Free Republic

This caught my eye several months ago and its a good way of enforcing immigration law.This may give you the added tool to enforce immigration law. From the Backrounder In 1996, Congress expanded the Racketeer influenced and Corrupt Organization(RICO) to include violations of federal immigration law. While this expansion may not recieved publicity, it could potentially change the face of U.S. immigration law eforcement. Under the new RICO provisions, a violation of certain provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act(INA) meets the definition of racketeering activity, also know an "predicate offenses" and an entity that engages in a pattern of...

BURBANK -- Protests and demonstrations at the Home Depot day labor center have racked up law enforcement costs of more than $46,000, prompting worries that the extra costs are a burden on city coffers. Between Sept. 30 and April 21, Burbank Police responded to 11 incidents involving anti-illegal immigration protests against center, which offers employment assistance to workers who are often not United States citizens, according to a Burbank Police memo. The memo has raised questions from residents about the purpose of the $94,000 annual fee that Home Depot pays to the city, intended to cover costs related to the...

Day laborers who solicit work at Home Depot in Boston will continue to face police scrutiny because they are trespassing on private property and have drawn complaints from customers, a police official said yesterday. Capt. Paul Russell, who commands the South Boston police district, acknowledged the issue has the potential to spark strong emotions amid the nation’s roiling debate over illegal immigration, but he also said the law is clear. “It’s basically private property and we are giving them no trespassing orders based on the requests of retailers and the management company.” Russell said of day laborers who gather outside...

Pupils launch bid to save Americans $2.3B in electric costs; seek Oprah's help in plan to dole out lightbulbs Qiana Marks and 200 other North Babylon students hope to save the Earth - and also save the American public $2.3 billion in electric costs. It's all part of a campaign begun yesterday in the Robert Moses Middle School to "fight global warming one lightbulb at a time," said Kenny Luna, eighth-grade science teacher. Luna and his students want to give an energy-saving compact fluorescent lightbulb to every school child in America, "all 50 million between pre-kindergarten and 12th grade." They're...

– Eight day-laborers could face deportation after police arrested them in front of a Home Depot store on Friday, triggering more debate over the role of local police in enforcing federal immigration laws. Orange police said such arrests are not uncommon, but a Home Depot spokeswoman said they were the first she'd heard of at a Southern California store. The arrests come amid tension over Costa Mesa's plans to become the first city in the nation to take on federal powers to deport felony suspects. The Orange County Sheriff's Department is considering a similar proposal to remove undocumented immigrants who...

WATSONVILLE — They hang out in front of Home Depot on Green Valley Road. Their presence has been met with disdain by some neighbors, but relief by general contractors when they need to get something done. And get it done fast and cheap. They are day laborers — guys who mostly hail from Mexico and are looking to make a buck at a time when there's a lull in agriculture work in the Pajaro Valley.

(AP) LOS ANGELES The immigrant day laborers who wait for work on street corners across the United States have families and attend church regularly, and the people who hire them are more likely to be individual homeowners than construction contractors. The first nationwide study of day laborers also found that one in five has been injured on the job and nearly half have been cheated out of pay. The study, the most detailed snapshot to date of the mostly Hispanic and often undocumented immigrants who've become a focal point in the immigration debate, was based on interviews of 2,660 workers...

With a copy of the Quran and a Palestinian flag in his trunk, a Jordanian-turned-U.S. citizen crashed his car into a Home Depot in Arizona where he formerly worked, igniting an explosive blaze in the stores' paint section and causing $1 million in damage. The Dec. 18 attack in Chandler, Ariz., by 24-year-old Ali R. Warrayat was a carefully planned "personal statement," the East Valley Tribune

The Job Center closes today. Some laborers will leave area; others will find new places in town to seek work. COSTA MESA -- Today is the beginning of an uncertain time for workers who use the city's Job Center. At 11 a.m., the center closes for good after 17 years of operation. The City Council chose earlier this year to shutter the facility, which connects day laborers and employers. At the time, Mayor Allan Mansoor said employment services should be provided by the private sector, not the government. Without the center, workers will be forced to move on, and for...

The following story is based on witness accounts and a police report released Wednesday. He placed both hands on the steering wheel, stared straight ahead and barrelled toward the front entrance of Home Depot. Ali R. Warrayat hadn’t slept in days, planning this moment down to the last detail. Now, his face was void of any expression. A store employee jumped out of the car’s path. To drown out the man’s yells, Warrayat reached over to his car radio and blasted Arabic music before crashing through the front doors. The scene was only the beginning of a violent rampage through...

