Main Street/Shop Local

01 Nov

Local Businesses Victorious in Nantucket

Wendy Hudson of Nantucket Bookworks and other local business owners on Nantucket Island, off the Massachusetts coast, recently learned that an ordinance to keep chain stores out of the island's historic downtown had received the state's stamp of approval.

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31 Oct

America Unchained Set for Saturday, November 18

On Saturday, November 18, communities across the country will celebrate America Unchained! -- a national public education event sponsored by the American Independent Business Alliance (AMIBA) that urges consumers to "unchain themselves" by shopping only at locally owned independent businesses for the entire day.

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26 Oct

Chelan, Washington, Businesses Look to Preserve History

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25 Oct

"Shop Local" Coupons Available for Download

At its fall trade show, the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association (NCIBA) began offering its members NCIBA- and San Francisco Locally Owned Merchants Association-branded "informational coupons" that highlight the benefits of shopping locally.

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12 Oct

Rainy Day's Call to Action Draws a Reaction

Rainy Day Books of Fairway, Kansas, launched an e-mail campaign this week that seeks to keep a developer from bringing a Borders Books & Music to the new Gateway development in nearby Mission. A day after the e-mail went out, the developer, The Cameron Group of East Syracuse, New York, acknowledged it had previously talked with Borders about the development, but denied it has any deal to bring the chain bookstore to its new mix-use development.

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12 Oct

Rise Up: Michael Shuman on Launching a Small-Mart Revolution

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21 Sep

Institute for Local Self-Reliance Launches 'Big Box Tool Kit'

This week, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) announced the launch of its Big Box Tool Kit, a new online resource for citizens groups working to stop sprawling big-box development, change their community's land use and economic development policies, and expand locally owned businesses.

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13 Sep

California Bills Aim to Help Communities Defend Against Wal-Mart

The past few years have seen an increase in the number of communities whose residents and businesses have banded together to fight against proposed big box development. In California, state Sen. Richard Alarcon (D-San Fernando Valley) has taken this battle one step further with two bills designed to assist local governments in their battles to keep big box retailers, such as Wal-Mart, out of their towns.

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07 Sep

Independent Business/Shop Local Notable Title List Now Available

The American Booksellers Association has created a list of 28 notable titles on the importance of building and strengthening vibrant local economies.

Ranging from informative accounts about the true cost of chain mega-retailers to exposes about the fast food industry and the politics of globalization, all of the titles chosen were highlighted by independent booksellers as especially timely and significant.

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24 Aug

Local Businesses Finding Power in Numbers

Since the late 1990s, the number of independent business alliances (IBAs) and local first organizations (LFOs) has grown steadily. Today, there are IBAs and LFOs in 26 states -- some affiliated with the American Independent Business Alliance (AMIBA) or the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE) and others unaffiliated.

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16 Aug

Bozeman Bets Consumers Prefer to Buy Local

It's not often that consumers take it upon themselves to form an independent business alliance, but for Suzie Johnson ensuring that Bozeman, Montana, maintained its unique character was very important. So, several years ago, when she found out just how crucial it is for communities to support local independent business, she acted. In 2002, she founded the Gallatin Valley Independent Business Alliance, for which she now serves as president.

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10 Aug

Community Thanksgiving: America Unchained!

On November 18, the Saturday before Thanksgiving, communities around the country will celebrate America Unchained! -- a national event sponsored by the American Independent Business Alliance (AMIBA), that urges communities to "unchain themselves" and to shop only at locally owned independent businesses for the day.

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09 Aug

NAIBA & AMIBA Partner to Help Booksellers Create Indie Alliances

The New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association (NAIBA) has partnered with the American Independent Business Alliance (AMIBA) in an effort to help its members create independent business alliances. NAIBA will help subsidize the cost of AMIBA membership for 11 members' independent business alliances and will sponsor AMIBA "road tours."

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02 Aug

All You Need Is Local: Paperback Writer Launches Indie Alliance

Penny Latham of Paperback Writer, a bookstore in White Stone, Virginia, didn't have to be in the business long to figure out how important an independent business alliance is to local retailers and to the economic viability of a community. Latham, who also owns Penny Lane, an antiques store in White Stone, opened Paperback Writer in December 2005.

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About ABA

The American Booksellers Association, a national not-for-profit trade organization, works with booksellers and industry partners to ensure the success and profitability of independently owned book retailers, and to assist in expanding the community of the book.

Independent bookstores act as community anchors; they serve a unique role in promoting the open exchange of ideas, enriching the cultural life of communities, and creating economically vibrant neighborhoods.

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