'Not Here' Is Right

After three days, a billboard proclaiming "Don't Wal-Mart Bridgeport. Not here!" was removed from the site of a proposed Wal-Mart superstore near Tacoma, Washington. The Bridgeport Way Community Association paid for the message, because "people who travel this way have a right to know what's coming," said one association member. But the billboard owner, Clear Channel Outdoor (a division of radio and entertainment behemoth Clear Channel), took down the sign because advertisements that "alienate the property owner" are against company policy. Clear Channel did offer an alternative location, but the community association decided that placing the message anywhere else would be "less effective."