Yesterday the Postal Service provided the Postal Regulatory Commission with some lists and other material for the annual compliance report. They include the post offices that were closed and suspended during fiscal year 2012 (October 1, 2011 to September 30, 2012), as well as information about retail revenue sources and Contract Postal Units (CPUs) and Village Post Offices (VPOs). You … Read More
What were you thinking, Mr. President? Obama nominates Hammond to the PRC
On Friday the White House announced that President Obama was nominating Tony Hammond as the fifth commissioner on the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC). No offense to Mr. Hammond, but that’s probably not good news for communities trying to save their post office or processing plant, and it’s not good news for postal workers either. The PRC is supposed to have five … Read More
What does it take to save a post office? Looking at appeals on closings
Yesterday, the Postal Regulatory Commission rejected three more appeals to save post offices — in Minneapolis, NC; Chillicothe, IA; and Pilot Grove, IA. But the PRC finally ruled in favor of a community seeking to save its post office. The ruling on Innis, Louisiana, “remands” the “Final Determination” to close the post office back to the Postal Service for further consideration. That may or … Read More
The Valpak Brief
James Cox Kennedy is the chairman of Cox Enterprises, a media conglomerate founded by his grandfather. Mr. Kennedy is part of the 1% the Occupy movement is protesting against. Actually, according to the Forbes 400 list, Mr. Kennedy’s $6 billion stake in the family’s company makes him the 53rd richest person in the United States, and that puts him in … Read More
The Postal Service Runs Amok: How Not to Close a Post Office
In the classic guidebook for lawyers,The Art of Cross-Examination, Francis Wellman advises, “A lawyer should never ask a witness in cross-examination a question unless in the first place the lawyer knows what the answer would be or in the second place didn’t care.” This week lawyers for the Postal Service cross-examined Mark Strong, president of the National League of Postmasters, … Read More
Witness for the Post Office: The Mayor testifies, the Postal Service cross-examines
If you want to get a sense of how desperate the Postal Service is, don’t look at how big its deficit is. Instead, check out how the Postal Service attorneys responded to the testimony of a small-town mayor in Iowa who took the time to testify to the Postal Regulatory Commission about the Postal Service’s plan to close thousands of … Read More
Without rhyme or reason: The PRC turns down the Akron appeal
Earlier this week the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) turned down an appeal that would have required the Postal Service to reconsider its decision to close the Goodyear Heights post office in East Akron, Ohio. It was a decision without rhyme or reason, and it does not bode well for future appeals. The PRC seems just as determined to affirm closing … Read More
The Postal Service Does Itself No Favors
It was a bad day for the post office. On Tuesday (Aug. 30), the Postal Regulatory Commission denied an appeal to save the post office in Gwynedd, Pennsylvania. If ever there were a post office that deserved a second chance, this was it, and the PRC’s ruling is very disappointing. Until it closed in May, Gwynedd had had a post … Read More
Two can play that game: The PRC changes the rules for appeals
Changing the rules in the middle of the game? Looks like two can play that game. In July, the Postal Service changed the rules for closing post offices. Some of the changes were responses to criticisms made by the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) about how the Postal Service was making it difficult for patrons to protest a post office closing. … Read More
The Smartest Guys in the Room
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
The Post Office Gets Its Day in Court
The post office as a national institution will soon have its day in court, and the verdict could be a matter of life or death. Yesterday, the Postal Service announced that it will request an Advisory Opinion from the Postal Regulatory Commission about its plan to study 3,600 post offices for closure. On July 26, the Postal Service will release … Read More
PRC Chairman Goldway dissents two times in two days
In what may be an indication of growing concern over closing post offices, the Chairman of the Postal Regulatory Commission, Ruth Goldway, issued two dissenting opinions in as many days this week. The first expressed her reluctance to allow a post office in New Jersey to be closed while the decision to close was under appeal, and the second focused … Read More
Breaking News: USPS will file for Advisory Opinion on nationwide post office closures
On the Postal Regulatory Commission website: Chairman’s Message: Dear Postal Consumers: The Postal Service has indicated that it intends soon to file a request for an Advisory Opinion on a nationwide plan to review post office facilities for closure. The Commission will welcome comments from the public and will take prompt action on the request for an Advisory Opinion. Once … Read More