Two articles caught my eye in the Hood River News last Saturday, Feb. 9, edition. They were:
1) Safeway drops plans for a new, bigger store. The reason given was the "big box" ordinance of the city and possibly the county. This is one of the times that the Hood River City Council's decision to adopt an ordinance in haste has come back and bit them in the rear-end. This "big box" ordinance will be here to haunt the city for quite some time. There will be no growth due to restrictive size restrictions imposed by the council that were led by a few people who only think of themselves.
If Safeway had plans for a larger store they must not be afraid of a new Wal-Mart. I only hope that the County Commissioners see the light before they impose the same ordinance in the county.
2) The article in the Letters to the Editor by George Earley putting the blame for the Toys "R" Us closing 64 stores on the discount pricing of Wal-Mart toys. I say that is not the fault of Wal-Mart but the Toys "R" Us for not reducing their prices to compete. If Wal-Mart can sell toys for a price and still make a profit then Toys "R" Us, a large corporation, should be able to do the same.
My belief is Toys "R" Us would rather make a big profit on the merchandise and put the blame of closing 64 stores on someone else instead of their own greed.
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