Walmart Supercenter At 111 Yale St.

[RedScare]

Wal-Mart said the change would allow it to focus on theft by professional shoplifters and its own employees, who together steal the bulk of merchandise from the chain every year, rather than the teenager who occasionally takes a candy bar from the checkout counter.

This statement is a big deal. Organized thieves are such a problem that the Texas legislature changed the law a few years back to deal with this. Normally, a defendant must be prosecuted in the county in which the crime occurred. Organized thieves stealing at numerous JC Penney stores, for example, could only be prosecuted for the thefts in that one county, even though they would hit stores in Harris, Fort Bend and Montgomery. Now, one prosecutor can prosecute for the total amount of theft from all the stores if they prove that it was part of one scheme or plan.

But, I digress.

[AtticaFlinch]

But, I digress.

Don't let that stop you. It hasn't stopped anyone else in this thread.

[samagon]

This is Wal-Mart's prepackaged PR campaign that they launch when they face resistance. Take a look at www.walmartbaltimore.com and www.Walmartchicago.com. They do not even bother to change the template for their pro-walmart website. In Chicago, "protestors" were paid $100 to come out and demonstrate on behalf of a proposed Wal-Mart: http://www.chicagore...nt?oid=2099358. While they are entitled to their PR campaign, it is just so disingenuous to talk about the area needing a grocery store while planning to cram a 200k sq ft superstore (according to Ch. 2 last night) into the area.

did you just look at the site layout and decide that they looked the same, so the content was the same?

the different sites have a similar look and feel, what's so bad about that? if I go to bestbuy.com the refrigerator section of the online store looks the same as the tv section, so what? the same can be said of any online retailer, or anything online for that matter.

you know, Continental Airlines released a press release about stopping food service in the same format as the press release about charging for each piece of checked baggage, as a matter of fact, the press release that said they were joining another airline was the same format too, I guess that means that the content of the individual press releases is completely invalid.

the content is completely different and specifically generated to address the concerns of the specific area the site is targeted to reach.

I guess I just don't understand how the layout of the site has anything to do with the quality or validity of the content held within?

to your point about the site being disingenuous, where does the site talk about the area needing just a grocery store?

this is the closest I can find.

Provide basic services like grocery and pharmacy to residents inside the loop.

That sentence says that grocery and pharmacy are only 2 examples of the basic services the store plans to provide, not that those are the ONLY services they are going to provide, nor does it even seem to imply it.

and it certainly doesn't imply that a grocery store/pharmacy is all the area needs.

A Walmart store inside the loop in Houston will bring much-needed, affordable grocery and pharmacy services to families who live in the heart of Houston.

I also found the above. that still doesn't say that grocery/pharmacy is all the area needs, nor does it say it is all it will deliver to the area.

I will admit that they focus on grocery and pharmacy on the houston PR site, but if the reports of a 200k sq/ft store size are accurate, then we're talking a supercenter, which contain both grocery and pharmacy.

Edited August 19, 2010 by samagon

[s3mh]

This brings us to why Walmart is considered "high crime". It is because they catch so many shoplifters it skews the numbers. Crime statistics are based on actual incidents and arrests. If a store catches more shoplifters, the stats reflect more theft. By comparison, those stores that do not have good security will show less theft in the stats. And, while there is some crime in any parking lot, it is dwarfed by the shoplifting occurring inside the stores. All one needs to do for proof is look at the percentages of crimes committed citywide. Property crimes account for 83% of all crime, and Theft accounts for 60% of all property crime.

Or is it because Wal-Mart has more shoplifters to catch? Of course, you don't know that and are basing your assumptions on "citywide" statistics. You are a liar.

The crime I was talking about was the crime against the community, not Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart considers its security to be solely dedicated only to protecting property: http://www.click2houston.com/news/22806207/detail.html

And the point is that regardless of where the crime occurs, Wal-Mart will be making lots of police calls to a department that is under a hiring freeze and in a community that has to hire constables to patrol the neighborhoods.

[AtticaFlinch]

You are a liar.

Do you think this tactic will work where whining didn't?

[77007]

That made me throw up in my mouth a little

How to properly address your Walmart Mailers

If you live in the immediate area of the proposed site (as I do), you may have received a brochure from Walmart telling you about the project. Do NOT send the mailer back to them. We believe they will use any returned mailer as a ‘vote’ for support for the effort irrespective of what is written on it.

Instead, we would like you to do to write ‘NO’ all over the mailer in easily legible writing and re-Address the mailer to the Mayor’s Office:

Mayor Annise D. Parker

City of Houston

P.O. Box 1562

Houston, Tx 77251

Do NOT send your mailers back to Walmart as they will count them as a positive response and twist your opinion of the project.!

