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July 1, 2008 THE WAL-MART SUPERCENTER IS NOT A DONE DEAL! THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU WHO CALLED OR EMAILED YOUR CITY COUNCIL ABOUT THE ASI AND WAS ABLE TO ATTEND AND/OR SPEAK AT THE CC MT. 6/24. THE ASI SUPPORTERS REPRESENTED AT LEAST HALF THE AUDIENCE, SO IT IS ON TO THE ELECTION!!! WAYS YOU CAN HELP KICK OFF OUR CAMPAIGN TO WIN AT THE BALLOT IN NOVEMBER. We are as strong as our support system: Continue writing letters to the editor: Let your community know how important this initiative is to the City of Atascadero to protect local control, smart growth and our economy. As it stands now, Atascadero has no ordinance in place to protect it from any superstore development. Atascadero News—editor@atascaderonews.com (up to 400 words) The Tribune—letters@thetribunenews.com (no more than 200 words, and once every 30 days The New Times—letters@newtimesslo.com (up to 250 words) DONATE: $ (see heading and fill out form at end of update to mail in with your check), volunteer time (call us), signs, banners and/or bumper stickers for the ASI campaign, offer your home for neighborhood discussions. Let us know if you want a sign and if we can use your name as a supporter. Those that have run campaigns before would be of critical assistance. We are asking that 1,000 of our supporters give $20, we would have, $20,000, $10=$10,000, etc. Most of our donations are in the form of $1, 5, 10 and $20. Those donations have brought us to the ballot and you know we will need much more to fight WM. Attend ADE (Applied Development Economics) meeting, the consultant firm working with the community to see how we can spur smart growth in Atascadero. All of you need to be heard about our town and what you believe needs to be changed. KEEP YOURSELF INFORMED about what WM will mean for our town and challenge the Wal-Mart ads and media blitz we can expect. SUPPORT ELLEN BERAUD for her courageous stance supporting adoption of the Atascadero Shield Initiative by the CC 6/24. Watch this CC Mt on channel 20, 9:00 a.m., 1 & 6:00 p.m. M-F for what really happens. Ask your CC to support the ASI. Consider this measure is a choice between supporting the development of our downtown, "Mainstreet" versus sending the energy of the town to a superstore at the north of town. Make no mistake, Wal-Mart will displace "Mainstreet." And, as you know, tourists do not get off the highway to visit a Wal-Mart. Most are traveling away from them. NOTIFY OWM when you change your address, phone and/or email. 6/24/08 City Council Address on the ASI adoption by Tom Comar Tom Comar, Spokesperson for OWM/ASI, address to the City Council Tues., 6/24/08: I'm Tom Comar, spokesperson for the Atascadero Shield initiative, 22 year city resident. Good Evening Mayor, Councilpersons, staff and neighbors. I want to thank Marcia, in particular, for her professionalism, Victoria and anyone else who had the tedious task to verify the Shield signatures. We at Oppose Wal-Mart are forever indebted to the Shield Committee volunteers, our neighbors, for their persistence, dedication, sacrifice and vision in gathering these signatures and putting us and the thousands of our supporters in this Win-Win situation tonight. We stopped collecting signatures when we knew we had enough to qualify to bring it to the city council for certification and their action. Obviously, we have earned the right for this measure to go on the ballot in November's election. But, for the following reasons, we ask the City Council to provide leadership tonight, for the city and its residents, by adopting this measure outright as a city ordinance. Sending it to staff for a report is redundant. Staff already completed a report over a year ago on Big Box Grocery ordinances. Adopting the initiative is the right thing to do and is the same as if it had been voted in by the electorate. That is, it can only be changed by a vote of the people. No new City council can dump it or change it at will. The initiative does allow, per section 8, through a public process, flexibility for the Council at any time to formulate interpretive guidelines consistent with the ordinance. Oppose Wal-Mart felt that we were compelled to go to the people with the Shield initiative, which is essentially, a Big Box Grocery Ordinance. This after a City Council majority reversed its decision to go forward with a Big Box Grocery Ordinance because Wal-Mart, public ally in the Tribune, threatens to sue the city if they passed such an ordinance. Wal-Mart had also threatened to sue the Inglewood City Council and did Sue the City of Turlock, costing that City $400,000 to defend itself. Wal-Mart lost, all the way up to the state superior court. Cities now know that they cannot be sued for adopting Big Box Grocery Ordinances. Another ruling by the same court in a case involving the City of Hanford, gave cities the right to decide how much of what merchandize and where it could be sold in the city. Adopting a Big Box Grocery Ordinance through this initiative process eliminates the threat of a lawsuit against the city and taxpayers who ultimately would bear the cost of such litigation The Council has shown a preference and set a precedent for adopting the will of a citizen sponsored petition. I'm referring to the creek set-back referendum which came before this Council and was accepted as is, and not placed before the voters. Adoption of the shield measure would bring Atascadero up to speed with the cities of Paso Robles, Arroyo Grande, Santa Maria and the County itself. All these entities City Councils have passed, without going to the ballot, ordinances against superstores. They recognized the harm and threat these superstores pose for their cities and residents, for local business, smaller chain stores, particularly locally owned and non-union grocery stores like Spencers and Food For Less. Yet, all but the county have regular Wal-Mart Department stores. Likewise, the Shield initiative does not prevent a Wal-mart department store, a Wal-mart neighbor market or even a Wal-mart Sam's Club. However, real life experience has shown that even from these regular dept. stores, the promises of riches from additional tax and increased jobs do not materialize. Sales tax revenue is merely shifted from one cash register to another as businesses downsize or close with minimal or no additional tax revenue to the city or a net increase in jobs... Talk to the staff of Arroyo Grande about internal sales tax leakage. And jobs. The Atascadero News reported on some of these ordinances last Friday. Comparing the shield initiative to these ordinances, it is less restrictive on size cap than the City of San Luis; it is less restrictive on grocery sales area than Arroyo Grande, which limits superstores to only 3%. It is more restrictive than Paso Robles that allows 8%. The Shield is in the middle limiting stores over 90,000 sf to no more than 5% of floor space to be dedicated to groceries, non-taxable items that add little or no sales tax revenue to the City. This initiative is not about shoppers' rights and choice as Wal-Mart consumerism propaganda asserts. There is just about every known Big Box retailer in the area, including a WM supercenter to be, in Paso. There is absolutely no market need for another Wal-Mart Supercenter in the No. County. Citizens have easy access to cheap Chinese imports within a short drive. Please consider the following: We are not opposed philosophically with putting the Shield on the ballot. However, the reality is we live in the age of corporate democracy, where the one with the most money usually wins. We're up against the largest corporation in the world which has unlimited resources and experience in fighting initiatives of the people. And given Wal-Mart's track record across the state and country, we can expect them to pour $300,000 to half a million into their campaign to defeat the Shield. The only special interest in this room tonight is Wal-Mart and the Rottman Group and they have all the money in the world to sell themselves to us. There will be no level playing field, Wal-Mart and their supporters know this. This will not be a fair fight or true democratic process. The voters of Atascadero will be exposed to an unprecedented self-promoting campaign by Wal-Mart with their picture of reality, pummeled by T.V. ads and postal propaganda. This picture will not include what really happens when a Supercenter comes to town, as spelled out graphically in hundreds of independent studies on every aspect of a Wal-Mart supercenter. This decision you must make tonight is neither an academic exercise nor ideological battle. Good paying jobs, lifestyles, and livelihoods are at stake. Our neighbors and other county residents who work for those grocery stores most at risk of downsizing or closing, Spencer's and Food For Less, need your protection. Folks around Del Rio did not buy their homes thinking they'd have a Wal-mart Supercenter as a night light. The Shield protects their property rights. They need your protection. It is up to you to ensure Atascaderans don't become victims of the largest Corporation in the world's over-saturation of small towns everywhere. You can't buy what we have all come to appreciate about Atascadero from the shelves of a Wal-Mart Supercenter or any other Superstore. June 20, 2008 THE JUNE 24 CC MEETING IS A CRITICAL MEETING AND WE NEED YOU!!! This is one of the times when we need all of you. If you think other ASI supporters will go in your place that creates a weak link. Come to the meeting, bring other supporters and if you are comfortable, speak at the lectern to the issue. The meeting starts at 6pm - please come early to get a seat inside. Thank you for your ongoing support. The time is now! ASK THE ATASCADERO CITY COUNCIL TO USE THEIR LEADERSHIP TO VOTE TO MAKE THE ASI MEASURE A CITY ORDINANCE at this historic 6/24/08 meeting. Call us if you need assistance or have questions. June 12, 2008 THE WAL-MART SUPERCENTER IS NOT A DONE DEAL! THE ASI SIGNATURES ARE COUNTED!!!!!! OWM/ASI supporters, we just heard from Marcia M.Torgerson at the City Hall. Her processing of the signatures is complete. We have the required signatures to take the City Council for certification. Please note the following event and mark your calendar: The next CC Meeting is Tuesday, June 24. At this meeting certification of the Atascadero Shield Initiative will come before the City Council. The CC can adopt the initiative as an ordinance, send it on to the voters November 08 or order a report from staff and then either adopt or send to the voters. I know you will want to attend this meeting June 24 CC Mt. at 6:30 p.m. at the Atascadero City Hall. If you have questions, please call us (see heading). Let your City Council know how you feel about the Atascadero Shield Initiative that would keep superstores out of our town. The City Council can choose to accept this initiative as a city ordinance at this meeting. City Council Contacts: COUNCILPERSON GEORGE LUNA 466-2946 gwluna@gmail.com MAYOR MIKE BRENNLER 466-4172 mbrennler@atascadero.org MAYOR PRO TEM ELLEN BERAUD 462-3020 ellen@ellenberaud.com COUNCILPERSON JERRY CLAY SR. 466-9720 jclay@atascadero.org COUNCILPERSON TOM O'MALLEY 466-8781 tomalley@atascadero.org LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Let your community know how you feel about THE CITY COUNCIL accepting this initiative as a City Ordinance now or sending it on to the ballot in November 08. THANK YOU! Atascadero News—editor@atascaderonews.com (up to 400 words) The Tribune—letters@thetribunenews.com (no more than 200 words) The New Times—letters@newtimesslo.com (up to 250 words) Recent Articles about Wal-Mart's policies across the world: Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, jacked up its lobbying budget by 60 percent in 2007, spending $4 million to influence the government on issues ranging from energy efficiency to retail crime. In 2006, the company spent about $2.5 million in lobbying dollars, up from $1.6 million in 2005. [Forbes, 3/7/08] In 2007, True Religion Apparel Inc., a maker of $300 jeans, said Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s Sam's Club warehouse chain was illegally selling clothing with its trademark. The infringing apparel is presented in "a confusingly deceptive manner" and is of "inferior quality," True Religion said in a complaint in federal court. Wal-Mart is accused of trademark infringement and unfair competition, according to the filing, which seeks unspecified damages. [Los Angeles Times, 4/20/07] In 2006, Wal-Mart announced plans to hire five times its current workforce in China, as it expands its number of stores. In January 2008, Wal-Mart workers in Shenzhen, China held a two day sit-in at a Wal-Mart distribution center. The workers were demanding overtime pay for which Wal-Mart had only offered them compensative rest. One lawyer noted that Wal-Mart's failure to pay overtime wages is illegal. [San Jose Mercury News, 3/21/06; Sina (China), 1/4/08] At the end of 2007, Wal-Mart hit its lowest customer satisfaction rating since the American Consumers Satisfaction Index began its survey in 1994. Wal-Mart's same-store sales are not a sign that customers are breaking the door down. [Forbes, 2/20/08] Walk-in clinic operator CheckUps, the resident provider for Wal-Mart, closed its doors in January. CheckUps stopped paying some of its nurse practitioners in December, and it owes about $108,000 to Medtracker Personnel. Wal-Mart has leased space to about 80 clinics in stores across the country, including the CheckUps clinics now closed. "We are working to reopen the clinics as quickly as possible, whether or not they are operated by CheckUps," said a Wal-Mart spokesperson. [New York Times, 1/29/08; CNN Money, 2/4/08] info@opposewalmart.com, 461-3710 Donations to: ASI, P. O. Box 1524, Atascadero 93423 March 24, 2008 ASI at Sunken Garden Flea Mkt Sat 4/19/08 Call for Donations: OWM/ASI supporters can donate items to be sold to benefit ASI at the Flea Market on 4/19. We appreciate your donations in the form of: *Furniture *Household Appliances (working condition, please) *Books in good condition *Tools *Plants or Garden Materials *CDs or software (usable only) *Artwork/Decorative Items Please, NO CLOTHING items will be accepted. Items can be dropped off before 4/15 at Jay and Nora's house--Call to schedule a time: 462-9580 Any items you donate that do not sell will be donated to charity at the end of the day. If you want to retain any unsold items, please stop by to pick them up by end of sale at 2 PM at the Sunken Gardens. You may call Nora's cell at 