Starbucks is opening a new roasting plant out in the boonies of Douglas County, Nevada. It could be a good move for Starbucks. According to Starbucks spokesperson Chris Gimbl, the coffee giant is asking the county for $1 million in tax breaks. Items include everything from sales and business tax relief to job training tax incentives. Starbucks already won an exemption from county law to put up 80-foot coffee bean towers, which are almost double the local legal height limit. The new roasting plant, Starbucks' third, will bring about 200 jobs to tiny Douglas County, population 2,000. PAT KEARNEY

Quote of the Week

"I'm not afraid of corn flakes, but apparently the FBI is." --Ruth Yarrow, Rainier Valley resident who witnessed the November 7 and 8 FBI raid on the Maka Mini Mart. The store, located at South Brandon Street and Rainier Avenue, was next door to the FBI's primary target, Barakat Wire Transfer Service.

Who Loves Sidran?

This election season, independent expenditure committees raised thousands of dollars for the mayoral candidates. (An independent expenditure is a campaign loophole that allows independent groups to spend unlimited funds campaigning on behalf of candidates.)

Organizations like the civil rights group JAMPAC and homeless advocates at the Sidran Truth Squad raised money to promote Greg Nickels. Mark Sidran had just one independent group spending dough on his behalf: Citizens Working for a Better Tomorrow (CWBT). That's a pretty name for a group of property owners. CWBT raised $27,000 to help elect Sidran: 63 percent of the group's cash came from the Apartment Association of Seattle and King County (AASK), the political group representing local landlords. JENNIFER ELAM

More Police Scrutiny

The city may add a sergeant to the Seattle Police Department's Office of Professional Accountability (OPA). Currently, the OPA has six sergeants to investigate complaints against officers. The new sergeant would help the OPA keep up with its case load and meet its goal of completing complaint investigations in 60 days. (Adding the seventh sergeant would involve an assignment switch rather than a new salary for a new position.)

But Seattle City Council President Margaret Pageler apparently doesn't see a reason for expanding the OPA. "I don't buy it," Pageler said at the council's November 7 Public Safety Committee meeting. Although Pageler voted against the add, it passed 2-1 out of the committee, with Jim Compton and Judy Nicastro voting yea. AMY JENNIGES