George Wenschhof
It
was disheartening, upon my arrival home, to hear of plans for a Wal-Mart to be
the latest savior for the Fredericktown Mall, a mall that has been beset with
misfortune.
During,
my visit to Sonoma County, California, I attended an organized community effort
to block a planned Wal-Mart expansion in Rohnert Park.
Interestingly,
the opposition invited Robert Reich; chancellor's professor of public policy at
UC Berkeley who also served as labor secretary from 1993 to 1997 under
President Bill Clinton to speak at a rally they had organized.
Reich
used the opportunity to highlight problems with the economy and to emphasize
the makeup of our communities and society is still decided by the people who
live in them.
Often
repeating the “we the people” preamble, of the U.S. Constitution Bill of
Rights, Reich urged those in attendance to “take back our economy and take back
our democracy”.
Specifically
addressing Wal-Mart and their claim to be a job creator, Reich said the global
retailer is a "net job destroyer" when it arrives in communities, adding
“that for every job they created, 1.4 jobs were lost in the surrounding area”.
The
typical worker at the nation's largest employer Wal-Mart makes $8.81 an hour
Reich said, and as a result of their low paying jobs, Wal-Mart employees were
more likely to live in less expensive suburbs, adding to congestion on the
highways.
Many
factors have contributed to the tarnish now existing on the once “golden mile”
area in The City of Frederick.
The
hard work put forward by members of the community, the Golden Mile Alliance,
and others to develop a vision for the future, should not be discarded on the
basis of an alleged purchase offer made by Wal-Mart.
Thankfully,
the city planning commission, in a 4-1 vote, denied the latest proposed zoning change
made by the owner of the Fredericktown Mall.
Hopefully,
the city board of aldermen will also deny the request.
If
anything, hard work needs to be continued to ensure efforts made to revitalize
the once vibrant golden mile is well researched with the entire community in
mind and with an eye to the future.
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