There are only three full-service grocery stores in wards 7 and 8 east of the Anacostia River, though that number may soon be growing with recently announced development plans.

The D.C. Council gave its final approval today to a bill mandating that large retail stores pay their employees a “living wage” of at least $12.50 an hour.

Wal-Mart is pulling out of two, possibly three, D.C. sites where it planned to build stores, citing the D.C. Council’s impending adoption of a bill mandating large retailers pay a “living wage.”