Recently in Starbucks on Burbank Boulevard near Van Nuys Boulevard Category

When it came to voting in his first presidential election, Kyle Honkoski left nothing to chance.

The 21-year-old Van Nuys resident, who works at Neiman Marcus in Beverly Hills, took the day off to make sure he could cast his ballot.

"I stayed up late watching the news," Honkoski said at 11 a.m. Tuesday in line at the Burbank Oaks Apartments in Sherman Oaks. "I'm actually really excited."

The apartment complex on Burbank Boulevard, just north of the Van Nuys-Sherman Oaks border, drew a long line of voters the entire morning, with waits of about an hour.

While Honkoski was eager to cast his vote for Barack Obama, 76-year-old Van Nuys resident Louise Gfeiner was thinking more about who she was voting against.

The retired registered nurse wore a vintage "Morris for President" button. In case you don't remember, Morris was the finicky cat who would only eat 9Lives brand food.

"I think (John) McCain is too old," Honkoski said, "and if he dies, we'll have Sarah (Palin). She may be fine as governor, but I'm not ready for her to be president."

Honkoski was also planning to vote against most of the measures on the ballot.

I think we're deeply in debt enough. We can't afford more bond issues."

During their hour wait in the morning sun, voters had plenty of time to chat with their neighbors, or even catch up on their reading.

Jill Jacobson-Bennett, 53, of Van Nuys, carried a volume on California native plants.

A choreographer-turned-landscape designer, Jacobson-Bennett was as determined as others in line.

"I feel passionate about the election and some of the propositions — I want my voice to be heard," said the Democrat, a former Hillary Clinton supporter. While happy to cast her vote for Obama, she was glad Sen. Clinton didn't draw the vice-presidential spot that instead went to Sen. Joe Biden.

"I don't think it would have worked," Jacobson-Bennett said of the Obama-Clinton ticket that never was. "It would lessen her power politically — and I'd like to see her run again."

Jacobson-Bennett's husband, Dale Bennett, a Disney animator and registered Republican, voted earlier in the day.

"We usually cancel each other out, but I convinced him to vote my way on the propositions," said the ardent supporter of Proposition 2 and opponent of Proposition 8.

Prop. 2 would improve conditions for farm animals. Prop. 8 seeks to ban gay marriage in the state.

At one point, a voter shouted to a friend, "Starbucks after we vote!"

"There's a long line there, too," another yelled. The coffee chain — which has a small, busy store at the corner of Burbank and Van Nuys boulevards — was pouring free drinks for voters with the fortitude to brave two lines in one day.

Other polling places in the area were similarly inundated. Waits of an hour were reported at the Horace Heidt apartment complex on Magnolia Boulevard, and lines snaked out of the auditorium door at Chandler Elementary School, both in Sherman Oaks.

I made a quick stop today at the Ralphs market on Burbank Boulevard near Van Nuys Boulevard to check up on the construction of the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf outpost, as well as the market in general.

You see, like all good Angelenos, we do most of our shopping at Trader Joe's, since Ralphs draws you in with double coupons and advertised specials while violating you big time on just about everything else.

So I don't get over to Ralphs all that often. There's quite a bit of construction going on at the market, but the bones of the Coffee Bean setup are there. It's built, but not ready for operation.

I don't have a photo (although there was another guy there shooting it with a digital camera), but it looks pretty much like the Coffee Bean kiosks at the Westfield Topanga and Promenade malls. I don't know if they're going to do any seating. It would be nice, but I'm not expecting it.

Parking at the Ralphs is dicey at best, but that's also the case at the Starbucks across the street. Seating for coffee-drinkers would be great, but again, I'm expecting nothing in that regard and will be pleasantly surprised if there is anything of the kind.

I said this when the Starbucks moved in, replacing the Red Chariot, a bar known more for having serial killer Glen Edward Rogers as a customer more than anything else. The bartender was very nice to me one day when I got locked out of the house clothed only in a pair of shorts ... but that's another story for another time.

As I was saying, I give Starbucks major, major credit for opening not one but four locations in Van Nuys and the best Starbucks in the East Valley (in an expansive former bank building on Coldwater Canyon Avenue and Victory Boulevard in North Hollywood), none of which are within spitting distance of Ventura Boulevard.

There was considerable vision at work, and I'm sure the whole enterprise has been very profitable for Starbucks, seeing as there is no competition whatsoever in the vicinity of each and every one of those locations.

And it may be years later, but Coffee Bean will have no problem siphoning off considerable business from its across-the-street rival.

While the Coffee Bean kiosk is being built, there is Coffee Bean coffee available in those big thermos-ish dispensers near the deli counter. But hopefully the full-fledged Coffee Bean will be ready for action in the days or weeks ahead.

I even had my recharged Starbucks card at the ready so I can potentially take advantage of the free wireless Internet offer from the big coffee company, should I ever be toting a laptop, find a power plug because all my batteries are dead, actually have the time to sit at Starbucks and use free WiFi ...

And I know it's 111 degrees outside in Woodland Hills.

But I still want coffee.

I want the Starbucks dark roast of the day. Not Pike Place Blend.

But the very friendly barista at Starbucks, corner of Oxnard Street and Canoga Avenue in Warner Center says, "No dark roast, only Pike."

She sees the look on my face.

She elaborates, "There no dark roast after 12 noon."

I reply: "Ever?"

It certainly seems to be so.

For now, anyway.

That's one way to make the Pike Place Roast sales soar: offer nothing else. Hey, if it worked for the Soviet Union, it just might work for Starbucks.

The friendly barista took pity on me and wouldn't charge me for my hot venti drip of Pikes on this even hotter day. (Thanks! ... but what are those corporate people smoking?)

I can only hope that this is somehow related to the hot weather and that all will be righted when the ambient air temperature dips below 100.

I direct the rest of this entry to Howard Schultz, returning CEO of Starbucks:

It's called Starbucks Coffee. So make me some coffee. The good stuff.

Meanwhile: in other news, my neighborhood Starbucks is about to get some competition in the form of a Coffee Bean kiosk in the Ralphs market directly across Burbank Boulevard in Van Nuys.

I bet they have dark roast. Lots of it.