The Dollar Store Takeover: A Virtual Listening Session and Conversation
A Dollar General store south of Nashville, Tennessee, is just one of about 35,000 dollar stores from the top three chains across the country.
Dollar General opens more than a thousand stores each year. That’s three new dollar stores across the country every day. Add in the other dollar franchises and there are more of these discount stores in the U.S. than Walmart, Starbucks and McDonald’s combined.
A series from the Gulf States Newsroom explained what’s behind the dollar store spread and the consequences across rural and urban neighborhoods. Reporter Stephan Bisaha looked at the plans for further expansion that are in the works and also shared the stories of communities who are pushing back.
Join us as we listen to the four-part audio series, which first aired in April, and discuss the stories with Stephan and some of his sources. The listening session will take place Tuesday, July 18, at 7 p.m. Register here.
GUESTS:
- Stephan Bisaha, senior reporter covering wealth & poverty, Gulf States Newsroom
- Willie Lake, Mayor of York, Alabama
- Lauren Chenarides, Assistant Professor at Arizona State University
- Kennedy Smith, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Local Self Reliance
Supreme Court to decide whether Alabama can postpone drawing new congressional districts
The outcome could determine what map the state uses in the 2024 elections and whether the high court will revisit arguments over the role of race in redistricting.
Q&A: Author of ‘Rocket Men’ details how Black quarterbacks helped move the NFL forward
John Eisenberg talks with the Gulf States Newsroom about the Black quarterbacks who helped change the NFL, as well as the players who never got the chance.
Q&A: Why New Orleans’ unhoused people face increased danger from relentless heat
Delaney Nolan discusses her report for The Guardian that revealed a spike in heat-related illness calls among New Orleans’ unhoused people this summer.
How a rural Alabama school system outdid the country with gains in math
Piedmont City schools notched significant improvement in math, landing in the top spot among school districts across the country in a comparison of scores from before and during the pandemic. Nationwide, students on average fell half a year behind in math, researchers say.
Video shows high school band director shocked with stun gun, arrested after refusing to stop music
State Rep. Juandalynn Givan, who is representing band director Johnny Mims as his attorney, said Tuesday that the incident is an “alarming abuse of power” that instead “should have been should have been deescalated.”
Protecting Margaritaville: Jimmy Buffett, Bama and the Fight to Save the Manatee
The singer, who died Sept. 1, grew up in Mobile and had a huge following in Alabama, even if many of his devotees in the state were less than thrilled by his liberal politics.