Local News

<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Thursday, December 20, 2007 Marysville coffee drinkers pay it forward One person's good deed begets another, and another ... By Scott Pesznecker Herald Writer MARYSVILLE -- Lindsey Molstad of Stanwood was pleasantly surprised Wednesday afternoon when a man in a sports car with Texas plates paid for her vanilla latte and her daughters' hot chocolates. She wasn't the first to receive the holiday cheer. At the Starbucks on 116th Street NE in Marysville, a chain of more than 350 people bought coffee for the people in line behind them -- either in the drive-through or inside -- starting with a woman who first came in about 8 a.m. "I think it's awesome," said Molstad, 28, who had just picked up her daughters on her way home from work. "I feel really bad because I ordered drinks for my kids, and the person behind me only had one." Starbucks employee Michael Smith of Marysville was working the drive-through window when the first woman drove through and paid for the next customer. When he explained to the next person what happened, that customer decided to pass the good will along, Starbucks shift supervisor Sarah Nix said. Then the next person followed suit. And the next person. And the next person. Once the chain picked up, Smith refused to leave the drive-through window. He saw it as a special trust given to him by that first customer. "I'm really worried they're going to stop," he said Wednesday afternoon, after the chain surpassed 250 people. During the holidays, it's not uncommon for customers to occasionally buy coffee for whomever is next in line, said Nix, who used to work at the Starbucks in Lake Stevens. But she's never seen anything like this. "I'm really shocked," Nix said. "This makes Christmas so much nicer, knowing people care." Some customers went above and beyond paying for the next person, giving $15 or $20 to the coffee shop. Any extra money that isn't used to pay for drinks is planned to be used for Starbucks' holiday toy drive, Nix said. Randy Davis, 49, of Camano Island read a newspaper at the Starbucks while sipping a cup of coffee someone else paid for. He said he's bought coffee for strangers before, but he's never heard of so many people paying it forward. "It's a lot of people," said Davis, a science teacher at Marysville-Pilchuck High School. "It's kind of cool. It's neat to see that people still appreciate stuff like that." Reporter Scott Pesznecker: 425-339-3436 or spesznecker@heraldnet.com.

1. Lawsuit blames county and weed inspector in man’s death 2. Cost of dispute falls on Monroe 3. Salish Sea: Huge body of water now has common name 4. Mind if I smoke? 5. Boeing says 787 fixes are done 6. Worker dies after falling 4 stories from Lynnwood building 7. FOOTBALL FORECAST: Battle of unbeatens highlights first week of state-playoff action 8. Granite Falls-area fire chief placed on paid leave 9. Everett dentist travels world to help 10. Benefit to help injured soldier, his family 2 - Top 10 Stories Most Talked about 3 - Top 10 Stories Most Emailed

• Memorial for Peggy Pritchard Olson set • Bazaar Fever • Hawks proud of historic season • Olson always put Edmonds first • Honoring student veterans • ‘Wheedle' author comes to Lynnwood bookshop • Mavs build early lead en route to easy win • Prep football games of the week (state playoffs) • Tears of laughter, tears of grief • Boeing will build, flight test and deliver 787s in South Carolina to spe ... • Snohomish County EDC promoting job growth in key industry clusters • $4 million grant to advance brain tumor research has Everett links • Providence medical center construction tops off its 12-story steel frame ... • Tulalip affordable housing project to be financed by KeyBank, Raymond Ja ... • Arlington's Lak of Ink has a growing following for Luke Kooyman's creati ... • Bank of the Northwest formed • Cascade Bank earns $1.6 million