Free Republic

Call it the Anti-Mall. The tree-lined stretch of College Avenue heading south from the Rockridge BART station in Oakland is a shopping mecca for miles around. But no hordes of desperate customers lined up for steep discounts on Friday. In this shrinking economy, the small, independently owned shops that anchor the Rockridge district are pinning their survival not on cost-cutting but on the loyalty of a limited customer base whose lives and values they study closely. Nishan Shepard, the founding owner of the toy and baby supply store Rockridge Kids, can tell you that 740 infants are born at nearby...

Residents: Proposed Yacht Marina Will Not Help Community POSTED: 10:05 am CDT July 21, 2004 UPDATED: 10:26 am CDT July 21, 2004 HOUSTON -- A Brazoria County coastal town has big plans to develop a marina to bring in money to the city, but the News2Houston Investigators reported Monday that some residents say all that money will go to the developer and not the community. In Freeport, local government is forcing businesses to sell their land to build a private yacht marina, the station reported.