Community Corner

Protest Against Potential Walmart in Watertown Planned for May 5

The protest will be near the new billboard paid for by an anti-big box store group.

Days after the installation of a billboard pushing for smaller business rather than box stores being built in Watertown, the group that sponsored the billboard will have a protest near the sign.

Watertown couple, Mike Mandel and Chantal Zakari, helped organize the effort to get the billboard at the corner of Irving and Arsenal streets, and . They received donations from more than 100 Watertown residents, Zakari said. 

The sign says "Imagine No Big Box," and will be up until June 30.

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Zakari said opponents to Walmart may have extra incentive because of a recent New York Time article detailing the store effort to hide a campaign of bribery to "win market dominance in Mexico." Among the allegations in the article is that the company paid bribes to get permits to build stores south of the border.

No formal proposal to build a Walmart has been brought to the town by developers. The land near the corner of Arsenal and Irving streets has been .

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The protest will be held Saturday, May 5 from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Arsenal Street near Irving Street. 


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