Coordinated Lefty Nonsense

WAL-MARTS MEETS RESISTANCE ACROSS STATE:

Wal-Mart also faces resistance from residents near supercenter projects in Victor, the town of Greece and in Lima in Livingston County.

Roll Forward Geneva, a group with about 40 core members, hopes to mount an anti-Wal-Mart lobbying effort that will include yard signs, newspaper ads, letters to the Geneva Town Board and attendance at town meetings.

Group members cite the negative impact the expansion of the Routes 5&20 store could have on the area's economy, existing stores and traffic; and they oppose the company's reputation for poor wages and benefits.

Opponents elsewhere point to the same issues.

That's not a coincidence, of course. Some enterprising reporter should study the degree of coordination between Walmart opponents at the local level. It's not a secret on the national level; witness this New York Times article from April, 2005 (registration may be required). Ditto for the anti-windfarm folks.

Incidentally, I used to work across the street from Northgate Plaza in Greece. The McDonald's there was busy but the rest of the plaza was dead and/or empty and had been that way for decades. Stores cycled in and out with alarming speed. Every so often the paper would note how terrible it was that Northgate was such an embarassment. Well, folks, here's your chance to fix the problem. After thirty years.