866-913-9747 to check their status. We currently have five volunteers to staff the booth and collect signatures that day. If you are interested in helping on Saturday, the 19th, or with a pricing party earlier that week, call Jay or Nora at 462-9580. If you haven't signed the Shield yet, stop by the flea market to sign, and encourage your friends, neighbors and family to do the same! MORE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR FROM ASI/OWM SUPPORTERS: Thank you for your articulate and thoughtful letters to the editor. Two years is long, long time to sustain this campaign, but we need to keep sending in the Letters to the Editors. If you have been thinking about writing a letter to the editor, now is the time! . Here's the info: Atascadero News—editor@atascaderonews.com (up to 400 words) The Tribune—letters@thetribunenews.com (no more than 200 words) The New Times—letters@newtimesslo.com (up to 250 words) ASI/OWM appreciates your donations of mostly $1, 5, 10 and 25's!!! Your donations have sustained a two year struggle to keep Atascadero Wal-Mart Free—Impressive! If you want to keep Atascadero WM SuperCenter free, make sure you've signed the Atascadero Shield Initiative (ASI). It is the only opportunity to STOP the proposed superstore. We cannot count on a City Council to protect the General Plan and follow smart growth principles. Only an energized, well-educated public can put an end to the superstore threat and all its consequences. Look for ASI volunteers in front of Spencer's, Vons, Food for Less, K-Mart, Trader Joe's, Templeton Farmer's Mk on Sat. and at the Atascadero Flea Market on April 19 in the Sunken Garden. Remember, if you signed an OWM petition before February 1, 2008, you signed on to be an OWM supporter and receive the OWM updates. You still need to sign the formal initiative to put ASI on the November ballot. Thanks! Questions, go to our website under "initiative." March 15, 2008 FOLKS THIS IS IT AND ITS CRITICAL!!! If you want to keep Atascadero WM SuperCenter free, make sure you've signed the Atascadero Shield Initiative (ASI). It is the only opportunity to STOP the proposed or larger WM supercenter. We cannot count on a City Council to protect the General Plan and follow smart growth. Only an energized, well-educated public can put an end to the super store threat and all its consequences. Notes on the City Council March 11 Meeting The CC voted 4-1 to allow the processing of WM's latest proposal for a zone change. Wal-Mart again asked for a zone change to convert 10.3 acres of residential to commercial with a total of 21 acres to support their 146,000 s f size store (3 football fields). After 2 years of paid organizing, WM got their people out to the CC Mt. We were outnumbered 4 to 1. The CC saw these numbers and voted 4 to 1 to go ahead with processing WM's application and will proceed with an extensive EIR. OWM's comprehensive research indicates that once an EIR processing starts, it is just a matter of time before WM comes to town. Ellen Beraud voted "NO" to WM and the Rottman Group to preserve the General Plan--no rezone in the Del Rio Neighborhood. The only tool that can keep WM out of town is an initiative, Our Atascadero Shield Initiative along with the General Plan, limits stores over 150,000 s f, AND in superstores over 90,000 s f, no more than 5% of a grocery component in the store. Call us if you have questions. IT IS CRITICAL THAT ALL OWM SUPPORTERS: SIGN THE ATASCADERO SHIELD INITIATIVE (ASI) BALLOT MEASURE - The launch of the Atascadero Shield Initiative Ballot Measure was February 1. If you believe you signed this initiative when you signed our OWM petition during the last two years, you have not! The petition you signed was to support OWM and receive OWM updates. Now we ask you to sign the ASI so we can bring this measure to the Municipal November election. See more info on the OWM sponsored ASI on our website, www.opposewalmart.com under "Initiative." YOU WILL FIND OUR VOLUNTEERS WITH INITIATIVE CLIPBOARDS AT: 1. Grocer storefronts: Vons, Spencer's, Trader Joe's, Food for Less, and K-Mart on the weekends close to the noon hour. Albertson's does not allow our presence. Let Albertson's know how you feel about this. 2. Templeton Farmer's Mk., Saturdays 9-11:30 a.m. (look for the OWM table) 3. If you cannot find us, call us 461-3710. NOTE: Once all our supporters come out to sign ASI, we will be done getting signatures. This is not a time to think that someone else will come out to sign the initiative. We need yours!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! VOLUNTEER TO GET SIGNATURES from your family, friends, co-workers, neighbors--walk your neighborhood to get signatures for ASI--Smart Growth. Call Tom at 461-3710 to find out the how-to of signature gathering and get ballot measure sheets. February 19, 2008 OWM SUPPORTERS HERE IS WHAT WE NEED YOU TO DO: • SIGN THE ATASCADERO SHIELD INITIATIVE (ASI) BALLOT MEASURE – The launch of the Atascadero Shield Initiative Ballot Measure was February 1. If you believe you signed this initiative when you signed our OWM petition sometime during the last two years. You have not! The petition you signed was to support OWM and receive OWM updates. Now we ask you to sign the ASI. See more info on the OWM sponsored ASI on our website, www.opposewalmart.com under "Initiative." • COME OUT TO THE FOLLOWING SITES TO SIGN: 1. Grocer storefronts that invited or OK'd us in front of their store: Vons, Spencer's, Food for Less, and K-Mart on the weekends close to the noon hour. 2. Templeton Farmer's Mk., 9-11:00 a.m. (look for the OWM table) NOTE: Once all our supporters come out to sign ASI, we would be done getting signatures. This is not a time to think the other person will do it. This is YOUR time to sign to get signatures we need to (1) go before the City Council or (2) go before the voters in November if the City Council does not adopt the ballot measure as an ordinance. • VOLUNTEER TO GET SIGNATURES from your family, friends, co-workers, neighbors—walk your neighborhood to get signatures for ASI—Smart Growth. Call Ron (466-3826) to find out the how-to of signature gathering and get ballot measure sheets. • DONATE TO ASI Donate to the Atascadero Shield Initiative Click on form for printable version January 30, 2008 OWM supporters, what follows is a letter to the editor by a private citizen who uncovered that the consultant, Applied Development Economics (ADE), has worked for developers of Wal-Mart in a number of cities preparing the economic study part of their EIR's and cities evaluating a Wal-Mart proposal. ADE was hired by the city council at the January 22 Meeting. In every city, ADE has found Wal-Mart would not impact local businesses/downtown or have minimal impact. In their presentation, ADE mentioned many cities they have done work, but none of the cities were mentioned that they made recommendations regarding a Wal-Mart development. And, in each and every city that ADE did an economic study, ADE recommended a Pro-Wal-Mart fiscal development. In addition, please note that the selection committee facilitating the hiring process for the consultant was made up of Assistant City Manager Jim Lewis, Community Development Director Warren Frace, Claire Clark, the city of San Luis Obispo's economic development manager, and Michael Manchak, president of the SLO Economic Vitality Corporation. If you go to the Economic Vitality corporation (EVC) website you will see who is on the Board of Directors. This is listed below for your perusal. As you can see Maury Froman of the Rottman Group is a Senior Vice President on the EVC Board. Tom O'Malley is the Chairperson of the Board. Who in the City Staff made the decision to have a representative from EVC, who has a clear connection to Wal-Mart via the Rottman Group, on the selection committee for this consulting job for the City. We believe this is a further conflict of interest. The question is how could Tom O'Malley go along with the Atascadero City Staff choosing Michael Manchak from EVC when their board has representation of the Rottman Group, the advocate here in Atascadero for Wal-Mart. We hope you will let your councilpersons know how you feel about this set-up. Had it not been for a private citizen's investigation, none of us would have know about these conflicts. The City Staff has kept the public and some of the city council in the dark about this information. THE JANUARY 22 CITY COUNCIL DECISION TO RETAIN ADE MUST BE REVERSED. Atascadero News, 1-30-08, Letters A $100,000 waste in Atascadero BY DAVID BROADWATER -- JANUARY 30, 2008 Dear editor, At its Jan. 22 meeting, the Atascadero City Council voted unanimously to hire a consultant, with a history of working for Wal-Mart developers and issuing pro-Wal-Mart recommendations, to devise its city-wide economic development strategy. Despite having received evidence of that history, the council, at its first public hearing on the matter, elected to give $100,000 of taxpayer money to Applied Development Economics, without hearing from any of the other three finalists or seven other applicants for the contract. As the council was informed, ADE has been hired by Wal-Mart developers in Lodi and Red Bluff, testified for Wal-Mart at a Redding City Council hearing, issued pro-Wal-Mart fiscal and development reports regarding Suisun, Galt and Southern Monterey County (King City, Soledad, Greenfield and Gonzales), and produced a 2003 pro-Wal-Mart study for the California Association of Enterprise Zones. In its Jan. 22 presentation to the council, ADE omitted these parts of its history. While the council may consider this $100,000 expenditure a good investment, it may be a waste of taxpayer money, due to the lack of credibility of an ADE analysis and the council's obstinate neglect of the public's right to informed participation. Garbage-in, garbage-out in the mudhole. Atascadero News, 1-30-08, Letters Atascadero News, 1-25-08, Atascadero hires economic consultant Walnut Creek-based Applied Economic Developments was the consulting firm hired by the council on Tuesday. The firm was selected from a pool of 11 applicants, narrowed down to the four firms deemed the most qualified by a selection committee made up of Assistant City Manager Jim Lewis, Community Development Director Warren Frace, Claire Clark, the city of San Luis Obispo's economic development manager, and Michael Manchak, president of the SLO Economic Vitality Corporation. Economic Vitality Corporation (EVC) Board of Directors Chair Tom O'Malley Council Member City of Atascadero Pres. & CEO Michael Manchak Economic Vitality Corporation Maury Froman Senior Vice President The Rottman Group Chip Visci President & Publisher The Tribune SPONSORS Kronick Moskovitz Tiedemann & Girard Contact: Patrick L. Enright eda - design professionals Contact: Jeffrey P. Wagner, PE The Rottman Group Contact: Maury Froman January 29, 2008 TO DONATE, SEND TO: Atascadero Shield Initiative, P. O. Box 1524, Atascadero CA 93423 **VOTE YES ON THE ATACADERO SHIELD INITIATIVE (ASI)** ASI LAUNCH: SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 1-4:00 P. M. ATASCADERO LIBRARY COMMUNITY ROOM, MORRO ROAD COME AND SIGN THE PETITION Orientation for signature gatherer's at 1:30, 2:30 and 3:30 p.m. on Saturday HOW YOU CAN SIGN THE ATASCADERO SHIELD INITIATIVE (ASI): STARTING IN FEBRUARY: LOOK FOR US AT THE ATASCADERO AND TEMPLETON FARMER'S MARKET IN FRONT OF VONS, FOOD FOR LESS, SPENCER'S AND K-MART IF YOU WANT TO COLLECT SIGNATURES, CALL RON ROTHMAN AT 466-3826 OR OWM AT 461-3710. All signature gatherers will be required to have an orientation. If you are unable to get to the above locations, call us and we will come to you. HOW YOU CAN HELP Write letters to the editor: Atascadero News—editor@atascaderonews.com (up to 400 words) The Tribune—letters@thetribunenews.com (no more than 200 words) The New Times—letters@newtimesslo.com (up to 250 words) Make a Donation to Atascadero Shield Initiative Committee and mail to: Atascadero Shield Initiative Committee, P. O. Box 1524, Atascadero CA 93423. Please note if you make a donation more than $100, you must give us your occupation, employer or business for reporting political contributions by law. DECEMBER 18, 2007 HAPPY HOLIDAYS BALLOT MEASURE SUBMITTED TO CITY OF ATASCADERO HANG ON TO YOUR SLEIGH BELLS, YOUR Atascadero Oppose Wal-Mart launched a City initiative 12/17/07, to cap big box size and prohibit superstores. With the urging from many of you, OWM felt the time was right to go on the offensive. The "Atascadero Shield Initiative" is designed to do just that: "shield" the General Plan, small-town character and economic vitality of Atascadero from predatory outside corporations and developers who want to make Atascadero over in their vision of future growth. As we have always maintained and as so many of you have voiced, we believe the community should have the right to envision our own future and determine the pace, size and scale of development. What we are proposing are minimal community standards to guide reasonable growth. We can expect that Wal-Mart/Rottman Group will throw a king's ransom into the fray to counter our initiative. But, we are confidant that Atascaderans can not be bought. When the rubber hits the road, we believe that the voters of Atascadero will choose to be Citizens first and consumers second. Look for a clarifying Letter to the Editor from our OWM spokesperson soon, responding to misconceptions in today's The Tribune and Atascadero News. HOW OWM SUPPORTERS/VOLUNTEERS CAN HELP: 1. OWM Volunteers and supporters, we need you now! to be a Atascadero Shield Initiative Ballot Committee volunteers. Send us your name, phone and email or call us. We can then get back to you with the date of our first Atascadero Shield Initiative Volunteer meeting. OWM, the sponsoring organization of this initiative, needs all of you! to support this ballot initiative (measure) by volunteering to help in a number of areas including getting signatures starting the end of January 08 in many locations. We will need approximately 2000 signatures. Our Atascadero Shield Initiative ballot measure committee requires a "Treasurer." We would like to have co-treasurers so that the responsibility can be shared. Call or email us to volunteer and/or talk to us about this position. We need your help with whatever expertise you have to make the ballot measure a success. Call/email us to volunteer your time and skills (printing, organizing, technology etc). Please call us (461-3710) or email us with your ideas. 