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March 25, 2005
Wal-Mart director Tom Coughlin resigns after internal probe
From Discount Store News:
BENTONVILLE, Ark. - March 25 - Following an internal company investigation, Thomas Coughlin has resigned from the Wal-Mart board of directors. The investigation relates to personal reimbursements, payment of third-party invoices and the use of company gift cards.
Three Wal-Mart employees have been terminated in connection with the investigation, including one company officer.
Wal-Mart initiated the investigation on its own and has now referred the matter to the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas. There will be no adverse financial impact to the company in connection with this matter.
Posted by Chris at 10:46 PM
Here we go again
Round three of severe weather this spring:
From ABC 33/40 E-Warn:
WWUS84 KBMX 252207
SPSBMX
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
400 PM CST FRI MAR 25 2005
...SEVERE WEATHER ANTICIPATED OVER EASTER WEEKEND...
AN EARLY SPRING STORM SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP RAPIDLY TONIGHT
INTO EARLY SATURDAY IN THE SOUTHERN PLAINS...SHIFTING ACROSS THE
MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY DURING THE DAY SUNDAY. ALONG AND AHEAD OF
THIS SYSTEM...SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP SATURDAY
AFTERNOON. A WARM FRONT WILL LIFT NORTHWARD INTO THE TENNESSEE
RIVER VALLEY BY SATURDAY AFTERNOON...PLACING MOIST OF ALABAMA IN
THE UNSTABLE WARM SECTOR OF THE STORM SYSTEM FOR MOST OF THE DAY
SATURDAY...SATURDAY NIGHT...AND SUNDAY.
THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER CURRENTLY HAS A MODERATE RISK FOR
SEVERE WEATHER ACROSS MOST OF CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN ALABAMA FOR
SATURDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT...THEN A SLIGHT RISK ON SUNDAY. AN
UPGRADE TO A MODERATE RISK IS EXPECTED FOR SUNDAY...AND SOME
PORTION OF THE DEEP SOUTH COULD BE UPGRADED TO A HIGH RISK FOR
SATURDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT.
DAMAGING WINDS...LARGE HAIL...AND TORNADOES WILL ALL BE
POSSIBLE IN ASSOCIATION WITH THESE STORMS. AT THIS TIME...THE
GREATEST THREAT FOR TORNADOES LOOKS TO BE LATE SATURDAY NIGHT INTO
EARLY SUNDAY MORNING. NOW WOULD BE A GOOD TIME TO PLAN TO MOVE ANY
OUTDOOR SUNDAY MORNING PLANS INTO A SAFE STURDY STRUCTURE. HEAVY
RAIN ASSOCIATED WITH THESE STORMS COULD ALSO PRODUCE SOME LOCALIZED
FLOODING...ALTHOUGH NO WIDESPREAD FLOODING PROBLEMS ARE
ANTICIPATED.
$$
12/SIRMON
E-Warn is a free public service from the ABC 33/40 Weather Center
and Alagasco...For Reliability, Comfort, and Convenience Natural Gas has
the Home Advantage.
Posted by Chris at 10:36 PM
March 21, 2005
You know it is Spring...
You know it is Spring when about every three to four days there is a risk of severe weather. So here we go for round two.
Forecast from ABC 33/40 website:
From the National Weather Service
From ABC 33/40 E-Warn:
WWUS84 KBMX 211020
SPSBMX
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL
419 AM CST MON MAR 21 2005
...POTENTIAL FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ON TUESDAY...
A COMPLEX WEATHER SITUATION IS DEVELOPING THAT COULD BRING AN OUTBREAK OF
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TO MUCH OF ALABAMA ON TUESDAY. A STRENGTHENING SURFACE
LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM...CONNECTED TO A STRONG UPPER AIR DISTURBANCE...IS
LIKELY TO CAUSE STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP IN THE SOUTHERN
PLAINS TODAY. THE STORMS ARE THEN EXPECTED TO MOVE EASTWARD...AND COULD
AFFECT ALABAMA BY EARLY TUESDAY MORNING. THE SEVERE WEATHER THREAT WILL
LAST THROUGH MUCH OF THE DAY TUESDAY...UNTIL A COLD FRONT MOVES THROUGH THE
AREA.
DUE TO THE COMPLEX NATURE OF THIS WEATHER SYSTEM...THERE ARE STILL MANY
UNCERTAINTIES ASSOCIATED WITH PINPOINTING THE EXACT LOCATION AND TYPE OF
SEVERE WEATHER IT MAY BRING. AT THIS TIME...STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS WILL
DEVELOP WEST OF THE AREA TODAY AND TONIGHT AND MOVE INTO THE WESTERN
SECTIONS OF ALABAMA EARLY TUESDAY MORNING. THE STORMS WILL INTENSIFY DUE TO
DAYTIME HEATING ON TUESDAY AND SOME SUPERCELL THUNDERSTORMS COULD
DEVELOP...WHICH COULD PRODUCE TORNADOES.
