The store is being built at the northeast corner of Monte Vista Drive and Bundy Canyon Road, just east of Interstate 15. Plans call for a 185,682-square-foot retail center that is expected to bring expanded shopping options to local residents, including groceries, pharmacy services, household essentials and other everyday items.

The project has been in the works for years. Although the site received approval back in 2015, development did not move forward at the time and the project faced the possibility of losing its entitlements. Over the last year, city officials said efforts were made to work with the property owner and developer to help move the long-delayed project toward construction.

City leaders are describing the new store as one of the most significant private investments in Wildomar to date. In addition to adding retail services, the development is expected to generate hundreds of construction and permanent jobs while helping strengthen the city’s tax base.

Wildomar has seen steady growth since officially incorporating in 2008. Once a smaller community with limited retail and commercial development, the city has expanded considerably over the years. Recent Census estimates show the population has grown substantially since cityhood, while the local landscape has continued to add more businesses, medical services and commercial centers.

Officials say the Walmart project fits into broader efforts to support economic development and improve access to shopping opportunities within the city. Its location along the Monte Vista Drive and Bundy Canyon Road corridor is also seen as important, as the area serves as a key entry point into Wildomar and has been the focus of ongoing infrastructure and transportation improvements.

No official completion date for the new store has been announced.

If you want, I can also make this more “front page newspaper” style with a stronger headline and tighter local-news tone.

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The latest Walmart Supercenter to undergo a major transformation is situated at 479 N. McKinley Street in Corona. Its grand reopening ceremony, featuring a ribbon-cutting event, was held on Friday morning to showcase a plethora of upgrades. From revamped exteriors and interiors to a redesigned checkout layout, an expanded pharmacy, and an updated vision center, the store now boasts enhanced features to cater to its clientele. Moreover, interactive displays and digital touchpoints scattered throughout the store aim to provide customers with a seamless shopping experience.

This revitalization effort in Corona follows closely on the heels of another successful reopening at the Walmart Supercenter located at 32225 Temecula Parkway in Temecula, where local dignitaries joined in the celebration on October 27.

Walmart’s commitment to remodeling and expanding its footprint is underscored by remarks made by Walmart U.S. President and CEO John Furner earlier this year. Furner announced plans to remodel 650 stores across 47 states, including California, within the next 12 months. Notably, on November 3, Walmart marked its “Second Best Day” with grand reopenings at 117 stores nationwide, the largest single-day rollout in the company’s history.

With over $9 billion invested in upgrading more than 1,400 stores nationwide in the past two years, Walmart’s dedication to enhancing its retail infrastructure remains steadfast. Looking ahead, the retail giant plans to build or convert more than 150 stores over the next five years, representing a significant capital investment in local communities across 30 states.

Beyond the physical upgrades, the reopening of Walmart stores translates into a boost for local economies. City documents reveal that the Temecula Supercenter consistently ranks among the top sales tax producers in the city, contributing to vital revenue streams.

Moreover, Walmart’s expansion initiatives create employment opportunities, with tens of thousands of jobs supported by renovation and development projects. Furner highlighted Walmart’s role as a major employer, directly employing approximately 1.6 million people in the United States and indirectly supporting many more jobs.

In line with its commitment to workforce development, Walmart aims to elevate its employees’ earning potential. The company announced that its U.S. average hourly wage is set to surpass $18, while store managers now enjoy an average annual salary of $128,000, signaling a commitment to providing competitive compensation packages.

However, Walmart’s expansion efforts are not without detractors. Critics argue that the retail giant’s low-price model undermines small businesses and raises concerns about its reliance on foreign-made products, potentially impacting the domestic economy. Despite these criticisms, Walmart’s financial performance remains robust, with total revenue for fiscal year 2023 reaching $611.3 billion, marking a 6.7% increase over the previous year, as reported in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

As Walmart continues to modernize and expand its footprint, the ripple effects of its investments are poised to shape local economies and communities across Riverside County and beyond.

