7/31/04: A sweetheart deal struck between the City and Port of Oakland and Simeon Commercial Properties is bringing the first Wal-Mart store to Oakland. After being foisted on the city with little or no community input, the store is being built near Oakland Airport to anchor the new "Metroport" development project. Studies show that when Wal-Mart enters a community, 3 jobs are lost for every 2 jobs gained, due to job losses at small local businesses, and tax receipt growth actually declines. On July 31, Oaklanders rallied at the Wal-Mart construction site at I-880 and Hegenberger Road, and walked the surrounding neighborhoods to raise awareness of Wal-Mart's use of low-wage, non-unionized jobs with no benefits, and unfair racist, sexist employment practices, the subject of ongoing class action lawsuits. A new study by UC Berkeley reports that Wal-Mart costs the state of California $86 million each year in public assistance for its workers; Wal-Mart is funding Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown's campaign for Attorney General. Report by Poor News Network