Dear BURG members:

I hope you will not mind my taking the liberty of contacting you more than once this week. The situation is changing as the developers are using the delay in voting on Ordinance 1450 to forge ahead with their legal maneuvers and disinformation campaign.

This is just the beginning. We don't know exactly what Walmart and Fairmount Properties will do, but we know that if they want this store, they will pull out all the stops in confusing the issue and defaming and dividing the opposition. Get ready for some of the following:

• Fake grass-roots organizations that are just fronts for Walmart, and heavily financed by Walmart (the company has spent over $4 million in California for such front groups since 2000).
• Huge ad campaigns defaming us and other opponents as haters of freedom, as they have done in many places. In Flagstaff, Arizona, in 2005, they took out an ad (which backfired) that compared supporters of an ordinance much like our Ordinance 1450 to Nazi book burners!
• They will continue to try to create an air of inevitability, creating the impression that the project is a done deal. We have seen some of this already with this morning's additions to their website (sorry, I can't bring myself to link it).

It looks like the planning commission and town council are leaning our way, but a lot can happen between now and May 29 if we let our guard down. We can not take any chance of Ordinance 1450 failing.

We need:

Operation "Blanket the Burg"!

We can't match Walmart's money. But we have a few things they haven't got: people and the truth. Starting this weekend, we will mount a petition and public information campaign the likes of which has never been seen in Blacksburg. We can beat the PR campaign by preempting it, reaching everyone in town before Walmart has a chance.

Our goal: to reach every single resident of Blacksburg who does not want a Walmart Supercenter next door to Margaret Beeks.

How: We are asking everyone to take an hour or two on Saturday or Sunday, or into the week, to canvas your neighbors, or a part of town that hasn't been covered yet, and inform residents, have them sign the petition, and urge them to contact town council.

Come to our table outside of Gillie's (153 College Ave.) this Saturday (May 12), between 9 AM and 4 PM. We will have packets containing petition blanks, clipboards, literature to hand out, and anything else you'll need. If you have clipboards, bring them. If not, we will supply them. We'll assign you to a spot on the map that is close to home.

We made a powerful impression on Town Council on Tuesday night. Now we need to keep that energy going. Let's show them how organized and determined we are.

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