Friday, November 9, 2012
Some aldermen wanted to make sure a $25,000 grant to the Somerville Arts Council doesn't come with strings attached.
The Somerville Board of Aldermen Thursday accepted a $25,000 grant from the Walmart State Giving Council that's going to the Somerville Arts Council (the Board approves grant receipts to the city). Some aldermen wanted to make sure that accepting the grant didn't mean the relationship would go any further. "I never want to say no to a grant or a gift, and I'm prepared to support this," said Ward 6 Alderman Rebekah Gewirtz, "however, I feel we should make a statement there would be no reciprocation here. It is a big sum of money. Wal-Mart has tried to come to Somerville in the past." "The issue of Wal-Mart coming is one that concerns me greatly and one that concerns members of the community," she said. In June, Wal-Mart abandoned plans to …
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
A group that organized against the retail company said its efforts paid off.
Ed. note: This story was updated at 11:05 a.m. on June 19 to include comments from Deanne Dworski-Riggs. Rev. Molly Baskette, senior minister at First Church Somerville, said, "I'm very excited that Wal-Mart made this decision." Baskette, a member of a group called The Somerville Coalition for a Responsible Walmart, which opposed plans for Wal-Mart to open a Neighborhood Market grocery store in Somerville's Assembly Square, was speaking of Wal-Mart's decision, announced Friday, not to pursue those plans. Although Wal-Mart said it decided not to open in Somerville for business reasons, Baskette said she's "absolutely certain" the group's efforts influenced Wal-Mart's decision. She said it represents "the power of committed local people" …
Friday, June 15, 2012
The retail giant will not build in Watertown, either, according to the retail giant.
Wal-Mart will not be opening a grocery store in Somerville's Assembly Square. Steve Restivo, a spokesperson for Wal-Mart, sent Somerville Patch the following statement about the company's decision to stay out of the city. While we continue to seek growth opportunities in Massachusetts, we are suspending our pursuit of the former Circuit City site in Somerville as well as the Arsenal Street site in Watertown. One of the primary deciding factors on any given site – whether it’s in an urban, suburban or rural market – is that it makes sense from a business perspective and contributes to our bottom line. We look at many factors when making a determination including the size of the existing structure. In the case of the Somerville and …
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone addressed the retail giant's plans to open a store in Somerville in the wake of a recent Mexican bribery scandal involving the company.
A recent bribery scandal involving Wal-Mart's activities in Mexico does not seem to have affected the mayor's stance on the company's plans to build a grocery store in Somerville. "We're really excited to learn more about Wal-Mart and more about [Wal-Mart's] Neighborhood Market," Joseph Curtatone, mayor of Somerville, said Tuesday morning on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" show. "Having access to quality, good and wholesome fresh food and produce in the urban core is something we strive for." "We also will have questions, like we would with any community and business partner," the mayor said. Curtatone was a guest on the show for a segment about Wal-Mart's plans to expand into urban areas in America and a recent bribery scandal that has sent…
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
A coalition opposing the possible Assembly Square Wal-Mart has also been active.
At the moment, the Somerville Chamber of Commerce is neither supporting nor opposing a Wal-Mart grocery store that could be moving into Assembly Square, but in a statement, the organizations's president, Stephen Mackey, said, "It may be in the whole community's interest to hear the proposal before rushing to judgement." Read Mackey's entire statement below. Meanwhile, opponents of the possible Wal-Mart are continuing to share their concerns about the project with local businesses and residents. On March 31, the Somerville Coalition for a Responsible Walmart, a collection of groups including Somerville Local First, Groundwork Somerville and the Somerville Community Corporation, among others, went business-to-business door-knocking in Davis …
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Wednesday, November 30, 2011
In our non-scientific poll, the majority of votes were against Wal-Mart opening a grocery store in Somerville.
Over the summer, media reports indicated Wal-Mart was planning to open a Walmart Neighborhood Market, a grocery store, in Somerville's Assembly Square. Earlier in November, a coalition of groups in Somerville held a meeting and began to organize against the store's reported plans. In a poll, we asked Somerville Patch readers if they wanted Wal-Mart to open a grocery store in the city. Of the votes received in the poll as of Wednesday morning, 53 percent (455 votes) were against Wal-Mart opening a grocery store in Somerville. About 41 percent (353 votes) were in favor of the retail-giant coming to town, and about 5 percent (45 votes) weren't sure. The comments about Wal-Mart were mixed. One commenter said, "In an economy like this we …
Friday, November 18, 2011
Wal-Mart has announced plans to bring a grocery store to Somerville. Some community organizers have begun to rally forces against the company. Where do you stand?
To date, Wal-Mart, the world's biggest company, known for it's warehouse-sized stores and low prices, has not filed a permit indicating its intention to bring a grocery store to Assembly Square. Media reports, however, indicate the retail giant plans to open a Walmart Neighborhood Market, which is a grocery store, in the old Circuit City building, near Home Depot. Already, a coalition of local groups against Wal-Mart has begun to organize. The coalition, called The Somerville Coalition for a Responsible Walmart, held a public meeting for the first time Wednesday night. Not everyone in Somerville is necessarily against Wal-Mart opening a grocery store here. One Somerville Patch reader commented on the site, "There is nothing wrong with …
Thursday, November 17, 2011
A group of a about 15 local organizations and a group of residents met in East Somerville Wednesday night to discuss Wal-Mart's potential plans to bring a grocery store to Assembly Square.
At a meeting Wednesday night, a group of residents and community organizers spoke out against a Wal-Mart grocery store that is potentially coming to Somerville's Assembly Square. A group of local organizations, banded together under the name The Somerville Coalition for a Responsible Walmart, hosted the meeting. Based on the meeting's outcome, the purpose of the gathering was to start a discussion about Wal-Mart's plans in Somerville and set in motion efforts to organize a possible opposition to the store. The potential Wal-Mart would move into the old Circuit City building in Assembly Square, near Home Depot, and it would be a grocery store, not a giant-sized Wal-Mart retail store, which is the kind of Wal-Mart most people are familiar …
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Also, home sales were down in Somerville and a man came to speak about rats.
Wal-Mart Wal-Mart's plan to open a grocery store in Somerville's Assembly Square continued to spark interest this week when Somerville's mayor, Joeseph Curtatone, indicated he was against the plan. Later in the week, Curtatone published an opinion piece in Somerville News indicating there were benefits and drawbacks to the plan, and he wanted to start a conversation about it. Maxwell's Green The $52.5 million residential development near the Lowell Street bridge, which will contain 184 units of rental housing and is known as MaxPac, announced it had secured financing from Sovereign Bank and that construction at the site had begun in earnest. The developers have hired J. Derenzo Company as a subcontractor. That drew a mixed reaction from at…
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Joseph Curtatone said Wal-Mart needs to improve its labor practices before coming to city, the Boston Herald reports.
Somerville's mayor, Joseph Curtatone, told the Boston Herald he would not support Wal-Mart's plans to open a grocery store in Assembly Square unless the company improves its labor and employment practices. The mayor said Wal-Mart needed to answer questions about its wages and benefits before he would support their plans, according the Herald. The Herald said Curtatone planned to meet with officials from Wal-Mart on Wednesday. Read the Boston Herald article here.
Ron Newman
9:05 pm on Friday, November 9, 2012
That's not just rumor, that's fact. But it doesn't help the Alewife store at all. more ›