2. January City Council Meetings Next City Council (CC) Meetings are Tuesday, January 8 and 22, 2008. Stay tuned. If WM/Rottman brings in a new proposal in early 2008, we will all need to be there en masse. If you cannot attend the CC meeting, please watch the proceedings on Channel 20 live, or 9:00 a.m., 1 and 6:00 p.m. daily. Or, click Atascadero City website web cast. KEEP INFORMED! 3. SEE FILM "WHAT WOULD JESUS BUY" Being shown by HopeDance on January 11 and 12 at the SLO Library at 7:00 p.m. A $10 donation is requested. Go to HopeDance.org for more information. OWM volunteers make this OWM Update possible! NOVEMBER 29, 2007 info@opposewalmart.com, 461-3710 P. O. Box 1524, Atascadero CA 93423 for donations. Thank you AGAIN! for your generous contributions to OWM! THANK YOU OWM VOLUNTEERS AND SUPPORTERS FOR COMING OUT TO THE OCTOBER 23 AND SUBSEQUENT OCTOBER 29 SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS! It is our OWM supporters that drive the campaign to keep Atascadero Wal-Mart free!!! YOUR THOUGHTFUL, INTELLIGENT, PASSIONATE WORDS WERE IMPRESSIVE AND WELL SAID! WE HOPE THEY WERE HEARD! EMAIL info@opposewalmart.com OR CALL OWM to BE AN ACTIVE OWM VOLUNTEER with upcoming OWM actions! Next City Council (CC) Meeting is Tuesday, December 11. Stay tuned. If WM/Rottman brings in a new proposal in early December, as they have stated, it will be on this CC agenda and we will all need to be there en masse. If you cannot attend the CC meeting, please watch on Channel 20 live, or 9:00 a.m., 1 and 6:00 p.m. daily. Or, click Atascadero City website webcast. NEW OPPOSE WAL-MART (OWM) INFORMATION, ACTION FOR YOUR REVIEW: 1. Share your comments, observations and responses to other Letters to the Editor in a Letter to the Editor of local papers. Thank you for all the letters to the editor. We need a steady stream of letters voicing your opposition to a supercenter in Atascadero. Put your thoughts in a Letter to the Editor and email the letter to the A News (editor@Atascaderonews.com), The Tribune (letters@thetribunenews.com and The New Times (letters@newtimesslo.com). 2. Local Newspaper Letters to the Editor for your review www.sanluisobispo.com/182/story/203703.html (Nov. 27, 2007, The Tribune) www.atascaderonews.com/main.php?story_id=8064&page=38 (Nov. 14, 2007, Atascadero News) www.atascaderonews.com/main.php?story_id=8124&page=38 www.atascaderonews.com/main.php?story_id=8122&page=38 (We all got a chuckle out of this one) (Nov. 23, 2007, A News) www.atascaderonews.com/main.php?story_id=8064&page=38 (Nov. 14, 2007 A News) 3. Wal-Mart Watch story on Deborah Shank, WM employee, whose story was in the Wall Street Journal, NY Times and on a variety of news programs.and Arkansas Democratic Gazette cover story including comments from Tom Comar, spokesperson for OWM, to journalist Steve Painter. • WM employee, Deborah Shank's Story: (you will need to cut and paste) www.walmartwatch.com/pages/deborahshank/ • COVER STORY: SLOW growing from Arkansas Democratic Gazette BY STEVE PAINTER Posted on Sunday, November 11, 2007 Arkansas, home base to the world's largest retailer, has a Wal-Mart store for every 30,000 residents. No state has more on a per-capita basis. In California and New York, the nation's first and third most-populous states (Texas is second), it's one store for every 175, 000 and 180, 000 residents, respectively. The numbers alone suggest that Bentonville-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has plenty of room to grow, despite its already dominant role in retailing. Yet Wal-Mart is hitting the brakes, slowing its U. S. growth voluntarily and, increasingly, involuntarily. In some locales, the company battles for years before gaining approval to build a store or, in rare instances, walks away empty-handed. In California, for example, battles over proposed Wal-Mart stores are a constant feature of local politics. 'There are a significant number of people there who look at Wal-Mart as the tool of the Antichrist, the spoilers of the environment. It's a very visceral reaction,' said Ryan Matthews, a California native and chief executive officer of Black Monk Consulting in Eastpointe, Mich. Wal-Mart's least-developed states tend to have heavier union representation in the supermarket industry, active environmental groups and, in some cases, local governments that lean toward protecting local business. Wal-Mart spokesman John Simley said those factors have little to do with the company's lack of penetration in those markets. Rather, he said, it's a matter of building distribution centers to support store growth. The fact is, we just haven't gotten there yet, he said. We haven't exhausted the possibilities in a lot of places.' Hosting retail analysts in October; Wal-Mart executives said that by 2010, new supercenter construction or expansion projects would number 140 a year, down from 281 last year. David Livingston, a Pewaukee, Wis., consultant who specializes in supermarket site selection, isn't buying the concept that Wal-Mart is pulling back. The company can generate more sales just in its growth than many chains have overall, he said. People say they're going backward, and I don't see that at all, he said. If they're pulling back, that means they're not opening stores, it means they're closing stores.' NO WELCOME MAT Kansas has been a good market for Wal-Mart. It has seldom encountered serious opposition and its per-capita penetration is high. But Lawrence, Kan., proved to be a different story. In August 2002, Wal-Mart announced its intention to build a second supercenter in the city of about 90, 000. Five years, seven lawsuits and three city election cycles later, Wal-Mart has won tentative approval to build a store half the size it originally proposed and not a spade of dirt has been turned on the project. The last election tipped the balance in Wal-Mart's favor. Lawrence, it should be noted, is not a typical Kansas town. It is home to the state's largest university, its politics lean Democratic in a heavily Republican state and it boasts a thriving downtown business district that local leaders are eager to protect. 'This community doesn't need two Wal-Marts, said Gwen Klingenberg, president of the Lawrence Association of Neighborhoods, who helped lead the ultimately unsuccessful effort to block approval of the new store. Traffic was the big issue for her neighborhood, just south of the Wal-Mart site that will include other retail development, she said. But she said others opposed it for reasons such as Wal-Mart's pay levels and benefits offered to employees. Simley called the drawn-out process 'unusual. You have to be flexible. Ultimately, our goal is to meet the demand in the community, he said. The company still has no specific timeline for the store, he said. Though the size of the project shrank, it will include a complete grocery section, Simley said. And the smaller size doesn't mean fewer customers, he said. It means you have to operate a little more efficiently, to replenish more quickly, and it means there might be some products you do without, he said. In Atascadero, Calif., the City Council turned back, for now, Wal-Mart's proposal for a full-size supercenter after a public hearing drew about 500 people, opponents and supporters, and lasted until 2 a. m. The 4-1 vote Oct. 31 was a procedural move, directing the staff not to proceed with paperwork on the proposal. Tom Comar, a spokesman for Oppose Wal-Mart, the group that formed to fight the store, said people joined the opposition for reasons ranging from Wal-Mart's business model to complaints about jobs moving overseas. There's a moral and ethical issue with Wal-Mart, he said. His own opposition was based on the potential impact on the central coast city of 27,000. I just felt the development the size of a supercenter was out of character for our town, said Comar; a semi retired nurse practitioner who said he had never been a community activist before. Simley said Wal-Mart has not given up on Atascadero. The fact is, there are still options on how we might be able to serve the community, he said. On Oct. 19, Wal-Mart pulled out of a proposed project in Garden Grove, Calif., which would have been the company's first supercenter in Orange County. In that case, local officials and businesses reacted with disappointment, saying they were counting on the store to anchor other business growth. Simley said construction costs became an issue, but noted the community's desire for Wal-Mart to set up shop. 'It's not like we find opposition always in urban areas. In this case, we had quite a bit of community support for it, but the economics didn't pan out, he said. THE UNION FACTOR Jim Alger has been battling Wal-Mart for years as a community activist, most recently as regional coordinator of the Tri-County Labor Foundation, covering Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. His latest focus is trying to block a proposed 150, 000-square-foot Wal-Mart supercenter in Ventura. The store is across from a Ralph's supermarket, part of the Kroger Co. supermarket chain. Many workers at the Ralph's store, represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers union, earn about $14 an hour and some make up to $18 an hour, Alger said. The union's new contract for 'grocer clerks' pays from $9 to $ 18.40 an hour. Meat cutters earn more. Wal-Mart's average wage for full-time hourly employees in California is $11.04 an hour, according to the company's Web site. The company does not release wage figures beyond the statewide averages, Simley said. But he said Wal-Mart can't dictate local wages. 'We compete in a market for labor, and our wages and our benefits have to be competitive in that market in order to attract and retain people, he said. Alger said the union is legally obligated to defend its members' jobs and pay, and that Wal-Mart's average hourly wage is too low. 'You cannot live on that' in Ventura, Alger said, citing gasoline prices approaching $4 a gallon and high housing costs. Rent for two-bedroom houses in Ventura, advertised online recently, started at $ 1,500 a month. When Wal-Mart meets opposition, Alger said, they respond as if they're a political campaign. It's all about perception. All they want is to take all our money, put it in an armored truck and ship it off to Bentonville, Ark., he said. The labor foundation is working on a ballot initiative to limit the size of big-box stores. None of Wal-Mart's U. S. stores have union-represented workers. Patricia Edwards, a fund manager for Wentworth, Hauser and Violich in Seattle who tracks Wal-Mart, said labor unions figure into the company's thin presence in Washington State. Environmental concerns also play a large role, she said, making it incredibly difficult' for big-footprint businesses to get building permits. But, she adds, 'It's labor. Bottom line, I think that's a lot of it. Marketing professor Camille Schuster of Escondido, Calif., says she often finds it necessary to explain to her students at California State University at San Marcos what a supercenter is. The state has 31 Wal-Mart supercenters. If Wal-Mart can clear the legal hurdles, she said, low-price supercenters likely would do well. The cost of living here is just really high, she said. But, she added, supermarkets nearly had another strike this year. 'All of the grocery stores are just in a tough spot, she said. 'I don't know exactly how Wal-Mart will get around that.' PLUGGING AWAY Matthews, the suburban Detroit consultant, said Wal-Mart should probably avoid some areas. He includes Detroit among them. Meijer Inc. of Grand Rapids, Mich., pioneered the supercenter concept starting in 1962 and is a strong presence in the Detroit area, he said. Wal-Mart's challenge, Matthews said, is 'the offerings aren't very unique and the prices aren't that great.' To come in and make an impression is much, much more difficult, he said. A smaller format might work for the company in such urban areas, he said. They are a smart company and they learn incredibly rapidly.' In Chicago, Wal-Mart opened its first store more than a year ago. Its stores already are well-established in the suburbs that ring the city. Simley said CVS Caremark Corp. has since built a soon-to-open store in the same Chicago neighborhood, known as Austin, as the Wal-Mart store, and banks are opening branches there. The store itself, he said, is 'meeting plan.' Wal-Mart became the catalyst for the creation of this retail establishment in the Austin community, he said. However, the company has yet to open a second store in Chicago. Emma Mitts, alderman for the district of Chicago that includes Austin, said she is pleased with the store, which employs 400. Absolutely, she said. 'We're looking at revitalizing that area, and can see the difference.' Mitts said she would like to see Wal-Mart's pay levels increase, but added, There are steps that you've got to take going up. As Wal-Mart continues to push into areas that don't come naturally to the company, no single strategy will necessarily be effective, said Mark Hunter, who runs an Omaha, Neb.