[Gooch]

My only crime prediction (and it's not necessarily a crime) is that the panhandlers at all of those newly red-lighted intersections will be epic.

[TheNiche]

My only crime prediction (and it's not necessarily a crime) is that the panhandlers at all of those newly red-lighted intersections will be epic.

If you were a panhandler, would you panhandle in front of a Wal-Mart?

[porTENT]

I was in New Orleans last weekend and went to the St. Mary St. Wal-Mart in the Lower Garden District, although technically it was in the industrial waterfront. Place was packed. The area around it was blighted before and was perceivably still blighted but provides the poorer areas of Central City, the Treme, and anybody else in the city with affordable wares.

I guess the opposition should ask themselves If New Orleans can do it, why can't Houston?

[heights]

I was in New Orleans last weekend and went to the St. Mary St. Wal-Mart in the Lower Garden District, although technically it was in the industrial waterfront. Place was packed. The area around it was blighted before and was perceivably still blighted but provides the poorer areas of Central City, the Treme, and anybody else in the city with affordable wares.

I guess the opposition should ask themselves If New Orleans can do it, why can't Houston?

This is exactly what the NIMBY's want to avoid -- providing a place for poor people to congregate, lest it might wear off on them!

[J008]

I was in New Orleans last weekend and went to the St. Mary St. Wal-Mart in the Lower Garden District, although technically it was in the industrial waterfront. Place was packed. The area around it was blighted before and was perceivably still blighted but provides the poorer areas of Central City, the Treme, and anybody else in the city with affordable wares.

I guess the opposition should ask themselves If New Orleans can do it, why can't Houston?

New Orleans and Houston are really too different to compare site locations, but I do remember there was a lot of opposition to that wal mart. I can't remember exactly, but I think that Wal Mart only has one traffic light on Tchoupitoulas. Additionally, I don't think Tchoupitoulas has the traffic that Heights\Yale have and is only two lanes at that spot.

My main complaint about this one is the need to use heights blvd as some sort of feeder to the site and the result will be trafic lights at I-10, Koehler, Center, and Washington on both Heights and Yale all with in maybe a half mile.

On another note, there are much poorer areas of Houston that actually don't have a grocery store (same can be said for New Orleans) if wal mart's customers and business model really revolved around serving the disadvantaged there are plenty of parts of town that would be a better fit for them. When I took some classes at UH I only saw a couple convenience store "food marts" around there never a grocery/ pharmacy supercenter. Especially considering that Wal MArt is planning on having one every 5 miles or so on the west side of Houston but has no plans for poorer east side.

[RedScare]

I suspect that you do not really know what Walmart's plans are regarding the east side. If I were a betting man, I'd wager that Walmart's long term plans include stores on the east side as well. They simply are currently building on the north side, west side and central Houston. But...and I know that you aren't suggesting to the contrary...this isn't about the best location for a Walmart, but whether Walmart has a right to build in this location. And, assuming they account for the drainage and traffic concerns, Mayor Parker has stated pretty clearly that they do.

Your complaints notwithstanding, the City has designated the Waugh/Heights/Yale streets as a major thoroughfare. It is the City's intention that traffic use these streets, as opposed to the smaller ones nearby. Walmart is planning to build exactly where the City traffic planners want them to. If the City intends for larger developments to locate along the major thoroughfares, it seems a bit of a stretch to believe that they would then block what they planned to happen...that high traffic developments locate on major thoroughfares.

[20thStDad]

How to properly address your Walmart Mailers

If you live in the immediate area of the proposed site (as I do), you may have received a brochure from Walmart telling you about the project. Do NOT send the mailer back to them. We believe they will use any returned mailer as a ‘vote’ for support for the effort irrespective of what is written on it.

Instead, we would like you to do to write ‘NO’ all over the mailer in easily legible writing and re-Address the mailer to the Mayor’s Office:

Mayor Annise D. Parker

City of Houston

P.O. Box 1562

Houston, Tx 77251

Do NOT send your mailers back to Walmart as they will count them as a positive response and twist your opinion of the project.!

If you really think that "vote" either way matters on the mailer...ok, whatever. That's just marketing. If people mail it in, whether positive or negative, it will only serve to make them feel better about themselves. The wheels are in motion, ain't no stoppin it now.

[J008]

I suspect that you do not really know what Walmart's plans are regarding the east side. If I were a betting man, I'd wager that Walmart's long term plans include stores on the east side as well. They simply are currently building on the north side, west side and central Houston. But...and I know that you aren't suggesting to the contrary...this isn't about the best location for a Walmart, but whether Walmart has a right to build in this location. And, assuming they account for the drainage and traffic concerns, Mayor Parker has stated pretty clearly that they do.

