Starbucks

Starbucks customers are about to get a different kind of buzz. Already a go-to for morning commuters and afternoon pick-me-ups, the coffee giant is aiming to expand the happy hour crowd by offering wine and beer at select Southern California locations. Starbucks said it would bring booze to four to six new or remodeled stores in the region by the end of this year and planned to do the same to a small group of locations in Atlanta and Chicago. In addition, patrons could order "premium food" such as savory snacks, small plates and hot flatbreads.

Re "Vandals lash out in Seattle," May 2 Kudos to Occupy Seattle for smashing windows at an American Apparel store. This U.S.-based company keeps its manufacturing in the country (Los Angeles, to be exact), creating thousands of U.S. retail and manufacturing jobs. It struggles for a profit. The protesters also targeted Starbucks, a U.S.-based company with several coffee bean roasting plants across the country. It plans on building a new plant in Georgia and reactivating a once-dormant factory in Ohio to make mugs.

Starbucks has declared that it will no longer use cochineal extract, an insect-derived red coloring, in its wares. If anyone is imagining that the use of this dye is rare or new, they're mistaken. At a UCLA “economic botany” website we learn, among other things, that cochineal bug, or Dactylopius coccus , if you want to address it formally, is an insect that sucks the sap of prickly pear cactus and was used by the early Mixtec Indians of pre-Hispanic Mexico as a red dye for clothing.

In a match made in corporate-branding heaven, Starbucks says it will open branches inside Disney resorts in California and Florida. Yes, now you can enjoy your favorite caffeinated beverage as you hang with your favorite rodent. So here's a question: Why did it take so long for these super-popular brands to climb into bed together? And here's another: Why stop there? The first of the Starbucks outlets is scheduled to open this summer at Disneyland California Adventure in Anaheim.

Your Strawberries & Creme frappuchino will no longer feature a splash of bug - enough customers didn't want to slurp crushed cochineal insects that Starbucks Corp. is ditching the red dye used in their making. The Mexican and South American tropical creepy-crawlies were dried and then processed into a coloring product that gave some Starbucks goods - including strawberry banana smoothies, raspberry swirl cakes, birthday cake pops, mini doughnuts with pink icing and red velvet whoopee pie - their rosy hue. But it wasn't vegan.

Next time you pass a prickly pear patch, take a closer look, especially around the points where the spines stick out. You might see what looks like a spot or blotch of white or grayish cotton. At one point, the stuff under that little puff rivaled silver as a precious export. The white stuff is protective cover for the cochineal bug, which infests prickly pear, sometimes to the point where the pads look almost as white as they do green. Spread on a piece of paper, it gives a smear of deep red color, sometimes a bright fuchsia, other times almost a maroon.

Today's quiz: Who are the greater fools, gun-rights enthusiasts strolling into Starbucks outlets with firearms strapped to their waists in order to assert their right to openly carry weapons, or gun-control advocates protesting against Starbucks for not going all Gary Cooper on these postmodern cowboy wannabes and tossing them out of its coffee-saloon doors? For us, it's a close call. The recent commotion over "open carry," one of the more obscure issues in the gun-control debate, shows that common sense is uncommon on either side.

Starbucks is aiming to become the catch-all beverage stop in Southern California, saying Monday that it plans to add wine and beer to the coffee and juice it serves in stores. The Seattle-based company will bring booze to four to six new or remodeled stores in the region by the end of this year, and will do the same to a select group of locations in Atlanta and Chicago.  Since first offering alcohol at its Olive Way outpost in Seattle in 2010, the chain has expanded its beer and wine menu to four other Seattle locations and one in Portland, Ore. There, beers are $5 each while wines range from $7 to $9. In addition to getting tipsy, customers will also have access to “premium food” such as savory snacks, small plates and hot flatbreads.

A 63-year-old man was arrested after he allegedly brandished a knife at a woman in a Starbucks parking lot in Glendale after she confronted him about an unpaid loan, police said. Vahik Avaness of Glendale was taken into custody Monday on suspicion of brandishing a knife and making threats, according to Glendale police reports. He was released later that day. The woman allegedly saw Avaness sitting in his Toyota Camry about 1 p.m. and decided to block him in with her Nissan Altima in the Starbucks parking lot in the 1700 block of West Glenoaks Boulevard.

