Tuesday Morning One Liners....

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Wegmans Food Markets here is introducing a new store logo that harks back to its logo of the 1930s and 1940s.
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More than 1,100 workers at Kroger stores in central Indiana voted to approve a new contract with the Cincinnati-based retailer, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 700 here said Monday.
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Wal-Mart to Close 20 Japan Units, Cut Jobs
The global giant's Japan unit may be struggling, but it said plans are still on for expansion after this reduction

Online grocer FreshDirect has introduced a campaign to spotlight employees whose dedication to community service has made them "FreshDirect Heroes." The campaign runs through November and features four associates who will appear local advertising in the New York City area, on the FreshDirect Web site, and on the company jumbotron outside its plant in Long Island City, N.Y. 

More than 98 percent of United Food and Commercial Workers Union members at Indianapolis-area Kroger stores have voted to ratify a new, four-year contract.

Gov. David Paterson has stepped into the Senate fight on behalf of the Senate Democrats. Paterson endorsed Democratic NYC Councilman Jim Gennaro, who is challenging 18-term Republican Sen. Frank Padavan in Queens.

The Employee Free Choice Act

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For decades workers attempting to unionize have played on an uneven playing field.  The Employee Free Choice Act will level this playing field.  

The Employee Free Choice Act (H.R. 800, S. 1041), supported by a bipartisan coalition in Congress, would enable working people to bargain for better wages, benefits and working conditions by restoring workers’ freedom to choose for themselves whether to join a union. It would:

• Establish stronger penalties for violation of employee rights when workers seek to form a union and during first-contract negotiations.
• Provide mediation and arbitration for first-contract disputes (PDF).
• Allow employees to form unions by signing cards authorizing union representation.

The Employee Free Choice Act can help reclaim the American Dream by restoring workers' freedom to form unions and bargain for a better life. Our goal is to gather signatures in support of this bill-1 million voices calling for passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. But 1 million people is a lot of people. We won't reach our goal without your help and the help of your friends and family.

Please support this bill and help us reach our goal of 1 million signatures—sign the petition today by following this link.

Monday Morning One Liners...

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NY1 has a story/video up on the new Trader Joe's in Brooklyn.

The New York Times writes on Jefferson Market, and the struggles of going through 2 economic crashes.

Brooklyn Paper says "the Boro is salivating" over the new Trader Joes.

Fresh & Easy Up Ante with another 3 in Vegas 

The Tesco-owned grocer said it will open six additional stores in Clark County next month.

Ex-Pathmark Execs Turn Up at Rite Aid
John Standley returns to the drug store operator as president and c.o.o., while Frank Vitrano comes aboard as c.f.o. and chief administrative officer.

Eli Zabar, who owns the decade-old two-story haunt known for its $12 chocolate bars, $30 imported nuts and $95 hams, told a CBS affiliate station in New York that he wanted to be transparent to his customers about the need to raise prices as his energy bills soar. So he's affixed tasteful placards in his store that read "ATTN CUSTOMERS: An energy surcharge of 1.8% will be added to every purchase."

Wal-Mart is aiming at curbing most of their plastic bag use.

After rejecting a new two-year labor agreement for MGP Ingredients, Inc, the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local #74D elected late Friday to enact a work stoppage at the company's Atchison, Kan., plant effective at 8 a.m. Saturday. The local is made up of 148 members.

The "Grow Monroe" program was launched last week upstate, and is modeled after King Kullen's buy local produce program in Long Island.

More than 3,500 home care workers averted a strike this week when their union reached a contract agreement with one agency and came to a tentative understanding on a contract with another. 1199 SEIU negotiators signed a 14-month deal with Prestige Care Inc. and reached a tentative agreement on contract terms with Bestcare Inc. Both deals would provide raises and, for the first time, health insurance.

Politics

Brian Foley was joined by over 50 members of four local unions Saturday, including Local 1500 for door-to-door canvassing in Brookhaven. The campaign has received a huge push from organized labor over the last week thanks to seven endorsements of Foley by local unions.

NYT writes on the problems at the Bronx Democratic Party, where last night Assemblyman Jose Rivera was voted out as chairman.

Caroyln McCarthy is facing her biggest challenge this election.

Steven Greenhouse writes the difficulties union members have canvassing for Obama.

Here's  Bill Rafferty on Sarah Palin,

The bailout bill will go to the House today, where it faces some opposition from Republicans.

BJ's in Red Hook, Trader Joe's in Brooklyn Opens today, Eli Zabar and the energy tax...Friday Morning One liners...

