Napa Valley Register: The Postal Service may have a new buyer for the Franklin Street post office in Napa, California. The cracked brick facade of the earthquake-damaged post offices has loomed over the 1300 block of Second Street for nearly two years. After an initial attempt to sell the downtown landmark fell through, a second buyer for the property has stepped forward, the U.S. … Read More
OIG finds maintenance, safety and security issues in post offices leased by USPS
The USPS Office of Inspector General has issued a report about the condition of post office buildings in the Capitol Metro Area. In its review of twenty facilities leased by the Postal Service, the OIG found: Eleven (55 percent) had lighting issues; Ten (50 percent) had building appearance issues; Eighteen (90 percent) had potential OSHA violations related to building safety and … Read More
Historic New Deal Post Office in Santa Barbara, CA, headed for sale
The Postal Service is making plans to sell the historic New Deal post office on Acapata Street in downtown Santa Barbara, California, according to a report in Noozhawk.com. Meiko Patton, the USPS communications programs specialist for the Sacramento and Sierra Coastal districts, says the building has become too large for the agency’s needs. The Postal Service “would like to keep” … Read More
Voting by mail and the next election meltdown
Votingbymail.com: Polls released this week indicate that the November presidential election could be very close, much closer than previously expected. In most elections, the margin of victory is large enough to avoid questions about how the votes were cast and counted, but when elections are close and contested, things like how the voting machines function and what constitutes a valid ballot can become … Read More
Underwood, Iowa post office suspended over lease issue
The Daily Nonpareil: The Underwood, Iowa, Post Office will close at the end of the week for an emergency suspension. On Tuesday, the Postal Service announced postal service for the town would move to Neola after the agency and the post office building’s owner failed to extend a lease agreement. The Underwood office will serve the area until Friday. “There’s … Read More
USPS-APWU arbitration decision puts moratorium on plant consolidations and outsourcing retail
he Postal Service and the American Postal Workers Union have a new contract. Last week, the arbitrator on the case, Stephen Goldberg, issued his decision and award, thus ending a two-year dispute. The new contract provides protections against layoffs for all career employees (who were on the rolls as of July 8), puts limits on more subcontracting, and converts many noncareer employees in maintenance and motor … Read More
NYT: Two Books Recount How Our Postal System Created a Communications Revolution
New York Times: In 1831 Alexis de Tocqueville celebrated the American postal system as a marvel of its day — a “great link between minds.” According to Devin Leonard, it may soon vanish. Drenched in red ink, the United States Postal Service has shut offices, reduced opening hours, closed processing plants and slashed its work force. While Leonard’s diagnosis of … Read More
From the Pony Express to ‘going postal,’ the history and lore of delivering the mail
Washington Post: For more than two centuries, the postal system has been a fundamental part of American life. Established by the Second Continental Congress in July 1775, with Benjamin Franklin as its first postmaster general, the system blossomed along with the country, serving as a vital means of communication that helped bind the new nation together. But modern technology such … Read More
How about a USPS stamp series celebrating Post Office murals?
The Postal Service possesses over a thousand murals produced by FDR’s New Deal during the Great Depression. The paintings celebrate American workers, local histories, and significant national events. The murals themselves should be celebrated with a new USPS stamp series. hile the volume of First Class single-piece mail has been steadily dropping (at about 3.6 percent annually for the past two years), good old-fashioned postage stamps are still … Read More
Author of “How the Post Office Created America” interviewed on NPR’s Marketplace & WNYC
Author Winifred Gallagher is making the rounds doing radio interviews about her new book, How the Post Office Created America: A History. This week Gallagher was interviewed by Kai Ryssdal on NPR’s Marketplace. Gallagher was also interviewed on the Leonard Lopate Show on WNYC. As the blurb on WNYC says, “Winifred Gallagher gives a history of the US Postal Service, and explains how mail … Read More