Merced
Wal-Mart foes target Merced distribution center plan in suit Groups
contend not enough is being done to mitigate
impacts.
By SCOTT JASON
sjason@mercedsun-star.com
Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2009
Wal-Mart distribution center opponents said Tuesday they found
flaws in the environmental review and will file a
lawsuit demanding more be done to minimize the
center's impact.
"We should be commended for picking up the torch that has been
dropped," Merced Sierra Club Chairman Rod Webster
said.
The case will be filed either today or Thursday in
Merced County Superior Court. Sacramento attorney
Keith Wagner, who represents the opponents, is still
finishing up his arguments. A copy of the appeal was
unavailable.
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Video: Wal-Mart opponents say they'll file suit this week
By SCOTT JASON
sjason@mercedsun-star.com
Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2009
Opponents of the Wal-Mart distribution center said
today they would file a lawsuit demanding more
measures to minimize the center's impact because the
environmental report was flawed.
"We should be commended for picking up the torch
that has been dropped," Merced Alliance for Growth
member Rod Webster said in an exclusive interview
with the Sun-Star.
Click here for the Video and the rest of the story
Merced's
Debate Over Wal-Mart Distribution Center
FSN-TV - Fresno
August 19, 2009
Merced,
CA (KFSN) -- The Merced Planning Commission held its
first public hearing on Wal-Mart's plan to put a
massive distribution center in Southeast Merced.
Supporters said they want the jobs. The company says
up to 12 hundred workers will be hired. Half of
those will be full time employees. Opponents were
concerned about the environmental impact, primarily
the air pollution from the five hundred semi-trucks
that will be coming and going from the center 24
hours a day, 7 days a week, along with nearly two
thousand cars driven by employees and others.
Attorney Thomas Libby represents a citizens group
fighting the project. He questioned the accuracy of
the environmental impact report the city staff
prepared for the project. "Are the elected
representatives more interested in jobs for some
people, or are they more interested in health for
everyone." He said.
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Merced Debate Over Proposed Walmart Distribution
Center
KGBE - CBS TV47
August 19, 2009
There was a packed room at the Merced City Hall Wednesday night for
a public meeting over a proposed Walmart
Distribution Center.
The plan is stirring debate over jobs, road congestion, smog and
more.
If approved the center would be very large, taking up over 230
acres of land.
Many passionate people showed up for the meeting to have their
voices heard. Half of them made signs and wore pins
that said “Walmart jobs grow our economy” while the
other half shared the opinion of an article that
says “Walmart jobs threaten lives”. It’s a very
heated debate with no compromise from either side.
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Walmart Planned Distribution Center in Merced - Public Hearing
Wednesday August 19, 6pm
Merced City Hall
Wal-Mart Critics Calls News Conference, Charge Warehouse Threatens
Lives
MERCED - Citizens from throughout the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley -
concerned about the dangerous pollution from a
planned 1.2 million square foot Wal-Mart warehouse
here they charge will threaten lives - will make a
last-ditch appeal to residents Tuesday morning to
join them in the fight to stop the world's largest
retailer.
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Wal-Mart Distribution Center Meets With Strong
Resistance
Published: May 06,2009
MERCED
- A massive Wal-Mart distribution center - which
would service stores throughout the Sacramento/San
Joaquin Valley as far north as Sacramento over to
the San Francisco Bay Area - is meeting with strong
resistance from residents here, according to letters
sent to the City here.
Hundreds of Merced residents have expressed serious concerns - from
air pollution and the safety of children in nearby
schools to traffic and sinking property values -
over the 1.2 million-square-foot facility planned
for their city.
A news conference held Thursday, April 30, revealed the contents of
some of hundreds of letters submitted to the City at
the close of the 60-day comment period for the Draft
Environmental Impact Report (DEIR).
The City of Merced must now ensure that all EIR deficiencies are
resolved and that there is an honest and thorough
assessment of the impacts of the distribution center
on the neighborhoods, and the environment.
The project is expected to generate hundreds of diesel trucks
daily, exposing thousands of residents, including
children in nearby schools and neighborhoods, to
pollution as air quality worsens.
Property values of adjacent homes are expected to sink further
because of the 230 acre size of the 1.2
million-square-foot Wal-Mart project.
"I am very concerned about the environmental hazards," wrote Jason
Flores about the Wal-Mart facility. He said his
family had developed respiratory problems already as
residents of Merced. "I have nephews who are
toddlers who live in the area...and with three
schools within 2 miles (of the Wal-Mart) the Merced
City Council should be taking the health of the
community seriously."
The "huge increases" in truck traffic because "trucks and kids
don't mix," wrote citizen David Martin in his letter
to the City of Merced. He said he thinks the
environmental laws are not being followed.
And, Jaime Enrique, a local teacher, wrote that he already has many
students missing classes because of respiratory
problems (22 percent of area children carry inhalers
now).
"Please think thoroughly how this distribution center will affect
students will respiratory issues," he said.
Coincidentally, the American Lung Association today/Wednesday
released findings that the San Joaquin/Sacramento
Valley remains the most polluted region in the
country resulting in thousands of premature deaths
because of air pollution.
Loose Lips: Distribute that idea elsewhere
MERCED SUN-STAR, Friday January 16, 2009
Would the pro-business Greater Merced Chamber of Commerce let the
voice of the anti-Wal-Mart distribution center
movement be heard in concert with the company's
hired spokesman for the project? Nope.
The Stop Wal-Mart Action Team, or SWAT, sent a letter Wednesday to
the chamber asking asking that it be able to present
"an alternative vision for how to move Merced in a
positive direction" during the chamber's "State of
the Community" event Wednesday.
At the meeting, county honcho Dee Tatum, city leader
John Bramble and smiley-face retailer spokesman
Marko Mlikotin are set to speak. We think it'll go
like this: Economy bad. Distribution center good.
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