All this...we don't want this in our neighborhood because it will attract poor people and crime makes me think of this episode from south park. <object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/4UdmYInXplY?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/4UdmYInXplY?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>
Too bad, so sad. I don't think any Heights residents will be coming to help me out if my neighborhood wants to fend off a Walmart (or, more a propos to my neighborhood -- Urban Lofts). It's nice for the Heights that they have a lot of residents that have the money, the connections, the free time, and the skillz to mount a defense against an unwanted developer. It's a luxury most neighborhoods don't have. So, good luck but don't expect any help or sympathy from me, and please don't annoy me with your yard signs and bumper stickers. Same goes for the Stop the Ashby Highrise people and the No Rail on Richmond people.
Have you worked for Wal-Mart? I have, and they do pressure you to avoid Unions(Its part of your training), but the rest of what you are talking about as to how they treat their Sales Associates is BS. You are forced to take breaks. The employees on the other hand take massive advantage of the company. The amount of time they waste(Taking breaks as long as an hour, when we get 15 minutes, leaving for lunch without clocking out, etc.) And then the amazing amount of theft by employees is ridiculous. You want a crappy job go talk about fast food workers.
That stuff isn't particular to Walmart and happens all over the place here and around the world. In that regard, I wouldn't say workers "take advantage." They do what they do when enforcement isn't there.
There will be a town hall type meeting tonite on the issue at the G.R. Brown convention center hosted by our mayor; http://blogs.chron.com/heights/2010...oustonchronicle/heights+(Home+in+the+Heights) Responding to the local concerns and the divergent points of view around both the Heights and the Washington Corridor neighborhoods, Houston Mayor Annise Parker will host a public meeting regarding the Koehler Street Development proposals (simply put, the Washington Corridor WalMart) at the George R. Brown Convention Center, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Wednesday. This development has really spawned the fighting, hasn't it? From the first, when it was erroneously and frequently referred to as "the Heights WalMart" (It's not. Koehler is south of the Heights. As a matter of fact, even in the classical map of the Heights, the lot is southwest of the Heights proper, so that area has NEVER been a part of the Heights.) to the development of the counter groups (www.stopheightswalmart.org and www.rudh.org) and a pro group, Friends of Walmart, sending out rather slick mailers (I have to admit, that photo on the front of the brochure I got makes it look like several bombs have hit that place. It looked like the Nevada Testing Ground. There are millionaire candidates for public office who DREAM of having mailers look that amazing. As a communications professional, I was highly impressed.). For more on the fight and the fighters (everything except their weights, fighting class and won-loss and KO records), check out Mike Morris' story here. No matter how you feel about this project, the meeting Wednesday night should be a great place to let your feelings out and your opinions known. Here's the letter that Mayor Parker's office sent out (Bold parts are also bold in the original): Public Meeting Regarding Koehler Street Development Mayor Annise Parker Cordially invites you to attend A public meeting regarding the Koehler Street Development Wednesday, August 25, 2010 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. George R. Brown Convention Center 1001 Avenida de las Americas, Room 370 Houston, TX 77010 You are cordially invited to attend a public meeting regarding the Koehler Street Development, also referred to as the possible Walmart project. I have heard multiple times from the public regarding the concerns about this project. I pledged early on that I would make sure all development standards are met. This public meeting is part of that pledge. Therefore, I have asked representatives of Walmart, The Ainbinder Company and my staff to come to this meeting prepared to answer the many questions that have been posed about the plans for addressing traffic, drainage, crime, noise and lighting issues. I also want attendees to receive a full explanation of what a 380 Agreement is and how it provides the city with leverage to achieve the best outcome possible regarding the infrastructure needed to alleviate some of the concerns expressed by nearby residents. For a map and directions to the George R. Brown: http://www.houstonconventionctr.com/Home/MapsParking.aspx. Some street parking may be available or attendees can park in the Hilton/George R. Brown parking garage located on Polk Street, subject to availability. Attendees can submit their parking stub for validation (from that garage only). For additional information, contact Cecilia Ortiz, Mayor's Citizens Assistance Office, at cecilia.ortiz@houstontx.gov or call 832.393.0955. I look forward to seeing you on Wednesday, August 25 at the George R. Brown Convention Center, Room 370. Sincerely, Annise Parker
I agree, but the amount I saw while working at Wal-Mart was beyond anything I've seen before or since.
But I think in a large city, ghetto and white-o are nexts to each others, and there's a higher density of riff-raff, so you have to be a little more vigilant. Warehouse-sized discount store open 24 hours, that 40 Pecore comin' right in from Eastwood Transit?
Hmmm they just started building a wal mart really close to me at i10 and silber and I was siked! I must live in the hood
I work in the Rice Military area, and here are my $0.02... Wal Mart comes in and buys an eyesore of a vacant lot, and people go nuts. Not because it is going to be deleterious, but because of what they perceive about Wal Mart. Sure, Wal Mart has engaged in some awful practices, but it is the proper role of government to regulate their employment practices, not to decide which stores can build and which cannot. The fact of the matter is that when the Target opened, other businesses opened in the immediate area. The result is a wider product offering for all in the area. The Wal Mart can do the same thing. There will be room for as many as 25 other stores. As for the traffic concerns, I have doubts. People will generally shop close to where they live or work. I doubt that people will travel from other parts of town to go to this particular store. Just my opinion. Others may differ.
I simply don't like Wal-Mart because of the way it makes me feel. I don't go from feeling like a normal guy to pure white trash faster than the instant I walk into a Wal-Mart. The store brands/the general feel of the place make me feel like my ass crack is hanging out. Target, on the other hand, makes me feel stylish while I buy garbage baskets and Hanes t-shirts. The miracles of branding.
Target has cuter chicks in there, but it feels more expensive in there. I'm going to shop at this Heights Wal-Mart just because the local residents don't want it.
yup I can't wait to drive 30 miles and shop there.. I know it's just a walmart but it's in the heights!
While he's correct about Walmart with regards to the aberrant behavior that makes headlines, I believe you're correct with regards to what goes on in the typical store. I don't doubt that somewhere, someone has worked off the clock in a Walmart...it's a massive corporation. But my wife worked at Walmart for a year during high school and never had anything like that happen. Nor was she paid any less than male employees. It's a crappy place to work, but almost all retail is crappy and plenty of places are worse. Walmart get singled out because it's big and because of snobbery.
Perhaps you should testify for Wal-Mart in federal court as an expert witness. Because the lawsuits they have lost over the decades say otherwise. BTW, they are now in the middle of the largest class action lawsuit in the history of the universe for discrimination against women. If I wanted to give an encyclopedic accounting of all the **** that Wal-Mart has done in all the manifold iterations to screw employees, my post would have been a whole hell of a lot longer than it was. It would have been like reading Deuteronomy with all of the "Ebadoah begat Elohim, who begat Moab, who begat..." passages. You would fall asleep before finishing the full list.
Yeah, this I do not understand. The Heights is a great neighborhood and all, but it is not worth any substantial drive to go to a Wal Mart there. If I am already there, sure...but not a special trip. The other thing that is funny to me is a group of people that live in the center of the 4th largest city in the country being afraid that they may have traffic. That close in, traffic usually is a given. If you don't want traffic in your neighborhood, live in the burbs.
Walmart replaces fewer good paying jobs with more crappier ones, siphoning the excess profit from the community. There's no way a vanishing middle class is a good thing. Ever.
Do you really think that there is an appreciable difference between the salary of a grocery checker at Wal Mart and one at Randall's?