-based retail consulting firm, TheSalesHunter. com. Just keep plugging away, and Wal-Mart's good at that, he said. Their best approach is we're going to keep going until we win. They know they can't give any appearance that they will back off. THIS WEBSITE POSSIBLE THROUGH OWM VOLUNTEERS! October 30, 2007 Atascadero City Council Takes a Stand, Supercenter on Hold Oppose Wal-Mart thanks all the residents of Atascadero for caring so much about the future of our city, and who have voluntarily stepped forward in so many ways. Pat yourselves on the back for participating in Oppose Wal-Mart all these months and for being part of the 62.5 percent of those who said they want to preserve the General Plan at the Tuesday, 10/23 City Council Meeting and Special City Council meeting Monday, 10/29 night's success. Monday's Atascadero City Council's 4 to 1 decision not to process the Wal-Mart/Rottman Group applications to amend the General Plan and zoning ordinance at the Del Rio/El Camino Road interchange for a four football field size Wal-Mart Supercenter is a courageous and diligent act. The Smart Growth Principles of the General Plan were upheld. The unique character, the rural atmosphere and environment of Atascadero was protected. The citizens of Atascadero can be proud that the democratic process was not usurped by corporate democracy and that playing by the rules was heralded as the right thing to do. Oppose Wal-Mart believes the City Council listened to residents on the previous Tuesday' meeting and has acted in the best interests of the entire community. At that meeting, sixty to seventy percent of the 4-500 attendees and 50 of the 80 speakers (62.5%) requested the Council not to process the applications. What we have heard from Wal-Mart/Rottman are constant distortions of the City's economic and fiscal status. Their economic justification based on their economic report is rife with disputable assumptions and did not meet the minimal requirements for a General Plan request, as spelled out in the General Plan. It bought the land behind the backs of the community and some elected officials. Wal-Mart knew the requirements of the General Plan and zoning. Yet, Wal-Mart has proceeded with its out of scale, out of compliance Supercenter project, disregarding the advice and collaborative offers of the city council majority. Wal-Mart refused to consider any other alternative, spending thousands to sway public opinion. It has paid for surveys until it got the results it wanted. When faced with a big box grocery ordinance, Wal-Mart threatened the City with an expensive lawsuit. The City Council was under no obligation to process these applications. Much was made of the importance of an Environmental Impact Report that would have been triggered by the processing of the Wal-Mart/Rottman applications. An EIR provides data only and can be a useful tool for City Councils to evaluate the merits of a proposed project before any applications or the permitting stage has begun, i.e., in the Planning Stage. Once land is bought and a project is in an application stage, the importance of these studies has minimal influence on whether the projects go forward or not. In fact, Councils can declare an EIR's "significant findings," like unacceptable air pollution or traffic congestion, "unavoidable" and for "overriding economic considerations" vote for a project to go forward regardless of the findings or community's welfare. At this time the EIR would be a pro forma exercise and purely a manipulative tactic to slip their project in. Processing these applications would have been like giving Wal-Mart a one way ticket to the project. Tom Comar, 22 year resident of Atascadero Spokesperson for Oppose Wal-Mart (OWM) www.opposewalmart.com Atascadero CA 93422 461-3710 October 29, 2007 CRITICAL ACTION-ROUND TWO ATTEND OCT. 29 SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING 7-9:00 P. M. (COME EARLY FOR A SEAT) THANK YOU OWM VOLUNTEERS AND SUPPORTERS FOR COMING OUT TO THE OCTOBER 23 CITY COUNCIL MEETING! YOUR THOUGHTFUL, INTELLIGENT, PASSIONATE WORDS WERE IMPRESSIVE AND WELL SAID! WE HOPE THEY WERE HEARD! BUT, THE VERDICT IS STILL OUT! WE NEED YOU ALL TO COME BACK FOR THE 10/29 SPECIAL CC MEETING THIS MONDAY AT 7-9:00 P. M. AT THE CITY HALL (OLD BOWLING ALLEY) AND LOOK THE CITY COUNCIL IN THEY EYE WHEN THEY MAKE THEIR DECISION. Bring OWM signs and/or look for us standing with a sign and OWM stickers. WE ALSO ASK THAT YOU CONTINUE TO EMAIL THE CITY COUNCIL WITH YOUR CONCERNS ABOUT A WAL-MART SUPERCENTER: Contact: MAYOR GEORGE LUNA 466-2946 gwluna@gmail.com MAYOR PRO TEM MIKE BRENNLER 466-4172 mbrennler@atascadero.org COUNCILWOMAN ELLEN BERAUD 462-3020 ellen@ellenberaud.com COUNCILMAN JERRY CLAY SR. 466-9720 jclay@atascadero.org COUNCILMAN TOM O'MALLEY 466-8781 tomalley@atascadero.org FOOTNOTES BROUGHT OUT AT THE OCTOBER 23, CITY COUNCIL MEETING: 1. CITY STAFF WORKS "TOGETHER" WITH WM/ROTTMAN: IT WAS OUR OWN ATASCADERO CITY STAFF THAT SHOWED ROTTMAN DEVELOPERS THE BUXTON REPORT THAT INDICATED THAT THE DEL RIO AREA WAS A PRIME COMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT SITE IN NORTH COUNTY SAN LUIS OBISPO. AND, IT WAS THE CITY STAFF THAT ENCOURAGED ROTTMAN TO GO BIGGER WHICH LED TO THE PROPOSALS FOR A COLOSAL BIG BOX IN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD. THE CITY STAFF WENT BEHIND THE BACK OF SOME CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS TO WORK TOGETHER WITH ROTTMAN/WAL-MART AGAINST THE GENERAL PLAN. 2. INTERIM CITY ATTORNEY COMMENTS AT THE 10/23 CC MT. BY THE INTERIM CITY ATTORNEY REPEATING WM/ROTTMAN'S POSITION INDICATES TO OWM THAT SOME STAFF ARE STILL PROMOTING WAL-MART. 3. COLONY DAYS COMMITTEE ALLOWS ROTTMAN/WAL-MART TO BE A SPONSOR OF COLONY DAYS: At the October 23, City Council Meeting, one of the board members of the Colony Days Board stepped up to the podium and stated that the committee allowed WM/Rottman to be a sponsor of Colony Days because their thinking was, if WM/Rottman could contribute $1,000, she challenged OWM by saying OWM could have done the same. Such a contribution from OWM would dramatically affect our grass roots budget. We all know $1000 from WM/Rottman was simply a tax deductible donation. OWM's job is to fight the Wal-Mart Supercenter ethically. Remember it was the Colony Days Board, last year, who would not even allow OWM to be in the Colony Days Parade let alone sponsor, because we were too "controversial." Fighting to keep Atascadero the town we love—rural, deserving "smart" development, development to size. . . WAS NOT ADEQUATE CRITERIA to march in the Colony Days Parade. This year WM/Rottman is allowed to sponsor the Colony Days. Something is wrong with this picture. City staff also allowed WM/Rottman to have the back page of the quarterly Atascadero Recreational Guide even though the Annex represents a very "controversial/political" issue as well as WM threatening an initiative if they do not get their way with their application processing. We all love Colony Days we should all be allowed to be a part of it. It is a celebration of "OUR" town and needs to be representative of "all" the folks that live here. Yet, an "outside" developer is allowed to come in and sponsor the Colony Days to the tune of $1,000. OWM IS ALL OF US! October 29, 2007 THE CASE AGAINST PROCESSING WAL-MART'S APPLICATION The Sunday October 28, Tribune Wal-Mart Viewpoint reveals a desperate attempt to undo last Tuesday's Atascadero City Council Meeting. Sixty to seventy percent of the 4-500 attendees and 50 of the 80 speakers (62.5%) requested the Council not to process the Wal-Mart/Rottman Applications for General Plan and zoning amendment changes. Wal-Mart had its chance, but with all its money and organizing experience, could not produce when it counted because Atascaderans cannot be bullied and stepped up to say "no" to the applications. What we have heard from Wal-Mart/Rottman are constant distortions of the City's economic and fiscal status. Their economic justification based on their economic report is rife with disputable assumptions and does not meet the minimal requirements for a General Plan request, as spelled out in the General Plan. It bought the land behind the backs of the community and some elected officials. Wal-Mart knew the requirements of the General Plan and zoning. Yet, Wal-Mart has proceeded with its out of scale, out of compliance Supercenter project, disregarding the advice and collaborative offers of the city council majority. Wal-Mart refuses to consider any other alternative, spending thousands to sway public opinion. It has paid for surveys until it got the results it wanted. When faced with a big box grocery ordinance, Wal-Mart threatened the City with an expensive lawsuit. Now, Wal-Mart and Rottman are threatening the city with an expensive initiative in June 08, if the City Council doesn't approve the processing of their applications. The City Council is under no obligation to process these applications and in our opinion should withhold authorization to process. An EIR provides data only and can be a useful tool for City Councils to evaluate the merits of a proposed project before any applications or the permitting stage has begun, i.e., in the Planning Stage. Once land is bought and a project is in an application stage, the importance of these studies has minimal influence on whether the projects go forward or not. In fact, Councils can declare an EIR's "significant findings," like unacceptable air pollution or traffic congestion, "unavoidable" and for "overriding economic considerations" vote for a project to go forward regardless of the findings or community's welfare. Wal-Mart has done thousands of EIRs. They know the results already. If WM claims to know how much sales tax will be generated, then they know how many customers will be shopping each day, approximately how many car trips a day, and how much carbon dioxide will be produced. At this time the EIR is a pro forma exercise and purely a manipulative tactic to slip their project in. Processing these applications is like giving Wal-Mart a one way ticket to the project. Wal-Mart and Rottman representatives have said in one breath, that these studies are needed, while in the very next breath, if you don't approve our applications, we will go the initiative route threatening to remove city control of the project. To accomplish this, Wal-Mart would be required to write language into the initiative that would exempt them from city permitting and from the mandatory EIR. Oppose Wal-Mart believes that the smart growth principles of the General Plan must be upheld and protected. The citizens of Atascadero believe in the democratic process and playing by the rules. We urge the City Council to "take a stand now!" and vote for option #2, to withhold authorization for processing both applications. Tom Comar Spokesperson for Oppose Wal-Mart (OWM) 5525 Cascabel Rd. Atascadero CA 93422 461-3710 October 19, 2007 CRITICAL ACTIONS ATTEND OCT. 23 CITY COUNCIL MEETING, 7:00 P. M. ALERT!!! CITY COUNCIL (CC) MEETINGS TUESDAYS 10/9 & 23. 7:00 p.m. THE 10/23 CC MEETING IS CRITICAL TO ATTEND. Wal-Mart has applied for a General Plan Amendment and Zoning change for their "195,000 plus" Wal-Mart supercenter (about four football fields). At the Tuesday, October 23 City Council Meeting, the City Council will vote to accept or reject the proposed Wal-Mart applications. It is critical to let the City Council know that you oppose these Wal-Mart applications which are not consistent with the General Plan or the zoning of the Del Rio neighborhood. WE HAVE READ THE STAFF REPORT AND SEEN THE CC AGENDA. OWM RECOMMENDS YOU ASK YOUR CITY COUNCIL TO VOTE FOR OPTION #2 STATED IN THE CC AGENDA WHICH WOULD WITHHOLD AUTHORIZATION FOR CITY STAFF TO PROCESS BOTH OF THE PROJECT APPLICATIONS. THIS MEANS NO ACTION WILL BE TAKEN ON THE WM/ROTTMAN APPLICATIONS. THIS IS STILL THE BOTTOM LINE—NO ON PROCESSING BOTH ROTTMAN AND WM'S APPLICATIONS. CALL US IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS. THIS IS IT FOLKS! Your attendance is critical at this meeting. Only a large showing of citizens in opposition to a Wal-Mart SuperCenter can halt any further consideration of Wal-Mart's applications for a 195,000 sq ft. plus supercenter and zone change to the General Plan. We believe our goal to block a supercenter in Atascadero can be accomplished, but we need ALL of you. Please do not think, "I can skip this meeting" because everyone else will attend. That mind set is the only weak link we could possibly have in this chain. Make small OWM signs and bring them. Bring a radio with batteries in case you have to be outside until you are cycled to inside rooms. Arrive early if you can, but come even if it is late! Oppose Wal-Mart will have a booth across from the entrance to the Council chambers set up by 5:30-7:00 p.m. for supporter information and food. Call OWM if you want to help with this. We have been told the Wal-Mart issue will be first on the City Council Agenda. We encourage you to step forward and speak your opinion or step forward and just say you agree that the City Council must reject Wal-Mart's applications for processing. You do not need to speak for the full 5 minutes, but simply state you want the CC to vote down/do not process the WM applications. This places your opinion on the record and enhances our cause. INFORMATION AND ACTIONS: 1. OWM Colony Day Booth, Saturday, October 20 OWM will have its second, until we stop WM, annual booth at the Colony Days festivities in the Sunken Garden on October 20. We need OWM volunteers 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. to coordinate this effort—staffing booth and more. PLEASE CONTACT OWM ASAP TO VOLUNTEER info@opposewalmart.com, 461-3710. All volunteers had a great time last year. Colony Day is a very festive event. Stop by and say hello! Get a balloon for the children as well as OWM bumper stickers and buttons. Take this opportunity to express your opposition to a Wal-Mart Supercenter. Also, look for our OWM AD in the Atascadero News Colony Days special insert. 2. CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 23, 7:00 p.m. Stop by our OWM Booth/table outside City Council Chambers 10/23 6-6:50 p.m. in the parking lot across from the entrance to City Council. We will have information for you. We expect a big turn out so come early to get a seat. Please bring your children to the meeting if you believe they can sit and listen. Don't hesitate to ask another OWM Volunteer for help with your children. We have been advised that we cannot save seats for supporters. If you have questions, please call or email us. The issue of WM's applications will be first on the City Council Agenda. 3. DONATE TO OPPOSE WAL-MART! Recent ads in the Atascadero News (see Colony Day insert for the OWM ad) have been costly. If you are able to donate to OWM, please send your donations to Oppose Wal-Mart, P. O. Box 1524, Atascadero CA 93423 September 29, 2007 CRITICAL ACTIONS THANK YOU ATASCADERANS FOR DEFEATING THE RECALL EFFORT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ALERT!!! CITY COUNCIL (CC) MEETINGS TUESDAYS 10/9 & 23. 7:00 p.m. THE 10/23 CC MEETING IS CRITICAL TO ATTEND. Come and/or speak on your opposition to the processing of the applications for a Wal-Mart Supercenter. The CC needs to see your support for voting "no" on the processing of these applications—NO! EIR (Environmental Impact Report). Wal-Mart's plan is out of conformity to the General Plan and will change our town forever! OWM will have a table outside the 10/23 CC Mt. Come to the meeting and tell the City Council and Rottman Developers/Wal-Mart, we do not need a supercenter to save OUR town. Or, call or email your CC regarding your opposition! If you are unable to attend, please view live on Channel 20 the night of council meeting and 1:00, 6:00 and 9:00 p.m. daily. INFORMATION AND ACTIONS: 1. OWM Colony Day Booth, Saturday, October 20 OWM will have its second, until we stop WM, annual booth at the Colony Days festivities in the Sunken Garden on October 20. We need OWM volunteers 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. to coordinate this effort—staffing booth and more. PLEASE CONTACT OWM ASAP TO VOLUNTEER info@opposewalmart.com, 461-3710. All volunteers had a great time last year. Colony Day is a very festive event. Stop by and say hello! Get a balloon for the children as well as OWM bumper stickers and buttons. Take this opportunity to express your opposition to a Wal-Mart Supercenter. Also, look for our OWM AD in the Atascadero News Colony Days special insert. 