I agree that they have a right to build on the yale site, I only object to them altering multiple streets to fit it in.

Your complaints notwithstanding, the City has designated the Waugh/Heights/Yale streets as a major thoroughfare. It is the City's intention that traffic use these streets, as opposed to the smaller ones nearby. Walmart is planning to build exactly where the City traffic planners want them to. If the City intends for larger developments to locate along the major thoroughfares, it seems a bit of a stretch to believe that they would then block what they planned to happen...that high traffic developments locate on major thoroughfares.

I will concede that Heights Blvd being a major thoroughfare is a much bigger quality of life issue than a Wal Mart on Yale. I'd think many more heights residents would be against this if they knew that Heights is going to be a 'major' thoroughfare. It would be only appropriate to take one of the best streets where cars and bikes coexsist safely and turn it into a major vehicle thoroughfare. I am still puzzled as to how adding traffic lights helps create a thoroughfare I would think it would add congestion.

[J008]

This is exactly what the NIMBY's want to avoid -- providing a place for poor people to congregate, lest it might wear off on them!

Yet, Heights Blvd from the art car museum to 2nd street is one big social services center catering to the poor, who often congregate there on the weekends.

[CleaningLadyinCleveland]

did you just look at the site layout and decide that they looked the same, so the content was the same?

the different sites have a similar look and feel, what's so bad about that? if I go to bestbuy.com the refrigerator section of the online store looks the same as the tv section, so what? the same can be said of any online retailer, or anything online for that matter.

you know, Continental Airlines released a press release about stopping food service in the same format as the press release about charging for each piece of checked baggage, as a matter of fact, the press release that said they were joining another airline was the same format too, I guess that means that the content of the individual press releases is completely invalid.

the content is completely different and specifically generated to address the concerns of the specific area the site is targeted to reach.

I guess I just don't understand how the layout of the site has anything to do with the quality or validity of the content held within?

to your point about the site being disingenuous, where does the site talk about the area needing just a grocery store?

this is the closest I can find.

That sentence says that grocery and pharmacy are only 2 examples of the basic services the store plans to provide, not that those are the ONLY services they are going to provide, nor does it even seem to imply it.

and it certainly doesn't imply that a grocery store/pharmacy is all the area needs.

I also found the above. that still doesn't say that grocery/pharmacy is all the area needs, nor does it say it is all it will deliver to the area.

I will admit that they focus on grocery and pharmacy on the houston PR site, but if the reports of a 200k sq/ft store size are accurate, then we're talking a supercenter, which contain both grocery and pharmacy.

The site is very poorly administrated. On the www.walmarthouston.com site, I submitted a comment earlier this week under the "contact us" tab and this is what I received back:

Contact Walmart Houston Community Action Network

Wednesday, August 18, 2010 5:31 PM

From: "Walmart San Diego" <no-reply@wufoo.com>

Add sender to Contacts

To: XXXXXXXXXX

Thank you for your submission to Walmart San Diego. We will respond accordingly.

A copy of your email is below.

Chin-chin to Walmart's marketing/digital department!

The doublespeak (doublethink) on the home page is pretty ridiculous too. How are they going to add sales tax revenues to Houston...? People will be shopping elsewhere in Houston and if something else (yes HEB we are still praying you will build a store) is built at Koehler & Yale it too will generate sales tax revenues . Maybe they are going to be busing people in from San Diego...?

Edited August 20, 2010 by CleaningLadyinCleveland

[TheNiche]

I will concede that Heights Blvd being a major thoroughfare is a much bigger quality of life issue than a Wal Mart on Yale. I'd think many more heights residents would be against this if they knew that Heights is going to be a 'major' thoroughfare.

Heights Blvd. already is a major thoroughfare.

I am still puzzled as to how adding traffic lights helps create a thoroughfare I would think it would add congestion.

Traffic lights and stop signs allow for effective traffic management at an intersection so as that the right of way can be equitably distributed among drivers coming from and going to various locations.

The only way that adding a signal would be unjustified is if people weren't wanting to go to this new Wal-Mart or the retail on pad sites in front of it. But if the argument is that this new development is going to add too much traffic, then clearly it is because lots of people want to go there (which is an admission that the community wants a Wal-Mart). And if the community wants the Wal-Mart and will patronize it, then a signal is the most effective way to address what would otherwise become congestion as too many people tried to make left hand turns across a major thoroughfare.

[CleaningLadyinCleveland]

Do you think this tactic will work where whining didn't?