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The Soboba Foundation reached out to a few department stores to help them with this large endeavor, and special elves from the San Jacinto Walmart stepped in to help out. Walmart’s Store Manager Sandy Cifuentes, Academy Lead Lisa Flores and GM Coach Irma Hernandez worked closely with the Foundation’s coordinator Andrew Vallejos in the true spirit of community and Christmas. Cifuentes said, “We appreciate this event and are here to give our support!

And support they did. Before the popular Unstuff the Bus events could take place, Walmart team members shopped, rang up and ensured toy inventory to help accomplish the mission. They also provided manpower to load 1,000 toys onto the Soboba bus for each day of delivery.

“It’s always the season for unity, inclusion and giving,” Vallejos said. “We are grateful to all those who said yes and asked how they could help.”

The first event took place at San Jacinto Unified School District’s main office parking lot on Dec. 5 where hundreds of community members waited for the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians’ bus to arrive. Forming a “toy brigade” from where the bus parked to the entrance of the DO’s warehouse, gifts were passed along one at a time. SJUSD’s School, Family and Community Liaison Sheila Blythe helped members of the San Jacinto High School cheer team and other volunteers sort each gift onto tables labeled for age groups and gender located inside the huge warehouse.

“We love to see everyone out here working together,” Blythe said. 

Soboba Tribal Council and Foundation members were on hand, as well as Soboba Fire Department personnel, working alongside other volunteers as toys were passed down the line. Tribal members were there to help, too.

“It filled my heart to see so many wonderful people come out and jump in to help and be a part of such a huge community giving event,” Carla Adame, Family and Community Engagement Specialist for SJUSD’s Student, Community and Personnel Support Department said.

She explained that each year, the school site family liaisons work with their principals and staff to identify worthy students. There were about 350 families who got selected this year. Plus, they always save a small stash for last-minute needs so there will be close to 400 SJUSD families that Soboba will help this Christmas with their generous donation. The toys were distributed during a Christmas-themed event on Dec. 10 and Adame said she was thankful to all the amazing liaisons, principals and staff who helped make it a great event by decorating beautiful stations.

“Soboba has been one of our biggest and most consistent blessings by far,” Adame said. “It’s never about anything else for them other than to help. They are always asking us how they can help so in turn our district works hard to be the best stewards we can with what they give us for our students and families; we implement equitable systems into each step of our process. We make it fun for our families because at the end of the day we’re all here for them and seeing their grateful, happy faces is what it’s all about.”

Vince Record, SJUSD’s Director of CTE and Special Programs, welcomed all the volunteers and guests at the Unstuff the Bus event and thanked the Soboba Foundation for 13 years of giving back to the San Jacinto district’s families and community.

“The Soboba Gives Back toy distribution program started in 2009 with former Soboba Tribal leader and SJUSD Board Member Rose Salgado, who is dearly missed,” he said. Some of the special guests that were acknowledged with a round of applause included Soboba Tribal Council, Soboba Foundation and Tribal members, Hemet/San Jacinto Valley Chamber of Commerce members and Walmart team members who helped make event possible by providing the toys that were purchased by the Soboba Foundation and Soboba Casino Resort.

San Jacinto Unified Board and Cabinet members, students, staff and families and Riverside County Office of Education’s Superintendent of Schools Edwin Gomez were also introduced before everyone got ready to unstuff the bus. Hot chocolate and fresh cookies were provided by the district’s Nutritional Services Department and the holiday music was turned up as the crowd cheered the arrival of the bus, led by a Soboba Fire engine.

Cathi Hill and Billie Jo Williams, from the American Cancer Society, said they were happy to help out at such a great event. “We are always happy to support Soboba because they do so much for the American Cancer Society and the community,” Hill said.

Soboba Tribal Chairman Isaiah Vivanco said, “We are thankful to be in a position to help out others. The Tribe has had its ups and downs this year but we’re still in a position to give back and that’s a good feeling.”

The Soboba bus was then stuffed with another 1,000 toys at the San Jacinto Walmart store on the morning of Dec. 8. That evening, at Tahquitz High School, it was unstuffed for distribution to children within the Hemet Unified School District. Christmas lights shined over the heads of a long line of volunteers who made sure all the toys were safely stored at the school while joyful Christmas music played on loudspeakers.

