Wal-Mart has filed for the rezoning of a 53-acre parcel of land in eastern Powhatan County, making official their intention to build there. The retailer, which submitted the application to the county Thursday afternoon, hopes to open a 170,000-square-foot store north of U.S. 60 just west of state Route 675. If Wal-Mart gets the county’s blessing, doors could open by 2011.

Reinforcing its interest in a Powhatan County location, Wal-Mart has filed a traffic-impact analysis with the county and the Virginia Department of Transportation. The study looks at construction of a 170,000-square-foot retail center using 25 acres of a 53-acre parcel north of U.S. 60 just west of state Route 675. The plan indicates that, if built, the development would be complete by 2011.

The Orange County Board of Supervisors voted in favor of a Wal-Mart, but the fight over the store isn’t over yet. Later yesterday, after the board’s 4-1 vote at 1 a.m. to grant a special-use permit to allow the retailer to build a 133,481-squarefoot store near a Civil War battlefield, a loose-knit coalition of opposition forces was busy regrouping.

The Orange County Board of Supervisors voted in favor of a Wal-Mart, but the fight over the store isn’t over yet. Later yesterday, after the board’s 4-1 vote at 1 a.m. to grant a special-use permit to allow the retailer to build a 133,481-squarefoot store near a Civil War battlefield, a loose-knit coalition of opposition forces wasbusy regrouping.

The Orange County Board of Supervisors voted early this morning in favor of a long-debated Wal-Mart store near the Wilderness battlefield. A special-use permit was approved 4-1 just before 1 a.m.

As about 400 people crowded the Orange County High School Auditorium last night, more than 80 speakers took turns at the microphone to talk about a proposed Wal-Mart store near a Civil War battlefield. Most identified themselves as local residents, and most favored building the store. The five members of the county Board of Supervisors sat mostly silent on stage at the public hearing, after which they were to vote on whether to allow the store to be built near the battlefield.

Wal-Mart may be coming to Powhatan County. Representatives from the retail giant met with local leaders yesterday to discuss plans to bring a store to the eastern end of the county. The 53-acre property being considered is on the north side of U.S. 60, just west of state Route 675 near the entrance to the Luck Stone plant. Nearby, in Chesterfield County, Wal-Mart is opening its 12th area store at Hull Street and Winterpock roads, in the Hancock Village shopping center.

Columbus, Ohio-based Donatos is counting on people’s love for pizza as it looks to expand into the Richmond market. The chain, which opened in 1963, wants to open as many as 20 franchised-owned restaurants in the area. The company now has about 180 company-owned and franchised-owned restaurants in six states—Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Alabama, North Carolina and South Carolina.

Retailers reported heavier-than-usual traffic this weekend as shoppers hit stores to avoid paying state sales tax on back-to-school and other items. Officials from Richmond-area malls, locally owned stores and big-box chains reported increased sales and consumer traffic. From Friday through Sunday, the state waived the 5 percent sales tax on school supplies priced less than $20 and clothes and shoes less than $100. A provision in the law allowed all retailers to absorb the tax if they chose to participate.

A few weeks ago, Wal-Mart raised some eyebrows when it came out in support of the so-called “employer mandate” provision in one of the health care overhauls being discussed in Congress. The employer mandate forces businesses to pay for their employees’ health insurance—and levies a hefty penalty (such as the 8 percent payroll tax proposed by House Democrats) if they don’t.

Supporters and opponents of a Wal-Mart planned for a site near a Civil War battlefield learned yesterday that they have at least three more weeks to prepare their arguments. About three hours before the scheduled beginning of a public hearing to discuss the proposal, the Orange County Board of Supervisors called off the meeting after discovering that an earlier hearing conducted by the Planning Commission may have occurred illegally.

A much-anticipated public hearing and possible vote on Wal-Mart’s proposal to build near a famed Civil War battlefield in Virginia has been canceled.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine and House Speaker William J. Howell have asked Orange County officials to consider finding a new site for a Wal-Mart Supercenter planned for development near a Civil War battlefield. In a letter dated Monday and received by the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, the two wrote, “We believe that the Wal-Mart project presents a unique opportunity to bring the interests of battlefield preservation and smart development effectively into balance.“

Preservation Virginia yesterday joined a growing opposition that says a proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter near the Wilderness Battlefield threatens the Civil War site where nearly 29,000 troops were killed or injured 145 years ago. The private nonprofit preservation group sided with a who’s who of historians, congressmen and celebrities who have taken a stand against the proposed 138,000-square-foot store in Orange County.