Convenience Stores

New York City -- Gov. Jerry Brown of California vetoed a bill that would have required comprehensive economic-impact reports before big-box superstores could begin construction.

The bill, the Small and Neighborhood Business Protection Act, would have required supercenters to address more than a dozen possible economic side-effects, including job losses if competitors faltered.

New York City -- The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. has awarded a three-year contract to USM Services, a division of Emcor Group, Norwalk, Conn., to provide facilities management services to the chain’s 336 stores in the Northeast.

Salisbury, N.C. -- Food Lion said Tuesday that two of its stores in Fayetteville, N.C., have been awarded Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Silver certifications by the U.S. Green Building Council.

The green grocery stores feature a number of environmentally friendly construction and energy-efficient services, including an on-site recycling center, an educational kiosk and preferred parking for carpool vehicles.

Commerce, Calif. -- Discounter 99 Cents Only Stores said Tuesday it has agreed to be acquired by a group of investors including its founding family, Ares Management and Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board for $1.6 billion in cash.

The announcement ends a months-long sales process, which started with a takeover offer from Leonard Green & Partners in March.

Toronto, Ontario -- Web-based task management and store communications provider Opterus said Tuesday that Total Wine & More has implemented Opterus Store Ops-Center to manage tasks and projects and to obtain valuable feedback from their stores.   

CHICAGO — Sue Klug, president of the Southern California division of Supervalu, has been awarded the Bobbie O'Hare Award for outstanding service to the Network of Executive Women.

New York City -- Wal-Mart Stores was ordered to temporarily halt operations at seven stores in the city of Chongqing in southwest China, as the local government investigates accusations that it mislabeled some pork products as organic.

The company, which was ordered to pay $421,000 over the incident, apologized to shoppers for any inconvenience and said it was cooperating with authorities.

NEW YORK — Supermarket chain Stop & Shop will work with Foodshare to sponsor events at its stores in Hartford, Conn., to help qualifying residents access the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefit.

About 70% of Connecticut residents who qualify for SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program, actually receive the benefit, Stop & Shop said. This is because of such issues as language barriers, lack of transportation or lack of knowledge of the program.