2. CITY COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 23, 7:00 p.m. Stop by our OWM Booth/table outside City Council Chambers 10/23 6-6:50 p.m. in the parking lot across from the entrance to City Council. We will have information for you. We expect a big turn out so come early to get a seat. Please bring your children to the meeting if you believe they can sit and listen. Don't hesitate to ask another OWM Volunteer for help with your children. We have been advised that we cannot save seats for supporters. If you have questions, please call or email us. The issue of WM's applications will be first on the City Council Agenda. 3. DONATE TO OPPOSE WAL-MART! Recent ads in the Atascadero News (see Colony Day insert for the OWM ad) have been costly. If you are able to donate to OWM, please send your donations to Oppose Wal-Mart, P. O. Box 1524, Atascadero CA 93423 September 24, 2007 ALERT !!! Wal-Mart has applied for a General Plan Amendment and Zoning change for their "195,000 plus" Wal-Mart supercenter (about four football fields). At the Tuesday, October 23 City Council Meeting, the City Council will vote to accept or reject the proposed Wal-Mart applications. It is critical to let the City Council know that you oppose these Wal-Mart applications which are not consistent with the General Plan or the zoning of the Del Rio neighborhood. THIS IS IT FOLKS! Contact your City Council members by phone or email. Tell the City Council to reject the Wal-Mart applications for processing. A "yes" on "Processing" would mean an Economic Impact Review (EIR) will begin and then, it is just a matter of time before Wal-Mart breaks ground. Contact: MAYOR GEORGE LUNA 466-2946 gwluna@gmail.com MAYOR PRO TEM MIKE BRENNLER 466-4172 mbrennler@atascadero.org COUNCILWOMAN ELLEN BERAUD 462-3020 ellen@ellenberaud.com COUNCILMAN JERRY CLAY SR. 466-9720 jclay@atascadero.org COUNCILMAN TOM O'MALLEY 466-8781 tomalley@atascadero.org Wal-Mart hasn't been called the "Bully of Bentonville" for nothing. It bought the land behind the backs of the community and its elected leaders. Wal-Mart knew the requirements of the General Plan and zoning. Wal-Mart intends to proceed with their out of scale, out of compliance supercenter irregardless. It has spent thousands to sway public opinion. It has paid for surveys to get the results it wanted. Wal-Mart is playing politics, spawning division in Atascadero and a recall effort. When faced with a big box grocery ordinance, Wal-Mart threatened the city with an expensive lawsuit. Now, Wal-Mart and Rottman developers are threatening the city with an expensive initiative in June if the city council doesn't approve Wal-Mart's application to change the General Plan and zoning. The city is under no obligation to change established zoning ordinances to accommodate Wal-Mart. Indeed, doing so may be considered arbitrary "spot zoning" the rezoning of a single parcel to benefit a property owner rather than carrying out an objective of the General Plan, which courts have deemed illegal. We call on Wal-Mart to back off, play by the rules and stop bullying the Atascadero community. EMAIL info@opposewalmart.com OR CALL OWM to BE AN ACTIVE OWM VOLUNTEER with upcoming OWM actions! CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS TUESDAYS 9/25 7:00 p.m. Come and/or speak on your opposition to a Wal-Mart Supercenter, and to support Ellen Beraud and Mike Brennler against the frivolous Recall campaign. Or, view live on Channel 20 the night of council meeting and 1:00, 6:00 and 9:00 p.m. daily. Tell the City Council and Rottman Developers/Wal-Mart, we do not need a supercenter to save OUR town. info@opposewalmart.com, 461-3710 P. O. Box 1524, Atascadero CA 93423 for donations. Thank you for your generous contributions to OWM! August 20, 2007 NEXT CITY COUNCIL MEETING TUESDAY, AUGUST 28, 7:00 p.m. Come and speak about the development you want to see in YOUR city and in support of Ellen Beraud and Mike Brennler or view live on Channel 20 the night of council meeting and 1:00, 6:00 and 9:00 p.m. daily. A MUST ATTEND MEETING!!! Tell the City Council and Rottman Developers/Wal-Mart, we do not need a supercenter to save OUR town. Compliment city on their downtown development, hotels, etc. OWM COMMENTARY OWM has been at this for over a year. Many voters thought electing Ellen and Mike was the end of the campaign. OWM said, "This is just the beginning." Well, we see from the recall attempt that the other side IS organized and cannot stand for the integrity and honesty of the current City Council Majority. It is time for our supporters to again step forward to keep George Luna, Ellen Beraud and Mike Brennler on the City Council to protect the General Plan, which keeps a supercenter out of town. If we loose the majority, the new council will change the general plan zoning at the Annex and Wal-Mart will be able to change this town forever. Only OWM'S constant ACTIONS can protect our current City Council, preserve the general plan and keep WM out of our community. 1. QUICK REMINDERS CALL OR EMAIL TO VOLUNTEER AS A OWM VOLUNTEER. ANSWER RECENT OWM VOLUNTEER EMAIL. ATTEND CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS: AUG 28, SEPT 11 & 25. The Aug. 28 CC Mt is VERY important to attend and speak your piece against WM. We want positive statements highlighting all the good development that is going on as per Just Listening. DO NOT SIGN THE RECALL PETITION! Call us if you see a Recall table set up in front of supermarkets, etc. 461-1037 WRITE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR IN FAVOR OF ELLEN BERAUD AND MIKE BRENNLER AND IN OPPOSITION TO WAL-MART TO COUNTER THE ORGANIZED WAL-MART ASSAULT ON THE FACTS A News (editor@Atascaderonews.com), The Tribune (letters@thetribunenews.com and The New Times (letters@newtimesslo.com). KEEP UPDATED BY GOING TO OUR WEBSITE: www.opposewalmart.com DONATE TO OWM. OUR MAILING AND AD IN THE A NEWS (Fri. Aug 17) is a result of your contributions. Since we don't have millions like WM, we depend on your contributions for ads like this. See address in top of Update to donate. 2. FIGHT THE RECALL!!! Here are some things you can do to oppose the Recall and support the democratic election process that brought Ellen and Mike to the Atascadero City Council: Do not sign the petition for recall. The recallers are out in our community in Front of Albertsons and at several businesses. Check in with Mike and Ellen at their websites: www.atascaderomike.com and ellenberaud.com. Mike and Ellen need volunteers and donations to mount the campaign to oppose the recall. It is rumored the recallers have half of the signatures they need. Let's keep it that way! Defeating this recall is as important as winning last November's election! 3. LITTLE THEATRE PRODUCING NICKEL AND DIMED Nickel and Dimed, Fri., Aug. 24 at 8:00 p.m., Little Theatre, 888 Morro St, SLO, Admission $5.00. The coordinator of this production is also interested in doing a production in North County. More on this soon. "Undeniably provocative.One can't see this stage version without questioning an economy in which poor people subsidize the lifestyle of the middle and upper classes." - Variety "Daring.Ehrenreich's irrepressible sense of humor admirably translated from page to stage." - LA Times 4. Wal-Mart's growth compromises any "greening!" Keep Your Eyes on the Size: The impossibility of a green Wal-Mart By Stacy Mitchell 28 Mar 2007 - With its recent flurry of green initiatives, Wal-Mart has won the embrace of several prominent environmental groups. "If they do even half what they say they want to do, it will make a huge difference for the planet," said Ashok Gupta of the Natural Resources Defense Council. Environmental Defense, meanwhile, has deemed Wal-Mart's actions momentous enough to warrant opening an office near the retailer's headquarters in Bentonville, Ark. "If [we] can nudge Wal-Mart in the right direction on the environment, we can have a huge impact," said the organization's executive vice president, David Yarnold. Wal-Mart's eco-commitments are not without substance. The two most significant are a pledge to make its stores 20 percent more energy efficient by 2013, which will cut annual electricity use by 3.5 million megawatt-hours, and a plan to double the fuel economy of its trucks by 2015, which will save 60 million gallons of diesel fuel a year. Acting with unusual transparency, Wal-Mart has even published a benchmark calculation of its carbon footprint [Excel]. The company estimates that its U.S. operations were responsible for 15.3 million metric tons of CO2 emissions in 2005. About three-quarters of this pollution came from the electricity generated to power its stores. This cannot be dismissed as greenwashing. It's actually far more dangerous than that. Wal-Mart's initiatives have just enough meat to have distracted much of the environmental movement, along with most journalists and many ordinary people, from the fundamental fact that, as a system of distributing goods to people, big-box retailing is as intrinsically unsustainable as clear-cut logging is as a method of harvesting trees. Here's the key issue. Wal-Mart's carbon estimate omits a massive source of CO2 that is inherent to its operations and amounts to more than all of its other greenhouse-gas emissions combined: the CO2 produced by customers driving to its stores. The dramatic growth of big-box retailers, including Wal-Mart, Target, and Home Depot, over the last 15 years has been mirrored by an equally dramatic rise in how many miles we travel running errands. Between 1990 and 2001 (the most recent year for which the U.S. Department of Transportation has data), the number of miles that the average American household drove each year for shopping grew by more than 40 percent. It's not that we are going to the store more often, but rather that each trip is an average of about two miles longer. The general trend toward suburbanization is only partly to blame: shopping-related driving grew three times as fast as driving for all other purposes. The culprit is big-box retail. These companies have displaced tens of thousands of neighborhood and downtown businesses and consolidated the necessities of life into massive stores that aggregate car-borne shoppers from large areas. During the 1990s, for example, about 5,000 independent hardware stores, dispersed across almost as many neighborhoods, were replaced by just 1,500 Home Depot and Lowe's superstores, most erected on the outer fringes of our cities. The same trend is under way in virtually every retail sector. According to the market research firm Retail Forward, every time Wal-Mart converts one of its stores into a Supercenter with groceries, it leads to the closure of two existing grocery stores, leaving many residents with farther to drive for milk and bread. Altogether, by 2001, Americans logged over 330 billion miles going to and from the store, generating more than 140 million metric tons of CO2. If we conservatively estimate that shopping-related driving over the last five years grew at only half the rate of the 1990s, that means Americans are now driving more than 365 billion miles each year and producing 154 million metric tons of CO2 in the process. Since Wal-Mart accounts for 10 percent of U.S. retail sales, the company's share of these emissions is at least 15.4 million metric tons -- and likely higher, because Wal-Mart has led the way in auto-oriented store formats and locations. This amounts to more than all of its other domestic CO2 output combined. Land-use consultant Kennedy Smith notes that another way to estimate these emissions is to start with the 100 million shoppers Wal-Mart says its stores attract each week, generously assume two shoppers per car, and then multiply by the average length of a shopping trip. This produces an almost identical result: over 15 million metric tons of CO2. Shopping-related driving has been growing so fast that even a phenomenal improvement in the fuel economy of cars would soon be eclipsed by more miles on the road. Nor is CO2 the only environmental impact of all of this driving. Tens of thousands of acres of habitat have been paved for big-box parking lots, which, during rainstorms, deliver large doses of oil and other petrochemicals deposited by cars to nearby lakes and streams. By embracing Wal-Mart, groups like NRDC and Environmental Defense are not only absolving the company of the consequences of its business model, but implying that this method of retailing goods can, with adjustments, be made sustainable. Worst of all, they are helping Wal-Mart expand. In the Northeast and West Coast, where Supercenters are relatively few and environmental sentiment runs strong, a greener image is just what Wal-Mart needs to overcome widespread public opposition to new stores. In January alone, Wal-Mart opened 70 U.S. stores. At current growth rates, by 2015 Wal-Mart will have enlarged its domestic footprint by 20,000 acres, turning CO2-absorbing fields and forests into stores and parking lots. Big-box stores make incredibly inefficient use of land. While 200,000 square feet of retail spread over several two-story downtown buildings with shared parking takes up about four acres, a single-story Superstore of this size, with its standard 1,000 parking spaces, consumes nearly 20 acres. Wal-Mart's new stores will use more electricity than its energy-efficiency measures will save. By making its existing outlets 20 percent more efficient, Wal-Mart says it will cut CO2 emissions by 2.5 million metric tons by 2013. But new stores built this year alone will consume enough electricity to add about 1 million metric tons of CO2 to the atmosphere. It is not as though we need these stores. Between 1990 and 2005, the amount of store space per capita in this country doubled, while consumer spending grew at less than half that rate. The predictable result is that the U.S. is now home to thousands of dead malls and vacant-strip shopping centers. City planners are not the only ones alarmed. "The most over-retailed country in the world hardly needs more shopping outlets of any kind," advised PricewaterhouseCoopers in a report to real-estate investors. Yet Wal-Mart continues to build -- consuming land, inducing more driving, and, perhaps most perilous of all, destroying what remains of small-scale, locally owned businesses. Tucked close to their customers in neighborhoods