YOU LOVE TO SEE IT: Mega-Merger (Potentially) Blocked On Aisle Five

Good things are happening! A potential supermarket monopoly faces another hurdle, while some consumers could be protected from increasingly common health-insurer collapses. What’s more, two water-rights rivals come to agreement over a vital river, while help is on the way for rural communities without clean water.

Colorado Could Help Block Grocery Store Merger

Attorney General Phil Weiser of Colorado announced a lawsuit last Wednesday to block the nationwide supermarket merger between the multibillion-dollar retail giant Kroger and its rival Albertsons, arguing that eliminating competition in the heavily concentrated market would harm consumers, grocery store employees, farmworkers, and suppliers. 

If approved, the combined supermarkets would account for 22 percent of the country’s food retail market, further concentrating power in the hands of a few platforms.