Please write letters to the Editor

It is important for people to start writing letters to the editors of the local newspapers. I was at the Vista City Council meeting when they approved their Wal-Mart expansion. Wal-Mart was more than happy to point out how there was no opposition and only support for the expansion. We need to voice our concerns regarding our opposition to the expansion and a great way of doing this is by writing letters to the editors. Thanks to the members of SPRA, they have tips on how to write letters. If you are already an expert here are the addresses to the local newspapers.

POWAY CHIEFTAIN Letters to the editor can be sent (or dropped off) to Pomerado Newspapers, 13247 Poway Road, Poway, CA 92064 (next to Poway-Bernardo Mortuary). Letters can also be E-mailed to:

letters@pomeradonews.com

Letters to the editor should be typed and limited to 250 words. They must include the author's name, address and daytime phone number. The CHIEFTAIN will not publish unsigned letters. Letters are subject to editing for length and clarity. For more information, check with Steve Dreyer at 858-748-2311 extension 207.

THE NORTH COUNTY TIMES Letters must include full first and last names, address and daytime phone number. Unsigned let­ters will be discarded. NC TIMES reserves the right to edit letters for any reason, including but not limited to taste, clarity, length and to avoid libel. Letters should be less than 200 words and will be further shortened when possible in order to help make space for all letters. Mail letters to North County Times, 207 E. Pennsylvania Ave., Escondido, CA 92025; fax to (760) 745-3769; hand deliver to any North County Times office; or E-mail to:

letters@nctimes.com

Individual writers are limited to one letter every two weeks. Priority is given to North County writers. Commercial complaints and endorsements ordinarily are not published. To prevent spam, the North County Times will no longer accept e-mail submissions that include a URL for websites. If you want to include a Web site in your e-mail, make sure to delete the 'http://' from the front of the address. Thus, to pass the NC TIMES spam filter, a website must look like this: www.theaddresshere.com. For more information, contact Letters Editor Pattie Leipert at 760-740-5471.

SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE It is U-T’s policy to publish letters supporting or opposing a particular issue in a ratio reflecting the number received on each side. Lengthy letters reduce chances for publication and U-T’s suggested maximum length is 200 words. Also the U-T publishes no more than one letter from the same author within 90 days. Letters may be edited. Letters must include a daytime phone number and, if faxed or mailed, be signed. It may be sent to Letters Editor, The San Diego Union-Tribune, Post Office Box 120191, San Diego, CA 92112-0191, faxed to 619- 260-5081 or E-mailed to:

letters@uniontrib.com

Letters submitted may be used in print or in digital form in any publication or services offered by the Union-Tribune Publishing Co. For more information, contact OPINION Department Senior Editor, Bill Osborne, at 619-293-1395.

Now that you have the information start writing the letters!!!!! No seriously stop reading and start writing.

Poway Citzen

A Wal-Mart SuperCenter in Poway? No way!

Reposted from Sprawl-Busters and thanks to Al Norman.

008-04-06
Poway, CA. A Wal-Mart Supercenter in Poway? No way!

Wal-Mart already has a discount store on Community Road in Poway, California. That store opened in 1992. This city of roughly 51,000 people, located in the center of San Diego County, boasts of its “sunny climate, clean air, a pristine lake and ecological reserves.” Poway says it has carefully planned for “balancing growth with the good life.” In fact, the city says life in Poway is “the way California was meant to be.” The community likes to describe its way of life as “the City in the Country.” The Poway Chamber of Commerce and the City of Poway have launched a campaign to encourage residents and non-residents alike to shop locally. “Whether you’re interested in shopping, dining, entertainment, great schools, or a prime business location,” the city says, “ make ‘Poway -Your First Choice.’ When you purchase goods, professional services, and meals in Poway, a portion of your sales tax dollars go to help fund essential City services…In fact, sales tax revenue accounts for 34.5% of the City’s general fund. When you leave town to shop, your sales tax revenue benefits another community.” Many residents in Poway don’t want Wal-Mart as their “first choice,” and they are fighting the retailer’s plans to expand its Community Road store into a 200,000 s.f. supercenter. "Poway will not be the same ever again if we let this happen," Connie Messina, chairwoman of the South Poway Residents Association, told the North County Times newspaper. To date, all Wal-Mart has confirmed is that it plans to submit a proposal to Poway in the next several months, and hope to have it open by 2010. But first, Wal-Mart has to get the approval of the Poway City Council. That has the South Poway Residents Association gathering for a strategy session. The group notes that two members of the City Council will be up for election this November. About six months ago, Wal-Mart bought land on Midland Road right behind the Wal-Mart, to expand their store. But opponents charge that a superstore would worsen the traffic congestion in the area, force other supermarkets to close, and bring low-wage jobs to the area. Wal-Mart says they will actually reduce traffic as shoppers go to one store, instead of several. "We're going to have nowhere else to shop but Wal-Mart," said a spokesman for the Resident’s Association. "We're going to have no where else to work but Wal-Mart."

What you can do: There are 11 Wal-Marts within 20 miles of Poway, including the discount store in Poway. All of these stores are discount stores, and Wal-Mart has plans to expand, or shut down all of these stores. There is no added value to the Poway economy for expanding this store, because the area already has Von’s and Statlers grocery stores. A Wal-Mart supercenter would survive by capturing sales from those existing merchants, rather than creating new sales and new jobs. For a community that is trying to sell itself as the “city in the country,” a supercenter imposes a suburban sprawl pattern that is incompatible with the lifestyle image of Poway. Readers are urged to email Poway Mayor Mickey Cafagna at mcafagna@ci.poway.ca.us with the following message: “Mayor Cafagna, the one Wal-Mart in Poway today is one more than enough. If you allow the existing store to expand, all you will get is other merchants shutting down. The retail pie will get sliced thinner. The supercenter is not a sales or jobs project—it’s economic displacement. The image of Poway “balancing growth with the good life,” will tip the balance to leave the ‘good life’ on the short end. This expansion is what you would expect to find in suburban sprawl developments. A Wal-Mart that size also generates more traffic than their normal supercenters. Better to put a cap on the size of superstores than to let these huge box stores eat up your retail sector. A supercenter for Poway, no way!”

Thanks again Al Norman for your support,
Poway Citizen

Please sign our online petition

Hey Everyone,

First thanks for stopping by the Poway Partnership's Blog. You can now sign our online petition by clicking here or on our link on the left and help make a change. The petition will ask for your name, email, and comment. Don't worry, only your name and comments will appear on the signatures, or you can have it show up as anonymous. We can stop the expansion and preserve Poway's quality of life and at the same time save the jobs of the 200 hard working grocery workers at Von's, Henry's, and Stater Bros.

Poway Citizen

Wal-Mart Wants to Expand in the "City in the Country"

Just in case you haven't seen the movie...

Let's start with how good Wal-Mart is to their Associates

Welcome to the Poway Partnership Project

We are a coalition of non-partisan community organizations with one simple goal: maintaining the quality of life for all of the residents of Poway, California. Our first order of business is to keep the proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter out of Poway. Please use the links provided to give you a better understanding of Wal-Mart and our efforts to stop this project in order to save 200 grocery jobs and Poway's quality of life.

Thanks for your support,
Poway Citizen