CleaningLadyinCleveland

How nice of you to decide what people are l....I don't match your description in the least except for I don't want a Wal-Mart store adjacent to the Heights.

Here's a link to key studies on Wal-Mart and Big Box Retail that says otherwise: http://www.newrules.org/retail/key-studies-walmart-and-bigbox-retail

LMAO! That has got to be the funniest thing you've ever posted - maybe you are not a bore after all

Here we go again...I have to give you a reading comprehension lesson once again...Title of the thread "Wal-Mart to invade the Heights". It's about a proposed store to be built in a neighborhood (which you do not even live in). I wrote that YOU are not the protagonist, which by definition means that YOU are NOT ANY of the following: 1 a : the principal character in a literary work (as a drama or story) b : a leading actor, character, or participant in a literary work or real event 2 : a leader, proponent, or supporter of a cause : champion

Mirror that back to you. Oh and please don't make me explain what that means...I'm tired of having to give you definitions in my posts or correct your use of words....yawn again.

I didn't tell you to leave - you seem to be very prone to blogging and have the time (?) and talk about maybe working at one of the new Wal-Marts since you don't have a job.... Oh and you haven't been effective or affective in "advancing your position". I don't think you've changed my mind or enlightened me in any way, shape or form (and perhaps others). You are not the protagonist in this thread....(yawn)

(Yawn)....give it a rest - Yankee doesn't live near Northline Commons, which I have heard is a done deal and the UFCW (union) has been contacted about that store.

You go girl!

Have you been to City Centre in the past 6 months...? It is thriving! I've had business lunch meetings there and the whole area is packed and I've also met friends that live out that way for a weekend dinner and it was a zoo. They have activities and events there all of the time. Do some fact checking. Also - It is not a 20-year old argument as there are the same objections going on in Chicago recently: CHICAGO, May 24, 2010 (AScribe Newswire) -- A coalition of labor, community, and religious groups is pressing city council members to vote "no" Wednesday on zoning variances for Chicago's first two Wal-Mart stores -- unless the company agrees to a community benefits agreement (CBA) promising living wage jobs with benefits, local hiring, nondiscrimination, and neutrality on union organizing -- and forswearing predatory pricing.

that chic night club you mentioned is named Dirt.

see this posting: Stop the Heights Wal-Mart! More than 200 "Likes" in less than 12 hours. Keep spreading the word. Anyone who wants to be a part of running this campaign, please e-mail stopheightswalmart@gmail.com. We need help and volunteers!

Just for fun (and if you Want the Wal-Mart there - here's a preview of what shopping there will be like): http://www.peopleofwalmart.com

...and if anyone has any interest in reading and/or participating - here is a link to a FB page - Stop Heights Wal-Mart: http://www.facebook.com/StopHeightsWalMart?v=wall

to AtticaFlinch and TheNiche: ....and to become our country's new definition of the American working class dream? oh sad day...

Besides the 3 largest cities there have been towns in Texas (and all over the country) that have been successful in keeping Walmart out of their towns. If people do not want a Walmart adjacent to the Heights (when there will already be one in Northline Commons), it can probably be done.

Thanks for the info...FYI - I have been doing volunteer/community work since high school.

To get back to the topic. Personally, I hate Walmart and do not want one adjacent to the Heights...from their problems with parking lot crime, not promoting women, the $3-a-day workers in China, the closing of small businesses in small towns, the subsidies, the high number of employees on Chips & Medicaid...oh I could go on and on. I'm not saying that other companies are perfect - but Walmart...ahhhh! They have been having a bit of trouble expanding in the 3 largest metros in the US - (isn't Houston #4...?) http://walmartwatch.com/pages/wal_marts_urban_problem/ Does anyone have proof that they are going to build one on Yale & I-10...? If so - I would definitely want to do some sort of action. Let me know if anyone else would like to make their voice heard and a make difference in their city/community.

"Isn't this possible walmart location still a rumor??" ditto

That's very nice of your father to loan you a car....sorry to hear of your misfortunes. You've succeeded before - you can do it again (that's what can differentiate you from the Walmart employees)- just try to keep quiet and not dwell on what once was - no one wants to hear about it and it won't help you right now... "Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently." Henry Ford ...and one more Henry Ford quote that applies to this forum, "If there is any one secret of success, it lies in the ability to get the other person's point of view and see things from that person's angle as well as from your own."

