- The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that a battle is brewing in the city’s Port Richmond section over a proposed 135,000-sq.-ft. Wal-Mart. Besides community concerns about whether the new store will ruin the neighborhood’s character, there is an interesting difference of opinion between two unions.
The United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners thinks the store is a good idea because it will be a significant source of construction jobs, but the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) is against it because Wal-Marts are non-union shops.
- The Orlando Sentinel reports that a US Department of Agriculture (USDA) study says that while America’s borders are too porous to prevent a biological attack, it is likely that most of the damage would be economic, not physical. And the economic damage will mostly be because of panic…which can be avoided or lessened in the threat is dealt with quickly, the industry responds effectively, and the public cooperates.
- Published reports say that PepsiCo is considering bringing out a vanilla-flavored cola drink that it would add to its line of soft drinks, and which would compete with Coca-Cola’s popular Vanilla Coke and Diet Vanilla Coke drinks.
- The New York Times reported over the weekend that a New Jersey restaurant owner has responded to the current tensions with France over a possible invasion of Iraq by emptying all the French wine in his establishment into the toilet.
The proprietor found that some customers supported him, while there were others who thought it was waste of good booze.
- A Brooklyn, NY, state assemblyman plans to introduce legislation requiring restaurants to provide consumers with nutrition information such as calorie count, saturated fat and trans fat amounts, and sodium content.
- Researchers said at the American Heart Association's annual conference that people who eat breakfast are significantly less likely to be obese and diabetic than those who do not have a morning meal.
