IN THE PAST, I’ve written about my superiority complex whenever I buy a cup of coffee at Starbucks. Those white disposable coffee cups made from 100-percent recycled materials with their hot-cup sleeve and traveler lid made me feel sophisticated, younger, and smarter. The coffee inside the cup really had nothing to do with why I bought it.

I say bought, past tense, because Starbucks is no longer a self-esteem booster for me—older really does mean wiser.

I no longer like paying $4 for a cup of coffee that I can pay 90 cents to $1 for here in Rockdale. I’m sick of Starbucks’ giant global initiatives like ending world hunger or helping Rwandan farmers/villages/people, while the conglomerate is ignoring local modest ones, like news deserts in the United States.

These deserts exist when a newspaper ceases to operate in a community. When a newspaper shuts down, this means no one is covering city hall, county offices, or school boards. There is no watchdog present to hold officeholders to account.

Texas has 21 counties that are considered news deserts. These are counties without a newspaper: Cochran, Collingsworth, Crosby, Duval, Glasscock, Hall, Hartley, Irion, Kennedy, Kent, King, Kinney, La Salle, Loving, Maverick, McMullen, Real, Refugio, Sterling, Terrell, and Upton, according to a study by the Knight Foundation.

When zoning meetings, bond issues, or council meetings happen in the dark, corruption more readily flourishes.

It is in this atmosphere that the company that made corporate social responsibility popular decided the free press in the U.S. wasn’t worthy as a cause.

Last week, the coffee giant confirmed they will no longer sell national and local newspapers at its more than 8,600 company-operated U.S. stores beginning in September.

For about two decades, Starbucks has been a place where a person could sip a grande caffe americano and leaf through a newspaper— The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and USA Today. These papers and local ones were sold on racks since 2000.

The company is removing them because of “shrinkage.” This is what the retail industry calls items in stores that tend to be shoplifted.

What this tells me is that people want to read the news from a publication that does fact-checking and sourcing—maintaining transparency, holding government accountable, and following the truth.

People believe in and support the First Amendment. There are numerous studies that support this. There is also a correlation between the consumption of local news, and voter turnout and civic participation, in general. Those who feel attached to their communities have strong ties to their community newspaper.

Starbucks is essentially breaking the ties that bind citizens to their country. I’m breaking my expensive caffeine addiction, and focusing instead on sustainable alternatives. I’ll be getting my fix from Oak Leaf, which sells locally-roasted coffee beans.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Canadian Record is available on newsstands each week at several of our favorite local businesses, including Alexander’s, Bartlett’s Lumber, Best Western/Oasis Inn, Canadian Courts, Canadian Restaurant, Chamber of Commerce, Dollar General, Lowe’s, Medic Pharmacy, Oasis Truck Stop, and The Bucket. It is also available at one of our newest businesses, Brown Bag Roasters, where you can also pick up a cup of coffee made with just-roasted, freshly- ground beans grown all over the world, and play a game of checkers or Scrabble while you’re waiting. Please shop at home, and tell these business owners how much you appreciate them—and your hometown newspaper. – LEB