Small, locally owned stores have gone the way of the dodo bird in this country, not only in small towns, but in big cities like New York, where Sixth Avenue could be in Cleveland these days. Outside of New York, the death of local has been accelerated by a red tide of mega stores. Wal-Mart comes in like a broad-spectrum antibiotic on local business flora — the local family owned stores. When it comes in, local stores go out. Of business. But now Wal-Marts are disappearing, too. And that kills the towns, which no longer have local stores. Wal-Mart will close all of its 102 of its smaller Express stores, many in isolated towns, to focus on its supercenters.