Owners of a small business in Birmingham, Alabama, near the site of a proposed Wal-Mart supercenter, have filed suit against the city for giving the retailing giant a $10 million subsidy. Southeast Meats of Pelham, in operation for over two decades, contends the handout gives Wal-Mart an unfair advantage. The suit also asserts that the city improperly threatened to use eminent domain to force owners of the Wal-Mart property to sell.… Read More
Independent retailers in Austin, Texas, are calling on local residents to break the chain store habit by shopping exclusively at locally owned businesses on Saturday, November 15. The one-day event—known as Austin Unchained—is being organized by the Austin Independent Business Alliance (AIBA), a association of some 200 locally owned businesses. The group is promoting Austin Unchained through tee-shirts, flyers, and posters. … Read More
An article in the October 2003 issue of Consumer Reports opens with the following recommendation: "If you’re among the 47 percent of Americans who get medicine from drugstore giants such as CVS, Eckerd, and Rite Aid, here’s a prescription: Try shopping somewhere else. The best place to start looking is one of the 25,000 independent pharmacies that are making a comeback throughout the U.S." The article highlights the results of a year-long survey of more than 32,000 readers about their drugstore experiences.… Read More
Pennsylvania pharmacists are up in arms over a new health plan for state workers that bars them from filling prescriptions at locally owned drugstores, requiring instead that they use Rite Aid or a mail order service. The plan is run by a pharmacy benefit management company (PBM), which the state says will reduce costs by negotiating lower drug prices. In exchange, employees must accept restrictions on where they fill their prescriptions. … Read More
A California Appeals Court has upheld a local ordinance restricting the proliferation of formula retail businesses in Coronado, a city of 24,000 people near San Diego. The court ruled that the ordinance does not violate the US Constitution’s commerce and equal protection clauses, and is a valid use of municipal authority under California state law. The ordinance, enacted in December 2000, requires anyone seeking to open a formula retail business to obtain a special permit. … Read More
Legislation introduced in Congress that would require internet retailers to collect state and local sales taxes stands a fairly good chance of passing in the first few months of 2004, according to supporters of the bill.
The bill, sponsored in the Senate by Byron Dorgan (D-SD) and Michael Enzi (R-WY) and in the House by Rep. Bill Delahunt (D-MA), gives Congressional approval to a national compact made up of states that have simplified and aligned their sales tax rules and regulations.
The Irish Pharmaceutical Union (IPU) has asked the government to adopt restrictions on the ownership of pharmacies similar to regulations in place in most European countries. The IPU favors restricting pharmacy ownership to pharmacists, and capping the number of pharmacies any pharmacist can own at five. Eleven of the fifteen European Union countries, including France and Germany, have similar laws prohibiting corporate chains from operating drugstores. … Read More
Malaysia has placed a five-year ban on the construction of hypermarkets in Klang Valley, which includes Kuala Lumpur, and the states of Johor and Penang. New guidelines also lengthen the approval time for developers seeking to build hypermarkets in other areas from four months to two years.
Hypermarkets are stores larger than 8,000 square meters (86,000 square feet) that sell both department store merchandise and groceries, similar to Wal-Mart supercenters.… Read More
The Totalitarian Pope by David Morris Originally published on Alternet, October 20, 2003 Last week John Paul II celebrated the 25th anniversary of his pontificate to thunderous applause by many conservatives. The Weekly Standard’s David Brooks argues in his new column in the New York Times that the Pope deserved the Nobel Peace Prize. The San … Read More
