Walmart

A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge on Wednesday said he may not have jurisdiction over an appeal of an injunction that has blocked construction of a Walmart adjacent to the Empire Center in Burbank. “Once the notice of appeal has been filed, things like moving to modify or dissolve can no longer be heard [in this court]. Otherwise, that would interrupt the appeal,” Judge Robert O'Brien said in the downtown L.A. courtroom. An appeal is generally heard in a court of appeals.

How come the citizens of Burbank could keep a Whole Foods market from coming to Main and Alameda due in part to traffic, but we can't keep Walmart out of the Empire Center area for the same reason “Walmart greenlights store,” Sept. 17)? The traffic there is bad 90% of the time now, and Victory Place is probably the roughest street in Burbank. How do you think it will be with a Walmart there? It will make it so difficult to get to some of our favorite stores, like Lowe's, Target, Michael's, Best Buy etc, and all of the good eating places.

In response to previous letters concerning Walmart perhaps opening a store at the Great Indoors property, it seems like all the people that oppose a Walmart store in Burbank are obviously not, or have ever been, Walmart shoppers. All of their negative claims against Walmart are hearsay. Walmart is really no different than Target or Kmart, so what makes them OK instead? Low wages? Chinese-made products? Nothing different than the other two stores. Walmart has all the same major brands from Revlon to Loreal, Kellogg's to Oroweat, Wrangler to Dickies, and at better prices.

I will try to cover everything. The area where Walmart is going to be located is isolated from the rest of the Empire Center. They have their own large parking lot and traffic is always awful in that area. It's hard to find American-made items at Walmart? It's hard to find American made items at any store. The U.S. may view China with suspicion, but it's our corporations sending the work over there. Encourage workers to go to the emergency room? The person still has to pay for it, out of pocket.

I agree completely with the letter regarding Walmart that appeared in the Aug. 31 Burbank Leader titled “Walmart is far from a cure-all.” My question is why are so many important issues facing the city of Burbank decided behind closed doors with little or no publicity or public input, particularly when taxpayer money is involved? Does the city's population really want the low-wage jobs offered by Walmart along with a long history of questionable business practices and a race-to-the-bottom mentality to be a face of Burbank when other cities have fought strenuously to keep Walmart out?

Instead of arguing what should not go into the Great Indoors space, maybe the discussion could be about what could go in instead. With such a tremendous space, something like a SkateLab would be a nice fit. We do not need more retail space. Burbank has a nice selection of department stores and mom-and-pop shops, why crowd in Walmart? The skaters of our community would enjoy a safe place to hang out and their parents would appreciate not having to drive to Simi Valley. This space already has a nice café area where the parents can relax while the kids have fun. Since it is a bit larger than the facility in Simi Valley, maybe a party area could also be incorporated into the space.

While we appreciate the overwhelming support we have received from Burbank residents, elected officials and stakeholders over the past few months, it's clear that a handful of special interests are attempting to misinform readers by peddling the same old urban myths about our company. As we move closer to opening our first store in Burbank, we thought it was appropriate to share some feedback from people who actually live in the city - as well as some facts about our company - in an effort set the record straight (“Walmart concerns grow,” Feb. 4)

A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge on Wednesday gave attorneys for the city of Burbank and Walmart four more months to prepare their defense against a lawsuit filed to block the mega-retailer from opening adjacent to the Empire Center. The additional time could further delay Walmart's plans to open at the former Great Indoors site, where no work has been allowed since a court-ordered injunction was issued last month. “I'm not in a hurry anymore. Everybody's gotten over being in a hurry,” said Superior Court Judge Ann I. Jones after the attorneys made their request.

Walmart officials on Tuesday said they will take their case for starting construction on a new store in Burbank to a state appellate court after a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge ruled he doesn't have jurisdiction to hear the appeal. Walmart has been fighting an injunction preventing work on a new store adjacent to the Empire Center in Burbank. The injunction also forced the city of Burbank to suspend its approval of building permits pending a trial. A Superior Court judge ruled on Thursday, though, that he did not have jurisdiction over the appeal to the injunction.

Walmart has acquired a 12-acre site at Burbank’s Empire Center, which is already home to a Target store and other "big box" retailers.