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Two former Pathmark Executives were hired by Rite Aid:  Rite Aid Corp., the third-biggest U.S. drugstore chain, hired new operating and finance chiefs after reporting its fifth straight unprofitable quarter and widened its projected loss for the year.

Here's more in depth analysis via MarketWatch.

Via Paul Santarpia: Another Pathmark is closing, Philly...

The BJ’s Wholesale Club destined for the Red Hook waterfront might be part of a six-level shopping plaza with several other stores and even some residential units, The Brooklyn Paper has learned.

Local 400 has a new contract with Farmland Foods.

The Daily News covers Trader Joe's grand opening today.

Supermarket News covered it also....Trader Joe’s this week will open doors to new locations in Brooklyn, N.Y.; Richmond, Va.; and Williamsburg, Va., the company said.
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The Eli Zabar 'energy' tax is getting a lot of heat from press.

Here's more from NYT

One blogger says its a 'how to go out of business recipe' 

And the Supermarket News picked the story up also

Zabar’s, the venerable Upper West Side food store here, has been adding a 1.8% surcharge to purchases in an effort to defray — and call attention to — its increased energy costs, according to a New York Times report this week.
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An analysis of blog postings conducted by the research firm J.D. Power & Associates here indicates Whole Foods earns high marks when it comes to the perception of its environmental sustainability while Safeway and Costco have a long way to go.
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A lockout continues at the Grain Processing Corp. plant in Muscatine despite six hours of talks aimed at reaching an agreement between workers and the company.

The Neighborhood Retail Alliance blogs about the Supermarket crisis.

IGA Global in Chicago said the IGA banner has been unveiled for the first time ever in Mexico on two stores supplied by Unified Grocers, Los Angeles.
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Political

The truth of Rudy Giuliani in office is now coming out.  An ex-aid has launched a website.

 Via Observer
 Kornacki says that after the deal was nearly done, John McCain inflamed the resistance of House Republicans and helped created a conflict that justified his campaign's suspension

Peapod expands to N.J., Could a Fairway Market be coming to Bay Ridge?, Eli's adds a new 'energy tax', plus more one liners....

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For the Bay Ridge shoppers who lost a Key Food in June, rumors of a Fairway Market are now circulating.

Shoppers are less than amused about an energy surcharge passed along by a fancy food store in New York City. Eli's, on the upper East Side posted a sign saying: "An energy surcharge of 1.8 percent will be added to every purchase."  Owner Eli Zabar (ZAY'-bahr) concedes that it's "a very arbitrary number" _ but says it's actually low.

The New York Times and residents don't necessarily agree with it.

Supermarket news covered UFCW's NEPAC ceremony.

 

A Sacramento Superior Court judge has rejected an attempt by Ralphs Grocery Co. to restrict informational picketing at a Foods Co store in Sacramento.

A Los Angeles federal grand jury indicted several former Ralphs Grocery Co. employees Friday for conspiring to rehire hundreds of locked-out employees under false names and social security numbers during the Southern California grocery workers strike.

More on this story from the LA Times.

King Kullen was featured on a presentation of  'Going Green Long Island' which will air Saturday, Sept. 27 at 3 p.m., late night Sunday, Sept. 28 at 3 a.m. and Tuesday, Sept. 30 at 1 p.m. on WLIW21. The documentary will also stream in its entirety on www.wliw.org/goinggreenLI.

 

A new smaller Stop & Shop format is anchoring a new plaza in Mass.


They're also is expanding their Gluten Free Foods.

Internet grocer Peapod, LLC and supermarket chain Stop & Shop have opened a new facility to serve New Jersey's Monmouth and Ocean counties, following healthy sales in other parts of the state.

Here's more on the new Peapod in NJ.

Verizon Communications Inc. employees in two unions have ratified a 
three-year contract, giving higher pay and other benefits to about a quarter of the work force.

The Brooklyn Paper has a sneak peak of Trader Joe's in Brooklyn.

One more day until Trader Joe's in Brooklyn.

Article on Feds probing Food Prices, specifically in NYC.

More at AngryMob.

Organizing struggles and Company resistance to go union leads to a union election to take place in a car.

UFCW Strike authorization was approved in Canada for a local store..

Other

A coalition of 10 Northeastern states will take steps this week to check global warming when it conducts the nation's first carbon auction, taking the same approach that curbed lake-killing acid rain.

 New York’s commuter transit system just got a little easier to navigate. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Google Inc. on Tuesday unveiled a new online service to help customers find their way around the region’s web of buses and trains.

