The Clipper has no vested
interest in Wal-Mart project

We've been a little amused here at the Clipper lately about rumors we've been hearing.
We first heard them from Centerville officials. Then we heard them again from some of the people among the crowd gathered at Wednesday night's uproarious public hearing about Wal-Mart.
The rumor is this: Some believe the Clipper is tacitly in favor of Wal-Mart coming to Centerville. That's because the land in question is owned by the estate of the late Keith Stahle, cousin of Clipper publisher R. Gail Stahle. Some believe we've not published anything negative about Wal-Mart coming to South Davis in order not to derail the project.
In truth, we've published whatever was being said about Wal-Mart, both good and bad.
No one at the Clipper will benefit from Wal-Mart's arrival in Centerville, and we know no more than any other public source about the direction the executors of his estate are taking.
In today's paper, you'll read a full account of the anxious crowds that thronged Centerville's public hearing and forced the meeting to be rescheduled at a larger facility on April 14. In recent months, we've published more than a half-dozen stories about Wal-Mart. Some featured people who were opposed to Wal-Mart, some featured articles about how Cache Valley merchants had survived despite Wal-Mart's arrival, and others were simply reporting the essential facts about Wal-Mart's intentions to locate in South Davis.
Not one that we can recall was directly in favor of Wal-Mart.
To clear the air, let me indicate how we really feel:
1. We have been publicly neutral toward Wal-Mart, believing the decision of when and where it arrives in South Davis is not our choice to make. The residents and officials of Centerville should be free to accept or reject Wal-Mart according to their wishes and as indicated in the city's governing ordinances. This means that on the specific point of Wal-Mart, we don't really care whether it is built in Centerville -- or at any other specific location.
2. As a company, we'd prefer that Wal-Mart not come to South Davis at all because it could harm some of the smaller businesses upon which we depend -- and that, in turn, would hurt our own business. If we geared coverage toward our own interests, we'd editorialize against big-box retailers coming here. But because many South Davis residents would welcome such stores, we would defer to what the public seeks for its benefit rather than pushing for our own.
3. Moreover, we would prefer to see the now-abandoned Urban Village project -- or at least some type of village center concept -- be built on the prospective Wal-Mart site and the acres immediately to the south of it. Such an attractive mixed-use development would add charm and a feeling of community to Centerville. In our opinion, the arrival of Wal-Mart will mean that a dynamic opportunity will have been lost, but the decision is ultimately up to the people of Centerville, not us.
4. If we had our way, Wal-Mart wouldn't come to South Davis at all. But if its arrival were inevitable, we'd prefer to see it in Woods Cross or North Salt Lake. Centerville already has a sufficient number of big-box stores, but the very south end of the county is underserved -- a point which some readers have already pointed out to us.
In short, we have no financial or even special informational ties to Centerville's Wal-Mart project. Our loyalties lie with the people of Davis County, and however the public would be best served is what we'd like to see accomplished.
Even if the end result wouldn't be in our own best interests.