Looks like no Wal-Mart for El Monte.

I just got an email about someone who got their tires punctured after participating in a political conference.

That made me think back to when we were fighting against building the Wal-Mart in Rosemead. I suffered three punctures during that time. Not before or since have I gotten this many flats in such a short period of time.

El Monte, a city that is so broke that it imposed an additional .5% sales tax on its residents (and neighbors who shop in El Monte), just found $7.7 million to give to a developer to get Wal-Mart to bring their noise, traffic, and exploitive practices to El Monte.

The Los Angeles Times has been compiling LAPD and LA County Sheriff reports into an interactive map feature. It's not perfect, but it will give you an idea of what's going on in the city.

Last night the Rosemead Planning Commission held its annual review of Wal-Mart. It snuck up on me; since the store opened in late September, I assumed the review would be in late September instead of mid-August.

$27.6 million settlement for violating environmental laws in California. Meanwhile, a potentially massive sex discrimination suit against the retail giant moves forward.

Wal-Mart is allegedly considering opening a store in El Monte, so the San Gabriel Valley Tribune is beating the Wal-Mart drum, again.

So they can sell them caskets. Yes, nothing says, "I love you" like a casket from Wal-Mart.