Wal-Mart 'Bad Thing For Redlands' Residents Say

The 60 people who filled the small room at Redlands United Church of Christ on Sunday were already unhappy with efforts to bring a Walmart Super Center to Redlands.

After watching Frontline’s “Is Wal-Mart Good for America?” on Sunday, they were furious.

Citizens Action of Peace, in cooperation with Redlands Good Neighbor Coalition and Occupy Redlands, screened the PBS show that features investigative journalism. The Wal-Mart piece, first aired in 2004, looks at Wal-Mart’s impact on local manufacturers and how it sped up the job exodus to countries overseas.

Groans were heard during comments by Wal-Mart vice president of international corporate affairs Ray Bracy, who told the Frontline correspondendt that the company was not trying to be a business bully.

The documentary also presented a string of interviews with former vendors, merchants and businessmen who had dealt with the mega-retailer. All painted a portrait of a cut-throat business that forced manufacturers to lower prices by threatening to limit shelf space in stores, thereby limiting it access to millions of shoppers who flock to the store for dirt cheap prices.

“I think it’s pretty clear what Wal-Mart represents,” said Kent Marten, a member of Occupy Redlands, who spoke to the crowd following the screening. “There is no doubt in my mind that it would be a bad thing for Redlands.”

The chain is proposing to build a super center on a 235,000-square-foot area of Tennessee Street -- not far from Citrus Valley High School -- that would sell groceries and operate 24 hours.

Residents are convinced a megastore would lead to increased traffic, not just by passenger vehicles, but by massive semi-trucks. They say it would also add smog and 24-hour light and noise pollution, increase crime, lower property values and create unfair competition that will hurt local businesses.

The city already has a Walmart at 20250 Redlands Blvd. Since that store will close to make room for the new store, will the old location become another empty blighted eyesore, asked Lauren Brown, of Redlands.

“All you have to do is look at downtown Redlands and what the mall has gone through,” Brown said. “I would say that that’s due to Walmart.”