The breakout of businesses with up to 99 employees is probably what constitutes the small businesses that Heights Yankee may be referring to which is around 30%. Large businesses tend to pay their CEO very- very high compared to the average worker. The ratios have changed dramatically between execs and the average worker since the 50s....ie - since 1950, top executives earned (salary, bonus, stocks, incentives) 24 times the average worker's , 122 times in 1990 and 550 times in 2009. Honestly don't think the same ratio stands for small businesses (<100 employees). Who is tricking whom?

...well,well Mr The Niche: "I am not young enough to know everything" (Oscar Wilde) About your living expenses being "only slightly more than half of what a full-time Wal-Mart employee on minimum wage earns"; what you need to see is that compared to the Walmart employees - since you have had money in the past, you may probably already have the "stuff" that makes life very comfortable (physically and mentally)- a nice car (probably paid for), a nice home (that you feel safe in), very nice clothes, nice shoes, education=future opportunity, etc. And what you don't have or need (I'm guessing) you can probably find the means if needed (downgrade your car and/or home, cash out IRAs, 401Ks etc) to get it. If not - I guess you better read the fable about the the ant and the grasshopper... again.

Really.... Since you've already disclosed how unsuccessful you are then I would interpret that your background as mentioned above was not very successful/knowledgeable and may be a low level employee(?), therefore it seems that you may not the better (or only) person to give input in the matter You also previously mentioned a focus group study...how many people were in the study - 12 to about 25...? Usually modeling research to project up to a population should be over 1,000 people at least. Were they studying first generation Mexican-Americans (not Hispanics since you mentioned Mexican Families) , 2nd or 3rd generation or new arrivals...? There are vast differences between the groups. The Heights has changed dramatically in the last 10 years and lots of companies (including commercial real estate) are just using the 2000 census with annual adjustments made on average/projected population growth. What can drastically change demographics in a short time in a zip code (or block group) are new apartment complexes due to their high number of households in a limited space. That I am aware of - there have not been many new apartment complexes built - except for the two on I-10 (Target & near Heights blvd) and the one on Yale (at 22nd) and it doesn't look to me that they are marketing and housing "Mexican families" (as you put it). If they are building a store at Northline Commons, not too far from there that will service Walmart's typical (repeat) customer (demographics), I would be very surprised if WalMart put a store in the Heights on Yale at I-10. If you look at Walmart's actual statistics about their parking lot crime - then naturally the Heights store (if there is to be one) will probably have the same stats, especially if it is right off of I-10. Does anyone know what the stats are for Target parking lot crime as a whole and the Target off Sawyer parking lot crime as compared to their average? The percentage up or down of the Sawyer store compared to their average crime rate would be good to estimate the parking lot crime of the proposed Walmart on I-10 at Yale.

I, too, come from an area where preservation of homes was so honored that being the President of the Preservation & Restoration Society came with a very high social status. Preservation was not remodeling the kitchen to have granite counter tops and slap some paint on it - but to actually restore the buildings to their original state ( i.e. by using gas torches to remove the old paint off to the bare wood, finding original light fixtures, stained and leaded glass windows, sinks etc.) These buildings were built in the 1700's & 1800's (and early 1900's) with great care, detail, to last a long time, with great materials, attention to detail and designed by architects (including Frank Lloyd Wright). I understand that bungalows have some historic value (I live in one), but if they are falling apart due to not being maintained properly, too costly to restore (due to previous owners neglect) or does not have any significant architectural merits how is that in relation to historic...? ...it's more like run down. A few years ago someone (from an historic organization that I won't mention) was taking pictures of the house next door to me and said to me that the owner did a great job of restoring and preserving the house. I thought that was odd to say as only the front of the house looked the same - it was built out on the back to add a larger kitchen, living room and master bedroom/bat- gutted it and added every modern convenience to it. (it's a great house - I love it). I think some people in Houston Heights confuse the words "restoration" and "remodeling". Not that I am against either one - it's a personal choice for your own home and for a homeowner to make and have a voice in the community about - not the government's sole decision. Oh and that house - the modern Victorian on 22nd at Harvard...I had heard it was a modern interpretation of the Cooley mansion (rebuilt on the SE corner of Heights & 18th.)

I went there a few times when it first opened - my purchases were hit or miss - some good meat others tough or fish full of bones that I could get cheaper at Central Market. I guess their targeting of "foodies" and overpriced merch was their eventual downfall - maybe they will change it into more of a grocery store with a coffee bar since they are in a dry area...I would love to have a decent grocery store close by even if it had almost Central Market/Whole Paycheck prices - but McCain's was waaaaay too high.