The Postal Regulatory Commission has dismissed the appeal on the closing of the contract postal unit in Careywood, Idaho. It was a terrible decision. It is illogical and inconsistent with the Commission’s own precedents, and it creates a new precedent that endangers not only all contract post offices, but every post office in the country. The numerous problems with the … Read More
Sale of historic Palo Alto post office moves forward
The Postal Service has taken another step toward selling the historic 1932 post office on Hamilton Avenue in Palo Alto, California. On May 28, there will be a public meeting to discuss the relocation of retail services. Dean Cameron, USPS real estate specialist Dean Cameron says, ""If the Postal Service decides to move forward with its relocation, it anticipates offering … Read More
Snail mail: U.S. Postal Service delivery times lag more than expected
Omaha.com: For decades, the U.S. Postal Service has pledged that you could send a letter anywhere in the country and see it arrive at its destination within three days. But lately, only 63 percent of such non-local mail arrives on time. For letters sent from or to some of the nation’s largest cities, including New York and Los Angeles, fewer … Read More
New USPS service performance reports show significant delays in delivering the mail
The Postal Service has released its service performance reports for the second quarter of the fiscal year, January 1 to March 31, 2015. They show that it’s not just your imagination — the mail has been slowing down, and in some cases, by a lot. The reports can be found on the USPS website here, and a more complete data set … Read More
A closer look at the US Postal Service
Robert Wolaver, who's been involved in building, owning and leasing facilities to the USPS since the early ’60s, has written a response to a letter to the editor that had argued it's time to privatize the Postal Service. Wolaver sets the record straight on a number of key issues, and it's well worth reading. Read more.
PRC Public Rep recommends remand of Yantic PO appeal
Back in March, the mayor of Norwich, Connecticut, filed an appeal on the discontinuance of the post office in Yantic. It was the first such appeal since July 2013, and it is a significant appeal for other reasons as well. The post office was closed for an emergency suspension in 2012 for reasons that remain dubious, and the discontinuance procedure … Read More
DC Court remands barcode case back to PRC
Today the U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia, issued a decision on the Postal Service’s challenge to a ruling by the Postal Regulatory Commission involving barcoding and a rate increase. The ruling is here. The decision was a mixed bag. The Court ruled partly in favor of the PRC and partly in favor of the Postal Service, and both … Read More
Historic Houston post office headed for demolition
Next week the Postal Service will close the post office and processing center on Franklin Street in downtown Houston. It’s a historic building, eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, but it looks as though it is headed for demolition. In a "memorandum of agreement" about the disposal, the Postal Service states that it "anticipates demolition of the … Read More
Inspector General Goes Postal
Peter Byrne, author of Going Postal: U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein's Husband Sells Post Offices to His Friends, Cheap, has a piece in the East Bay Express about the new OIG report about CBRE's contract to manage the Postal Service's real estate portfolio. Byrne's report on CBRE was probably the motivation for the OIG's investigation, so his new article is well worth … Read More
Government says company part-owned by Feinstein’s husband abuses post office contract
David Dayen: CBRE, a giant real estate company partially owned by Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s husband Richard Blum, is costing the U.S. Postal Service millions of dollars a year in lease overpayments, and its exclusive contract should be immediately canceled, the service’s Inspector General has found. Eyebrows rose when the USPS made the contract with CBRE in June 2011 for all real estate transactions. Blum chaired … Read More