Attack the idea not the person. One of the basic rules of debate....

Edited August 20, 2010 by CleaningLadyinCleveland

[TheNiche]

Attack the idea not the person. One of the basic rules of debate....

The idea has no substance.

Edited August 20, 2010 by TheNiche

[CleaningLadyinCleveland]

Heights Blvd. already is a major thoroughfare.

Traffic lights and stop signs allow for effective traffic management at an intersection so as that the right of way can be equitably distributed among drivers coming from and going to various locations.

The only way that adding a signal would be unjustified is if people weren't wanting to go to this new Wal-Mart or the retail on pad sites in front of it. But if the argument is that this new development is going to add too much traffic, then clearly it is because lots of people want to go there (which is an admission that the community wants a Wal-Mart). And if the community wants the Wal-Mart and will patronize it, then a signal is the most effective way to address what would otherwise become congestion as too many people tried to make left hand turns across a major thoroughfare.

Heights Boulevard is a thoroughfare - but not a major one.

MAJOR THOROUGHFARE: Major, multimodal streets in urban areas (arterials and collectors) which are designed to complement and support adjacent land uses.

On the Heights Assoc web site, under History of the Blvd: "The blocks were carefully arranged, scattered open spaces supplemented the 60 foot-wide esplanade on Heights Boulevard, a broad, tree-lined central thoroughfare patterned after Commonwealth Avenue in Boston."

Commonwealth Ave. in Boston is considered a parkway and a thoroughfare - not a major thoroughfare.

[CleaningLadyinCleveland]

The idea has no substance.

...and that answers what I wrote...am I correct that the basics of debate in itself , have left the building?

Edited August 20, 2010 by CleaningLadyinCleveland

[barracuda]

This is exactly what the NIMBY's want to avoid -- providing a place for poor people to congregate,

So only poor folks shop at Walmart? How do they make money?

lest it might wear off on them!

Is poverty contagious?

[sevfiv]

Posted today on Wallet Pop:

http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2010/08/20/which-is-cheaper-target-or-walmart-the-answer-may-surprise-you/

[RedScare]

Heights Boulevard is a thoroughfare - but not a major one.

MAJOR THOROUGHFARE: Major, multimodal streets in urban areas (arterials and collectors) which are designed to complement and support adjacent land uses.

On the Heights Assoc web site, under History of the Blvd: "The blocks were carefully arranged, scattered open spaces supplemented the 60 foot-wide esplanade on Heights Boulevard, a broad, tree-lined central thoroughfare patterned after Commonwealth Avenue in Boston."

Commonwealth Ave. in Boston is considered a parkway and a thoroughfare - not a major thoroughfare.

Maybe you should look at the City of Houston's designations of major thoroughfares, rather than the Heights Association. It is the City, afterall, that configures and rebuilds the roads, and they are the ones that designated it a major thoroughfare.

[Gooch]

NIMBY's want to avoid -- providing a place for poor people to congregate...

Can you provide some evidence of that?

[Scott08]

I have to laugh. Took a bike ride around the Heights area yesterday and anecdotally at least 80% of the Anti-Walmart blue signs I saw were in yards of recent construction McVics and townhouses. So the pariahs of the Historic District's pros are now protesting the pariahs of the retail business. Who says this isn't about classism?

[AtticaFlinch]

Attack the idea not the person. One of the basic rules of debate....

Rule number 2: stoop to your opponent's level.

Someone who lyingly calls someone else a liar blatantly doesn't deserve my respect or reasoned discourse. This person has already proven several times over that the stardard rules of debate don't work for him/her.

[AtticaFlinch]

Heights Boulevard is a thoroughfare - but not a major one.

MAJOR THOROUGHFARE: Major, multimodal streets in urban areas (arterials and collectors) which are designed to complement and support adjacent land uses.

On the Heights Assoc web site, under History of the Blvd: "The blocks were carefully arranged, scattered open spaces supplemented the 60 foot-wide esplanade on Heights Boulevard, a broad, tree-lined central thoroughfare patterned after Commonwealth Avenue in Boston."

Commonwealth Ave. in Boston is considered a parkway and a thoroughfare - not a major thoroughfare.

You're right north of 10. You're wrong south of 10.

And which side of 10 will the Walmart be on? 'cause that's the pertinent side for the purpose of this discussion.

[J008]

Article regarding the walmart on swamplot.

http://swamplot.com/west-end-walmart-developer-promises-more-browns-and-greens/2010-08-20/#more-21106

[heights]

More info, courtesy of Swamplot:

http://swamplot.com/west-end-walmart-developer-promises-more-browns-and-greens/2010-08-20/