PARD Has Clearly Lost the PR Battle

In a press release issued back on May 23, 2005 the Pullman Alliance for Responsible Development cockily and somewhat prematurely stated:

Round One: The Battle for Public Opinion is Over. PARD Has Clearly Won that Battle.

Round 15 is now over and I think it's safe to say that PR has clearly lost both the PR battle and the war.

The opinion page of the Moscow-Pullman Daily News now contains almost daily pro-Wal-Mart letters. And many of the the writers are people who have never submitted a letter before, not the so-called "fanatical Wal-Mart advocates" like Don Pelton and myself. The message is the same: PARD should just give up. People are tired of their hackneyed arguments and the ongoing community division. That was what two Pullman residents had to say in today's Daily News, including one who admits to previously being against Wal-Mart. Why aren't the PARDners listening? But, as we have seen in Chelan, they probably won't, even after the store has opened, unless they receive a hefty ransom.

Nevertheless, let's keep it up. Maybe PARD CAN be shamed into quitting.

Time for Wal-Mart in Pullman

I have been following the activities of the Pullman Alliance for Responsible Development for about two years. What a tempest in a teapot this is.

There is a lot of money traveling up the road to Moscow due to a lack of merchants selling basic goods at a sale price. Let’s keep the sales tax revenue in Pullman.

If Wal-Mart would agree to two stop lights and a crosswalk, one on Grand Avenue and one on Bishop Boulevard, that would do a lot to help the congestion on Bishop. There is no crosswalk on Bishop between Pullman Regional Hospital and Grand Avenue. The requirement that Wal-Mart install this improvement is only right. (The impact study was flawed having been done during the summer and not during peak traffic times.) Merchant-sponsored improvements save the Pullman residents money.

I live on a disability income, and not much at that. Wal-Mart’s $4 drug program is a godsend to me. While ShopKo said it would match it, it has not. Competition is good for business. ShopKo should step up and match or exceed that $4 drug program I so need.

The proximity to the cemetery is another issue. Perhaps the “deceased” would indeed welcome a new business venture in Pullman without offense to the “living” who may visit the graves where commercial noise may disturb the paying of respect.

Bring on Wal-Mart and the sooner the better.

Dianne Lowe, Pullman

Wal-Mart is changing its ways

In the beginning of the prospect of having a Wal-Mart in Pullman, I was opposed because of what I believed were the company’s ethical lapses.

As time has passed, the company has acted to correct some of these practices. The local debate has become harsh, blaming and personal.

Every decision this large has pros and cons. One of the repeated concerns has been about the inadequacy of Bishop Boulevard to handle the traffic. There is a way to lessen that concern. That is to locate the main entrance to Wal-Mart on the Lewiston highway going up by the cemetery. (Many cities surround old cemeteries. The residents have not complained yet.) This location of the main entrance would handle all the traffic from the north, south, and west. Bishop Boulevard would be left with the traffic coming from the east, which would be more manageable.

This would quell many of the complaints I have heard and read.

Bev Hyde, Pullman

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