uSEATTLE (AP) — Starbucks says it plans to test both recyclable and compostable cups over the next year.
Customers in New York, San Francisco, Seattle, London and Vancouver, British Colombia, will help test the cups, which use fiber, paper and other materials in place of plastic liners.
Seattle-based Starbucks was expected to announcement the test program Wednesday at its annual shareholders meeting.
The company also said it plans to redesign its stores as it adapts to increasing mobile pick-up and delivery orders.
Changes will vary by location. For example, in a neighborhood with three Starbucks cafes, one might be changed to an express format while another offers delivery.
Starbucks’ U.S. mobile orders more than doubled between 2016 and 2018, to 12 percent of orders. But there have been complaints about congestion in stores.
uOFFICER RESPONDS AFTER BOY CALLS 911 OVER MISSING TEDDY BEAR: WOODBRIDGE, N.J. (AP) — A New Jersey police officer came to the rescue after a 12-year-old boy with autism who lost his teddy bear called 911 for help.
Woodbridge Police Officer Khari Manzini arrived at Ryan Paul’s home Saturday after the boy called and hung up the phone.
Manzini says his training in autism response kicked in, and he helped Ryan search for the missing bear.
Manzini says they found the bear, named Freddy, and it is back in safe hands.
Ryan’s father, Robert Paul, later thanked the officer for responding, saying he was “gracious and understanding.”
Robert Paul says he is proud his son knew what to do in an emergency. He says they just need to “fine-tune” when it actually gets used.
uPOLICE: SUSPECT CUTS TRACKING DEVICE, CRASHES INTO TRUCK: MIAMI (AP) — Authorities say a Florida man suspected of stealing more than a half-million dollars from his dead girlfriend fatally crashed his motorcycle into a tractor-trailer.
The Miami Herald reports that 59-year-old Alejandro Aparicio died Sunday afternoon when he rode head-on into the truck in the Everglades. The truck’s driver was hospitalized and later released.
Florida Highway Patrol identified Aparicio as the victim Wednesday. A warrant had been issued for him a day earlier because a judge deemed him a flight risk after he removed a GPS tracking device.
Aparicio was arrested last month on charges of stealing from Andrea Greenburg and forging her will to make himself the sole heir of her $600,000 estate. The arrest came 18 months after he told investigators he found Greenburg unresponsive. A toxicology report blamed her death on fentanyl.
uOFFICERS HAILED FOR CATCHING KIDS DROPPED BY MOM FROM WINDOW: DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Four police officers who rushed to the scene of an apartment fire are being hailed for catching children dropped by their mother from a third-story window.
The officers arrived at the scene early Tuesday morning before firefighters. Video shows the Des Moines officers calling up to the frantic mother and encouraging her to drop her three children.
One officer can be heard yelling over the sound of sirens, “I got ‘em. Yup. Drop ‘em!” The officers can then be seen catching children in their arms, including a crying baby, as fire erupts from a nearby window.
Police say the officers involved were Cole Johnson, Tyler Kelley, Casey Sanders and Craig Vasquez.
uTEACHER ACCUSED OF SLAMMING DOOR, SEVERING STUDENT’S HAND: FORT MEADE, Md. (AP) — A Maryland middle school teacher is accused of slamming a door on a student’s hand so hard that three of her fingers were severed.
The Capital reports a lawsuit filed by the child’s father accuses the Ann Arundel County Board of Education and former teacher Steven Akers of negligence. Court documents filed this month in the 2018 lawsuit reveal new details about the girl’s injuries, which they say left permanent discomfort and nerve damage despite surgery.
The family says the girl was asking Akers a question in 2017 when he slammed a door to get the class’ attention. County prosecutor Philip Culpepper says the girl was looking out of a window when Akers unintentionally hurt her. Schools spokesman Bob Mosier says Akers resigned in 2018.
uPRESCHOOLERS ALLEGEDLY PUNISHED BY STANDING NAKED IN CLOSET: EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. (AP) — Two teachers in Illinois are on paid leave as authorities investigate allegations that one forced preschool children to stand naked in a closet with the door open as punishment for misbehaving.
The teachers are with a Head Start program operated by Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in East St. Louis.
KMOV-TV reports that police allege one teacher inappropriately disciplined the students, while the other teacher witnessed the incidents but didn’t report them.
University Police Chief Kevin Schmoll tells the Belleville News-Democrat that a supervisor alerted police on March 14. He says at least four students were allegedly subjected to such treatment.
Schmoll says the children will be interviewed early next month before a charging decision is made.
uTEEN LACROSSE PLAYER BENCHED BECAUSE HIS HEAD IS TOO BIG: WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — A high school lacrosse player in Delaware can’t play in games because his head is too big.
The News Journal of Wilmington reports that 15-year-old Billy Boyd’s head measures 25 inches around. An average grown man’s head is about 21 to 23 inches in circumference.
Regulation helmets aren’t available in his size, so he’s not allowed to compete.
The 6-foot-2 Cape Henlopen freshman and his father, Bill, have struggled to find larger, custom-made helmets that can be approved.
The Boston Globe says manufacturer Cascade-Maverik recently crafted a larger helmet for University of Albany player Tehoka Nanticoke.
Cascade Maverik Lacrosse Vice President Roland LaRose says a Boyd-sized helmet may be possible now that the company has developed “an alternative manufacturing process.”
