Residents to Boston's Mayor: Give us Wal-Mart

The Boston Herald reports:

Mayor Thomas M. Menino may be reluctant to roll out the welcome mat for Wal-Mart, but some Boston residents say they want the jobs and low-priced goods.

“It would be great for me,” said Robin Gibbons, 52, of South Boston, who lives on a fixed income. “I’d rather go to a local Wal-Mart than the nearest one in Quincy. I think it would be good in that more people would be working.”

The battle over bringing a Wal-Mart to the city is heating up. On one side are Menino and activists who have criticized the retail giant’s wages and benefits, while on the other side are city residents who insist the mayor should bring Wal-Mart — and its jobs and rock-bottom prices — to Boston.

Mayor Menino would rather have jobs and low prices for consumers go somewhere else.