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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Opposition to Dollar Stores Grows in Rural NC

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Tuesday, March 28, 2023   

Last year, nearly half of new stores that opened their doors nationwide were chain dollar stores, and in rural North Carolina, residents are increasingly showing up to voice their opposition at planning board and zoning commission meetings.

Ryan Kelly, Assistant Editor for Mount Airy News, has reported extensively on the recent pushback against chain dollar store development in Surry County, and said communities cited increased traffic, crime, the potential impact on property values, and damage to locally owned food stores.

"What I'm finding is these people are coming together in new ways, and educating themselves independently. And the number of people that were coming to the county commissioners' meetings and the planning board meetings, it's almost overwhelming in opposition," Kelly said.

According to a report by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, more than fifty cities across the U.S. have enacted laws limiting chain dollar store expansion, often alongside measures designed to help expand grocery stores selling fresh produce. In a written statement, one firm, Dollar General, said that thousands of its customers rely on the company for convenient access to affordable household essentials, and that approximately 75% of Dollar General's stores serve communities of 20,000 or or fewer residents.

Many Mount Airy residents feel differently, Kelly said.

"The residents here will tell you that there is no need for additional discount retailers, they will tell you that they can drive a mile or two in any direction, and be fully served by another discount retailer or a full service Walmart or grocery retailer," he continued.

According to the report, dollar chains have also receive scrutiny for dismally low wages and unsafe working conditions for workers. More than 90% of Dollar General workers earn less than $15 an hour. In 2019, the median annual salary for a Dollar General worker was just over $14,000.


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