Fresh & Easy workers want a Union, Trader Joe's in Brooklyn buzz, Friday Morning One Liners...

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A Butcher employed at Citarella's who was previously employed at Balducci's, has been arrested for smuggling cocaine into Italy, citing the US' weak economy as a motive.

Lots of buzz surrounding the new Trader Joe's in Brooklyn.

More here @ Urbanite.

The Racked.com, a popular Metro area blog writes "Gristedes really can't win".

As reported last week on the hundreds of Muslims who walked off the job in protest, hundreds of non-Muslim workers walked off the job in counterprotests Wednesday and Thursday morning in support of their co-workers.

The city's unemployment rate increased nearly one percentage point to 5.8% in August, making it the biggest month-to-month jump in three decades.

Tesco's rapidly-expanding Fresh & Easy US grocery business is facing its first formal call for union recognition from its workforce, following organising efforts by the United Food and Commercial Workers, the largest US grocery union

New York State on Tuesday began offering an “enhanced driver’s license,” one of a number of non-passport citizen travel documents that are making their way down bureaucratic government pipelines.  Read the NYT Article here.

Politics, Politics

The Door is open for Fosella to get back on the ballot.

Gov. Sarah Palin and other elected officials have been disinvited from an anti-Iran rally scheduled for Monday at the United Nations, organizers of the rally and the campaign of Senator John McCain said.

Sen. Kevin Parker, 41, has been accused of assaulting a staffer, he apparently, pushed her, knocking her glasses to the floor - and then purposely stepped on them, according to the police report.

Tesco's Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market here said it has received a letter from an employee at a store in Orange County seeking union recognition for workers at that store.
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A&P's Pathmark banner is celebrating its 40th anniversary with 40% off savings.
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As part of an effort to prevent allergic reactions to food, Stop & Shop has replaced the tree nuts it once sold from its bulk bins with prepackaged varieties.
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Wegmans Food Markets here said yesterday that it is just starting to receive the first of 101 fuel-efficient trucks that will make up 60% of its next-generation truck fleet.
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Hillary Clinton has an op-ed about health care for women

Trader Joe's set to open Brooklyn store, Wednesday Morning One Liners...

Trader Joe's will open it's first Brooklyn store next week.

The store will reflect and incorporate "Brooklyn's rich history"

More here at the Daily News.

A Suffolk proposal to ban plastic shopping bags came under fire yesterday from the grocery and plastics industries, who said the county should instead give plastic recycling laws that take effect Jan. 1 time to work.   John Woods was quoted in the article.

The Teamsters union is poised to ratify a new contract with the city, having reached a tentative agreement yesterday.

The Brooklyn Paper covers the new "upscale" Gristedes in Brooklyn.

Wal-Mart was forced to close a store in Cleveland which was built on a landfill.

Fresh & Easy workers are pushing for union talks.

A&P Assures Shareholders Lehman Brothers Bankruptcy Won't Hurt 

Politics Politics

Lynn Forester de Rothschild, a prominent Hillary Clinton supporter and member of the Democratic National Committee’s Platform Committee, will endorse John McCain for president on Wednesday, her spokesman tells CNN.

Katie Couric will get a one on one with Palin.

A Republican group is taking responsibility for a poll that has roiled the Jewish community by asking sharply negative questions about Senator Barack Obama.

Wal-Mart applies for a Bank in Canada, Tuesday Morning One Liners..

Wal-Mart stores will now strictly focus on customer experiences.

They're also opening a Bank in Canada.
 

Iowa Meat Co. Fights unionization in New York.

Insiders say that the Gristedes supermarket in Brooklyn Heights -- undergoing a total redo (click for images) since it was destroyed in a fire last April -- will include a coffee counter, along with other upscale amenities.

Sen. Hillary Clinton rallied support on Sept. 12 for a $1.7 billion federal investment in mass transit projects in New York and throughout the country.

Vito Fossella wants back on ballot

Fresh & Easy, Whole Foods does the right thing for Florida workers, Thursday Morning One Liners...

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Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market here said yesterday it plans to introduce more than 200 additional private-label products by the end of the year.
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Whole Foods Market said it will work with the 4,000-plus member Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), the Florida-based farm worker organization that is promoting the Campaign for Fair Food, to help improve wages and working conditions for Florida tomato pickers.

JBS Swift fires about 100 Muslims for 'violation' of union contract

 Wal-Mart said it is celebrating Hispanic Heritage month through a national campaign that provides information and resources for the pursuit of higher education. 

