What do the billionaire Koch brothers, whose money fueled the war against public workers in Wisconsin, have to do with postal reform? Why does the consulting firm of McKinsey & Co—in the news recently because of its controversial study on Obama’s health care plan—play a part in the Postal Service’s plans to close post offices? How have conservative think tanks … Read More
Postal Service says, oops, didn’t mean to send those closure letters—yet
If you’ve been reading the news accounts of town meetings with USPS representatives that are held when they’re considering a post office for closure, you’ve heard this one before. The citizens at the hearing just didn’t feel the representatives of the Postal Service were really listening. It’s like the decision was already made. Turns out that wasn’t just a feeling. … Read More
The Postmaster General talks about privatization and real estate
If you’re a masochist or have nothing better to do, you might watch the video of Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe’s appearance on the Larry Kudlow show last week. Kudlow begins the segment saying, “The US Postal Service is in big trouble, and now there’s talk tonight in Congress of a bailout. . . . Isn’t it time to end the … Read More
Now we’re talking: Iowa calls for a moratorium on closings
Day after day, month after month, it’s been nothing but bad news and critical editorials about how much money the Postal Service is losing, why it has to close thousands of post offices, and what Congress—and taxpayers—may need to do to rescue the postal system. There have also been hundreds of news items about the closing, or impending closure, of … Read More
Talk about wanting to close a lot of post offices
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), the chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, has introduced a bill, H.R. 2309, to reform the Postal Service. Among other things, it would create a Commission on Postal Reorganization “to review postal infrastructure and recommend closures and consolidations to Congress, that will ultimately save the Postal Service at least $2 billion a … Read More
“You take it for granted until it’s gone”
So you need to stop by the post office to mail a package, and you notice there aren’t any cars in the parking lot, and then you discover that the doors are locked and there are a couple of notes taped to the door saying the post office has been closed permanently. “What’s that all about?” you wonder. “I knew … Read More
Merry-go-round at the mall: From post office to kiosk
It wasn’t an historic building, it wasn’t even a stand-alone brick-and-mortar post office. It was just a storefront in a shopping mall. But the post office in the Carousel Center in Syracuse, New York, had been serving its patrons for over 20 years, and when it closed in April, they felt a real loss. In the comments for a news … Read More
Tearing Down the House: The Selling of the Post Office
A few days ago, US Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe compared the financial problems of the Postal Service to a fiscal failure abroad. “"Look what's going on in Greece,” he said. “There's nothing safe.” The comparison between Greece and the Postal Service is apt, but not in the way the Postmaster General probably meant. The causes of the Greek mess are … Read More
Last day at Pass-a-Grille
The post office in Pass-a-Grille, Florida, in operation for almost 106 years, closed on Friday. The St. Petersburg Times has a beatiful piece by Leonora LaPeter Anton on the post office’s last day: “Tearful locals bid farewell to tiny, historic Pass-a-Grille post office.” “It’s sad,” said Marsha Anderson, who has lived here for 35 years. “It’s like a funeral. It’s … Read More
A Sense of Place: New Deal Post Office in Fort Worth, For Sale?
In the mid-nineteenth century, Fort Worth, Texas, became the center of the cattle drives of the legendary Chisholm Trail, earning it the nickname “Cowtown.” The railroad arrived in 1876, ushering in another boom and a new nickname, “Queen City of the Prairies.” The cowboys whooped it up in dozens of saloons and bawdy houses, and Forth Worth got itself yet … Read More
Privatization of the Postal Service: New Litmus Test for Republicans?
Is favoring the privatization of the U.S. Postal Service becoming a new litmus test to determine the conservative bona fides of Republican candidates for president? It’s looking that way. Speaking at the University of Chicago June 7, presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty specifically mentioned the Postal Service in his list of government agencies that should be turned over to the private … Read More
Mass media hypnosis
Last week, US Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe, commenting on his efforts to protect postal jobs, compared the financial problems of the Postal Service to a fiscal failure abroad. “"Look what's going on in Greece,” he said. “There's nothing safe.” The doomsday talk just gets shriller. The Ross committee brings forth witnesses to testify that the Postal Service must make drastic … Read More
“You designed a system to make the post office fail.”
The post office was established in Gwynedd, Pennsylvania, in 1810, when it was one of only 35 in the state. From 1835 until 1914, it was located in the Jenkins Country Store with members of the Jenkins family succeeding each other as postmasters. In 1914, it moved to a small building on the grounds of Gwynedd Friends Meeting, a Quaker … Read More
The Culture of Closure in the UK: The Real Cost of Axing Post Offices
In the UK, they know all about post office closures. They’ve been dealing with them for almost 15 years. As in the US, the British postal system had long been a government department, but in 1969 the UK turned its postal system into a “statutory corporation.” (One year later President Nixon would sign the Postal Reorganization Act, likewise turning our … Read More
No go in Ohio: Judge wimps out
It would have been big. For only the second time in history, a city took the Postal Service to court to stop it from closing a post office. Last week, the city of Akron requested a temporary restraining order to stop the closing of the Goodyear Heights Post Office at the end of the day on Friday. But on Friday … Read More
Mystery in “Love Valley”: Emergency Suspension in Liebenthal, KS
Liebenthal, Kansas, was founded in 1876 by immigrants from the Ukraine. Named for Liebenthal (“love valley”), Russia, the settlement received a post office on November 28, 1899. According to the Hays Daily News, this week a sign appeared on the door of the Liebenthal Post Office, telling customers the post office was closed and to pick up their mail in … Read More
