Why does this store agitate so many people? Mr. Sumner, I am sure Walmart has lots of lawyers, as most companies. Yes, money buys lots of votes but not all people can be bought. Do you really believe that Walmart lawyers are telling local officials what to say?
Yes, Walmart would bring much-needed jobs to the area and yes, it does pay minimum wage. What business do you know of that pays new hires top salaries? Everyone has to start out at the bottom unless you own the company. Isn’t minimum wage better than no job and collecting unemployment or welfare? Walmart isn’t the only company that has employees who work less than 38 hours and get no benefits. There are lots of businesses that don’t provide benefits to any employees.
I don’t understand how everyone thinks that the businesses downtown would close because of Walmart. The businesses downtown carry items that Walmart doesn’t carry. Not everyone in Brentwood can afford to shop in the stores downtown and need a less expensive option.
What problems would Walmart create? If you look on the following page of this paper, Cop Logs, you’ll find that Brentwood already has its share of problems. I don’t see that any of those problems were caused by Walmart.
If you don’t like the city officials, by all means, vote them out, but it will take more than just your vote to do it.
Once again, you mention the palm trees downtown. We get it that you don’t like the trees. The trees seem way overpriced but they are beautiful. They just look out of place and don’t fit with everything else in the area. I have a feeling that they are here to stay so maybe you should find an alternate route to travel so you won’t be upset every time you drive by them.
Terri Adams, Brentwood
I also think everyone needs to realize that when the city leaders built the Streets of Brentwood, they decided downtown's fate. Even restaurants that were once in downtown have moved out there, and they even built a new theater to compete with our historic one. Plus, the last time I had dinner at an expensive downtown restaurant with family from out-of-state, we were most embarrassed by mold that was found on our loaf of bread. Yet, no one at the restaurant of manager status made any effort to apologize or even 'comp' our bottle of wine for my 80 yr. old mother's birthday celebration. Sorry, but location isn't always what keeps businesses open -it's service and quality. Personally, I think all the expensive renovations was a waste of our tax payer's money. We'd be much better building the Walmart!