“We are continually overwhelmed by the generosity of the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians and their support of our children and families,” Emily Shaw, HUSD’s Director of Wellness and Community Outreach, said. “Through their generous toy donation this year, more than 1,000 children will receive a toy who may otherwise not have gifts. We are extremely grateful for their ongoing support and commitment to our community.”

Miriam Ortiz, HUSD’s Coordinator of School, Family and Community Partnerships, said Hemet families continue to express gratitude for the toy donations.

“The toys provide our parents relief during the holiday season and allows them to sprinkle joy into the lives of their children!” Ortiz said.

 Soboba Tribal Vice Chairwoman Geneva Mojado said she looks forward to connecting with the community at these events. “To see so many people take time to come out to help us secure Christmas gifts for the neediest children in our valley always makes me smile,” she said.

An additional 3,000 toys purchased at Walmart were made available to local nonprofits that serve the mission statement of the Soboba Foundation and had requested the donations. More than 300 Starbucks cards in the amount of $20 each were given to each district as gifts for students 14 and older in selected families receiving toys for their younger siblings.

Soboba Foundation President Dondi Silvas said, “It’s a blessing to be able to help bring some joy and cheer to kids, especially at this time of year.”

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The Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 is equipped with a 13.5-inch touchscreen, a quad-core Intel Core i5 processor, and 8GB of RAM. With these specifications, it’s a delight to use the laptop for working from home, attending online classes, and watching content on your favorite streaming services. The display is big enough for a detailed look at whatever’s on the screen, and the laptop’s powerful enough to eliminate crashes when multitasking between apps.

Microsoft promises up to 11.5 hours of battery life for the Surface Laptop 3, which should be more than enough time for you to find an outlet to plug it into after working on the go. The machine won’t be out of commission for long after a depleted battery though, as its Fast Charging feature refills 80% of the Surface Laptop 3’s maximum juice after just an hour of charging.

There’s a lot of space for your software and files in the Microsoft Surface Laptop 3, which comes with a 256GB hard drive. There are also USB-A and USB-C ports to connect the machine to monitors, docking stations, and other accessories, while the laptop maintains a quiet and comfortable keyboard, as well as a precise touchpad.

Microsoft’s Surface Laptop 3 won’t only meet your expectations – it will exceed them, with its combination of top-of-the-line specifications and sleek design. If you’re sold on the laptop as your next daily companion, you should take advantage of Walmart’s offer that slashes $300 off the Surface Laptop 3’s price, lowering it to $999 from its original price of $1,299. There’s no telling how long stocks will last or when the deal will end though, so you better act fast if you want the device without paying full price. Click that Buy Now button as fast as you can.

We strive to help our readers find the best deals on quality products and services, and we choose what we cover carefully and independently. The prices, details, and availability of the products and deals in this post may be subject to change at any time. Be sure to check that they are still in effect before making a purchase.

Digital Trends may earn commission on products purchased through our links, which supports the work we do for our readers.

Aaron Mamiit | Contributor

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Walmart has won praise from gun control advocates for its decision to discontinue sales of certain gun ammunition and request that customers no longer openly carry firearms in its stores. But whether the moves will translate into fewer guns on the street remains an open question.

The announcement Tuesday follows similar steps by other retailers responding to public pressure to restrict gun and ammunition sales. In March, Dick’s Sporting Goods said it would stop selling firearms and ammunition at 125 of its 700-plus locations. Meanwhile, Starbucks, Target, Wendy’s and most recently Kroger have also asked customers not to openly carry guns when visiting their stores.

Supporters of stricter gun laws say that as the nation’s largest retailer, Walmart will have outsized influence on the gun debate, sending a strong message to Congress as well as other corporations to also take action.

“Walmart deserves enormous credit for joining the strong and growing majority of Americans who know that we have too many guns in our country and they are too easy to get,” said Igor Volsky, executive director and founder of Guns Down America, in a statement. “That work doesn’t end with Walmart’s decision today. As Congress comes back to consider gun violence, Walmart should make it clear that it stands with Americans who are demanding real change.”

