'Black Friday Creep' Spurs Online Petition Drives to Save Thanksgiving

Thousands are signing an online petitions against Black Friday store opening hours that have been pushed into Thanksgiving Day.

The trend for stores to open earlier and earlier to take advantage of Black Friday sales—even to the point of opening in the evening on Thanksgiving Day—has prompted an online petition drive to give Thanksgiving back to employees and their families. The original petition was reportedly created by a Target employee upset that the retail giant is opening on Thanksgiving and requiring employees to work instead of spending time with their families. Target stores, including the one in Florissant, will open their doors at 9 p.m. on Thanksgiving. As of Tuesday morning, there are more than 179,000 signatures on the petition. (Check out the petition here.) A press release from Change.org reported that they have seen dozens of new petitions pop up …

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Bystander Tackles Purse Snatcher at Target

Man holds suspect until police arrive; accused had pleaded guilty to previous theft.

A bystander tackled a would-be purse snatcher, preventing him from getting away at 11 a.m. on April 3. A woman was getting into her car in the Target parking lot in Florissant, 2341 North Highway 67. Daniel J. Rowe, 23, of Florissant, reached in and tore her purse from her grasp, according to a Florissant Police report. The woman screamed and a passerby tackled Rowe and held him until police arrived, the report reads. Rowe is being held on a $50,000 bond. Rowe previously served time in prison after pleading guilty to a charge stemming from an incident in May 2009.

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Black Friday News and Updates

Find the latest on Black Friday lines, deals and news as it happens. If you see something we should know about, send us a tip at Lindsay.Toler@patch.com or tweet @StLouisLindsay.

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Brandon Fry - Local Volunteer

9:38 am on Friday, November 25, 2011

We got in and out with all of our video games in about 1 hour. We got some great deals and little hassle with long lines this year. Of course we avoided the big box stores. Once we left the mall and went to McDonald's it was a different story.   more ›

Frugal Family

Summer Brings Sizzling Savings

With Memorial Day past and schools wrapping up, businesses recognize the unofficial start of summer with deals.

We're all watching our family budgets these days. Whether shopping with coupons or looking for two-for-one deals, we're taking advantage of all sorts of offers and savings that help us stretch our dollars. This column will be dedicated to giving you eight great local deals each week that will help your family’s bottom line, and since we do the scouting for you, you can save time as well as money. You are a big part of this column. Let us hear about the deals you've seen, just add them to our comment box. This week, Frugal Family scoured our local sources to come up with great deals on slushes, sunglasses and more summer fun. Remember to check with the merchants for additional conditions. 1. SONIC Deal: During Sonic's "Happy Hour," from 2-4…

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Target Remodel in Full Swing

The changes to the store, which include the addition of fresh groceries, should be completed on July 21.

When driving past Target lately, you might have noticed the addition of several crates of construction materials in the parking lot and a sign that states "Open during remodel" draped on the outside of the building. The store is in the process of undergoing a major renovation, which most notably includes the addition of fresh groceries--vegetables, fruit, bakery, dairy and meat--to the products available at the Florissant location. "Our guests continue to ask for groceries that expand to fresh items," said Kristin Jahnke, a spokesperson for Target. Liz Wassell, the Florissant store's executive team leader for the remodel, said the changes to the store are coming in waves. Already completed are the new Target Café and the new electronics …

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Cleaning for Spring

People with allergies and asthma can benefit from spring cleaning without breaking the bank on expensive products.

After a long, unusually cold winter, it’s finally time to turn off the furnace and pack away the heavy blankets. The few weeks of balmy spring weather before heat and humidity drive people to close the windows and turn on the air conditioning are a perfect time for spring cleaning. “You should do more than routine vacuuming and dusting,” said Donna Robertson, an employee with House Beautiful. As a professional house cleaner, she recommended people with seasonal allergies vacuum under furniture, wipe down baseboards and behind doors, dust the tops of shelves, clean the insides of their windows and carefully examine their bathrooms for signs of mildew or mold. “Don’t put it off for a better weekend,” Robertson said. “You have to get the ball…

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Frugal Family

May Starts With Delicious Deals

Whether you want to go out or stay at home to celebrate the early May holidays, Patch has you covered.

We're all watching our family budgets these days. Whether shopping with coupons or looking for two-for-one deals, we're taking advantage of all sorts of offers and savings that help us stretch our dollars. This column will be dedicated to giving you eight great local deals each week that will help your family’s bottom line, and since we do the scouting for you, you can save time as well as money. You are a big part of this column. Let us hear about the deals you've seen, just add them to our comment box. This week, Frugal Family scoured our local sources to come up with great deals on a family "knight," Cinco de Mayo ideas, Mother's Day gifts and more. Remember to check with the merchants for additional conditions. 1. KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS …

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Frugal Family

Steals, Deals and Discounts

This week, we're featuring a couple of deals to keep you healthy and feeling good as well as those great shopper steals.

We're all watching our family budgets these days. Whether shopping with coupons or looking for two-for-one deals, we're taking advantage of all sorts of offers and savings that help us stretch our dollars. This column will be dedicated to giving you five great local deals each week that will help your family’s bottom line, and since we do the scouting for you, you can save time as well as money. You are a big part of this column. Let us hear about the deals you've seen. Just add them to our comment box. Then come back each week and see what we've uncovered together. This week, Frugal Family scoured our local sources to come up with great deals on Totally Ticklish Ducks, umbrella strollers, movie tickets, massage sessions, peanut butter, …

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Frugal Family

Frugal Family

Five deals to help your family's shopping and dining trips.

We're all watching our family budgets these days. Whether shopping with coupons or looking for two-for-one deals, we're taking advantage of all sorts of offers and savings that help us stretch our dollars. This column will be dedicated to giving you five great local deals each week that will help your family’s bottom line, and since we do the scouting for you, you can save time as well as money. You are a big part of this column. Let us hear about the deals you've seen. Just add them to our comment box. Then come back each week and see what we've uncovered together. This week, Frugal Family  scoured our local sources to come up with great deals on haircuts, baby gear, toothpaste, soda and Italian food. Remember to check with the merchant …

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Adventures in Parenting

Learning the ABCs

There's several books and methods to teaching children the alphabet.

During the past few months, our son has become more and more interested in letters and numbers.  I really began to notice he was learning the alphabet when he started doing things such as naming letters painted on the wall of the pool during swim lessons, saying letters he saw on our T-shirts, and calling out letters on billboards from the back seat of the car. To nurture his interest and help him prepare for preschool while keeping learning fun, we have the alphabet in multiple forms throughout our house. I’ve found planting the alphabet throughout our home could be helpful, and I thought I’d share a few tips. Most of what we have is fairly traditional, but some things have a few twists.  We bought simple alphabet books, which are easy to…

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