Posts Tagged ‘Home Depot’
[Guest post by Kathy Srabian.]
Home Depot was feeling good in 2005. CEO Bob Nardelli was seeing unlimited growth for the nationwide chain.
In 2006 Eureka hears that Home Depot wants to sit in the proposed “Marina Center” development. The dust raises as locals begin to argue. It gets so thick that no one notices Home Depot has probably lost interest.
Times changed and Mr. Nardelli — with his vision of unlimited growth — was replaced by a new CEO in January of 2007. The new chief, Frank Blake, issued the following statement:
“By building fewer stores, in the best locations, and making sure our existing stores are profitable, our company will be in a much stronger competitive position.”
The Associated Press reported that “Home Depot said it will no longer pursue opening the roughly 50 U.S. stores in its new store pipeline, in some cases for more than 10 years.”
The Home Depot that said they were coming to Eureka is not the Home Depot of today.
- 2007 Home Depot waves goodbye to CEO Nardelli, who ran the company during the proposal to locate in Eureka.
- 2007 Home Depot sells their wholesale construction supply business.
- 2008 Home Depot says it’s closing 15 underperforming stores and scuttling earlier plans to open 50 others.
- 2009 Home Depot cuts 7,000 jobs, closes 34 Expo Design Centers, 5 Yardbird Store, and 7 bath remodeling businesses.
- 2008-2009 Home Depot closes 54 stores nationwide.
- 2010 Home Depot closes 3 stores; announces 1,000 layoffs
The “Marina Center” has become synonymous with “Home Depot.” But do you really think Home Depot is coming here? Convince me with something other than a 2006 North Coast Journal or a pastel picture from the Marina Center website.
Tags: ca, California, coast, Eureka, Home Depot, Humboldt, job, Local, Marina Center, meth, Northern California, pot
Posted in Humboldt Blogs, Opinion | Comments Off
As noted in an earlier thread, 4th District Supervisor hopeful Virginia Bass is employing a dirty tactic of standing aside to keep her hands clean while purportedly unrelated groups sling mud at her opponent.
However, a few specks of grime appear to be lodged under her fingernails.
In a new television ad, Bass resurects her 2006 campaign platform of Jobs, Jobs, Jobs but fails to list any accomplishments in the last four years. So to fill the 30-second commercial she says “we can’t just say ‘no’ without hearing all the facts.”
It’s safe to assume Bass is piggy-backing on the propaganda slung by Rob Arkley’s various front groups accusing Bonnie Neely of somehow single-handedly stopping Arkley’s Home Depot development.
With no substance to offer, Bass appeals to community ignorance regarding what went down at that fateful Coastal Commission meeting in December. Despite the city’s best efforts, the Commission followed well-established protocol by granting a hearing on the appeal of the project. If and when Team Arkley provides additional information requested by the Commission, that hearing will be scheduled, and the city/Arkley presentation on the project will be heard. Neely asked staff to set the hearing ASAP.
But what Neely didn’t do, which is apparently her big evil crime, was ask the Commission to change the rules — just this once! — and allow city officials and Arkley lawyers to present their case right then and there. She didn’t plead with her fellow Commissioners to allow Councilman Jeff Leonard to “ramp it up.” Worst of all, she didn’t cave to political pressure in the form of advertisements, press conferences and hastily crafted last-minute letter to allow a dog-and-pony show ahead of schedule.
Even if Neely fervently believed the appeals had no merit, she alone could not have changed the day. It takes a total of 3 Commissioners to agree to hear from the applicant, which would result in a whopping 3-minutes at the podium — apparently plenty of time to address staff’s 82-page report.
At the basis of this very expensive shenanigan is the hope by Bass, Leonard and the Arkleyites that voters are as ignorant as those fools pretend to be. As pointed out by the Times-Standard, the blogs, and even the city’s own staff, the chances of them making a presentation at that particular meeting were slim to none.
The truth is the Bonnie-haters got what they wanted — a false pretense upon which to claim victimhood and blame Neely in order to boost her opponent in the 4th District supervisor race.
Tags: Arkley, Bonnie Neely, ca, California, CAMP, coast, Eureka, hearing, Home Depot, Humboldt, Jeff Leonard, job, law, lawyer, Local, Northern California, pot, Rob Arkley, Virginia Bass, vote
Posted in Humboldt Blogs, Opinion | Comments Off
As noted in an earlier thread, 4th District Supervisor hopeful Virginia Bass is employing a dirty tactic of standing aside to keep her hands clean while purportedly unrelated groups sling mud at her opponent.
However, a few specks of grime appear to be lodged under her fingernails.
In a new television ad, Bass resurects her 2006 campaign platform of Jobs, Jobs, Jobs but fails to list any accomplishments in the last four years. So to fill the 30-second commercial she says “we can’t just say ‘no’ without hearing all the facts.”
It’s safe to assume Bass is piggy-backing on the propaganda slung by Rob Arkley’s various front groups accusing Bonnie Neely of somehow single-handedly stopping Arkley’s Home Depot development.
With no substance to offer, Bass appeals to community ignorance regarding what went down at that fateful Coastal Commission meeting in December. Despite the city’s best efforts, the Commission followed well-established protocol by granting a hearing on the appeal of the project. If and when Team Arkley provides additional information requested by the Commission, that hearing will be scheduled, and the city/Arkley presentation on the project will be heard. Neely asked staff to set the hearing ASAP.
But what Neely didn’t do, which is apparently her big evil crime, was ask the Commission to change the rules — just this once! — and allow city officials and Arkley lawyers to present their case right then and there. She didn’t plead with her fellow Commissioners to allow Councilman Jeff Leonard to “ramp it up.” Worst of all, she didn’t cave to political pressure in the form of advertisements, press conferences and hastily crafted last-minute letter to allow a dog-and-pony show ahead of schedule.