Glendale, Calif. -- One person was arrested during a protest Saturday outside Home Depot as groups clashed over the placement of day laborer centers near some of the home improvement chain's stores. About 200 people gathered outside the store, including members of the anti-illegal immigration group Save Our State, which has staged similar protests against Home Depot in other parts of Southern California. While the protest grew heated at some points with both sides screaming and yelling over one another, only one person was arrested for allegedly pushing someone, police said. There were no reports of any injuries. Save Our...

They've become as much a holiday tradition as wreaths and egg nog -- the Salvation Army bell ringers you see around town. But Salvation Army officials say it's getting harder and harder to find places to ring their bells, and it is costing them big. The Salvation Army says it's getting harder each year to find major businesses willing to allow bell ringers to stand outside their business. Over the past few years, Target, Barnes and Noble, Home Depot and Toys R Us have removed bell ringers from their property. All of those stores had a large customer base willing...

Washington DC, Dec. 09, 2005 (CNA) - Intervening in the heated debate about the mention of Christmas on the public square, Concerned Women for America (CWA) presented a first Christmas list showing which businesses are honouring the Reason for the Season (the birth of Jesus), which ones are not, and which have mixed records. It first lists the corporation ‘Nice’ or friendly to the Original Christmas tradition.  This year Macy's joins the NICE list because it has returned the explicit mention of Christmas and Merry Christmas to its stores and its ads. L.L. Bean, on the other hand, just barely...

HOLIDAY BLUESLowe's listens: 'Christmas trees' Chain dumps 'holiday' reference after WND report, complaints One day after a WorldNetDaily story brought national exposure, the home-improvement retailer Lowe's dropped references to "Holiday Trees" in favor of "Christmas Trees" only. As WND reported, a Lowe's store in Austin, Texas, featured a banner that referred in English to "Holiday Trees" but in Spanish said "Christmas Trees." The American Family Association says its supporters contacted Lowe's to express their displeasure. The company responded in a statement: "To ensure consistency of our message and to avoid confusion among our customers, we are now referring to the...

Home Depot did the math and has decided not to ban a Lawrence man for a year after he accidentally walked out of a Metheun store with a 41-cent, used pencil in his pocket Thursday. “We will not be pursuing any claims against Mr. Panorelli for this incident,” read a statement from Home Depot. “We welcome Mr. Panorelli back as a customer in our stores at any time.” On Thursday, Michael Panorelli, 51, a regular customer, was treated like a common thief by the store’s security detail and, despite a corporate apology, he’s fuming. “That apology doesn’t mean much to...

(CBS4) METHUEN, MA-- Home repair giant Home Depot is getting hammered by the public over a dispute with a customer. The customer is a handyman from Lawrence. On Saturday, he was banished from all Home Depot stores, apparently over a pencil. Now, the store is releasing a statement to apologize for the incident. The used pencil wasn't even for sale. It was out at a register when Michael Panorelli borrowed it and put it in his pocket. Home Depot barred Panorelli from all its stores. It was a 41-cent carpenter's pencil, but the small piece of wood is causing one...

(CBS4) METHUEN-- A Lawrence man has been banned from all Home Depots for one year after accidentally walking out of the store with a sharpened pencil he used to write down some notes after buying over $100 worth of lumber. Michael Panorelli, 51, was with the owner of Salas Auto Repair, George Salas, when the incident occurred. The Eagle-Tribune is reporting that Panorelli and Salas were heading to the parking lot of the Methuen Home Depot when the store’s security guard stopped the two men. Apparently Panorelli put the pencil he used to take notes into his pocket and forgot...

True Value Hardware last night ran a commerical for the Holiday's actually mentioning "MERRY CHRISTMAS" I was stunned seeing this with all the PC stuff being bantered about lately. It makes me very happy I had picked up some electrical hardware at my local True Value store last weekend. Kudos to True Value!

ATLANTA - The whale sharks are kings of the 6-million-gallon tank, their presence palpable even before they emerge from the murky darkness like massive star cruisers in a science fiction film. But once visitors to the new Georgia Aquarium have seen Ralph and Norton — the only whale sharks on display outside of Asia — they will still have at least 99,998 more fish to go. When the aquarium opens Nov. 23, it will become the world's largest by virtually all major standards of the industry. It was bankrolled almost exclusively by a $200 million gift from Home Depot Inc....

AUSTIN - The Home Depot is facing a knotty problem figuring out where to put one important part of the home-improvement business: the dozens of day laborers who gather outside its stores here and across the nation. Morning after morning in city after city, contractors as well as homeowners needing an extra hand or two drive up to a Home Depot and hire laborers to paint walls, nail down roofing or trim branches, usually for $8 to $10 an hour. Not only has this caused friction between the stores and neighboring businesses and homeowners who do not want the men...

