Watercooler Stories

Beaner's Coffee to get less offensive name

LANSING, Mich., Sept. 17 (UPI) -- The Beaner’s coffee shop chain, based in Michigan, is changing its name to avoid it being mistaken for an ethnic slur.

The chain -- which has 77 franchises in nine states and is growing -- will adopt the name Biggby Coffee by Jan. 31, 2008, The Lansing (Mich.) State Journal reported Sunday.

The old name was not an intentional insult to Hispanics, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Bob Fish told the newspaper. But the company has realized that -- even if adopted in ignorance -- names can hurt.

There are also good business reasons to change the name, Fish said. Some potential customers may have been turned off by the name, and that issue will only become bigger as the chain expands into markets with larger Hispanic populations.

The new name, a reference to the old name's first letter, beat out about 100 other names that start with the letter ‘B.’

Ga. vet gives puppy a reprieve from pound

DULUTH, Ga., Sept. 17 (UPI) -- A veterinarian in Georgia has decided not to follow through on a threat to send a puppy to the pound because of an unpaid bill.

Pilot the collie faced a possible death sentence, but after hearing from an attorney for the dog's owner, Dr. Garry Innocent of Duluth changed his mind. He is looking instead into putting the pet up for adoption, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

"We're going to exercise another remedy provided in the law: adoption," the vet said.

Innocent said Pilot's owner is past due on a $974 bill.

Couple panicked by sperm bank shortage

NEW YORK, Sept. 17 (UPI) -- A New York couple is becoming increasingly frustrated with a sperm bank under orders not to distribute certain samples as a precautionary measure.

The unidentified couple had previously used Cryos International to give birth to their daughter, who is 8 months old. However, they’re facing a shortage in available sperm from the same donor due to disease concerns, The New York Post reported.

The sperm bank is under orders from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration not to distribute sperm samples from 30 other countries due to concerns of spreading Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

"It's really stunning because I did want the same father for my daughter," said the concerned mom.

She said she and her husband still have some sperm samples from "Dane," their daughter's biological father, but are desperately searching for more.

"Dare we hope that here is some sort of magical Scandinavian sperm bank?" she wondered.

Mayor reeling from nude Internet pictures

ROCHESTER, N.Y., Sept. 17 (UPI) -- Residents of Albion, N.Y., have expressed disappointment in their mayor ever since several photos apparently of him in the nude appeared on the Internet.

Albion Mayor Mike Hadick has gone into damage control, maintaining the photos were doctored to make him appear nude.

But since the embarrassing photos of the 38-year-old mayor were posted online by an unknown source, his public support has suffered a significant blow, The Buffalo (N.Y.) News said.

"His reputation to me is shot,” 28-year-old Albion resident Rome Sanchez said. “It’s kind of embarrassing now to have him as mayor.”

Other constituents were focusing on the mayor's other qualities.

“Let it go until he is up for election,” a 73-year-old Albion resident identified only as John told the newspaper. “Let’s see what he does in office.”