Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Politics - It's everywhere
Even at Trader Joe's...
Chip Johnson reports at SFGate.com:
"Folks living in Oakland's Lakeshore and Rockridge neighborhoods have made it loud and clear that they want Trader Joe's to open its grocery stores in their areas. You'd think the city's Planning Commission would bow to the will of the people.
Not quite. Two planning commissioners tried to hold up the approval of liquor licenses at Trader Joe's stores scheduled to open on Lakeshore and College avenues.
The move last week by Commissioners Michael Lighty and Doug Boxer (the son of U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer) had nothing to do with whether alcohol sold at the stores could end up in the hands of minors, one argument used in a failed attempt to block Trader Joe's in Berkeley.
They wanted the popular specialty market chain to agree to allow a Northern California grocery store workers' union to ask employees of the new stores whether they would want to vote to join the union."