...The straightforward generosity of the corporate sector has been well reported. [D]onations had exceeded $200 million. Besides cash, companies have handed out free drugs, suspended finance payments on cars and mortgages and helped emergency personnel with equipment. As interesting, though, has been the application of corporate best practices-- from supply-chain management to logistics-- to a natural disaster. The private-sector planning began before Katrina hit. Home Depot's "war room" had transferred high-demand items -- generators, flashlights, batteries and lumber -- to distribution areas surrounding the strike area. Phone companies readied mobile cell towers and sent in generators and fuel. Insurers flew...

Oh my yes, there is indeed one force that is eating away the American soul like a cancer. Do you want to feel like you might as well be in Tucson or Boise or Modesto or Wichita or Muncie and it no longer freakin' matters, because we as a nation have lost all sense of community and place? Why, just pull over, baby. Take the next exit. Right here, this very one. Ah, there it is, yet another massive big-box mega-strip mall, a giant beacon of glorious community decay, a wilted exclamation point of consumerism gone wild. This is America....

Some billionaires exercise their philanthropic bent by building museums or symphony halls. The legacy of Bernard Marcus, who runs an American DIY chain, will be the world's largest fish tank, almost 10 times the size of the London Aquarium. The Georgia Aquarium, due to open in Atlanta in November, will have 5m gallons of water (almost 19m litres) and more than 100,000 fish. It will be home to two white beluga whales, giant groupers and octopuses. The main attraction will be two whale sharks, the world's largest fish, which can grow to more than 40 feet. The sharks, Ralph and...

Tony Stewart was too spent to climb the fence right away and too happy to care. A lifelong quest to win a race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway ended yesterday with Stewart finally getting his ``Holy Grail,'' and he made sure to draw out the celebration as long as he could while the partisan crowd roared with approval. It wasn't the native Hoosier's beloved Indianapolis 500, but the former IndyCar champion, who has longed to win a race at historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway, held off a determined challenge from Kasey Kahne to grab an emotional victory in the Allstate 400 at...

Phoenix will be among among the first cities to participate in the initial phase of a national hiring partnership between The Home Depot and four of the country's leading national Hispanic organizations

THE HOME DEPOT STORY Here's the email about the shoplifting arrest at Home Depot: Charlie, My local Home Depot store had arrested my son for shoplifting. They claim he stole a $9.90 skill saw blade. Let me give you a little more background. My son is 29 yrs old, he had just purchased my house for his family, and I told him to go to Home Depot and buy whatever he needed to make changes to the house and charge it to my Home Depot credit account. We figured two to five thousand dollars should be enough to get it...

HUACHUCA CITY - Home Depot employees and other volunteers performed much-appreciated maintenance Saturday at Huachuca City School. The early summer cleaning at the school was the Sierra Vista store's quarterly community project. Parent Teacher Organization members, students and faculty also donated time on Saturday for the project. Cindy Craven of the Home Depot personnel office said the Sierra Vista area was a part of the company's Tucson district, but a redistricting took place so the store is able to give back directly to this local area. "Every quarter we get x-amount of monies to give back to the community," Craven...

WASHINGTON, May 25, 2005 – A major home-improvement chain is offering Memorial Day discounts to all active-duty and reserve-component troops, retired military personnel, veterans, and their families. The 10-percent-off offer is good on purchases up to $2,000 for a maximum discount of $200 between May 26-30 at Home Depot stores, Home Depot Floor stores, Home Depot Landscape Supply stores and Expo Design Center locations. "This discount is our way of saying 'thanks' to the brave men and women of our armed forces," said Bob Nardelli, the chain's chairman, president and chief executive officer. "The Home Depot has an ongoing commitment...

The Home Depot is offering a 10% discount this weekend to qualified members of the military community, as a means of appreciation for all you do. Please see below for details: "The Home Depot, the world's largest home improvement retailer, today announced that the company is inviting all active duty, reservists, retired military personnel, veterans and their families to receive 10 percent off their purchases in recognition of Memorial Day. The offer is good on purchases up to $2,000 for a maximum discount of $200 between May 26-30, 2005, at The Home Depot stores, The Home Depot Floor Stores, The...

WASHINGTON, May 25, 2005 – A major home-improvement chain is offering Memorial Day discounts to all active-duty and reserve-component troops, retired military personnel, veterans, and their families. The 10-percent-off offer is good on purchases up to $2,000 for a maximum discount of $200 between May 26-30 at Home Depot stores, Home Depot Floor stores, Home Depot Landscape Supply stores and Expo Design Center locations. "This discount is our way of saying 'thanks' to the brave men and women of our armed forces," said Bob Nardelli, the chain's chairman, president and chief executive officer. "The Home Depot has an ongoing commitment...

