Thursday, March 06, 2008

sign this petition

Maybe it's pms or something (is there a post-ms?) but that article by NM on all-ages venues has got me all choked up and I'm thisclose to firing off a tear stained email to news and review to thank him for it. Expect some embarrassing autobiographical exposures.

And now I'm about to cry about something else. CH just sent this around to the Poinsettia list. That reminds me, the Rite Aid in my 'hood is now open. I'm glad I hardly ever walk that way so I don't have to constantly be filled with rage.

Hello all-
The Walgreens corporation is planning to build a 12,000 square foot store on Alhambra between L and Capitol, where the Mayflower restaurant and the old Luis's restaurants are. This is directly across the street from the Rite Aid and one block away from the Safeway, both of which already have 24 hour pharmacies, and as most of you know Sacramento already has had an explosion of Rite Aids, Walgreens and Longs. Do we really need another pharmacy? Much less a 12,000 foot behemoth with zero lot lines right up to the sidewalk in a historic district? These large corporate pharmacies have a history of building near each other in locations all over the US in an attempt to put the other out of business. Don't let Alhambra become the newest battlegound in their little war. Please read and sign the online petition and forward it to as many people as you think might care about this issue.

Thanks!

Sacramento Alhambra Corridor Neighborhood
Association
Email: esacna@yahoo.com
Website: http://www.esacna.org
Online Petition: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/stopwalgreens/

15 comments:

  1. This may cement you coast toward a crying jag but I woke up miffed this morning to the news that Kevin Johnson is indeed running for mayor:(

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  2. I still don't get why that is so bad. Why?

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  3. Halloween show hype! check out these clips from the halloween show 8 years ago:
    (warning: may contain heckamax and biz content)

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QL9e0tdLy8
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLj5l1vt0-g

    dave ninja

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  4. Dude, I know. That fucking Rite Aid! I just moved to the Boulevard Park area a few months ago, and they put in a fucking Rite Aid!! This city has so many drug stores. Why couldn't they have put a grocery store there? Like TJ's (I don't think you like them...) or a cool lil' co-op or something.

    SIGH.

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  5. aha! That's right! I heard that you can now watch the four eyes tv show online. I just watched the first episode and I can't wait to see more, but I gotta get some work done. And by work, I mean posting!

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  6. this is part of it:

    http://www.sacbee.com/crime/story/431260.html

    i also have issues with kevin johnson as someone who worked at st. hope's sac high for a couple of months and finally quit because i couldn't stand the lack of organization. although that's a longer criticism than a blog comment can hold.

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  7. Anonymous10:54 AM

    Wait is this petition for the same group who blocked TJ's moving into Alhambra and was instead happier that it became a Rite Aid?

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  8. Anonymous11:16 AM

    http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/767528.html

    I don't know how I feel about KJ right now, but I am loving this race.

    Gbomb

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  9. Anonymous11:34 AM

    Somebody help me remember here. Wasn't that Rite Aid already there when the Trader Joes was suggested? I thought it was proposed to go in that vacant lot that used to be on that strip of L St (I think it's L) near where the fire station by Safeway is.

    Either way, I lived near there at the time & was all for the TJs but the immediate neighborhood was strongly against it because of the increased traffic on a residential street. Judging by the TJs parking clusterfuck on Folsom, I think not building it there was wise.

    -miller

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  10. That article is pretty daming, but I also think it's possible that the Bee has a pro-Fargo, pro business as usual agenda. I'm going to wait and see what he has to say. That's unfortunate he chose not to talk with the Bee at the time, and makes him look guilty as hell, but now he's going to be forced to answer to the allegations.

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  11. There was a follow-up story in the Bee after the one Liv linked that was more flattering to Johnson. He toured his Oak Park properties with the reporter (I cannot remember who it was and can't find the article) describing the problems of developing there -- he had one building fully rehabbed but could not find a tenant, etc. And he took responsibility for some of the other stuff.

    It didn't make him sound like a saint but he came off a whole lot better than he did in the first article. I'm lukewarm on Johnson but at this point I'd vote for my cat ahead of Heather Fargo.

    And the best place for a Trader Joe's is the new Rite Aid location in Boulevard Park, probably, but the neighbors on 22nd Street would never let it happen. It's hard to blame them.

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  12. Anonymous2:56 PM

    Hey SM-
    They wanted to put the TJ's in the spot where the Imaging Center is now. (East of the fire station on the North side of Granada) The neighborhood activists were instrumental in shutting it down. It would have been a disaster. They say the Rite Aid snuck in there before that group had really organized and before they realized that Steve Cohn was trying to turn his district into a big-business free-for-all. The group that has organized to oppose the Walgreens is a new group. Although there are some neighborhood vets who were in the anti-TJ's campaign it is being run mostly by first-timers. I went to their first meeting the other night and they were kind of disorganized, but definitely had done their homework. Similar Walgreens projects were shut down in other cities with as few as 400 signatures on petitions. I told the gals that they could stand outside the Co-Op on Alhambra on a Saturday or Sunday and probably get 400 signatures in a couple of hours. Don't know if they've taken that tack yet, but somebody sure should. If there was ever a ready-made group of anti-corporate petition signers, it's no insult to say that it's the clientele of the Co-Op! Apparently The Walgreen's corporation is extremely adverse to negative publicity and will crumble if public opinion is stirred up to a certain level. Let's start stirring!

    -charvey

    P.S.: Steve Cohn Recall Campaign anyone? He has two years left, and you can put up a lot of corporate pharmacies in two years. It's no secret that he wants to run for State Assembly when his term on the Council is up. I'm sure he is counting on his corporate and developer cronies to fund a large part of his campaign. From his website: "I have worked to achieve a long-term vision for Sacramento, by building upon Sacramento’s greatest resources: quality neighborhoods, distinctive architectural, political, and natural heritage, and wonderfully diverse population. But above all else, I have always been guided by a strong conservation ethic: to use our limited public resources wisely and efficiently to protect our environment, while growing a robust, yet sustainable economy."
    I ain't buying what you're selling Steve!

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  13. Anonymous8:33 AM

    I've worked at an Oak Park school for 9 years. What exposure I've had to all the KJohnson St. Hope schools has been mixed. The idea is good, but a lot of times it seems like they don't know what they're doing. And he's never agreed to come appear at our school.

    Jed

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  14. Anonymous7:36 PM

    Here's a great update to the Walgreens on Alhambra saga I got in my email today:

    "Dear Neighbors,
    I am happy to relay the following good news to you:

    WALGREENS HAS WITHDRAWN THEIR PROPOSAL!!!!!!

    The City has placed this project on indefinite hold and will notice us if anything changes.

    Now for the bad new: Walgreens can resubmit their plans, in revised form, in the future. The withdrawal doesn't necessarily mean they have given up the pursuit of this property and may be planning some type of counter attack. We are not exactly sure of the reason that they have withdrawn, but we would like to believe it is because of us and the pressure we put on the City. :) Because of this update, the May 21st meeting is canceled! We will still continue to put pressure on the City to deny this project and hope the withdrawal will stand. Maybe a moment of celebration????? Please let us know if you have any questions.

    Sincerely,
    Karen A. Burnat
    ESACNA"

    -charvey

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