By Christopher Bennett | Posted: Friday, July 18, 2008 12:00 am
No.
Earlier this month, the Seattle-based purveyor of coffee, music and anything else on which they can turn a dollar announced they'd soon be shutting down about 600 stores nationwide, much to the chagrin of coffee aficionados.
But fear not - Racine's Starbucks at 5658 Washington Ave., near Noodles & Company and Chipotle, is not closing. (The coffee shop inside Barnes and Noble, 2710 S. Green Bay Road, serves Starbucks products but is not a Starbucks.)
The six stores in Wisconsin that are closing are located in Appleton, Eau Claire, La Crosse, Madison, Marshfield and Wisconsin Rapids.
The closings are expected to continue through the first half of the next fiscal year. The move to close the stores is a turnabout from Starbucks' aggressive expansion plans.
Traffic and profits declined recently at Starbucks as the faltering economy has many consumer re-evaluating discretionary spending.
The Associated Press contributed to this answer.
Did I hear the Wisconsin 150th anniversary plates are disappearing?
You heard something to this effect.
About 209,000 sesquicentennial plates are still on the road, according to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. The plates was originally issued in 1998.
The disappearing part involves the remaining sesquicentennial license plate stock. It is almost exhausted, and the plates will only be made available until Aug. 1.
Customers who currently own sesquicentennial plates may continue renewing their plates. Requests for replacements received by the DMV by Aug. 1 will be honored.
Customers requesting replacement sesquicentennial plates on or after Aug. 1 will receive non-personalized Wisconsin license plates with the regular design free of charge, if their request is mailed to the address on the MV2118 replacement license plate application.
MV2118 is the DMV form for a replacement or duplicate license plate application.
Customers who want to replace personalized sesquicentennial plates with regular personalized plates must submit a feee of $15.
Learn more at: http://www.wisconsindmv.gov
There's always eBay if you want a sesquicentennial plate as a souvenir for your garage or rec room.
Do prison inmates still make our license plates?
Yes. The inmates of Waupun Correctional Institution make our license plates.
They do so through Badger State Industries, the entity that regulates employment in Wisconsin's prison system. They've been around since 1913.
You wouldn't believe what else Wisconsin's prison system produces. Badger State Industries is big, and includes facilities in Racine County that make copies and recycle computers.
The 18 correctional institutions that comprise BSI produce wood products, textiles, signs, furniture and even engage in dairy and beef farming.
Services provided include laundry, copying and screenprinting.
Learn more about BSI at:
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