There's a special on romance in aisle 10. At at least one store in the United States and throughout Germany, Wal-Mart stores are hosting weekly singles nights, where shoppers looking for romance tie a red ribbon to their carts as they browse for laundry detergent, lip balm and, yes, love. And Home Depot stores have become such a well-known place for single women on the prowl for handy men that it's become a running joke on radio talk shows. Shoppers agree that the new hot spot for finding love is the local megamart. "A few years ago, when my friend...

Nail (and hammer) salon? Home Depot goes urban [Mindful that what works elsewhere probably won't in Gotham, Home Depot has molded its two Manhattan stores to the pampered and finicky tastes of its new, urban quarry.] BY WALTER HAMILTON NEW YORK - Shortly after Home Depot opened its first two Manhattan stores late last year, Ken Richmond noticed something about his decidedly upper-crust clientele. Some of them couldn't hang a picture. ''Maybe I've never hung a picture if I live in a $7 million condo,'' said Richmond, manager of the 59th Street store across from Bloomingdale's. Although he offers plumbing...

Home Depots open support of La Raza, from their own career webpage.

http://www.dailybulletin.com/Stories/0,1413,203~21481~2759793,00.html Small, anti-illegal immigrant group takes on Home Depot By From staff reports Nearly 50 anti-illegal immigrant activists on Saturday shouted slogans and clogged checkout lines at the Home Depot in Rancho Cucamonga, which they accused of hiring undocumented day laborers. The retailer, however, took early precautions by having extra security on-hand and diverting protesters, who later entered and purchased nails, bolts and other small-ticket items, to separate lines from legitimate customers. A sentinel - complete with binoculars - was even positioned on the store's roof to watch for trouble from members of Save Our State. Shouting slogans such as...

A group that opposes illegal immigration plans to protest the Home Depot store in Rancho Cucamonga on Saturday by flooding it with people who will purchase small items to delay and discourage legitimate customers. SaveOurState.org says it hopes to punish the world's largest home improvement specialty retailer for its support of day-labor centers and for its affiliation with Latino advocacy organizations it says are "anti-American." "We believe in the notion of transference of pain," said Joseph Turner, a founder of the Ventura-based organization that claims to have more than 200 members. "People who are against us are not going to...

Here is the email I sent to Home Depot, their response and my rebuttal

ATLANTA - Tom Ridge, the former secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and former governor of Pennsylvania, was named to Home Depot Inc.'s board of directors, the home improvement retailer announced on Thursday. "Tom Ridge served his country with great distinction, and we are honored to have him join our board, where we expect that his unique global experience and perspective will make a profound contribution to our company and our shareholders," said Bob Nardelli, chairman, president and CEO. The appointment of Ridge brings the number of directors on Home Depot's board to 13. This includes 12 outside directors,...

LOS ANGELES (AP) - When he tried to refinance his home with a low-interest loan three years ago, Alan R. Sporn says he was turned down because Home Depot's repeated inquiries about his financial status had damaged his credit rating. Now it's likely he'll be able to pay off all his loans after an appeals court upheld a $930,000 damage judgment against Home Depot that, with interest, now stands at $1.15 million. ........snip......... After he was turned down for the loan on his Laguna Hills home, Sporn said he learned Home Depot had contacted credit agencies about his finances at...

Home Depot ignored Alan R. Sporn for almost two years, but a $1-million court judgment got the company's attention. The Laguna Hills businessman had his Social Security number stolen, which ended up in a dozen requests for Home Depot credit. The fiasco hurt Sporn's credit rating, but the home improvement giant that prides itself in customer service brushed off his concerns — until he filed a lawsuit, won and then tried to collect the money from a company bank account.

Home Depot wants to put more Hispanics in orange aprons through a hiring partnership it will unveil today. The Atlanta-based chain plans to work with several Hispanic groups to boost both hiring and its appeal to a market segment whose buying power reached $750 billion last year. Hispanic purchasing power will reach an estimated $1 trillion by 2008, the Hispanic Association of Corporate Responsibility says. Hispanics are poised to be the next generation of home buyers, said Jeffrey Humphreys, a University of Georgia economist. "Home Depot's efforts will pay big dividends in the future" as the retailer fights with Lowe's...

ATLANTA - For more than 100 years the sound of Christmas in America has been from an army of bell ringers raising money for the Salvation Army. For Willie Pickett in Atlanta, it's also about spreading Christmas cheer. "I just love making people smile," says Pickett, a frequent bell ringer.

