By Robrt L. Pela | Phoenix New Times
This might be a story about the beginning of the end of Sunnyslope as we know it. Call it the Dumbing Down of Mayberry, or How We Lost Another Round to the Big Box Guys. Call it progress, or community evolution, or stop reading now before I get to the part where the urbanists begin mewling about gentrification.
Actually, what’s happened is the opposite of gentrification: Walmart has come to Sunnyslope. It’s the new anchor at a large-ish outdoor strip mall, and its 24-hour service has brought with it a fully lighted parking lot and almost 100 new jobs for locals. But not everyone in this quirky community — a wide spot on Phoenix’s west side that has managed to maintain a real small-town presence in what used to be the heart of our city — is thrilled.
