SKEEL: Resident Steve Kirby set the tone for the night. (Soundbite of cheering, laughter, and applause) STEVE KIRBY (Resident): Wal-Mart will never, never understand what we want. SKEEL: The city held an open council meeting to decide whether to force Wal-Mart to sell the land. This week, Hercules decided it had had enough. Its latest proposal includes a smaller store, but it's still far larger than the city plan allows. Since then, Wal-Mart has been fighting to get approval for a store on the site. But the project failed and Wal-Mart bought the land. Six years ago, the city approved plans to build a neighborhood shopping center there. The 17-acre parcel sits on a bluff with sweeping views of the bay. The city council plans to use eminent domain to forcibly acquire the land that Wal-Mart owns. SKEEL: At Hercules City Hall, this message is being heard loud and clear. So what happens is that they might end up with a lot of crime in here. The homes over here - I mean, they have million dollar homes and have a Wal-Mart in here? The only kind of people who would come over here, like they said, would be - I hate to say the word, but a little riff-raffs. JERRY MAYO (Resident): I wouldn't want a Wal-Mart in here. Jerry Mayo(ph), a retired florist, is more blunt. At one table two smartly dressed women refer vaguely to the undesirable element a Wal-Mart could bring to town. So attempts by the retailer Wal-Mart to set up in town have horrified residents.Īt the local Starbucks, Wal-Mart is the main topic of conversation. It's a modern bedroom community with million dollar homes, and hopes of attracting trendy boutiques and restaurants. The tiny City of Hercules sits on the eastern edge of San Francisco Bay, buffeted by the wind and almost lost in the rolling hills. This week the town voted to get rid of Wal-Mart, even before the retail giant arrived. The small California City of Hercules is living up to its bold name.
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