It looks like there are some guys over in L’Enfant Plaza having a goof making graphs and charts to show why they need to close thousands of post offices. If the stakes weren’t so high and the damage to communities so great, it might be amusing watching these pranksters at work. These are "the smartest guys in the room," … Read More
Congressional resistance to the closing plan grows
Congress is getting into the act of resisting the Postal Service’s plan to close thousands of post offices. The Hill reports that Oregon’s Democratic delegation to Congress has called on Postmaster General Donahoe to ensure small towns still have reasonable access to post offices. Â In a letter dated Aug. 8, 2011, Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden and Reps. Earl … Read More
PRC Docket No. N2011-1 and the Future of the Post Office
On July 27, 2011, the US Postal Service submitted a request to the Postal Regulatory Commission for an Advisory Opinion about its Retail Access Optimization Initiative (RAOI), and the PRC opened Docket No. N2011-1, which will contain all of the testimony and related documents for the case. N2011-1 is likely to go down in history as one of the most … Read More
Issues over the two documents under seal
Two documents have been provided to the PRC that are "under seal," i.e., not available for public review: (1) Material Related to Postal Location “Nearest- Neighbor” Calculation and Results, and (2) Material Related to Revenue Distribution and Single Stamp Sale Analyses. The Postal Service explains that these materials should be kept private as a matter of “good business practice.” These … Read More
Interrogatories of the Limited Participant and USPS Responses
David Popkin participated in the 2009-10 Advisory Opinion on Stations and Branches, and he is participating again in a capacity called “Limited Participant.” On July 28, 2011, he submitted his own interrogatories, in two documents, and the Postal Service has already replied to his inquiries, so in the following summary, I’ll provide Popkin’s question/request and the USPS reply. These interrogatories … Read More
Interrogatories of the Public Representative and USPS Responses
As par tof the "discovery" phase of the PRC proceedings, the Public Representative (PR) can ask for more information and explanations from the Postal Service. First Interrogatories, #1 – #5 [The original document is here.] The PR refers to witness Boltd’s statement, “It should be emphasized that postal management is not pursuing the RAO Initiative in order to … Read More
Presiding Officer’s Information Request No. 1
On July 28, 2011, Ruth Y. Goldway designated herself to serve as Presiding Officer for the USPS Retail Access Optimization Initiative, Docket No. N2011-1, effective immediately. Within a few days, Goldway had prepared the “Presiding Officer’s Information Request No. 1.” It asks for a lot of material, to be provided no later than August 9, 2011. [The document is here.] … Read More
The PRC responds to the request for an Advisory Process
Having received the Request for an Advisory Opinion and the testimony of a USPS representative, the Postal Regulatory Commission publishes something called “Notice and Order Concerning Request for an Advisory Opinion Regarding the Consideration for Closure of Approximately 3,650 Postal Retail Locations Order No. 778 (Issued July 28, 2011).” [The Notice and Order document is here, and the contents of … Read More
The Testimony of James J. Boldt for the USPS
The Postal Service’s case is represented to the PRC by a witness who presents the plan. His name is James J. Boldt, and his statement begins by identifying himself as the National Manager, Customer Service Operations, in the Office of Delivery and Post Office Operations at Postal Service Headquarters. He has served in this capacity since May 2011. He previously … Read More
The USPS Requests an Advisory Opinion
The formal document that initiates the process for an Advisory Opinion comes from the Postal Service, and it’s called “Request of the United States Postal Service for an Advisory Opinion
on Changes in the Nature of Postal Services,” and it’s dated July 27, 2011. [The original document is here.] The Request, as we’ll call it here, acknowledges that postal patrons accustomed … Read More
Why does the Postal Service want to destroy the Post Office?
The Postal Service says that closing 3,600 post offices could save $200 million. That’s one-third of one percent of its annual budget, and just 2.5% of the $8 billion it expects to lose this year. Closing post offices isn’t going to help solve the Postal Service’s financial problems, so why do they want to close all those post offices? You … Read More
Vigil in Modesto: Auction ends today, and whoever wins, we all lose
The post office on 1125 I Street in Modesto, California, closed on June 3, 2011, and it’s been up for auction since June 9th. The bidding ends in a few hours, on Aug. 4 at 5:41 p.m. central time. Whoever wins this auction, we’re all going to come out losers. The Modesto post office is a national treasure, and it’s … Read More
Robber Barons Plunder the Post Office
Over four thousand post offices slated to be closed, and just as many news articles about the closings, yet not a word in the media about the billionaires and millionaires who are running the show. All you hear is how postal revenues are declining and no one uses the post office anymore. But somehow the Postal Service was still able … Read More