Starbucks released the complete list Thursday of about 600 coffee shops nationwide that will be closing through the middle of next year. For an interactive map of all closings in California, go to latimes.com/starbucksmap. -- Sources: Starbucks, ESRI, TeleAtlas -- Los Angeles Times

Next time you pass a prickly pear patch, take a closer look, especially around the points where the spines stick out. You might see what looks like a spot or blotch of white or grayish cotton. At one point, the stuff under that little puff rivaled silver as a precious export. The white stuff is protective cover for the cochineal bug, which infests prickly pear, sometimes to the point where the pads look almost as white as they do green. Spread on a piece of paper, it gives a smear of deep red color, sometimes a bright fuchsia, other times almost a maroon.

Disney this summer will truly become the happiest place on Earth for Starbucks devotees, who will no longer have to suffer caffeine withdrawal when they visit some of the mouse-eared amusement parks. In June, the first of six Starbucks cafes will open at Anaheim's Disney California Adventure in the park's Fiddle, Fifer & Practical Café on Buena Vista Street. In keeping with the café's 1920's Los Angeles vibe, Starbucks baristas will be clad in appropriate vintage attire.

Starbucks has declared that it will no longer use cochineal extract, an insect-derived red coloring, in its wares. If anyone is imagining that the use of this dye is rare or new, they're mistaken. At a UCLA “economic botany” website we learn, among other things, that cochineal bug, or Dactylopius coccus , if you want to address it formally, is an insect that sucks the sap of prickly pear cactus and was used by the early Mixtec Indians of pre-Hispanic Mexico as a red dye for clothing.

Strawberries & Creme Frappuchinos at Starbucks Corp.will no longer feature a splash of bug - the coffee giant is ditching the red dye made from crushed beetles. The tropical, cochineal insects were dried and then processed into a coloring product to give that rosy hue to the Frappuchinos, as well as strawberry banana smoothies, raspberry swirl cakes, birthday cake pops, mini doughnuts with pink icing and red velvet whoopee pie. The insects, often found in a woolly-looking mass that covers prickly pear cactuses in Latin America, are also commonly used to color fabrics and cosmetics.

Your Strawberries & Creme frappuchino will no longer feature a splash of bug - enough customers didn't want to slurp crushed cochineal insects that Starbucks Corp. is ditching the red dye used in their making. The Mexican and South American tropical creepy-crawlies were dried and then processed into a coloring product that gave some Starbucks goods - including strawberry banana smoothies, raspberry swirl cakes, birthday cake pops, mini doughnuts with pink icing and red velvet whoopee pie - their rosy hue. But it wasn't vegan.

I've always been auditory, and I'm here to tell you that the online dating site - the 21 s t century's "cute meet" - only goes so far. You have to call them first. (And, before that, they have to give you their number.) Nothing's easy. One woman ruled out speaking on the phone until we met in person. Our preliminary relationship was based on seemingly endless back-and-forth email snippets, each of which featured her tiny dating profile photo. I found her smile and how she always signed off with the retro "Peace" endearing.

Regarding "Battle brews over Beijing Starbucks," Jan. 19: My wife and I visited Beijing in November and were surprised to see that Starbucks was as pervasive throughout China's big cities as it was in the U.S. While traveling, we visited Starbucks to evaluate consistency, price and so forth, relative to the U.S. stores, but we did not visit the location in the Forbidden City. No matter how "respectful" Starbucks' actions have been in China, it was appalling to see it in the Forbidden City.

Starbucks Corp. has settled a National Labor Relations Board complaint with an employee who said he was fired for promoting union activity. The agreement is the gourmet coffee chain's third settlement of an NLRB complaint alleging that the company was trying to dissuade employees from joining a union. Under the settlement with Minneapolis barista Erik Forman, who was reinstated, Starbucks will post a notice in Forman's store for 60 days informing workers they have a right to unionize under federal law.

What is Starbucks Corp. anyway? A chain of cafes or maybe a juicery, a coffee-machine maker or an alcohol-serving bar? Adding to the identity crisis, the Seatte giant told shareholders Wednesday it would add energy-drink producer to that list. At its annual shareholders meeting, Starbucks said it will expand into the rapidly expanding energy drink industry with a line of so-called “Refreshers” beverages in flavors such as raspberry pomegranate and orange melon. Made with fruit juice infused with the extract of green, unroasted coffee, the 12-fluid-ounce, 60-calorie drinks are already being sold at some grocery locations.

The restaurant industry's royal line of succession has shifted, with Wendy's usurping Burger King as the second-largest burger chain, in sales, behind McDonald's. In its annual ranking of U.S. restaurants, research group Technomic placed McDonald's — with its 5.5% boost in sales in 2011 to $34.2 billion — first among the nation's 500 largest eatery chains. Next came two non-burger chains: Subway and Starbucks, each of which posted a 7.5% sales gain. Wendy's placed fourth, with $8.5 billion in sales, followed by Burger King's $8.4 billion.