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• Huber upsets Sieglock in 10th Assembly race

• Prepared for Black Friday? Lodi retailers hope you are

• Galt bus routes to end Monday; Dial-a-Ride will still be available

• Books on the move

• District could save $1.5 million annually with energy-efficient upgrades

• Regional Roundup

• Lodi students fall short of peers on fitness test

• Thanksgiving holiday closures

November 21st, 2009

• Logbook

• Holiday drive spreads cheer to U.S. troops

• Galt High students want board to approve open-campus policy

• Poisoning victims remain hospitalized

• Expert: Half a mushroom cap can be deadly

• Tokay grad files claim over Lodi's Grape Bowl

• Lodi Middle School holds annual Turkey Trot

• Regional Roundup

• No motive or suspect in shooting

• Sacramento cop arrested for alleged kidnapping

November 20th, 2009

• Acampo woman killed

• Salvation Army Kettle Kickoff

• Advocacy groups sue East Bay Municipal Utility District over Pardee expansion

• Regional Roundup

• Galt plans to help residents with energy-efficient projects

• Stable southeast of Lodi approved

• One year after a heart attack, Lodi's Judy Mims thanks rescuers

• National Guard troops return home in time for the holidays

• Real estate market gets on more solid ground

November 19th, 2009

• Operation: Christmas

• Logbook

• Suspect arrested after hiding in fridge

• Chase ends in crash

• Galt Joint Union High School Distric hires new superintendent

• Sales tax hike yields dividends: 5 new officers join Galt Police

• Lodi Unified School District board votes to cancel summer school for 2010

• Water surges in Mokelumne River yield more salmon

• Lodi City Council will consider redevelopment next June

• Lodi City Council plans to cap number of taco trucks at 22

• Corrections

November 18th, 2009

• Regional Roundup

• Paranormal group conducts second investigation of building

• Congress allocates money for local water projects

• Sarah Palin's book hits the shelves: Locals react

• Lodi man finds wife's ashes during police display of stolen property

• Galt City Council rejects study on rent stabilization

November 17th, 2009

• Paying tribute to a Lodian

• Lodi Budget and Finance Committee to look into ways to save money on employee benefits

• Regional Roundup

• Decision on summer school expected at tonight's Lodi Unified School District meeting

• Clements gets free water rescue boat

• Redevelopment to be discussed by Lodi City Council again

• Court reinstates death penalty for killer of Lodi grad

• Clarification

November 16th, 2009

• Correction

• Public Meetings

• City Council 'triple-dog dared' to ditch cars, use Lodi buses

• Sierra Adventure store to close after four years in Downtown Lodi

• Lodi's First Sip event showcases area wineries' latest vintages

• Three members of Lodi-area family fall ill after eating poisonous mushrooms they reportedly found at Lodi Lake

• Regional Roundup

November 14th, 2009

• Galt school district narrows superintendent search to one

• Regional Roundup

• Despite budget cuts, some Lodi Unified School District salaries continue to rise

• Watchful neighbor in Lodi helped bust suspected burglars

• New Galt city manager juggles job, family

• Despite an increase in homeless students, school districts look to bolster enrollment, raise revenue

• A first look at 2009 vintages at Lodi's First Sip wine-tasting event

The following stories have received the most reader comments during the last 7 days.

• The country's mess is our fault (165)
• Obama is not a moderate (130)
• Sarah Palin's book hits the shelves: Locals react (70)
• Lodi City Council plans to cap number of taco trucks at 22 (48)
• The haves should help the have-nots (30)
• Public health care is a Christian option (29)
• Tokay in, traveling to unbeaten No. 3 Grant for football playoffs (25)
• Government-run health care is a bad idea (17)
• Young woman fatally shot at Acampo home (17)
• Sierra Adventure store to close after four years in Downtown Lodi (16)

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Prepared for Black Friday? Lodi retailers hope you are

The day is known as Black Friday.

It is the day after Thanksgiving when consumers in Lodi and across the nation line up at department store doors in the early morning hours, ready to grab the best deals on electronics, clothes, housewares and anything else they desire.

After the Thanksgiving meal settles, hardcore shoppers prepare today by reading store ads, circling the items they want and strategizing a plan of attack. And Lodi stores have been doing just as much preparation by stocking shelves, straightening backrooms and bracing for a bevy of buyers.

This year's gloomy economic atmosphere has retailers crossing their fingers that shoppers will still turn out in droves to spend their holiday shopping dollars.

Some stores, like Wal-Mart and Big Kmart, will be open today to offer early deals and help customers beat the Black Friday rush.

"We're on 'go' mode. We've been preparing since last Friday," said Wal-Mart manager Marlene Borchers. As employees stack, stock and straighten at the Wal-Mart store, customer service stays at the forefront of their thinking.

"We try to schedule our associates so that our customers can get the help they need during peak shopping hours," spokeswoman Anna Taylor said.

Across town at Big Kmart, most of the part-time employees have been brought on for full-time hours and have been getting things in order for today's and Friday's shoppers.

"We've been hecka busy," said Big Kmart Supervisor Jade Winters.

Big Kmart's store manager, Clovis Baptiste, said that despite the economic predictions that holiday sales will be 50 percent of lower than they were in 2007, the store still anticipates large crowds.

"It's going to be crazy," Baptiste said. "We've had a lot of overtime, because (Big Kmart) gave us a lot of money to prepare for it. We hope to make it back." Lydia Housh, of Stockton, who comes to Lodi to shop, wasn't sure if she was going to take advantage of the Black Friday deals.

"I haven't seen the ads yet, and I don't know about getting up so early," Housh said.

Big Kmart opens at 7 a.m. today, and will open at 6 a.m. on Black Friday.

At Aaron's in Lodi, employees have been gearing up for special "door buster" deals to take place on Friday only.

"We've been so busy, I haven't had time to put up Christmas decorations," said assistant manager Loni Yarber. Though the store specializes in leasing merchandise, on Friday only they will sell items like a Compaq V03 laptop computer for $679 and a JVC camcorder for $399. When it comes to Aaron's bigger items, "we're trying to promise same-day delivery," she said.

Since it is the busiest shopping day of the year, stores like Target will have the majority of their employees on-hand to assist shoppers and bring organization to chaos.

But for some stores, it's business as usual.

Mervyns, in the Vineyard Shopping Center on Kettleman, announced in October that it would be closing all its stores after liquidating its stock. A store employee said on Wednesday the store received its last shipment of merchandise, and though they are opening at 5 a.m. on Friday, the rest of the time it will be regular hours until they close, come the end of December or January. The store has been operating on a reduced number of employees and will continue offering 50- to 70-percent discounts on all products.

In a bleak financial setting, most employed by Lodi's retailers, like Big Kmart's Jerald Geer, are just happy to be working and don't mind the extra holiday hours.

"It's better than not working at all," Geer said.

Contact Business Editor Marc Lutz at marcl@lodinews.com.