More trendier small-box stores: The Market, a 14,000-square-foot grocery store its developers say is a "state-of-the-art" store taking advantage of the trend toward smaller stores specializing in fresh foods and essential groceries, is set to open here next week, published reports said.
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Walgreens in Illinois, is challenging the legality of a recently passed San Francisco ordinance that will ban sales of tobacco products at pharmacies there beginning Oct. 1, according to published reports.
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Thousands of grocery store workers throughout Saskatchewan are taking a strike vote to pressure their employer to ante up in contract talks.

Developer Bruce Ratner said he will break ground on the $4 billion Brooklyn Atlantic Yards project in December.

Political

Election Shows the Power of Working Families Party

Mike Tomasky wonders if the truth will "catch up" to McCain-Palin.

 Upstate primaries may help topple State Senate majority Three primaries in the Buffalo area yesterday could help determine whether Democrats take control of the State Senate in January for the first time in more than 40 years

The Daily Dose of Palin:

"I am a liberal but I love Sarah Palin."

Pathmark celebrates 40th anniversary, Solar Panels expanding in stores, Primary Results and Wednesday Morning One Liners...

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Morning Read: 09/10/2008

All 139 Pathmark stores will celebrate the chain’s 40th anniversary this Saturday with special giveaways and discounts, according to A&P here.
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Online grocer FreshDirect has partnered with LaGuardia Community College to offer 60 plant workers free weekly English classes. The 30-hour program will end on Oct. 23.

The Food Emporium will host a “Taste of Africa” food sampling from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20, at its BridgeMarket store at 405 East 59th St.
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The New York Times writes about new grocery store trends.

Wal-Mart, Macy's, Kohl's, BJ's Wholesale Club, Target, Staples and Whole Foods are among the chains that have begun putting solar panels on their roofs.

As Wal-Mart Stores prepares to open its first Marketside locations in the Phoenix area, the company is reportedly scouting locations in Southern California as well, the Financial Times of London reported yesterday.
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Newsday writes on the continuing rise of food prices & declining fuel prices.

Wal-Mart is being sued for many violations in NJ.

The Dubai Balducci's is revolutionary for the Middle East, being cited as "unbelievable".

The Illinois Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has sued Wal-Mart in federal court on behalf of a Rockford woman who claims she was fired because she had epilepsy.

Politics

Here are the 2008 Primary Election results.

Mike McMahon, 74 percent
Steve Harrison, 26 percent

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver soundly beat challengers Paul Newell and Luke Henry by capturing 68 percent of the vote with 6,743 ballots. Newell received 2,301 votes and Henry 879.

McCain camp released an ad that claims Obama wants Sex Education for Kindergartners.

Interesting article on Palin, her plane and prepared comments.

Mayor Bloomberg is still mulling over term limits.

--------------------------------------------------

A citizen of America will cross the ocean to fight for democracy, but won't cross the street to vote in a national election.
  - Bill Vaughan

Growth of 'Small-Box' stores, Wal-Mart hikes up Gas Prices in the midst of an evacuation, Tuesday Morning One Liners...

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09/09/2008

The Daily News did a story on the first ever King Kullen located 171-06 Jamaica Ave.

Wal-Mart Hiked up their gas prices in Texas during a Hurricane evacuation. People aren't really happy about that.

Whole Foods VP was named to Organic Center board.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Wegmans Food Markets here has announced that it is increasing the availability of sustainable packaging and sustainable containers in its fresh food areas,
 according to the company’s website.

Stop & Shop has dropped their suit against Whole Foods.

An editorial in Supermarket News notes the growing trend and interest in "Small-Box Stores"

Political

Finally someone writes about McCain/Palin campaign not pushing policy issues, but their personal stories, making them America's favorite couple.

When it comes to support for Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, a new national poll suggests men and women don't see eye to eye.

The Washington Post goes through Palin and her families traveling expenses.

In a speech last night, Obama warned Palin not to "Mock the Constitution"

Locally, the Daily News covered the Addabbo race.

Wal-Mart pays employees in store vouchers, Monday Morning One Liners....

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Price Chopper Supermarkets last week said it has broken ground on a new store that would be New York's first LEED-certified supermarket.
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The NY Times had a blast at the Labor Day Parade.

The  NJ AG is going after Wal-Mart for continually selling expired baby formula.

Wal-Mart is getting crushed in Mexico for handing out store vouchers as payment to workers.

A Philadelphia judge has affirmed a $185 million award against retail titan Wal-Mart in a class action alleging underpayment of Wal-Mart employees as part of an opinion written for an appeal now pending with the Pennsylvania Superior Court.