...Desperate for tax revenue, cities and towns across the country now routinely take property from unwilling sellers to make way for big-box retailers. Condemnation cases aren't tracked nationally, but even retailers themselves acknowledge that the explosive growth of the format in the 1990s and torrid competition for land has increasingly pushed them into increasingly problematic areas -- including sites owned by other people... [A] shareholder resolution: "adopt a policy for land procurement and use that incorporates social and environmental factors," particularly, the wishes of local property owners and community groups.... "If the company continues to operate in this manner, with...

G.I. Jobs magazine is saluting Home Depot and three other Atlanta-based companies for their military-friendly policies. Home Depot ranked as the nation's most military-friendly employer, followed by Sprint and General Electric, in G.I. Jobs' December issue, which is on newsstands in time for Veterans Day. Three other local giants ranked in the top 20: Georgia-Pacific at No. 11, Coca-Cola Enterprises at No. 14 and BellSouth at No. 19. "Home Depot distanced itself from the competition this year," said Chris Hale, general manager of the Pittsburgh-based magazine. "They have gone crazy with military recruiting. They even have a program that assists...

Home Depot, Government Launch Military Veterans Jobs Initiative By Gerry J. GilmoreAmerican Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Sept. 21, 2004 – Home Depot executives and senior government leaders launched a new public-private employment initiative for military veterans and their spouses here today. Left to right: Dennis Donovan, Home Depot's executive vice president for human resources, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony J. Principi, Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao, Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness David S.C. Chu, and Bob Nardelli, Home Depot's chairman, president and chief executive officer pose for a photo Sept. 21 at the National Press Club...

New York -- You won't find 8-by-10s or heavy-duty lawn tools, but if you want a closet organizer or the perfect plant for a rooftop terrace, you're in the right place. Atlanta-based Home Depot rolled out the orange carpet to Manhattan on Friday with a distinctly citified version of its superstores. It's a three-story home improvement emporium without SUVs or pickups lined up in a parking lot -- because there is no parking lot. Instead, a doorman out front will help hail a cab, and a courier service will deliver anything customers can't carry. This $20 million store, at West...

Home Depot Profit Tops Estimates on Sales Tuesday August 17, 6:42 am ET ATLANTA (Reuters) - Home Depot Inc. (NYSE:HD - News) on Tuesday reported a 19 percent rise in second-quarter profit, topping estimates, as technology upgrades and other store improvements helped boost sales. ADVERTISEMENT The world's largest home improvement retailer also raised its profit-growth forecast for the year. The Atlanta-based retailer said net income rose to $1.5 billion, or 70 cents a diluted share, from $1.3 billion, or 56 cents a share, a year earlier. Sales at stores open at least a year, an important retail measure, rose 4.8...

DETROIT (AP) - Workers at a Home Depot in suburban Detroit rejected efforts to make the store the first in the home-improvement chain to unionize. The vote is the latest setback to the Food and Commercial Workers union's efforts to organize employees at big-box discount retailers. About 170 employees cast secret ballots Friday and Saturday, with employees voting 115-42 against joining the UFCW, according to Home Depot spokesman Jerry Shields. Jay Wright, who works in the Harper Woods store's plumbing department, said he joined the organizing drive because he wanted more affordable health care. Workers also sought more job security...

Home Depot donates $1M to military NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Retailer Home Depot Inc. is donating $1 million in tools and materials to support the U.S. military in Iraq. The company said it is sending nine truck trailers to the military, filled with 100,000 tools and materials, including shovels, table saws, concrete mixers, safety scaffolding, power generators, light bulbs and jackhammers. The donated goods left San Diego on Thursday.

ATLANTA (AP) -- The Home Depot is expanding into China with the hope of one day becoming the largest home improvement store chain in Asia and rivaling the success it has had in the United States, company officials said Monday. The Atlanta-based retailer would not say how many stores it plans for China or when its first store there will open, but it named Bill E. Patterson to the newly created position of Home Depot president of Asia. Patterson will lead the company's expansion into China, one of the largest and fastest growing markets in the world, Home Depot said....

Kmart to Sell Up to 24 Stores to Home Depot Associated Press Jun 4, 2004 TROY, Mich. (AP) - Kmart will sell as many as 24 stores to Home Depot for up to $365 million, the discount retailer announced Friday. Its shares surged 14 percent. The exact number of stores, their locations, and the final purchase price will be determined in the next 60 days. Kmart spokesman Jack Ferry said the company is not saying whether the stores are currently open or closed until after the number and locations have been finalized. Kmart said the stores will be converted "as...