Starbucks tactics riles local business owner
Starbucks has reached new lows in their predatory practices. I own one of the small independent coffee houses in OB. Twice now Starbucks employees have entered my establishment to hand out free samples to my customers! It’s not enough to have the deep pockets of corporate advertising, now they are actually going into other cafes and soliciting customers. They are mining customers from within the smaller cafes! The boundaries of their corporate greed used to stop at my front door, but now they have even crossed that line. They have no boundaries!
How can a small business compete with these underhanded practices? I would never stoop to their level, but if I attempted to compete in a like fashion, I would appear to be more bitter than the coffee they serve! It’s a double standard. Corporations are allowed to be bullies while we small businesses are held to higher standards. The playing field is far from level.
I support a free market economy in which the public is allowed to choose. There has always been competition among the locally owned coffee houses, but it was amicable and ethical. We all used fair business practices. That code of conduct has been undermined by Starbucks. So far I’ve been able to successfully compete with them; however, these are the kind of dirty tactics that force many small businesses to close. They foster a negative and hostile business environment, void of variety, personality, and especially integrity. It has long term negative impact on the community.
Small independent businesses are the fiber that makes this community unique. They have been the mainstay of this town through the economic recessions when many storefronts were vacant. The hard work of the small business owners has caused this community to thrive to the point that it is now nice enough to support an “upscale” Starbucks. So nice, in fact, that they plan to open several more in this area, riding on the coattails of those who did the real work.
I urge every consumer to consider that where your dollar is spent is a choice to condone the policies and practices of that business. Think about how you enjoy the personal service you receive from local merchants vs. corporate establishments. Think about how interesting and exciting it is to be able to choose from a variety of goods and services. You will determine what kinds of shops will be on Newport Avenue in 10 years.
Elizabeth C. Turner, Owner, Jungle Java, Ocean Beach

Horse slaughters deplorable, inhumane
Every year, three foreign-owned slaughter plants located in the United States kill nearly 100,000 horses for human consumption. Americans don’t eat horse meat, but our horses end up on dinner plates in Belgium, France, and Japan.
Slaughter is far from humane. Horses suffer terribly, enduring long transport without food, water or rest, and death at the slaughterhouse is neither quick nor painless.
Congress can put a stop to this. H.R. 503, The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act, will be voted on in the House of Representatives by June 30th. If passed, this Act will end the slaughter of horses for human consumption, and the domestic and international transport of live horses or horseflesh for the same purpose. Supporters have worked for five long years to bring this to fruition.
Last year, the public and animal welfare/rights organizations managed to convince Congress to pass an Agricultural spending bill that de-funded the meat inspectors the slaughterhouses need to ship their product overseas. The intention was to put the slaughterhouses out of business. The plants simply petitioned the USDA for the right to pay for inspections themselves. The USDA agreed, and the slaughterhouses stayed open.
Americans overwhelmingly support a permanent end to horse slaughter for human consumption. Please call your Representative (202-224-3121) and tell them to support H.R. 503, The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act. For more information visit: www.saplonline.org/horses.htm
Our beloved horse companions deserve better.
Shirley Puga, Encinitas