was then that Farabee realized she had been shot in the arm.
She was taken to the hospital, but we haven’t heard her condition.
The search continues for the two suspects.
http://www.khou.com/news/local/stories/khou050918_ac_walmart.6edbe091.html
Wal-Mart Sets Off Bad Vibes
Sex boutiques upset that giant getting into intimate toy market
By ELIZA BARLOW, EDMONTON SUN
Wal-Mart should stick to selling bikes and Barbies instead of butting into the adult toy market, says the owner of a city sex shop.
"I think it sucks," said Love Stop manager Sally Hotar, reacting to word that Wal-Mart Canada and Shoppers Drug Mart are bringing in a line of sex toys.
"They have lots of things they sell that they make money on already. They should leave us alone."
Wal-Mart Canada and Shoppers will carry a line of sex products called Elexa, developed by Trojan.
http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Edmonton/2005/09/18/1222299-sun.html
Law limits council options on Wal-Mart Lawyer: Wonderland's zoning helps retailer's case
By Dan West
Staff Writer
In Independence Township this summer, a strong community protest helped elected officials persuade a developer to drop plans for a Wal-Mart store near Clarkston in lieu of mixed-use development as part of a rezoning proposal.
Livonia also has strong community opposition to a Wal-Mart Supercenter at the old Wonderland Mall, but legal experts say the Livonia situation is different - no zoning changes are needed for the proposed Wonderland Village development.
Since the property already is zoned commercial, a Wal-Mart must be approved if the site plan meets the city's laws and established standards.
http://hometownlife.com/Livonia/News.asp?pageType=Story&StoryID=127798&Section=Main%20News&OnlineSection=Main%20news&SectionPubDate=Sunday,%20September%2018,%202005&RefDate=9/18/2005
BOYCOTT WAL-MART THEY ARE PROMOTING EMACIATION OF EMPLOYEES TO ENHANCE PROFITS !!!
Boycott of Wal-Mart Makes No Economic Sense
By GARY SUTTON
Voice Guest Columnist
Monday, Sept. 19, 2005
Right now, the American Federation of Teachers is urging its 1.3 million members to boycott Wal-Mart.
"Buy back-to-school supplies somewhere other than Wal-Mart," their petition urges.
Last weekend, Sept. 11, 2005, my closest FedEx/Kinko's displayed pencils. Kinko's offered a box of No. 2 pencils for $1.55, or, just over 12 cents per pencil. On the next block, Sav-On Drugs displayed No. 2 pencils boxed in groups of 10 for $1.19. Again, that's 12 cents for a single pencil. Next door, Staples was selling a dozen No. 2 pencils for 99 cents, or, slightly above 8 cents a pencil. Wal-Mart, however, boxed the No. 2 pencils in sets of 10 that were priced at 48 cents. That's less than a nickel each. Wal-Mart pencils looked the same, including the erasers on the end.
http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/site/apps/nl/content2.asp?c=euLTJbMUKvH&b=486835&ct=1427965
Wal-Mart marches on amidst rising tensions
City council and citizens clash; controversy ensues
Roar: The nine-feet tall Walmrat using drastic measures to convince students they should sign the Living Wage petition.
By Emma Dumain and Maxine Kaplan
One of the first things both new and returning students wondered when they arrived at Oberlin this fall was, “What’s a big inflatable rat doing in front of Stevenson?”
Some feared it was the start of another union conflict, recalling how the last academic year opened with the threat of a major strike. But soon it became evident that this rat, far from its usual symbolic role as a warning to picket-jumpers, was no ordinary rat. This was the Walmrat.
Oberlin students, faculty members and residents should be familiar with the ongoing controversy over the impending construction of the Wal-Mart superstore in town. It is a complicated issue fraught with anxieties; even city council members are ambivalent about the effects it will have on Downtown Oberlin.
http://www.oberlin.edu/stupub/ocreview/2005/9/16/news/article1.html
Ex-Wal-Mart workers win battle
By RHÉAL SÉGUIN
From Saturday's Globe and Mail
Saturday, September 17, 2005
Quebec — The Quebec Labour Board has ruled that the closing of a Wal-Mart store this year amounted to a reprisal against unionized workers and has ordered the company to compensate former employees.
The labour board concluded that Wal-Mart Canada, Inc., failed to prove that the closing of its store in Jonquière in April was "real, genuine and definitive" as required under the Quebec Labour Code.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/Page/document/v4/sub/MarketingPage?user_URL=http://www.theglobeandmail.com%2Fservlet%2Fstory%2FRTGAM.20050917.wwalmart0917%2FBNStory%2FNational%2F&ord=1127727782746&brand=theglobeandmail&force_login=true
Wal-Mart deal off council agenda
Details need to be ironed out, mayor says
BY SCOTT WUERZ
News-Democrat
BELLEVILLE -- A vote on the deal to bring a new Wal-Mart Supercenter has been taken off the agenda of the City Council's Monday meeting.
Mayor Mark Eckert said the decision was made to allow the city and the shopping center's developer time to iron out the fine details of an incentive deal for the retail giant. The deal includes the formation of a new tax increment finance district. Eckert insisted the deal is not in jeopardy.
"There are a few things that the staff and the developer are trying to fine tune before this gets to council," Eckert said. "We think this is definitely something that can be taken care of in 30 days or less. The deal is still very solid."
http://www.belleville.com/mld/belleville/news/local/12670642.htm
