On the occasional cool morning, with holiday music on the radio, a hot cup of coffee with peppermint may sound inviting. But across the country, caffeine addicts are watching their pennies and thinking twice about cups of coffee. Sales at Starbucks are slowing and recent reports indicate they haven’t hit bottom yet. Through 2009 the coffee giant plans to close 600 locations. PJ’s Coffee of New Orleans, a coffeehouse and wine bar at Goodlette Corners shopping center at Goodlette-Frank and Pine Ridge roads in Naples, fell victim to several troubles, including the economy.
It was a chilly evening when Peg and Marvin Geller took their Cockapoo named Cappy for a walk around the block outside their home on Capistrano. The couple made it no further than Waterleaf, about a block away, when seemingly out of nowhere an approximate 100-pound Rottweiler grabbed their dog Cappy by the leg and shoulder.
Saying he was placed in an “impossible situation,†a state disciplinary panel on Tuesday exonerated a Marco Island police officer who faced charges of battery and excessive force surrounding a February on-duty scuffle at an island comedy club. Accompanied by his police chief, Stephen Mariani stood silently as the panel for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement reviewed the Feb. 16th incident that brought criminal charges and department sanctions against the 22-year veteran.