Monday News at Noon

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Crain's: Costco Misses Mark in Harlem
After opening a store in late November with promises of jobs and economic revival for the community of East Harlem, warehouse club Costco Wholesale Corp. terminated 160 of its 453 workers there last month in order to cut costs.

A Michigan painting company that did work for Hempstead Village and Suffolk County admitted to paying its workers less than New York's prevailing wage, and must repay the employees and state more than $371,000 in back pay, penalties and interest, the Nassau district attorney said Thursday.

Daily News: Farmworkers Deserve their Day in Court: Fundamental Rights are being denied
The vast majority of farmworkers in our state are now Latino, and for decades they have been deprived of the most basic rights afforded to virtually all other laborers. It's long past time to get creative and close an old loophole that has led to a new civil rights problem.

Kristen Gillbrand was at Fairway Market this past weekend.

New Jersey: Ocean County's largest supermarket chain was allowed to continue its role as an objector to a proposed Walmart on Route 37, as the township Planning Board heard details of the revised project.

Grand Junction Press: Albertsons and Local 7 pact a deal.

Monday News at Noon

A hearing Monday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court should seal the sale of beleaguered Penn Traffic Co. to Tops Markets.

Acme cuts hours of 131 employees
The recession and price deflation are being blamed for cuts in employee hours and positions at Akron-based grocer Acme Fresh Markets.

Walmart has laid off an unspecified number of Sam's Club staffers, say several former employees of the company, a report from Forbes.com.

More:
Business Week: Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s Sam’s Club chain, the second-largest U.S. warehouse club, will cut about 11,200 jobs in the next month after hiring an outside company to take over in-store product demonstrations.

Wall Street Journal:  Sam's Club, engaged in a tough struggle to stand apart from competitors, is cutting about 11,000 jobs and is turning to an independent marketing firm to handle in-store product demonstrations at its warehouses nationwide.

The Hudson Reporter reports on the new Walmart in Bergen County's impact on other supermarkets throughout New Jersey.

The New York Times reports on Walmart's continued struggles expanding in Chicago.

Walmart is also facing expansion troubles in Ontario.

The Brooklyn Daily Eagle covers the Outer Borough Supermarket Attraction event.

Brooklyn Daily Eagle: Borough Pres calls for more Affordable Units, Supermarket in retail space.

And Elizabeth Benjamin reports Bloomberg says the city will be forced to layoff 18,500 workers if Patterson's "unfair" budget is enacted.