Still, most firearms sales come from thousands of unaffiliated gun shops or gun shows, not big retail chains, so it’s not clear how much difference Walmart’s moves will make. About half of its more than 4,750 U.S. stores sell firearms, or only around 2% of all U.S. firearms.

The Bentonville, Arkansas-based discounter said Tuesday it will stop selling handgun ammunition as well as short-barrel rifle ammunition, such as the .223 caliber and 5.56 caliber used in military style weapons, after it runs out of its current inventory. That in turn will reduce Walmart’s market share of ammunition from around 20% to a range of about 6% to 9%, according to a memo by the company CEO Doug McMillon.

Walmart will also discontinue handgun sales in Alaska. Walmart stopped selling handguns in the mid-1990s in every state but Alaska. The latest move marks its complete exit from that business and allows it to focus on hunting rifles and related ammunition only.

The retailer is further requesting that customers refrain from openly carrying firearms at its Walmart and Sam’s Club stores unless they are law enforcement officers. However, it said that it won’t be changing its policy for customers who have permits for concealed carry. Walmart says it will be adding signage in stores to inform customers of those changes.

Walmart’s announcement comes just days after a mass shooting claimed seven lives in Odessa, Texas and follows two other back-to-back shootings last month, one of them at a Walmart store.

Last month, a gunman entered a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, and killed 22 people with an AK-style firearm that the retailer already bans the sale of, marking the deadliest shooting in Walmart’s history. A second unrelated shooting that same day in Dayton, Ohio killed nine people . A few days before that, two Walmart workers were killed by another worker at a store in Southaven, Mississippi.

“In a complex situation lacking a simple solution, we are trying to take constructive steps to reduce the risk that events like these will happen again,” according to McMillon’s memo. “The status quo is unacceptable.”

The National Rifle Association posted a tweet attacking Walmart’s announcement Tuesday.

“It is shameful to see Walmart succumb to the pressure of the anti-gun elites. Lines at Walmart will soon be replaced by lines at other retailers who are more supportive of America’s fundamental freedoms,” it said.

Walmart took an initial step of ordering workers in stores nationwide to remove video game signs and displays that depict violence as a way to be more sensitive to customers in the aftermath of the El Paso shooting. Still, that fell well short of demands for the retailer to stop selling firearms entirely. Critics have also wanted Walmart to stop supporting politicians backed by the NRA.

The retailer has long found itself in an awkward spot with its customers and gun enthusiasts. Many of its stores are located in rural areas where hunters depend on Walmart to get their equipment. Walmart is trying to walk a fine line by trying to embrace its hunting heritage while being a more responsible retailer.

With its new policy on “open carry,” McMillon noted in his memo that individuals have tried to make a statement by carrying weapons into its stores just to frighten workers and customers. But there are well-intentioned customers acting lawfully who have also inadvertently caused a store to be evacuated and local law enforcement to be called to respond. Like other companies, Walmart is not enforcing an outright ban because they don’t want to put their employees in confrontational situations.

Walmart says it hopes to help other retailers by sharing its best practices in background checks. And the company, which in 2015 stopped selling assault rifles like the AR-rifles used in several mass shootings, urged more debate on the reauthorization of the assault weapons ban while also calling for the government to strengthen background checks. Walmart sent letters Tuesday to the White House and the Congressional leadership seeking action on these “common sense” measures.

Over the last 15 years, Walmart had expanded beyond its hunting and fishing roots, carrying items like assault rifles in response to increasing demand. But particularly since 2015, often coinciding with major public mass shootings, the company has made moves to curb the sale of ammunition and guns.

Walmart announced in February 2018 that it would no longer sell firearms and ammunition to people younger than 21 and also removed items resembling assault-style rifles from its website. Those moves were prompted by the mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida, that killed 17 people.

In 2015, Walmart stopped selling semi-automatic weapons like the AR-15 style rifle, the type used in the Dayton shooting. The retailer also doesn’t sell large-capacity magazines. Dick’s Sporting Good stopped selling assault-style weapons in 2018.

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