Andanh.com

I don't drink coffee - not Starbucks, not anything else - so I'm not reeling from depression like some of my caffeinated cohorts who can't imagine starting the day without a trip down to the Starbucks in our building.

The Conquistador of Coffee has announced it will close 600 of its company-operated stores in the next year. Given Starbucks' explosive expansion, this will mean you may have to walk an additional six blocks to get your fix.

Starbucks shares, which have been falling steadily for nearly two years, jumped 72 cents, or 4.6 percent, in extended trading after the announcement. They had lost 12 cents to close Tuesday at $15.62.

Seattle-based Starbucks did not say which stores will be closed, only that they are spread throughout the country. But it did say 70 percent of those slated for closure had opened after the start of 2006.

Decades of serial criminality by Catholic priests and a shocking lack of oversight by church officials culminated in a $5.5 million settlement to victims of sexual abuse paid by the Archdiocese of Denver.

Berny Morson and Jean Torkelson report:

Art and Agnes Koldeway agonized for years over why three of their six kids abruptly left their secure family in Loveland and fled into the world, angry and estranged.

The years of pain officially ended Tuesday with the conclusion of 18 sex-abuse complaints against the Catholic Archdiocese of Denver for $5.5 million.

Sixteen cases implicated the late Harold Robert White, the priest accused of abusing John, Mary Kay and Tom Koldeway when they were youngsters. All are now in their late 40s or their 50s.

"They were so shamed and guilt-ridden each fled in different directions," said Jeff Anderson, the Minnesota attorney who assembled abuse victims Tuesday at a Denver law firm.

Nothing like a national anthem controversy to spike up a slow summer day.

When singer Rene Marie sang the words to Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing to the tune of the Star Spangled Banner, it guaranteed that few people are going to remember what Mayor John Hickenlooper said in his annual State of the City address.

Marie's switch of the "black national anthem" for the national anthem turned a predictable political event into a firestorm of controversy.

In what is likely to cause teeth to be gritted among some of his supporters, Barack Obama wants to expand the Bush administration's faith-based social services outreach - and says it's OK by him if those groups use faith as a criteria in hiring for some jobs.

Obama unveiled his approach to getting religious charities more involved in government anti-poverty programs during a tour and remarks Tuesday at Eastside Community Ministry, which provides food, clothes, youth ministry and other services.

"The challenges we face today ... are simply too big for government to solve alone," Obama said.

If a protester shouts and no one in power can hear it, did the protester really shout?

That tree-falls-in-the-forest analogy is why the ACLU is protesting the location of the designated protest zone - more than two football fields away from the Pepsi Center, site of the Democratic National Convention.

Sara Burnett reports:

The ACLU, which represents 13 protest groups, says the site effectively denies protesters their right to free speech because delegates and others attending the DNC won't be able to see or hear them.

According to a map released by the city late last week, the protest zone will be in the southern corner of Lot A, about 700 feet from the Pepsi Center. In some places, the view of the building's main doors is obstructed by trees and sculptures.

So I got this dollar bill in change for a sports drink at 24 Hour Fitness over the weekend and noticed the printing across the top.

"Track This Bill at Wheresgeorge.com."

So I did. Typed in the serial number and up popped a notice that my bill had been spent at an arts and crafts fair in New England last year before migrating across the country to a gym in suburban Denver.

An upset reader wrote an impassioned critique of our coverage of the verdict in the trial of a teacher convicted of having sex with a 16-year-old student, arguing that we shouldn't have included details of the crime. The end result of our e-mail exchange was what I thought was a good dialogue that made me reflect on how one of our core values, "compassion," should be applied in such cases.