I was told that the "shell" on Panama will have to be torn down and rebuilt due to weather damage.  Don't know if it's true or not but true would be my guess.  I'll be glad to se it.  At least it will take the "strain" off the regular WM's and allow decent shopping conditions.

 Lee Jamieson told me that while crews can't just go in there and start as if nothing had happened, he figures it's essentially 30-40 percent complete now.

 I HATE Wal-Marts..Not because of the corporation or any of that, but the crowds. If you go to a Wal-mart..any Wal-Mart, you know what I am talking about. I'd rather pay a litle more and go to Target. I do agree with Mom though..Two Super Stores would ease the hordes of penny savers at the one by my house, possibly making it accessible without dented cars, sore feet, bruised elbows and frayed nerves.

 um is it just another regular wal mart or a super wal mart?cause when i lived in vegas i did all the my grocery shopping in super wal mart and it was awesome.  everything in one spot. how convienent!!!!  and where on panama and we talking about?

 Super Walmarts.  The one they were talking about first is the one on the freeway and Panama but according to the article, both have been approved.    According to one of the asst managers the lumber that's been exposed all this time will have to be torn out.  You've got to know it's warped and in bad shape.  I'm just guessing but the concrete block part may not be affected.

 motopoet, I agree with you 100%!!!!!

 super walmarts are great, except when you find warm packages of raw hamburger meat that someone dumped in the baby supplies aisle. 

I've never been in a Walmart Superstore, but I hope they are not packed so tightly with merchandise that traffic is impeded as much as their smaller stores.

The shelf and aisle layout format Walmart uses in their smaller stores provides wide aisles, but they place stacks of sale goods in the center of the main lanes, barely leaving enough room on each side of the stacks for the passage of one cart.

Walmart's Sam's Clubs are much roomier and more easily navigable with their Costco inspired layouts.

If Walmart's Superstores discount groceries deeper than regular retail chain supermarkets with club rewards cards, I suspect they will become quite popular as the prices of grocery products soar during the inflationary spiral and people become increasingly concerned with living costs.

I will certainly at least check it out after the crowds abate.

If its as good as advertised, Superstores might just get my business.

Regarding the concerns of many about Walmart's business practices and sale of imported goods, I doubt the successful marketing chain will suffer from the loss of a few disgruntled shoppers.

Yes, it's a shame but an unfortunate fact of life that the U.S. can't compete with foreign manufacturers using cheap labor.

It's an economic problem this country has faced for decades now that no one seems to be able to resolve.

But the assessment of stiff import duties to raise the cost of import goods doesn't please the average consumer who simply wants to buy an American made television or microwave but at the same time is not willing to pay a premium for the product.

I doubt that a store the size of a 7-11 could fill its space offering only Amer can made goods or survive on the number of customers willing to spend 2, 3 times more for foreign made goods.

But if there was a store where a consumer could purchase American made goods for the same price as foreign made products for a reasonably modest premium, it might do okay.

Now, more than ever, the vast majority of regular folk whose rapidly devaluing dollars are buying less and less each day, need to watch their pennies.

Yeah, we've heard about all the mom and pop businesses which are withering and dying in the shadow of Walmart, but there's not a lot we can do about it short of a boycott which has little chance of shutting the behemoth company down.

The Walmart success story is based on its ability to provide lower costs for consumers, that basically is the result of capitalism working at its intended best.

Same with McDonald's and the plethora of other chains offering lower consumer prices.

Again, this sort of mass merchandising has become a permanent part of the American capitalist way of life.

Live it and love it.

 I used to shop at the Rosedale Wal-Mart and now I shop at Target. It just got way over-crowded with not so nice people. I'm hoping those people will choose to shop at the Supercenter so I can shop there again.