SINCE MANY ALABAMA SCHOOLS ARE ON SPRING BREAK THIS WEEK...AND SOME KIDS MAY
BE HOME ALONE...FAMILIES SHOULD REVIEW THEIR SEVERE WEATHER SAFETY
PROCEDURES TO MAKE SURE ALL FAMILY MEMBERS KNOW WHAT TO DO IF SEVERE WEATHER
AFFECTS THEIR AREA.
DUE TO THE UNCERTAINTIES INVOLVED WITH THE DETAILS OF THIS SYSTEM...
EVERYONE ACROSS THE STATE SHOULD KEEP UP TO DATE ON THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
AND FORECASTS. KEEP THE THREAT OF SEVERE WEATHER IN YOUR MIND AS YOU MAKE
PLANS FOR TUESDAY.
Posted by Chris at 06:43 PM
March 18, 2005
Wal-Mart Settles Illegal Immigration Case for $11 Mln
from Bloogberg.com:
March 18 (Bloomberg) -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, agreed to pay a record $11 million to settle a federal investigation that found it hired contractors who used illegal immigrants to clean stores.
A four-year Department of Justice probe concluded that Wal- Mart's contractors knowingly hired undocumented workers at more than 1,000 stores from 1998 to 2003, according to the civil settlement agreement issued today. Twelve companies that provided cleaning services will forfeit $4 million and have agreed to plead guilty to criminal immigration charges.
``This is a milestone for corporate responsibility, and it sets a strong precedent for other companies to follow,'' said Michael J. Garcia, assistant secretary for immigration and customs enforcement at the Department of Homeland Security. The accord requires Wal-Mart ``to create an internal program to ensure future compliance with immigration laws,'' he said.
Today's agreement arose out of a nationwide investigation into cleaning companies that provided services to Wal-Mart, according to a statement from Homeland Security and Thomas Marino, the U.S. Attorney in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Both conducted the investigation of Wal-Mart.
Stores Raided
In October 2003, federal agents raided about 61 Wal-Mart stores in 21 states and arrested approximately 245 illegal aliens employed by contractors. The states included Pennsylvania, Alabama, Connecticut, Michigan and Texas. Following the raids, Wal-Mart contacted federal authorities to cooperate in the investigation.
The companies that agreed to forfeit profits included Comet Floor Care Associates in Belleville, Illinois; IMC Associates Inc. in Ferguson, Illinois; and World Clean Associates in St. Louis. An attorney for the 12 cleaning contractors, Jeffrey Demerath, declined to comment through an assistant.
Wal-Mart failed to have proper procedures to identify whether contractors complied with immigration law in hiring cleaners, Bentonville, Arkansas-based Wal-Mart said in a statement. ``We acknowledge we should have had better safeguards in place,'' said company spokeswoman Mona Williams.
The company's own workers will now clean stores, Williams said. Wal-Mart didn't admit wrongdoing and wasn't aware contractors were hiring illegal workers, according to the settlement.
`Image' Factor
``When something like that comes up, you're concerned about the public relations image and the financial impact,'' said John Waterman, who helps manage about $9.5 billion at Rittenhouse Asset Management in Radnor, Pennsylvania, including Wal-Mart shares. The $11 million ``doesn't move the needle'' for Wal-Mart, he said.
The $11 million is ``a substantial amount of money,'' Wal- Mart's Williams said during a press conference. The amount is equal to about 0.4 percent of the company's 2004 net income.
Over the next 18 months, Wal-Mart must verify that outside contractors are taking steps to comply with immigration laws and train store managers to prevent the hiring of illegal immigrants by contractors, according to the settlement.
The settlement money will be used by the government for training and detection of companies that ``prey on undocumented individuals,'' Tom Mars, Wal-Mart's general counsel, said in a statement.
More Lawsuits
Wal-Mart is defending itself against several nationwide worker discrimination lawsuits. It's facing claims it forced as many as 200,000 California employees to work without meal or rest breaks. That suit is scheduled for trial in June.
The company was sued in a class action in Newark, New Jersey in 2003 by undocumented contract workers seeking unpaid minimum wages and overtime. Their lawyer, James L. Linsey, has said that the class includes as many as tens of thousands of undocumented workers from countries including Mexico, Mongolia and the Czech Republic.
Wal-Mart has also been sued by six women claiming they were paid less and offered fewer promotions than male employees. In June, a federal court in San Francisco allowed 1.6 million other workers who may have similar claims to join the case, making it the largest class action ever approved in a private discrimination suit.
`Smart Move'
The company has appealed that ruling to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
``Wal-Mart would be facing large penalties if it had not settled,'' said Stephen Yale-Loehr, who teaches immigration law at Cornell Law School. ``If they knew that the contractors' employees were not legal, they are as culpable as if they employed the illegal immigrants directly. It sounds like the settlement was a smart move.''
