Happy Thanksgiving, Central Coast! We’re feeling especially grateful today for the chance to be part of this community and to share your stories every morning. Here’s a look at what we’re covering on Daybreak, maybe some topics to spark conversation at the dinner table today:
- Holiday travel rush continues: Even with Thanksgiving here, travel isn’t slowing down. TSA expects to screen a record number of flyers this Sunday, November 30th. Monday, December 1st, and the Friday after Thanksgiving are also projected to be high-traffic travel days as millions head home. Roads will be busy too, especially on the Sunday after Thanksgiving.
- Thanksgiving day closures: Holiday hours are in effect today. Government offices, banks, the post office, and the New York Stock Exchange are all closed. Major retailers like Target, Walmart, and Home Depot are also taking the day off. Some grocery stores, including Safeway, will be open for last-minute Thanksgiving needs, but many have modified hours. Both Costco and Trader Joe’s are closed.
- SpaceX mission pushed to Friday: SpaceX has delayed its Transporter-15 mission. The launch, originally set for 10:18 a.m. Wednesday, is now planned for Friday at the same time. After stage separation, the rocket’s first-stage booster will land on a droneship in the Pacific. Transporter-15 is a rideshare mission carrying satellites for a range of agencies and businesses.
A Goleta grandmother, Juana Flores, was detained last Wednesday when she showed up for a routine check-in at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office in Santa Maria, according to her family. Her daughter said the detention was unplanned and emotionally devastating, especially with Thanksgiving so close. Flores, deported in 2019 after decades living in the U.S. and raising ten children, had returned under humanitarian parole in 2021. The family had recently sought to renew her parole, and filed a request under a separate military-parole application, but were denied, and believe the timing of this detention couldn’t be worse for the grandchildren. Efforts to reach ICE for comment have so far gone unanswered.
Eddie's Grill is giving back to the community this Thanksgiving by handing out 1,000 free tri-tip sandwiches to local residents. The giveaway is scheduled for Thursday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at its H-Street location, on a first-come, first-serve basis. Owner Carlos Villa said the gesture feels especially important given the economic struggles many have faced this year, including the impacts of a government shutdown. This marks the second year Eddie’s Grill has done a holiday giveaway, last year they distributed 1,000 breakfast burritos, and Villa hopes to make it a yearly tradition.
Members of First Presbyterian Church of Santa Barbara discovered a time capsule from 1999 hidden behind a bathroom wall during a recent cleanout. Inside were cassettes, VHS tapes, photographs, letters, sheet music and other nostalgic mementos collected when the church’s Christian Fellowship Center was built. The building of the time capsule was intended to be opened 25 years later, though the documentation was only recently found, 26 years after it was sealed. The reveal prompted emotional reactions among church members as they revisited memories of their community, music, and shared history, a reminder of how meaningful the past can be even as communities look toward the future.
