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April 11, 2004Crusade against Wal-MartSpeaker helps opposition groupByRecord-Eagle staff writer CHARLEVOIX - Al Norman didn't set out to become America's leading crusader against Wal-Mart and other "mega-retailers." It just sort of happened that way. Norman had done public relations and lobbying for senior-care agencies near his hometown of Greenfield, Mass. In 1993, a city council member asked if he would head a campaign to encourage voters to oppose rezoning of industrial land where Wal-Mart wanted to locate. Norman said many in Greenfield were initially "head-over-heels about some large corporation having an interest in locating in our little town." And when the council member asked for his help, Norman said he wasn't paying any attention to the issue and had little interest. "My first response was, 'Who cares? Isn't that just a place where you get cheap underwear?'¡" he said. Years later, Norman has written two books on Wal-Mart's negative effects on communities. He has been featured on "60 Minutes" and many other news shows. On Thursday, Norman will give a presentation sponsored by a grassroots group opposing a Wal-Mart "Supercenter" proposed in Charlevoix Township. The forum is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Charlevoix High School auditorium off Marion Center Road. Norman said that as he reviewed information on Wal-Mart's effect on other small businesses in communities, he became more enthusiastic about the opposition campaign. Ultimately, opponents were able to defeat the Greenfield rezoning, he said. Wal-Mart's defeat there became big news. The New York Times and CNN did stories. And citizens in other communities facing similar issues began calling, Norman said. He started publishing a newsletter that ultimately led to a Web site, sprawl-busters.com. Norman said he wrote his 1999 book, "Slam-Dunking Wal-Mart," because "I got tired of repeating the same story." A new book, "The Case Against Wal-Mart," is just now being released, he said. Bob Hoffman, a member of the This Is Our Town group opposing Wal-Mart near Charlevoix, said Norman has been a valuable resource as the group develops its strategies. Thursday's forum comes just before Charlevoix Township planners will begin extensive review of the proposed Wal-Mart at their April 28 meeting. "There are a number of issues we hope the planning commission will look at before they make their final determination - economic, environmental and traffic and safety issues, in addition to just the general well-being of the community," he said. More than 215 communities have successfully opposed Wal-Mart and other big-box retailers since Greenfield, Norman said. A recent high-profile referendum defeat of a Wal-Mart locating in Inglewood, Calif., is just the latest chapter in a movement that is gaining momentum, he said. "Everybody's starting to get the message that there's something wrong here," he said. "Wal-Mart can no longer claim there's just a small special interest that's against them." Wal-Mart in 1988 began creating "supercenters," including supermarkets, automotive and other shops to their retail operations, Norman said. Between 1992 and 1997, the U.S. lost 9,200 grocery stores, he said. "The free marketplace is predicated on a diverse number of players of relatively equal strength," he said. "When you get to a situation where one player predominates, you get close to a monopoly. Wal-Mart is the end of competition in a local area; not the beginning." Requests for comment from Wal-Mart officials were referred to John Bisio, the company's community affairs manager for the region that includes Michigan. Bisio did not return a message seeking comment. Charlevoix's relatively small size and the proximity of other nearby Wal-Mart stores in Petoskey, Gaylord and Traverse City indicates the company is "just trying to saturate the area," Norman said. "They become their own competition," he said. "They will go after market share to the point that they are really targeting a small area just to devastate whatever businesses are there." A review of Charlevoix Township's zoning and master plan indicates the community can oppose Wal-Mart locating there if that's what citizens want, Norman said. "Charlevoix is obviously a community that wants to avoid commercial strip development," he said. "It's all over their comprehensive plan. A lot of goals and objectives that are in that plan would steer you away from this kind of development."
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