Shares of Wal-Mart fell 43 cents to $51.90 at 2:23 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares have fallen 1 percent this year.
In January 2004, Wal-Mart hired Tom Gean, who had been U.S. attorney for the western district of Arkansas, as a legal compliance officer to ensure stores are obeying laws and regulations.
Posted by Chris at 05:46 PM
March 15, 2005
I passed!!!
Got up this morning and decided to check to see if I passed the ServSafe Exam.. Well, I did!!!!
Posted by Chris at 08:18 AM
Wal-Mart skirts big-box ordinance in Maryland
from DSN Retailing Today:
DUNKIRK, Md. - March 14 - Wal-Mart has devised a new method of skirting the anti-big-box ordinance in the town of Dunkirk, Md. that puts a cap on store size—build two adjecent Wal-Mart units, both of which are under the size limit.
Wal-Mart has proposed a 74,998-square-foot store—just two square feet shy of the town's store-size limit—that will be next to a 22,689-square-foot garden center. The two stores would have their own entrances, utilities, bathrooms and cash registers.
"As these big-box bills come up, all retailers will just have to be flexible," a spokesperson for Wal-Mart said, adding that Wal-Mart might use the strategy in other locations.
Posted by Chris at 08:02 AM
March 13, 2005
Rough Weather Today
It is not a good sign when the weather forecast says "Thunderstorms becoming likely. Some could be severe with large hail and damaging winds." Everybody get into the storm pit!
Posted by Chris at 02:03 PM
March 12, 2005
Blizzard of 1993
We are on the 11th Anniversary of the Alabama blizzard of 1993. For some of you that deal with blizzards every winter season you think we are making a big deal, but it is a big deal for us in Alabama to get any snow, especially 12 to 14" in one night. I will never forget that. It all started on a Friday afternoon. I was at school and during 1st period class there was a brief period of snowfall. It only lasted for about 20 minutes and I don't think it amounted to much on the ground. Everyone of us students made a big deal about it and it was hard to get us to do anything else in class. Well as the day went on it didn't snow anymore, but when school got out it was sleeting. I didn't think much of it (partly because of being only 13 and in the seventh grade).
I even remember going home and not thinking much about it until the next morning I got up and saw how much it had snowed. I think there was about 14" of snow in Oxford. I remember watching TV and telling about all the people that were losing power and that they wouldn't have it for days and then my mother started to worry. She was there alone with three kids (me, my brother, and sister)--My dad was a volunteer firefighter and was called to duty to help people stranded in cars and such. At about 10am that Saturday morning, the cable TV went out. No big deal just no more TV...had to rely on radio for the latest info about the snow and about 12 noon we lost power and then it really hit home when it started getting cold in the house. I remember being there for several hours at home in the cold before my dad came in his 4-wheel drive jeep with snow chains and took it to my grandmother's house (who didn't have power but did have a fireplace to stay warm). I think we stayed over there for about two days. It was the longest two days of my life.
On the third day of the blizzard, it was still hard to travel to roads and the power was still off at my parents and grandmother's houses. That day, my dad and uncle drove to Atlanta to buy generators and my dad had us back in our own house that evening with lights and heat.. It was sooooo funny b/c we were to only house in seeing distance with lights on that evening.
I beleive we finally got power on the Tuesday (the 5th day of the storm)...by them the snow was coming off the roads and I think I we went back to school on Wedensday.
Well...that's my story on the blizzard of 1993. Hope I didn't bore you too much.
Posted by Chris at 08:33 PM
March 09, 2005
What to talk about
I see the reason I am not posting that much lately, just not much to talk about and too darn busy to get time to post on here. One thing I would like to do in the near future is re-do the design of this blog. I also need to update some info here (the about is way out of date). Maybe I'll get around to it sometime...one thing is that it seems that I have something to do everyday that I am off work. Like today, for example, I went to get a haircut and then went to my sister's house for a while then took my mother out to dinner and before I knew it, it was almost 7pm. The days just fly by when you are off from work.
Wow, this post is one of the longest one I have done in a long time. Maybe I can keep it up.
Posted by Chris at 08:53 PM
March 06, 2005
On the flipside
The last time I wrote the weekend was almost here, but I am on the backside of the weekend (Sunday afternoon) and now the weekend is almost gone. I requested a week of vacation coming up in April and I will be glad to see it come.
Posted by Chris at 04:28 PM
March 03, 2005
It's almost Friday
For me Friday is already here even though it is still Thursday night. I am off tomorrow and I am ready. It feels like I have gotten nothing accomplished this week. I was away from the store half the day today and almost all day yesterday. Maybe this coming week it will not be as bad.
Posted by Chris at 10:11 PM
March 01, 2005
Welcome to March
Well it is now March 1. Time for the weather to start to warm up. I am ready for the cold weather to go away. Not much going on today except a long day at work (10am-10pm). Then tomorrow back at 7am.
Posted by Chris at 07:32 AM