and downtowns, and sized to fit sidewalks rather than regional highway systems, it is these stores that are the true building blocks of a sustainable way of distributing goods. It is they, not Wal-Mart, that deserve the admiration and support of the environmental movement. Stacy Mitchell is a senior researcher with the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and author of Big-Box Swindle: The True Cost of Mega-Retailers and the Fight for America's Independent Businesses 5. OPPOSE WAL-MART CLIPS: Wal-Mart sells 25% of the toys bought in the United States. [2007] This past June, Wal-Mart filed an initiative asking Arizona voters to overturn a part of the state's "big box" ordinance "restricting food and beverage sales to no more than 10 percent of a store's total space". Critics, however, questioned the retailer's "Consumer Choice Initiative", and one lawyer representing the opposition UFCW union claimed that the initiative was illegal and that voters did not have the right to change zoning laws, which he stated, "would apply to Tucson's big-box ordinance". [Arizona Daily Star, June 29, 2007] In the average American county, when a Wal-Mart opens, 250 people at nearby stores lose their jobs and four local businesses close entirely within five years. [Charles Fishman, The Wal-Mart Effect, 2006] Wal-Mart has one of the highest employee turnover rates of any retailer. Turnover at the retail giant "was estimated at 50 per cent in 2003, double that of competitor Costco", meaning that, in a given year, half the employees who currently work for the company will leave. [Montreal Gazette, February 19, 2005] According to economist Robert Scott of the Economic and Social Research Institute, "trade flows between Wal-Mart and China displaced nearly 200,000 U.S. jobs between 2001 and 2006, when the retail giant accounted for 11% of the growth of the total U.S. trade deficit with China". [States News Service, June 27, 2007] any of Wal-Mart's employees do not receive health benefits from their employer; for example, about 1 in 10 of their employees in Maine is on public health care. Other states show similar percentages. The health care shortfall also affects employees' families, since "a leaked internal memo in 2005 revealed that 46 percent of the children of Wal-Mart's 1.3 million employees remain uninsured or on Medicaid". [The Buffalo News, June 4, 2007]. As noted in a May 2007 Human Rights Watch report, Wal-Mart "stands out for the number of its US labor violations". The report explains that 15 rulings accusing the retail giant of violating federal labor laws are currently still standing, compared to four rulings total among Wal-Mart's major competitors, including Costco and Target. [Human Rights Watch, "Discounting Rights", May 2007] A "full-time" employee at 34 hours per week, making the Wal-Mart average wage of $10.51 per hour, will earn $18,582 per year. The federal government's definition of poverty for a family of four in the contiguous United States is $20,650. [http://www.walmartfacts.com; 2007 HHS Poverty Guidelines, http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/07poverty.shtml] Wal-Mart faced yet another probe into its environmental practices in December 2005 as it faced a "criminal investigation involving transportation of hazardous materials ranging from perfumes to plant food from Wal-Mart stores in California to its Las Vegas return center". In addition to this potential violation of the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, which prohibits "the use of company trucks to transport hazardous materials", the retailer may also have had "potential violations of California state law, including whether Wal-Mart used employees not trained in proper handling of hazardous materials to load, unload and transport hazmats". [Traffic World, January 9, 2006] According to Tom Conley, president of the Toy Industry Association, Wal-Mart controls "more than 25 per cent of the US toy market. Its aggressive discounting last Christmas helped force FAO, owner of the legendary toy retailer FAO Schwarz, to close, while another big chain, KB Toys, sought bankruptcy protection." [Financial Times, July 7, 2004] August 6, 2007 Voice your opinion! Let the City Council, Wal-Mart (WM)/Rottman Group know your take about the potential WM Supercenter proposal! A Wal-mart will change the character of Atascadero forever, Atascadero deserves better development! WHERE AND WHEN: JUST LISTENING EVENTS, Aug 14 & 15, 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. AT ATASCADERO CITY HALL CHAMBERS. Private developers including Wal-Mart/Rottman will answer community questions on their projects. Since WM/Rottman Developers have not submitted a formal plan, we understand they will focus on how "green" they are and being "good neighbors." If they have a model, it will be eye candy. WM has become adept at changing the façade and design of their stores to quell community opposition. It is still the same WM! Be prepared to put your comments in writing at event! Call to help staff OWM table in parking lot during Aug 14 & 15 events 461-3710. Suggested questions (besides your own) for Wal-Mart/Rottman Developers: In 24 hr., how many car and truck visits can we expect daily? (cars, 8-12,000 a day) Who will pay for road and overpass improvements? How will their full time workers (34 hrs a wk) at $10.51 an hr = $18,582 per year afford to live in Atascadero? How many grocery stores will close in Atascadero? (Average is 2) Will they have 24 hr outside protection on their parking lot? (Wal-Mart's parking lots have a poor record for safety) How can they mitigate the light, noise and air pollution in the Del Rio Neighborhood? Does the size meet the City of Atascadero's General Plan/zoning/goals? What about As noted in a May 2007 Human Rights Watch report, Wal-Mart "stands out for the number of its US labor violations". The report explains that 15 rulings accusing the retail giant of violating federal labor laws are currently still standing, compared to four rulings total among Wal-Mart's major competitors, including Costco and Target. [Human Rights Watch, "Discounting Rights", May 2007] What about According to economist Robert Scott of the Economic and Social Research Institute, "trade flows between Wal-Mart and China displaced nearly 200,000 U.S. jobs between 2001 and 2006, when the retail giant accounted for 11% of the growth of the total U.S. trade deficit with China". [States News Service, June 27, 2007] Also Attend Your Neighborhood Community Meeting, Thursday, August 16, 7-9:00 p.m. simultaneously at: the Lake Pavilion or Atascadero Junior HS or Colony Inn. Citizens can drop in and give input on what they want to see in Atascadero's future economic development. Please contact us after these meetings with your observations and impressions info@opposewalmart.com. Input from meetings will be shared at the Tues., Aug. 28 City Council Meeting at 7:00 p.m. Attend this meeting or watch on Channel 20. July 7, 2007 A WAL-MART REPRE SENTATIVE HAS ADVISED THE CITY THAT THEY WILL PRESENT A NEW STORE PROPOSAL IN JULY OR AUGUST. In a meeting with a Wal-Mart representative, City Council members, Beraud and Luna reminded Wal-Mart to come in with a store plan that is in compliance with the General Plan and zoning. The General Plan allows for 150,000 sq ft. of retail space on 10 acres zoned for retail at the Annex site. Wal-Mart owns 26 acres, 16 of which are zoned for residential. OWM is against any form of SUPERCENTER of any size, shape or color. It is evident that Wal-Mart, in the face of grass roots community opposition like OWM, is designing and attempting to change their one size fits all model. But, a supercenter is a supercenter! CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS THIS SUMMER: JULY 24 AND AUGUST 28. Come or view live on channel 20 or at 1:00, 6:00 and 9:00 p.m. afterwards. REMINDER: If you change your address and/or email, please let us now indicating your old and new addre ss and/or email. thanks. 1. What keeps a Wal-Mart Supercenter out of Atascadero or the "camel's nose out of the tent?" Remember, the only thing keeping a Wal-Mart Supercenter out of Atascadero is the general plan, which protects the current zoning, property values and rights , in the Del Rio neighborhood. Compromises with Wal-Mart will allow the camel's nose into the tent. Protect our city council majority and the general plan, no rezone !! 2. Campaign Finance Reform This item has been slated by the City Council for a September Public workshop. Look for dates and attend with your questions. 3. Reminder re Recall Basically, the cost for a recall would range from $45,000 to over $100,000 for the City of Atascadero. Let your councilpersons know how you feel about this. Here are some things you can do to oppose the Recall and support the democratic election process that brought Ellen and Mike to the Atascadero City Council: Do not sign the petition for recall. As of this date, we have not seen the Recallers out with their petition to Recall. Check in with Mike and Ellen at their websites: www.atascaderomike.com and ellenberaud.com. If the recall petition goes forward, Mike and Ellen will need volunteers and donations to mount the campaign to oppose the recall. Get ready! Thank you for all the letters to the editor and keep them coming to the A News (editor@Atascaderonews.com), The Tribune (letters@thetribunenews.com and The New Times (letters@newtimesslo.com). If you have not written a letter to the editors, let the community know about your reaction to the recall and its connection to opposing Wal-Mart. 4. Articles on the struggles against Wal-Mart in other communities: Wal-Mart finds new opposition in Austin, Texas Posted Jul 3rd 2007 9:00AM by Brian White Austin Texas, just outside the home headquarters of Dell, Inc. (NYSE: DELL), does not want a new Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) store located at the existing site of a former mall. Dell and Wal-Mart, if you recall, have recently become partners. Well, it's really nothing new to see a city try to defend itself from yet another Wal-Mart being built. In most cases, no actual lawsuit is filed by the opposition. Not in this case. A neighborhood activist group that is against the conversion of a former mall into a new Wal-Mart Supercenter has filed a lawsuit against the retailer, claiming that the proposed development plan poses significant public safety problems by generating a large amount of traffic. The usual suspects are here: slower access for emergency vehicles and violation of flood zoning in the area along with tree ordinance violations (in other words, semi -destruction of the surrounding environment). Although all the issues from the activist group were "reviewed" by the city staff of Austin, the city management decided to approve a second plan by the retailer for building the new Supercenter, one that reduced the size of the building from 225,000 square feet to 192,000 square feet. Is there anything else that can be done? From the city of Austin, its work may be done. But the neighborhood activist group is not resting, as it already has a temporary restraining order to freeze construction on the property. Wal-Mart looking at smaller stores? May 4th 2007 4:38PM by Brian White Is Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) looking to smaller-format stores to try and revive sales here in the U.S.? In a retailer known for landing huge, big-box locations all over the country to make it easier to have a "one-stop shop" for customers, has this strategy been tapped out? Possibly so -- something I looked at last week in my Wal-Mart Weekly column. But what is the solution? Is the opening of smaller stores seen as a retrenchment or a refinement of strategy for Wal-Mart? It's a last-ditch effort to revive struggling sales in the light of a rather disappointing 2006 for the retailer. While it saw record revenues for that year, profit windfalls did not follow, which speaks of loss-leader selling and moving merchandise without ramping up profit at the same time. After all businesses are in the business to make money, not just sell -- without profit -- right? It makes sense for some companies to forgive profits to build market share, but Wal-Mart is way, way beyond that point. The New York Post said this week that Wal-Mart may be considering stores as small as 20,000 square feet, quite a drop from the 100,000 square-foot Wal-Mart Supercenter. Can Wal-Mart get into communities that have shunned the larger-format Supercenter with a small-store strategy? Perhaps -- and it's a good growth strategy as the retailer runs into roadblocks in certain areas of the country that won't permit the "big-bog" fare in their areas. Here's something to chew on: Wal-Mart's promoted a former Tesco executive (David Wild) to the position of senior vice president, new business development. An exec from Tesco, the largest supermarket chain in the U.K., may be just what the retailer needs to grow here in the U.S. OWM NOTE: THIS ABOVE ARTICLE IS INCLUDED FOR YOUR INFORMATION. OWM DOES NOT ENDORSE WAL-MART'S NEW PLANS TO INTRUDE INTO COMMUNITIES. 