July 4: What’s Open, Closed 4th of July Independence Day? Stores; Walmart, Target, Mail, Post Office Open on the Day?

July 4: What’s Open, Closed 4th of July Independence Day? Stores; Walmart, Target, Mail, Post Office Open on the Day?
Fireworks in San Jose, California (Ian Kruft)
Jack Phillips
7/2/2014
Updated:
7/4/2014

The July 4th  holiday is Friday, and like any federal holiday, a large number of government-operated services are closed.

Schools are obviously out due to the summer holiday, but summer schools will have the day off.

The post office is closed. And there won’t be any mail delivery.

All banks will be closed down.

A number of businesses--like Costco--will also be closed. Check local listings for hours.

Some businesses--like Walmart and Target--will be open and will use the day for sales.

Pharmacy chains like Walgreens, Rite Aid, Duane Reade, and CVS will be open--usually 24 hours per day.

Public transportation usually operates on a holiday or weekend schedule.

 

Walmart will be open; some Walmart Super Walmart stores will be open 24 hours on the holiday. Check hours before going there. 

Target: Most Target locatons will be open. Check hours. 

Costco: Costco won’t be open July 4.

CVS is open. Check hours. 

Rite Aid is open as well. Check hours. 

Walgreens is also open. Check hours. 

Duane Reade is open as well. Check hours. 

Good Neighbor Pharmacy is also likely open. Check hours.

Albertson’s is open on July 4. Some hours might vary, with some stores closing at 4 p.m. Check hours.

Most other grocery stores will be open.

Home Depot is also open on July 4.

 

AP update for Tropical Storm Arthur 

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — As one of the year’s busiest travel weekends approaches, so does another visitor: Tropical Storm Arthur, expected to grow into a hurricane by the Fourth of July and hit most harshly at North Carolina’s Outer Banks, a popular getaway spot of thin barrier islands along the shore.

The first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season prompted a hurricane warning for a wide swath of the North Carolina coast and had officials, hotel owners and would-be vacationers as far north as New England carefully watching forecasts. The storm was enough of a concern that officials in Boston decided to move the annual Boston Pops July 4th concert and fireworks show up by a day because of potential heavy rain Friday night.

The Outer Banks will be especially vulnerable, forecasters said. Officials ordered a mandatory evacuation of Hatteras Island starting at 5 a.m. Thursday. Home to the famous Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, the island is a narrow spit of land, and the two-lane North Carolina Highway 12 is the only way to the mainland other than ferries to the south. Twice in recent years, storm-driven waves have sliced N.C. 12, rendering it impassable.

A voluntary evacuation was announced earlier for the Outer Banks’ Ocracoke Island, which is accessible only by ferry.

Other areas of the Outer Banks were taking a cautious, but still-optimistic approach: No evacuations had been ordered for areas north of Hatteras, including the popular town of Kill Devil Hills, which was the site of the Wright brothers’ first controlled, powered airplane flights in December 1903.

Tourism officials expect about 250,000 people to visit the Outer Banks and stay in hotels and rental homes for the long holiday weekend. “We want everybody to be safe and prepared, but we are not overly concerned at this point,” said Lee Nettles, the executive director the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau. He noted that forecasters were predicting the storm would move fast and be less severe than others in locals’ memories.

Stores saw runs on generators, lanterns and flashlights, but even some workers weren’t yet concerned.

“I’ve been through Irene. I went through Isabelle,” said Bill Motley, who works at Ace Hardware in Nags Head has lived on the Outer Banks for 13 years. “I’m not even worried about this one. I’m more worried about my tomato plants. With the wind coming, if we get a 50-mph gust, it will knock over my tomato plants.”

Nancy Janitz, 60, of Jacksonville, North Carolina, said she was ready, thanks to technology.

“I have my NOAA radio, and I keep tabs on Twitter and Facebook for updates,” she said. “I’m as prepared as I can possibly be.”

Still, Gov. Pat McCrory declared a state of emergency for 25 coastal and adjoining counties and advised residents and visitors alike to let caution be their guide.

“Don’t put your stupid hat on,” he said, as he urged surfers and swimmers not to get in the water regardless of how good the waves might be.

“Our major goal is to ensure that no lives are lost during this upcoming storm,” including those of emergency workers, McCrory said.

The forecast did not call for a landfall in the U.S., but officials and travelers north to New England kept an eye on the storm’s projected path. Many areas warned of upcoming rain, wind and potential rip tides.

In Boston, officials said the July 4th Boston Pops concert was being rescheduled to Thursday, what appears to be the best of two potential bad weather days — although it could also be canceled on that day if the weather is bad enough, said State Police Col. Timothy Alben.

The performance takes place in the Hatch Shell along the Charles River Esplanade. Fireworks are set off from barges on the river. Thousands of people usually attend.

Arthur is expected to pass well east of New England over the weekend.

By Wednesday night, the storm was 180 miles (290 Kilometers) southeast of Charleston, South Carolina, and about 405 miles (650 kilometers) southwest of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. It was moving north about 8 mph (13 kph) with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph (110 kph). The National Hurricane Center predicted it would grow to a Category 1 hurricane with sustained winds of at least 74 mph either late Wednesday or sometime Thursday.

Jack Phillips is a breaking news reporter with 15 years experience who started as a local New York City reporter. Having joined The Epoch Times' news team in 2009, Jack was born and raised near Modesto in California's Central Valley. Follow him on X: https://twitter.com/jackphillips5
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