The post office has stood on Fayetteville Street in downtown Raleigh, NC, for 134 years. It will close on July 15. As the Raleigh News & Observer reports, "Finished in 1877 at a cost of $400,000, the building at Fayetteville and West Hargett streets was the first post office built in the South after the Civil War. . . . … Read More
It’s Friday the 13th: Let’s Kill the Post Office
It's Friday the 13th, and Fox Business contributor Judge Andrew Napolitano has a scary thought: "Let's Abolish the Post Office." According to Napolitano's latest "Freedom Watch" column, the postal service is a "Soviet-style behemoth" and an inefficient, non-competitive "dinosaur," and the only reason it even exists is because politicians are pandering to voters. Don't think Napolitano is alone. Conservative think tanks like … Read More
Say It Ain’t So, Obama
President Obama has announced his intent to nominate Robert G. Taub as Commissioner, Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC). That's bad news for those concerned about post office closings. Taub, who's a former aide to a Republican Congressman, was instrumental in developing the 2006 Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, which is one of the reasons the Postal Service is in such financial straits. … Read More
Closure News Roundup
The Postal Service announced another quarter of losses, more than $2 billion, and warned it could be forced to default on federal payments for the billions it's borrowed from the government. In the meantime, the closings continue. In Floriston, California, they closed a historic post office that dates back to 1872. In Modesto, CA, prospective buyers have begun touring its vintage … Read More
Postal closure fight promised
From the Watertown Daily Times: "PARISHVILLE — Town Supervisor Jerry G. Moore said closing the U.S. post office in the hamlet is a bad idea that will create a hardship on many in the community, especially senior citizens. Mr. Moore said he won't let the U.S. Postal Service close the post office without a fight. "I'll get a hold … Read More
Keeping track of post office closings
The website Postal Reporter is keeping track of all the post office closings, and they're neatly organized, state by state, with links to news articles about the individual closings. It's a great website for keeping up with the latest news about all things postal. And thanks to Postal Reporter for this perfectly apropos cartoon by Chan Lowe. By the way, … Read More
Postmasters File Objections With USPS on Post Office Closing Regulations
From the NAPUS website: "On Monday, May 2, the National Association of Postmasters of the U.S. (NAPUS) and the National League of Postmasters (LEAGUE) submitted “Public Comments” to the U.S. Postal Service, opposing proposed regulations that would result in the wholesale closing of Post Offices through the nation. In a joint comment, the two postal management organizations illustrated how the … Read More
Things go badly at meeting about post office closing
As required by law, the Postal Service is holding meetings about the post offices it wants to close. At a recent meeting in New Hartford, Iowa, where the Postal Service has its eye on several post offices, things didn't go so well. Confronted by angry citizens opposed to the closure, two "postal service officials abruptly left the gathering at the … Read More
Historic post office in Venice, California: For Sale
Another historic post office, this one in Venice, California, is set to close. Like the one we posted about a few days ago, it's from the New Deal, built in 1939 by the Works Projects Administration. The full story is here, and a blog on "save the Venice post office" is here. Like many New Deal public buildings, the Venice post … Read More
The Postal Regulatory Commission Weighs in on Proposed Changes to the Closing Process
On May 2, 2011, the Postal Regulatory Commission submitted comments to the Postal Service on its proposed changes to 39 CFR Part 241, which seek to alter postal regulations “to improve the administration of the Post Office closing and consolidation process” as well as apply “certain procedures employed for the discontinuance of Post Offices to . . . the discontinuance of … Read More
Harkin Opposes Proposal that Would Allow USPS to More Easily Close Rural Post Offices
From Postal News: "WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) today wrote to Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe in opposition to a proposed regulation that would give the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) the right to convert post offices into stations or branches of larger post offices at their discretion. Once converted, the USPS would then be able to close rural post … Read More
Historic Post Office in Modesto, CA: For Sale
The post office in Modesto, California, was built by the New Deal in 1933, under the supervision of James Wetmore, who was responsible for "designing" hundreds of public buildings in the 1930s. As the Modesto Bee relates, the post office contains nine original wall murals in the lobby, commissioned by the Treasury Relief Arts Project. The oil paintings were done … Read More
Public, Legislators Join the Fight to Save Mail Service
From the April-June 2011 issue of The American Postal Worker magazine: "The Postal Service’s assault on the nation’s mail processing network shows no signs of stopping — and APWU locals have responded by engaging elected officials, community leaders, and members of the public in the fight to save our service. "Nearly 100 members of the Flint, Michigan Area local and … Read More
And the closings go on and on
The Postal Service has been announcing post office closings for many months now. Each day sees newspaper accounts of more and more. Our news feed gets about five closing news items every day, and they all tell the same story—the shock of residents when they hear the news that their post office is closing, the urgent call for town meetings, … Read More
Rhinecliff protests the post office closings on YNN TV
RHINECLIFF, N.Y. — The United States Postal Service is cutting back in many ways, including closing some of its post offices. Recently, there had been some concern the Rhinecliff Post Office would be closing. Fortunately for local residents, the postal service says it's not closing. Community groups are using this potential scare as a way to bring awareness to the … Read More
How towns get broken
No surprise that with email and facebook and twitter and UPS and FedEx, the amount of mail delivered by the post office has gone down in recent years, from 213 billion pieces in 2006 to 170 billion in 2010. That means declining revenues and cost-cutting measures like maybe no mail delivery on Saturday. It also means closing something like 2,000 … Read More