Once the Thanksgiving feast is put away and the dishes are washed, some folks are heading out the door to shop. This year, some of the chain stores are opening as early as 9 p.m. tomorrow night to… Click to Read More and see additional updates

Once the Thanksgiving feast is put away and the dishes are washed, some folks are heading out the door to shop. This year, some of the chain stores are opening as early as 9 p.m. tomorrow night to a get a jump start on the Black Friday rush.

Smaller stores say they offer more specialized products and better customer service than some of the big box stores. Still, each year the competition is fierce for the biggest shopping day of the year.

It seems the signs are everywhere. Black Friday is around the corner. James Gregory was at Tom's Toys making out his wish list with his sister.

"I'm still willing to pay a little more to go to a smaller specialty shop. Usually you get a much better customer service experience," said Amber Sandborn, who was shopping.

But as chain stores prepare to open earlier, smaller retailers have to stay competitive. Carr's boots in Santa maria will open at 5 a.m.

"We have to get here at 4. We get out of bed at 3. Employees have to be in bed by 7, so we're infringing enough without doing it at midnight. That's crazy!" said Owner John Carr.

This is Target's first holiday season in San Luis Obispo and it's another big-box store on the outskirts of town that could keep holiday shoppers from smaller downtown businesses.

I like going to target and I like going to Walmart as well because they have a wide selection and it's easy to shop in," said Jennifer Smith of Cambria.

Larger shopping centers offer tons of free parking. Downtown, it's a different story and time really is money.

"If you're going to be in retail, you have to be optimistic," said Kannyn January, who owns the clothing store Ambiance in San Luis Obispo.

She reminds shoppers regardless of the deals, ultimately, you get what you pay for.

"Look for the value in the product and look to see where it's made, and look at the company to see how long they're going to stand behind what they're buying," January said.

Meanwhile, Tom's Toys isn't too worried about the new kid on the block. They've been through this before.

"I remember when Mervyn's and Gottschalks and all those other stores had toy departments and Tom's Toys did well then too," said Tom's Toys Asst. Manager Jack Mckeen.

And as for James Gregory, he doesn't care where you buy his presents.

If you're like me, you've been getting Black Friday emails on your phone every day this week as retailers ramp up their email and social media campaigns to get you into their stores.

According to the National Retail Federation, up 152 million shoppers are expected to hit stores nationwide for the Black Friday weekend. That's up from 138 million last year.

Faculty and staff at Cuesta College put their heads and wallets together this Thanksgiving to do something special for single-parent families attending the campus.

Students in the CARE program, or Cooperative Agencies Resources for Education, received grocery gift cards valued at $35 to help put a meal on the table. Staff members raised more than $1,400 and were able to help 40 families in response to a campus-wide appeal.

"We'd like to thank our faculty and staff for their continued support and generosity, and for making a brighter holiday possible for these hard-working CARE students," organizers said.

CARE assists students at least 18 years old who are single head of households with child-care expenses.

The day before Thanksgiving is right up there with New Year's Eve and Halloween when it comes to pizza sales, according to MarketWatch and local shops. Families who plan to cook all day on Thursday are looking for a simple dinner option, and many turn to pizza.

Pizza chains are offering deals to compete for your business, with Pizza Hut even calling it "Red Roof Wednesday." The chain launched a deal on Wednesday called the Big Dinner Box. It's stuffed with pizza, wings, and breadsticks for $20. Pizza Hut expected to sell 275,000 of the boxes Wednesday, according to The LA Times.

We check in with local pizza joints tonight on KSBY News at 5 and 6.

More than three million people in Southern California and on the Central Coast are expected to travel this Thanksgiving, and AAA says 86 percent are expected to do so by car.

Those motorists are paying about $3.80 per gallon for gas on the Central Coast, also according to AAA. In San Luis Obispo County, the current average price for regular unleaded is $3.82 per gallon. That's down about a dime from this time last week. The numbers are about the same in Santa Barbara County.

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Los Angeles International Airport is playing nice with harried motorists during the Thanksgiving holidays - one of the busiest seasons at one of the world's busiest airports.

NICE stands for "Neutralize Irritations Customers Experience." Under the program, traffic officers are giving drivers who hog loading zones polite instructions to move instead of tickets - and coupons for free coffee.

LAX is expecting some 1.8 million visitors through the weekend. Flights are more than 90 percent booked but so far all are on time Wednesday.

The sour economy forced some passengers to scrimp in order to afford airfare to family gatherings.

At Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, Joe Burger says he's only able to visit his parents in Arkansas with frequent flyer miles from his business travel.

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama has pardoned two plump turkeys in an annual holiday rite.

The official national Thanksgiving turkey is a 19-week-old, 45-pound bird named Liberty. Its alternate, also spared, is a turkey of the same age and size named Peace.

The president says that Thanksgiving is a favorite holiday for people but not for turkeys. Obama said, "They don't have it so good."

Obama jokingly cast his pardon as yet another executive action in a string of his "We Can't Wait" initiatives.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The Northern California tradition of fresh Dungeness crab on Thanksgiving may be off the table as fishermen and seafood processers remain locked in a dispute over prices.

Fisherman are staying in port even though the region's commercial crab season began more than a week ago. That's because they say the $2-per-pound price being offered by seafood processors is too low.

The processors counter that fishermen's demand of $2.50-per-pound will price out consumers on tight budgets during difficult economic times.

Thanksgiving dinners in San Francisco and beyond have long featured crab alongside the traditional turkey and stuffing.