To promote it’s new small gourmet grocery store — A Taste of Market Street — in Frisco, Texas, United Supermarkets in Texas is running a “Free Fuel” promotion Sept. 5-Nov. 1.
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The 2009 outlook for the food industry, particularly the packaged goods segment, is negative, Moody's Investors Service here said yesterday.
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Political


Errol Lewis: The ugly spectacle last week of hearing GOP leaders direct scorn at community organizers - all community organizers - displayed a level of contempt for grass-roots democracy that was downright un-American.


Oprah Winfrey, daytime television star, has refused to have Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin as a guest on her talk show.


Primary battle for Vito's seat turns into 'blood sport' The battle to succeed Rep. Vito Fossella is getting as ugly as the scandal that drove him from office. Republicans Robert Straniere and Jim Wyne are locked in a bitter primary duel that included Straniere's allegation that his opponent was hiding his Muslim heritage from voters.


John Edwards cancels Hofstra event Former Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards is canceling all public appearances until after the November election -- including a Monday event at Hofstra University -

Mike Lupica doesn’t approve of Bloomberg’s search for a third term.

THE Post today enthusiastically urges the election of Sen. John S. McCain as the 44th president of the United States.

A new USA Today-Galllup poll shows John McCain leading Barack Obama, 50-46.

Organizers say Columbia University will host a Sept. 11 community service forum featuring John McCain and Barack Obama.

BJ's in Red Hook and more top news....

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Plans to bring BJ’s Wholesale Club, potentially the second big box retailer in Red Hook, sent a shiver of excitement and mild horror through the neighborhood this week.

 Worsening product price inflation -- with many food products exceeding 5% cost increases -- is making for a "painful" environment for A&P and its shoppers, Christian Haub, executive chairman of the Montvale, N.J.-based retailer, said in remarks at the Goldman Sachs Global Retailing Conference on Wednesday.
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Delhaize Group here on Wednesday released its first "Corporate Responsibility Report," highlighting the retailer's accomplishments in areas such as the environment and health and wellness.
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Wal-Mart Stores, Bentonville, Ark., said yesterday it has established a new regional headquarters for Asia here to oversee its operations in China, India and Japan and to identify new business opportunities throughout Asia.
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Wal-Mart unveiled a new Smart Network in-store TV system on Wednesday that it said will function as the first "shopper-intelligent network at retail.

Boeing Co.'s largest labor union voted to strike Wednesday night, but the union agreed to postpone a walkout for 48 hours after federal mediators urged both sides to return to the bargaining table in a last-ditch effort to reach an agreement.

Political

On the second consecutive night, a lot of the rhetoric at the Republican convention Wednesday evening seemed left over from the last cycle when the fight against terrorism dominated the race.

Gowanus Whole Foods update, Tuesday Morning One Liners...

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Morning Read: 09/02/2008

The United Food and Commercial Workers Union said it has filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board against 2 Sisters Food Group, the primary supplier of prepared foods for Tesco-owned Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market, over the alleged firing of six workers.
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BJ’s Wholesale Club, Inc. announced that Herb Zarkin, Chairman and CEO; Laura Sen, President and COO and Frank Forward, CFO will speak at the Goldman Sachs 15^th Annual Global Retail Conference on September 4, 2008 at 10:25 a.m. Eastern Time at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City.

NY1 covers Zagats reviews of Amish Market & Agata and Valentina.

The owner of two grocery stores in Bethesda, Md., was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison last week for failure to collect and pay payroll taxes, according to a statement by the Department of Justice.
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Here's a blog covering the small progress of the Gowanus Whole Foods.

Agriprocessors, the Brooklyn-based company that is the nation’s largest kosher meat producer, is well known for the labor troubles at its meatpacking plant in Iowa — federal agents detained 389 of its workers as illegal immigrants in May, and labor officials in Iowa have accused it of employing 57 under-age workers.

Stretching your dollar at Whole Foods.

Editorial: Grocery Stores gear up for food fight.

Denver Post: As labor numbers continue to slip, big labor makes a big political push.

Wal-Mart Stores here has transformed more that 1,700 of its Garden Centers into one-stop shops for football tailgaiters. 
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An industry coalition last week submitted a petition to put a measure on the ballot in Seattle, calling for the repeal of a 20-cent tax on both paper and plastic grocery bags, according to reports.
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At least 56 people were arrested Monday after police fired projectiles and used pepper spray and tear gas to disperse a crowd demonstrating near the site of the Republican National Convention.