5. OWM Legal Team OWM is assembling a legal team. If you are a lawyer or in a related field and would like to assist OWM, please let us know. 6. Pre-approved credit cards? We have heard from some of our supporters that they are receiving pre-approved Wal-Mart Credit Cards in the mail. Please let us know if you have received one. 7. Independent America: The Two Lane Search for Mom and Pop DVD OWM now has a copy of "Indpendent America" . . . We will be showing this documentary which high lights "buy local" campaigns across the country hopefully in August. If your community group would like to co-sponsor the showing, please let us know. June 19, 2007 Oppose Wal-Mart (OWM) operating legally as a grass roots community organization! At the last Council Meeting, during a counsel only discussion of campaign finance reform, Councilman, Tom O'Malley, raised some questions about OWM's legal status and roll in last November 06's elections. He implied that OWM may have been operating as an illegal unregistered political action committee, and that we were participating with negative campaign advertising. Oppose Wal-Mart wants to allay Councilman O'Malley's fears and concerns. Oppose Wal-Mart's Treasurer and lawyer have on several occasions in the last year contacted the Fair Practices Political Commission, the FPPC, and clarified our fiscal and political responsibilities concerning state laws. We met no requirement to register as any type of committee. The assertion by Councilman O'Malley that Oppose Wal-Mart was involved in negative ads is patently false and is politically motivated and part of a "pattern" to discredit our volunteer group, Oppose Wal-Mart. June 19, 2007 San Francisco's Economy Reaps Big Benefits from Independent Merchants, Study Finds While many parts of the country are overrun with chain stores, San Francisco remains a stronghold for locally owned businesses, according to a new study, which also found that those local stores generate sizable benefits for the city's economy. Thank you all for your responses to our OWM update mailing/emails in the form of encouragement, donations, ideas, news articles, volunteers and your continued support of Opposing a Wal-Mart Supercenter in the City of Atascadero. We love to hear from you! This update has new information and some repeated information from our last update on how to fight against the Recall of Ellen Beraud and Mike Brennler in case you missed our last OWM Update or are a new supporter of OWM. 1. Information on Recall cost to the city: Based on a ball-park estimate of the cost of an unconsolidated special recall election by the County Clerk-Recorder of $7.00 per registered voter multiplied by 16,063 voters (county number), a recall would cost $112,441. If consolidated with a scheduled primary, it would cost $80,315 ($5.00 / voter). The City Council and top Staff received an estimate from the City Clerk of $75,000 (consolidated) to $100,000 (unconsolidated) on 5-10-07, based on $5 - $7 / voter and 15,000 voters. Potential additional costs of an unconsolidated recall include $50,000 for a consultant and $15,000 for postage, etc. (City Clerk in New Times 5-17-07). The notices filed on Beraud and Brennler accuse them, among other frivolous things, of "promotion of personal agenda at the expense of the citizens of Atascadero". It's clear that Jackson's and Buban's recall agenda will cost Atascadero taxpayers lots of money. Yet, when Mr. Jackson was asked on KPRL radio how much the recall would cost, he refused to answer. (See our website for more information on the Recall.) Basically, the cost for a recall would range from $45,000 to over $100,000 for the City of Atascadero. Let your councilpersons know how you feel about this. Come to the next City Council meeting, Tuesday, June 26 and speak at public comment!!! Here are some things you can do to oppose the Recall and support the democratic election process that brought Ellen and Mike to the Atascadero City Council: Do not sign the petition for recall. As of this date, we have not seen the Recallers out with their petition to Recall. Check in with Mike and Ellen at their websites: www.atascaderomike.com and www.ellenberaud.com. If the recall petition goes forward, Mike and Ellen will need volunteers and donations to mount the campaign to oppose the recall. Get ready! Thank you for all the letters to the editor and keep them coming to the A News (editor@Atascaderonews.com), The Tribune (letters@thetribunenews.com and The New Times (letters@newtimesslo.com). If you have not written a letter to the editors, let the community know about your reaction to the recall and its connection to opposing Wal-Mart. 2. IF YOU WERE UN ABLE TO COME TO THE JUNE 12 CC MT, YOU CAN VIEW IT ON Cable, Channel 20. at 1:00, 6:00 and 9:00 p.m. OR GO TO www.atascadero.org/ and click (on the right) Council Meeting Web casts and watch the CC Mt on line. Important decisions were made at the June 12 meeting regarding Campaign Financing Reform review and the city Visioning Process regarding the Del Rio Neighborhood/site of the Annex of which you should be aware. That would include comments made during public comment by citizens of Atascadero and questions answered by the City Council. PLEASE WATCH YOUR CITY COUNCIL IN ACTION. Come to the upcoming City Council Meetings and speak in favor of Mike and Ellen: Tuesdays , June 26, July 24 and August 28. There is only one CC Mt. per month in July and August. If you have questions, please call 461-3710 or email OWM at info@opposewalmart.com. 3. Atascadero belongs to all of us and we need to come out and support the CC majority we elected! REMEMBER, THE ONLY THIN G KEEPING A WAL-MART SUPERCENTER OUT OF ATASCA DERO IS THE GENERAL PLAN, WHICH PROTECTS THE CURRENT ZONING IN THE DEL RIO NEIGHBORHOOD. A DIFFERENT CITY COUNCIL MAJORITY COULD CHANGE THE GENERAL PLAN AND ZONING TO ACCOMMODATE WAL-MART. PROTECT OUR CITY COUNCIL MAJORITY AND THE GENERAL PLAN!! 4. CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT DECISION – Many of you called, emailed or sent us the article regarding this decision. Thank you! For those of you, who were not aware of the ruling, please see the article below from the SF Chronical that summarizes the decision. Based on this decision, cities can protect their city from big-box retailers. Tom Comar, spokesperson for OWM. advised the CC of this decision June 12 during Public Comment and asked that the CC reconsider a Big Box Grocery Ordinance. (Please view June 12 CC Mt.) ASSOCIATED PRES *10:43 a.m. June 8, 2007* SAN FRANCISCO – The California Supreme Court ruled that cities and counties have the right to ban big-box retailers and decide where stores can be located. The state's highest court on Thursday upheld a Hanford city ordinance that banned furniture stores in a commercial district northwest of downtown while allowing big-box stores to sell furniture in that district. Hanford officials said the ordinance's goal was to protect the Central Valley city's downtown, which has many furniture stores, while promoting development in the outlying commercial district by attracting large retailers. The court ruled that as long as the ordinance had a "legitimate public purpose" such as protecting a downtown area, it was legal – even if it limited competition. Attorney Steven Mayer, who represented Hanford, said the ruling "will affect all battles in California where Wal-Mart and other big-box retailers are trying to force their way into cities that don't want them." In its decision, the court expressed support for an appellate court's ruling last year that upheld a Turlock city law stopping Wal-Mart's plan to build a store with a grocery outlet. Turlock city officials said their goal was to protect local shopping centers. 5. Campaign Finance Reform (CFR ) - Please view June 12 CC Mt. concerning CFR being removed from the CC Agenda for June 26 to a September Public Workshop planned on CFR. Information regarding campaign financing reform will still be given during Public comment June 26. Please attend the meeting. 6. Short Facts on Wal-Mart : Jun. 18, 2007 Maine Passes Law Requiring Economic Impact Studies of Big-Box Projects The Maine legislature has given its approval to a bill that requires cities and towns to evaluate the economic effects of large-scale retail development and to approve only those projects that will not have an adverse impact on jobs, local businesses, and municipal finances. The legislation is the first of its kind in the nation. Jun. 8, 2007 Cal. Supreme Court Bolsters Local Authority to Control Retail In a unanimous decision, the California Supreme Court fortified efforts by cities to limit big-box stores, favor small-scale retailers, and protect the vitality of downtowns. The ruling strongly affirms the authority of cities to enact zoning rules that regulate economic competition to achieve valid public purposes. The UC Berkeley Labor Center found that "reliance by Wal-Mart workers on public assistance programs in California comes at a cost to taxpayers of an estimated $86 million annually." [Ken Jacobs and Arindrajit Dube, "Hidden Costs of Wal-Mart Jobs." UC Berkeley Labor Center, August 2, 2004] The International Labor Rights Fund filed a groundbreaking class-action lawsuit against Wal-Mart in California state court on September 15, 2005 for failing to uphold its contractual obligations, which the suit argued Wal-Mart's own code of conduct created between the retailer and apparel workers at supplier factories in developing countries. The lawsuit stated that, due to Wal-Mart's vast economic power, it "can and does control the working conditions of its supplier factories", and that Wal-Mart was not meeting its obligations to supplier workers that suffered beatings, the withholding of wages and other labor violations. [International Herald Tribune, September 15, 2005] Wal-Mart operates more than 6,700 stores worldwide. As of March 15, 2007, Wal-Mart operated 1,075 Wal-Mart Stores, 2,256 Supercenters, 579 Sam's Clubs and 113 Neighborhood Market in the United States. Internationally...the company operated units in Argentina (14), Brazil (299), Canada (289), Costa Rica (139), El Salvador (63), Guatemala (133), Honduras (41), Japan (392), Mexico (896), Nicaragua (40), Puerto Rico (54), and the United Kingdom (336). They also operated 73 stores through joint ventures in China. [Wal-Mart International and U.S Operational Data Sheets, March 2007] On February 6, 2007, The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Wal-Mart must face a class action lawsuit of 1.6 million female workers who are alleging that they were discriminated against in pay and promotions. Americans spend $35 million every hour at Wal-Mart. [Fishman, The Wal-Mart Effect, 2006] Wal-Mart sells more by mid-March than Target will sell all year. [Charles Fishman, The Wal-Mart Effect, 2006.] During the last decade, dependence on the food stamp program nationwide increased by 8 percent, while in counties with Wal-Mart stores the increase was almost twice as large at 15.3 percent." [St. Louis Business Journal, 5/17/06] On June 7, 2006, "Coca-Cola, fearing Wal-Mart would launch its own sports drink to rival the beverage giant's Powerade if it didn't agree to the retailer's new distribution terms, caved under the pressure and altered its own century-old supply system". In a court filing, the company "stated that it faced a "serious risk" of a Wal-Mart-branded rival to Powerade unless it abided by Wal-Mart's demands of direct distribution". [CNN, June 8, 2006] On Friday, June 9, 2006, fashion bag designer Fendi sued Wal-Mart for allegedly selling counterfeit bags at its stores. Fendi claimed Wal-Mart had no purchasing agreement with the Italian designer or its affiliates and that the bags themselves were knock-offs. Wal-Mart, for its part, maintained the bags were genuine, though they sold at Sam's Club for significantly less than Fendi's retail price. [Women's Wear Daily, June 13, 2006] On June 12, 2006, Wal-Mart's Midwest Director of Community Affairs John Bisio, responding to the Chicago City Council's plan to enact a minimum wage measure, protested that the measure was "lopsided, unconstitutional, [and] unfair". The Council was considering a proposal that would require Wal-Mart and other "big-box" retailers to pay their workers "a minimum of about $10 per hour in wages and another $3 in fringe benefits". [Chicago Tribune, June 13, 2006] On June 13, 2005, a local Tulsa, Oklahoma grocery chain sued Wal-Mart, accusing the giant retailer of "repeatedly sending its workers to steal price information by illegally scanning bar codes on goods", and charged Wal-Mart with trespassing and stealing proprietary information. Wal-Mart had been previously accused of stealing bar codes; in 2005, no less than former CEO David Glass was ejected for the same reason from Crest Foods, another chain in Edmond, Oklahoma. In retaliation, Crest lawyers said, Wal-Mart dropped its prices below cost "to ruin Crest". The lawyers compared Wal-Mart's actions to "organized crime tactics". [Tulsa World, June 14, 2005] June 4, 2007 1. RECALL We thank you, our OWM base, for your continued support. We have a new struggle, defeating the recall and keeping Council Persons Ellen Beraud and Mike Brennler in their duly elected seats on the City Council. Overwhelmingly, the Atascadero and SLO communities and newspapers have voiced their disapproval and opposition to the frivolous recall of Ellen Beraud and Mike Brennler. Please go to our website, www.opposewalmart.com for recall documents, newspaper stories and letters to the editor from all the newspapers. OWM suspects that Wal-Mart is directly or indirectly behind this recall. OWM supports Ellen and Mike's position on the City Council by a voters' mandate in the November 2006 election. Information on cost of Recall: The estimated costs of a recall of Ellen Beraud and Mike Brennler. to the City (5-15-07) from an Anaheim firm which facilitates local elections, of $65,000 to conduct an election not consolidated with the February 2008 primary *. The estimates for a recall election, therefore, range (according to City Hall) from $45,000 if it is consolidated with the February 2008 primary to $65,000 if it is not. The City Clerk stated that those cost "could change substantially", depending on various factors. The City Clerk could not explain today the reason for the difference between her earlier $75,000 - $100,000 estimates (based on $5-$7/voter) sent to the City Council and top Staff (5-10-07) and the County Clerk-Recorder's $43,648 and this $65,000 estimate. The City Clerk stated her prior estimation of $75,000 - $100,000, should no longer be considered operative in light of the County Clerk-Recorder's newest estimate. Whether or not costs could escalate to that amount is unknown. The City Clerk stated the City is required to consider at least three bids from firms willing and able to facilitate a special recall election not consolidated with the February 2008 primary. Whatever the eventual cost, citizens, voters and taxpayers deserve to know what the financial consequences of their actions are before they decide whether to sign any recall petition. Whether or not such an election would be a frugal expenditure of the taxpayers' money is worthy of consideration. How else could we spend our money? * "just under $50,000 additional costs Postage – approx. $8,000 Poll workers/precincts, classes - $5,500 Registrar costs - $2,500 grand total cost of approx. $65,000" [from email forwarded by City Clerk] (Martin & Chapman consultants - www.martinchapman.com) Signers of Notice of Intention to Recall: Brennler NOI signers: Mike Jackson, Ray Buban, Frank Scicchitano, Jerome Zalusky, Kathleen Zalusky, Carol Buban, Dwayne Burbach, Cheryl Burbach, Mary McDaniel, Jerry McDaniel, Melissa Gootkin, Delia Weiss, Suzie Anderson, Duane Anderson Janet Hedges, Mary Lea Harris, Ron Walters, Janice Silva, Sue Walters, Joanne Bertaccini, Mike Bertaccini, Bruce Brake Beraud NOI signers (Brennler NOI signers + 2) Ann Hatch and William Hatch 2. WHAT YOU CAN DO TO DEFEAT RECALL! Look for Ellen and Mike at the Atascadero Farmer's Market on Wednesdays. Please approach