Even if Neely fervently believed the appeals had no merit, she alone could not have changed the day. It takes a total of 3 Commissioners to agree to hear from the applicant, which would result in a whopping 3-minutes at the podium — apparently plenty of time to address staff’s 82-page report.
At the basis of this very expensive shenanigan is the hope by Bass, Leonard and the Arkleyites that voters are as ignorant as those fools pretend to be. As pointed out by the Times-Standard, the blogs, and even the city’s own staff, the chances of them making a presentation at that particular meeting were slim to none.
The truth is the Bonnie-haters got what they wanted — a false pretense upon which to claim victimhood and blame Neely in order to boost her opponent in the 4th District supervisor race.
Tags: Arkley, Bonnie Neely, ca, California, CAMP, coast, Eureka, hearing, Home Depot, Humboldt, Jeff Leonard, job, law, lawyer, Local, Northern California, pot, Rob Arkley, Virginia Bass, vote
Posted in Humboldt Blogs, Opinion | Comments Off
Local fans of the Pacific Legal Foundation are silent on the group’s recent loss to the California Coastal Commission.
Tags: Arkley, ca, California, coast, court, Eureka, Home Depot, Humboldt, law, lawsuit, Local, Northern California, pot, Rob Arkley
Posted in Humboldt Blogs, Opinion | Comments Off
A new group called Citizens for a Better Eureka has joined with the Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) to sue the California Coastal Commission for “blocking plans to clean up the Balloon Track property.” 
Tags: Balloon Track, Bonnie Neely, California, CAMP, coast, Eureka, hearing, Home Depot, Humboldt, Humboldt County, Humboldt County Board of Supervisors, Humboldt County News, law, lawsuit, Local, Northern California, pot
Posted in Humboldt County News | Comments Off
Eureka Mayor (and now supervisorial candidate) Virginia Bass thinks the Balloon Track is the wrong place to build a Home Depot. Or she did, once upon a time.
Tags: Balloon Track, Balloon Tract, California, city council, coast, Eureka, Home Depot, Humboldt, Humboldt County News, Northern California, pot, Trial, Virginia Bass
Posted in Humboldt County Blogs | Comments Off
Local developer interests are lining up behind Republican candidate Meg Whitman in the race for California’s next governor. Big box cheerleader Rob Arkley floated $25,000 to Whitman in June despite his outstanding bill to the city of Eureka for preparing the Environmental Impact Report for his Home Depot project.
Tags: Arkley, California, Eureka, Governor, Home Depot, Humboldt, Humboldt County News, Local, Northern California, pot, Republican, Rob Arkley
Posted in Humboldt County Blogs | Comments Off
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown has chosen one-time Rob Arkley spokesperson Steven Glazer to be his campaign manager.
Tags: Arkley, attorney, California, CAMP, city council, coast, Eureka, Governor, Home Depot, Humboldt, Humboldt Bay, Humboldt County, Humboldt County News, KSLG, Larry Glass, Local, Northern California, pot, Republican, Rob Arkley, vote
Posted in Humboldt County Blogs | Comments Off
Fans and foes of Eureka big shot Rob Arkley are either laughing or crying at the feature story in this week’s Journal — a 9-page comic strip hitting some high notes of the state of Arkley in Eureka politics…
Tags: Arkley, Balloon Track, California, coast, Eureka, Home Depot, Humboldt, Humboldt County News, Internet, Larry Glass, Northern California, politics, pot, Rob Arkley
Posted in Humboldt County Blogs | Comments Off
Humboldt County Supervisor Bonnie Neely will serve another year as chairwoman of the California Coastal Commission following a victorious vote at Wednesday’s meeting.
Tags: California, Eureka, Home Depot, Humboldt, Humboldt County, logging, meth, Northern California, vote
Posted in Humboldt County Blogs | Comments Off
When it comes to developer Rob Arkley’s Home Depot mall, certain city officials can’t shake their pom-poms hard enough. The spectacle was on full display at yesterday’s press conference.
Tags: Arkley, California, city council, hearing, Home Depot, Humboldt, Jeff Leonard, Marina Center, Northern California, Rob Arkley, San Francisco
Posted in Humboldt County Blogs | Comments Off
Eureka Mayor Virginia Bass and certain members of the City Council will hold a 1:00 press conference Monday at City Hall to publicly lobby the California Coastal Commission to let the city speak at its December 10 meeting.
Tags: Arkley, California, city council, Eureka, Home Depot, Humboldt, Humboldt Bay, Jeff Leonard, law, Marina Center, Northern California, Old Town, Rob Arkley, Security National, Virginia Bass
Posted in Humboldt County Blogs | Comments Off
Humboldt Herald readers report that Rob Arkley, owner of the polluted Balloon Track on Humboldt Bay, is running ads on cable TV to pressure the Coastal Commission into turning a blind eye to his Marina Center/Home Depot project.
Tags: Arkley, California, city council, Home Depot, Humboldt, Humboldt Bay, Marina Center, Northern California, Rob Arkley
Posted in Humboldt County Blogs | Comments Off
When Eureka City Councilman Larry Glass voted against a coastal development permit for the Home Depot-based Marina Center project, he said in a few short words what the California Coastal Commission staff detailed in an 82-page report. The interim cleanup plan is “bogus,” said Glass. “Moving soil around before you’ve characterized it is not how you clean the site up.”
Tags: Balloon Track, California, city council, coast, Eureka, Home Depot, Humboldt, Humboldt Bay, Humboldt County News, Jeff Leonard, Larry Glass, Marina Center, Northern California, pot, vote
Posted in Humboldt County Blogs | Comments Off
[Guest post by Kathy Srabian.]