Seafood retailers complain that the dispute is costing them business as they turn away disappointed customers. Recreational crabbers have been free to drop their pots in the Pacific since Nov. 5.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Clouds will increase Wednesday and some light showers are possible late Wednesday into Thursday morning but it looks no as if the trajectory of the Thanksgiving storm will keep the heaviest showers off the coast. Rainfall totals should be under .25". However it is a decent system with good dynamics, we advise you to stay with KSBY News and KSBY.com for adjustments.

Here is a look at the weather watcher report for today, it was a littly chilly in spots:

Arroyo Grande 39-66
Atascadero 37-63
Cambria 37-59
Corbett Canyon 44-65
Goleta 39-62
Grover Beach 43-62
Lompoc 36-63
Morro Bay 44-58
Nipomo 40-62
Oceano 40-62
Orcutt 38-64
Paso Robles 37-60
Pismo Beach 46-60
Pozo 37-57
San Luis Obispo 37-64
San Miguel 36-61
Santa Barbara 44-65
Santa Maria 38-63
Santa Ynez 34-64
Shandon 31-64
Shell Beach 46-60
Solvang 36-65
Templeton 37-63

Another nice day on tap, but then clouds move into the area as a Pacific storm front heads out way, bringing the chance of rain. But the storm won't stick around for long and by Friday, sun returns and temperatures will begin to climb into the weekend, with the warmest day coming Sunday.

In tonight's Trueview 6 forecast Dave Hovde talks about a forecast which is nice both before and after Thanksgiving, but features rain on Turkey Day. In fact temperatures for the upcoming weekend could push the mid to upper 70s for the weekend.

You can watch the forecast by clicking on the video link.

Monday was a day of clearing, but the reports to catch a few of the last drops from the Sunday system (reports are taken from 4pm one day to the next). Otherwise Monday turned out to be a pretty nice day, temps in the 60s for the most part.

Quiet thru Wednesday night then rain likely Thanksgiving, could be .20-.75". After that dramatically warmer and dry for the coming weekend.

Arroyo Grande 65-43 .01
Atascadero 62-41 .01
CA Valley 58-32 .05
Cambria 61-43 .01
Corbett Canyon 59-44 .05
Creston 61-40
Goleta 61-39 .07
Grover Beach 64-44 .08
Lompoc 61-37 .12
Los Osos 66-38 .04
Morro Bay 60-45 .01
Nipomo 60-38 .12
Oceano 68-45 .01
Orcutt 66-40 .08
Paso Robles 59-37 .05
Pismo Beach 58-44 .01
Pozo 57-34
San Luis Obispo 59-41 .18
Santa Barbara 62-43 .05
Santa Margarita 66-38 .16
Santa Maria 61-44 .08
Santa Ynez 61-34 .05
Shandon 59-31
Shell Beach 58-44 .02
Solvang 67-33 .04
Templeton 55-42
Vandenberg AFB 59-42 .08

Sunday's system is past us and the next few days the Central Coast will be nestled under some high pressure and we'll enjoy really nice conditions (am clouds and fog with afternoon sun). Highs over the next few days will be in the lower 60s inland and mid 60s to about 70 near the coast.

Wednesday night the clouds increase and rain is likely by Thursday morning and could extend into the afternoon. .20-.75" of rain is possible, especially near the coast with less rain inland, some interior locations could see little rainfall.

The upside of the Thursday system is that after it departs high pressure builds and temperatures rocket back upward by the weekend with upper 60s and low 70s for the interior while the coast will see 70s (even potentially mid to upper 70s in a few spots), perfect shopping weather.

Workers across the country are pushing back as some retail stores prepare to open earlier this Thanksgiving.

We'll have the full story on Ksby News at 5 and 6.

But we want to know, will you take advantage of the earlier shopping hours this Thanksgiving? Vote below.

Residents of Santa Maria will have no trash, recycling collection or street sweeping services Thursday, November 24th, due to the Thanksgiving holiday. The Santa Maria Regional Landfill will also be closed for the holiday.

City residents and commercial customers will be serviced one day later than their normal trash day. Thursday customers will be serviced Friday, November 25th and Friday customers will be serviced on Saturday, November 26th. The Saturday collection will remain the same with no change. Trash and recycling containers should be put out by 6:30 a.m.

All city administrative offices will be closed for the holiday on Thursday and Friday.

NEW YORK (AP) - Travel tracker triple-A says 42.5 million plan to hit the road in the United States to visit family and friends this Thanksgiving - the highest number since the start of the recession.

AAA says that 4 percent more Americans than last year will journey at least 50 miles from home, with about 90 percent of them driving. Another 8 percent plan to fly, but AAA notes that higher airfares and less available seats have forced many would-be fliers to drive instead. The remaining travelers plan to take buses, trains or other forms of transport.

Those driving will also spend more. AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service say the average price of a gallon of gas so far this November is $3.42, up nearly 20 percent from last year's $2.86.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

The Santa Maria Salvation Army hosts about five hundred people for Thanksgiving dinner every year and they need donated turkeys to help them do it again this year.

So far, they have two turkeys in their freezer and need twenty six more.

If you can help out, drop off a turkey at their administrative offices Monday through Friday between nine a.m. and three p.m.. They are located at 211 East Fesler Street, Santa Maria.

Dinner is open to anyone looking for a Thanksgiving meal. It will be served from eleven to two pm on Thanksgiving . It will be held at 402 South Miller in Santa Maria.