[Vision2020] Wal-Mart andŠdegradation of this place

[sean]

I regrettably could not attend the forum the other evening, but I 
would add (or repeat, if it has already been addressed) that changes 
in the land form and character of the town, and I even dare say the 
Palouse, is worth weighing in.

Land development is always a catch-22 with regard to gains and 
losses.  We get new homes, we lose what many consider to be 
aesthetically pleasing farmland.  To site a new development of the 
scale of a Super Wal-mart (SWM) is, in this case, possibly different. 
There is a similar store present now.  That land use will not change. 
An identical store will, apparently, we going in in Pullman.  No new 
ag land appears to be going in.

As place matters, SWM does represent fewer choices.  However that 
choice is largely about quality of life.  Again, place matters, and 
an expanse of asphalt (generally unused) does not add to quality of 
life.  It is not the stuff of artists and photographers' work.  It is 
not what gets touted on post cards of the region. The Palouse is 
special as a place before of the land and our land cover (as well as 
for other reasons).

To place SWM or any other large commercial development along key 
visual and "character setting corridors" is to change the place. 
Convenient, economical and available do not equal smart land use 
decisions.  The choice to view a beautiful place is nixed when a big 
box with big parking go in.

Is a SWM going to be a good neighbor?  Perhaps it is all in 
definitions.  Would a good, new neighbor show any respect for places 
sacred and valued by those who live there already?  Or would they 
choose profit over, say, preserving quality of life?  The way 
Wal-mart as a corporation chooses to treat the land it develops on 
and the land as it develops does not speak well for its appreciation 
for a place's character.  Why else would they choose land in BOTH 
Pullman and Moscow that will encroach upon and degrade the sacred 
land holdings of the towns' cemeteries and adjacent farmland?

s

>I have to be honest that, even though I did organize the public 
>forum on Wal-Mart and the local economy the other night, not so long 
>ago I knew relatively little about these issues. Thanks to Andrew, 
>Jeff, Steven, BJ, and other folks at Monday's public forum, I've 
>learned a lot in a relatively short period of time.
>
>One thing I learned is that it is not clear whether having a Super 
>Wal-Mart in town would increase or decrease our level of choice. It 
>is doubtful that a Super Wal-Mart would offer anything that we don't 
>already have available, for instance. Of course, it would offer 
>things that we already have available at a cheaper price and that is 
>an important consideration. But it is not -- in my estimate -- the 
>most important consideration.
>
>There are also ways in which a Super Wal-Mart would limit many of 
>the choices I now have. For instance, if I want to purchase a CD I 
>can go down today to Paradise Ridge and buy it, knowing that the 
>full content of the CD is exactly as the artist intended. At 
>Wal-Mart many of the CD's that they sell have censored content and 
>are quite different from what the artist intended. If a Super 
>Wal-Mart comes in and drives Paradise Ridge out of business, then a 
>significant and important set of personal choices would be removed.
>
>There is even a better example if we compare the selection of foods 
>offered at the Co-op with the selection of foods offered at a Super 
>Wal-Mart. If a Super Wal-Mart comes in and drives the Co-op away 
>there are a number of products -- from soy milk to wheat-free 
>crackers to beer to margarines high in poly-unsaturated fats -- that 
>I would not be able to purchase, at least in any easy way.
>
>For me, a Super Wal-Mart would eventually translate into fewer 
>choices and that is one reason I am against having a Super Wal-Mart 
>in Moscow.
>
>Joe Campbell
>
>---- Donovan Arnold <donovanjarnold2005 at yahoo.com> wrote:
>>   I thought some of you might be interested in this new committee 
>>forming in Moscow:    Moscow Committee to Prevent Personal Choice
>  >       
>>        Wanted: Moscow Community Members out to eliminate  personal 
>>choice and enforce their personal preferences on others including 
>>but  not limited to: Shopping Habits, Sexual Preferences, Place of 
>>Worship, Worship  Practices, Education, Clothing, etc.
>>       
>>        Qualifications: Must be extremely narrow-minded, 
>>egotistical, and know what is best for all people, even ones you 
>>never met.
>>       
>>        Duties: Create, support and establish policies in Moscow and 
>>the surrounding  community that eliminates personal preferences of 
>>others. The committee shall establish  where people can shop and 
>>what stores are permitted in the area. It will  establish what 
>>religions people can practice, how they practice that religion, 
>>and where. It will establish how and where people will educate 
>>their children,  and establish what their children will learn and 
>>are not permitted to learn. It  will establish who people can have 
>>sex with, what type of sex they can engage  in, who they can have 
>>children with or not have children with, how many  children they 
>>can or must have, what the gender of their children shall be, and 
>>the  parents' marital status. In addition, it will establish what 
>>people can eat,  smoke, drink, consume, how much, and where it can 
>>be eaten, smoked, drunk, or  consumed. It will also establish what 
>>people can wear, what accessories are  permitted, what brands are!
>   leg!
>>   al, and
>>   how much skin can or must be exposed.  Finally, it shall pursue a 
>>strategy of pointing out choices people still have  after it 
>>stripes people of another personal choice or pointing out the 
>>benefits  to "society" and the "community" by eliminating personal 
>>freedoms.
>>       
>>        Hours:  Big Brother is  ALWAYS watching
>>       
>>        State Date: 1984
>>       
>>        Pay: Unconstitutional power and authority over others
>>       
>>        Please send application to:
>>       
>>        City  of Moscow
>>        206 East Third Street
>>        Moscow, ID,   83843
>>    
>>
>>
>>  ---------------------------------
>>  Yahoo! Photos - Showcase holiday pictures in hardcover
>>   Photo Books. You design it and we'll bind it!
>
>
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>?????????????????????????????????????????????????????


-- 
Thanks,
s


         * * * * * * * *
         Sean Michael
         .dwg


"the climbs are life"