Adams Wants City To Study Wal-Mart's Economic Impacts

If only Wal-Mart produced economic impact studies at low, low prices.

Mayor Sam Adams said this afternoon he wants the City of Portland to conduct new research into Wal-Mart's impact on Portland's economy. But the mayor also acknowledged his Office of Management and Finance doesn't have the budget to conduct the study, which would arrive just as Wal-Mart plans a possible expansion at its Southeast 82nd Avenue store and the addition of a second location on Hayden Island Meadows.

Adams has a complicated hate-hate relationship with Wal-Mart.

In 2006, he helped push a moratorium on Wal-Mart's plan to put a store on Portland's Hayden Island. In 2008, he talked about his anti-Wal-Mart stance while running for mayor. In 2009, however, he worked for a portion of a day as a greeter at the store's Southeast 82nd Avenue location.

Photo of Adams at Wal-Mart last year courtesy of KATU.