them and let them know how you feel about their performance. The OWM table at the Atascadero Wednesday Farmer's Market will also have information about the recall and Mike's and Ellen's record. Go to their websites. Things you can do to oppose the recall and support the democratic election process that brought Ellen and Mike to the Atascadero City Council: • Do not sign the petition for recall. Check in with Mike and Ellen at their websites: www.atascaderomike.com and www.ellenberaud.com. Mike and Ellen will need volunteers and donations to mount the campaign to oppose the recall. Get ready! • Thank you for all the letters to the editor and keep them coming to the A News (editor@Atascaderonews.com), The Tribune (letters@thetribunenews.com and The New Times (letters@newtimesslo.com). If you have not written a letter to the editors, let the community know your reaction to the recall and its connection to opposing Wal-Mart. The regular City Council Meetings are now broadcast live on Charter Cable Channel 20. Rebroadcasts of the latest meeting are available for two weeks, showing at 1 a.m, 9 a.m, and 6 p.m. 3. EMAIL CORRECTIONS If you provided us with your email, but have not been getting the updates (many emails come back undelivered), it probably means OWM does not have your current email. Please let us know your new email, additional email or anticipated new email by emailing us at info@opposewalmart.com ASAP to reactivate your name to receive OWM Updates. WHAT KEEPS WAL-MART OUT OF TOWN! Wal-Mart has recently stated their new application is forthcoming. THE ONLY THING KEEPING A WAL-MART SUPERCENTER OUT OF ATASCADERO IS THE GENERAL PLAN, WHICH PROTECTS THE CURRENT ZONING IN THE DEL RIO NEIGHBORHOOD. A DIFFERENT CITY COUNCIL MAJORITY COULD CHANGE THE GENERAL PLAN AND ZONING TO ACCOMMODATE WAL-MART. PROTECT OUR CITY COUNCIL MAJORITY AND THE GENERAL PLAN!! 5. HOPEDANCE LOCALIZATION FILM LFESTIVAL JUNE 8 & 9 HIGHLIGHTS ANTI-WAL-MART FILM, "OURTOWN" Documentary of two mothers who organize a small coastal community in Main to defeat Wal-Mart. Tom Comar, spokesperson for OWM, will answer questions after the film. Sat., June 9, 6:30 p.m. at SLO Library. For more info on the film festival's other film schedule please go to www.hopedance.org, 544-9663. 6. CAMPAIGN FINANCING REFORM Campaign financing reform, a citizen request, allows for a fair election environment by leveling the political playing field. This critical agenda item needs to be passed by the CC before the next election. It is on the agenda of the June 26 (not the June 12) CC. Councilperson Clay has called this "a Communistic document." Washington has been working on campaign financing legislation for years and we think it is now time for Atascadero to come on board with reforms. Show the City Council your numbers so they know their "public" favors restricting campaign financing. OWM will be asking the city council to pass a campaign finance ordinance that includes: 1) maximum contribution of $250, 2) no contributions allowed for any business, union or other group. just individuals. 3) anyone who is being paid to gathering signatures for a petition must disclose who is paying them. 4) all campaign contribution reports will be available online. No Recall and campaign financing reform keeps Wal-Mart out of town! 7. INCREASING OUR BASE! Look for our OWM Table at the Atascadero Farmer's Market on Wednesdays p.m. and Templeton on Sat.a.m. Give us your input and encourage your friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers to sign on at our OWM Table and/or be in touch with us via phone or email to become OWM supporters. We have OWM bumper stickers and other information at the table. 8. CREEK SETBACK INFORMATION A petition is being circulated in our city in front of grocery stores and at the Atascadero Farmer's Market against the creek setback. Because we have witnessed first hand petition gatherers giving incorrect information, we encourage you to educate yourself before you consider signing the petition. Please go to the City of Atascadero website, under Creek Setback, click on "commonly asked questions." If this referendum goes to the ballot, it will cost the city another $48-65,000. COMMENTS AND DONATIONS WELCOME! Mail to: Oppose Wal-Mart, P. O. Box 1524, Atascadero CA 93423 THIS OWM EMAIL UPDATE IS MADE POSSIBLE BY VOLUNTEER HOURS OF OWM SUPPORTERS. OUR OPPOSE WAL-MART NUMBERS ARE OUR STRENGTH!!! May 22, 2007 Overwhelmingly, the Atascadero and SLO communities and newspapers have voiced their disapproval and opposition to the frivolous recall of Ellen Beraud and Mike Brennler. Please go to our website, www.opposewalmart.com for recall documents, newspaper stories and letters to the editor from all the newspapers. OWM suspects that Wal-Mart is directly or indirectly behind this recall. OWM supports Ellen and Mike's position on the City Council by a voters mandate in the November 2006 election. Information on cost of Recall: Based on a ball-park estimate of the cost of an unconsolidated special recall election by the County Clerk-Recorder of $7.00 per registered voter multiplied by 16,063 voters (county number), a recall would cost $112,441. If consolidated with a scheduled primary, it would cost $80,315 ($5.00 / voter). The City Council and top Staff received an estimate from the City Clerk of $75,000 (consolidated) to $100,000 (unconsolidated) on 5-10-07, based on $5 - $7 / voter and 15,000 voters. Potential additional costs of an unconsolidated recall include $50,000 for a consultant and $15,000 for postage, etc. (City Clerk in New Times 5-17-07). The notices filed on Beraud and Brennler accuse them, among other frivolous things, of "promotion of personal agenda at the expense of the citizens of Atascadero". It's clear that Jackson's and Buban's recall agenda will cost Atascadero taxpayers lots of money. Yet, when Mr. Jackson was asked on KPRL radio how much the recall would cost, he refused to answer. The general public has not been informed of these estimated costs partly because the City Clerk is only telling reporters about a cost estimate related to a recall election consolidated with the February 2008 primary ("about $45,000", SLO Tribune, New Times), based on a letter from the County Clerk-Recorder. Basically, the cost for a recall would range from $45,000 to over $100,000 for the City of Atascadero. Let your councilpersons know how you feel about this. Come to the next City Council meeting, Tuesday, May 29 and speak at public comment!!! Look for Ellen and Mike at the Atascadero Farmer's Market on Wednesdays. Please approach them and let them know how you feel about their performance. Ellen and Mike represent transparency in government and welcome your input. The OWM table at the Atascadero Wednesday Farmer's Market will also have information about the recall and record that Mike and Ellen stand on. Here are some things you can do to oppose the Recall and support the democratic election process that brought Ellen and Mike to the Atascadero City Council: • Do not sign the petition for recall. Check in with Mike and Ellen at their websites: www.atascaderomike.com and ellenberaud.com. If the recall petition goes forward, Mike and Ellen will need volunteers and donations to mount the campaign to oppose the recall. Get ready! • Thank you for all the letters to the editor and keep them coming to the A News (editor@Atascaderonews.com), The Tribune (letters@thetribunenews.com and The New Times (letters@newtimesslo.com). If you have not written a letter to the editors, let the community know about your reaction to the recall and its connected to opposing Wal-Mart. • Come to the City Council Meetings and speak in favor of Mike and Ellen. The next meetings are: Tuesday, May 29 – Tuesday, June 12 – Tuesday, June 26 If you have questions, please call 461-3710 or email OWM at info@opposewalmart.com. Atascadero is OUR TOWN and we need to come out and support the CC majority we elected! REMEMBER, THE ONLY THING KEEPING A WAL-MART SUPERCENTER OUT OF ATASCADERO IS THE GENERAL PLAN, WHICH PROTECTS THE CURRENT ZONING IN THE DEL RIO NEIGHBORHOOD. A DIFFERENT CITY COUNCIL MAJORITY COULD CHANGE THE GENERAL PLAN AND ZONING TO ACCOMMODATE WAL-MART. PROTECT OUR CITY COUNCIL MAJORITY AND THE GENERAL PLAN!! The City Council Meetings are now broadcast live on Charter Cable Channel 20. Rebroadcasts of the latest meeting are available for two weeks, showing at 1 a.m, 9 a.m, and 6 p.m. No CC meeting is scheduled for May 22. If you want to volunteer to help fight the recall, please call 461-3710. Look for our OWM Table at the Atascadero Farmer's Market on Wednesdays at least between the hours of 3:30 and 5:00 p.m. Give us your input about opposing WM and how you feel about the recall. OUR OPPOSE WAL-MART NUMBERS ARE OUR STRENGTH!!! May 9, 2007 OPPOSE WAL-MART (OWM) ALERT!!! Ellen Beraud and Mike Brennler were served with Recall Notices today . At public comment last night at the City Council, two men made the announcement to the cheers of some in the audience. It was a sad moment in Atascadero CC history. In five short months, Ellen Beraud and Mike Brennler have done what they promised when they campaigned for the CC and demonstrated how there can be transparency, truth, honesty, integrity and responsiveness to the citizens of Atascadero in the city government. NOW IS THE TIME FOR ALL OF US TO SHOW SUPPORT TO OUR CITY COUNCIL MAJORITY ESPECIALLY MIKE AND ELLEN. HERE ARE SOME OF THE WAYS YOU CAN SHOW SUPPORT: We need an avalanche of Letters to the Editor to the Atascadero News (mail or email to: editor@atascaderonews.com) and the Tribune (letters@thetribunenews.com) in support of Ellen and Mike. Attend CC meetings and speak on their behalf (second and fourth Tuesdays at 7:00 p.m. [no meeting May 22]) Go to the Atascadero City website and email, call or write Ellen of your support Call in to support Mike on Dave Congalton Show 5/10 (please see below) Get in touch with us if you want to help keep Mike and Ellen on the City Council for their full terms and MORE! The following is an email from Mike Brennler: Hi All: I am pretty beat up from yet another late night of city council festivities. For those of you that have not heard Ellen and I were served notices of intention to circulate recall petitions. It should not come as any surprise to any of us. From the day we were elected I anticipated that Wal-mart interests would set the stage for such an action. I noticed that many of the signers of the petition are known O'Malley supporters, realtors and ranking members of the Republican Party, a party to which I belong but a party that I chastised as related to the formation of the Central Coast Taxpayers Association and its shady endorsement of a super Wal-mart. Interestingly enough several realtors came up to me after the meeting wanting to disassociate themselves from the recall action and suggesting it was improper. I will be on Congalton show (KVEC Radio 920am) tomorrow May 10 at 5pm. Feel free to call and weigh in. The phone number is 543-8830 . Keep the faith and know that I won't go without a fight .... a fight to establish honesty and accountability in local government. Mike Another issue to soon be before the City Council is campaign financing restrictions, a citizen request to level the political playing field . This is a critical item that needs to be passed by the CC so the playing field is leveled in the next election. It is on the agenda of the June 12 CC. Councilperson Clay has called this "a Communist document." Please mark your calendar to attend this meeting to support this issue and Mike and Ellen. If you have questions, please call 461-3710 or email OWM at info@opposewalmart.com. REMEMBER, THE ONLY THING KEEPING A WAL-MART SUPERCENTER OUT OF ATASCADERO IS THE GENERAL PLAN, WHICH PROTECTS THE CURRENT ZONING. A DIFFERENT CITY COUNCIL MAJORITY COULD CHANGE THE GENERAL PLAN AND ZONING TO ACCOMMODATE WAL-MART. PROTECT OUR CURRENT CITY COUNCIL AND THE GENERAL PLAN !! May 1, 2007 ATTENTION OPPOSE WAL-MART VOLUNTEERS! We are springing forward this spring by continuing to provide our supporters with current information about the struggle to "keep Atascadero Wal-Mart Free." OWM is staffing a collect signatures for our data base/register to vote/keep supporters updated info table at the Atascadero Farmer's Market on Wednesdays some time between 3 and 4:30 p.m. We need OWM volunteers to staff the table for 1 hr or longer. We also want to do a similar table at the Templeton Farmer's Mk because so many Atascaderans shop at this market and Templeton will be dramatically affected as well if a supercenter comes to the Del Rio neighborhood. Please call OWM at 461-3710 or email us at info@opposewalmart.com of your interest in staffing one or both of these info tables. Volunteers new to the info table will be paired with an OWM seasoned supporter. Call us now!!!!!!!!!!! We need to enlarge our base if we want to keep the WM Supercenter from happening in Atascadero! April 11, 2007 OPPOSE WAL-MART (OWM) SUPPORTERS, OWM believes, every City Council meetings needs to have OWM representation, so please continue to attend and speak as often as you can or watch on Channel 20. The City Council Meetings are now broadcast live on Charter Cable Channel 20. Rebroadcasts of the latest meeting are available for two weeks, showing at 1 a.m, 9 a.m, and 6 p.m. No CC meeting is scheduled for May 22. The General Plan specifies that a proposal such as WM's, that is expected in the next few months, will be presented to the CC who will vote to proceed or not to proceed with processing of the general plan amendment (which would be required for such a supercenter project). If the CC directs city staff not to proceed, staff shall take no further action. The ball will then be in Wal-Mart's court. SPRING INTO ACTION!!! Spring is here and it is again time to get out and talk with our supporters and add to our base. Come to our OWM Volunteer meeting to discuss how you can volunteer. This is a working meeting to sign up as a volunteer or come to become an OWM Volunteer and take action! We need you all more than ever!!! OWM VOLUNTEER MEETING Atascadero Library Meeting Room 6850 Morro Rd. (Route 41), Atascadero Monday, April 23rd Young adults are welcome! 6:30 p.m. After Volunteer meeting/signups, we will be showing "OURTOWN" with refreshments After we sign up for OWM volunteer efforts, we will show the film, "OURTOWN, What kind of town do you want to live in?" Small town under threat in Damariscotta, Maine and how they kept Wal-Mart out! Ultimately, the film asks, who is in charge? Who gets to choose? The film is about an hour long. Go to their website: