Wal-Mart Stores Inc. raised its annual profit outlook on Thursday, after it reported a 3.2 percent increase in third-quarter profits helped by cost-cutting measures like slashing inventories.

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.

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.

The new Wal-Mart is in the Hancock Village Shopping Center at Hull Street and Winterpock roads.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. on Thursday reported second-quarter income virtually unchanged from a year ago, but results beat Wall Street expectations.

Wal-Mart adds 240 new stores a year, but few have received as much attention as a Supercenter planned near a Civil War battlefield in Virginia’s Orange County.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has agreed to pay $35 million to settle a class-action lawsuit brought on behalf of workers at Washington state stores who were forced to skip meal and rest breaks or work off the clock.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine and House Speaker William J. Howell are urging Orange County supervisors and Wal-Mart officials to work together to find a different site for a Supercenter proposed near a Civil War battlefield.

Job lost in Wal-Mart, battlefield dispute

For the first time in more than 20 years, Ukrop’s Super Markets Inc. no longer commands the dominant spot for local grocery sales as increasing competition has nibbled away at its market share.

Orange County planning officials are scheduled to again take up Wal-Mart’s request to build a Supercenter near a Civil War battlefield where Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant first met in battle.

Although consumer confidence may be increasing, it’s not showing up at the cash register yet. Many retailers posted disappointing May sales yesterday, and food and necessities remained high on shoppers’ lists. According a Goldman Sachs/ICSC tally, overall same-store sales fell 4.6 percent, worse than the 3 percent drop predicted.

More and more people are shopping at Wal-Mart than ever before. Have you made the switch?