In a previous post, “It takes a Village Post Office, but for what?” we questioned the financial rationale for VPOs and asked why many of them were now being placed in densely populated areas. Now there’s more reason to pose such questions. A couple of days ago, an article in The Press Democrat touted the “debut” of some new Village Post … Read More
It takes a Village Post Office, but for what?
Almost every day over the past year, there’s been a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of a new Village Post Office. There are hundreds of stories in local newspapers about these grand openings. The Postal Service clearly thinks that Village Post Offices play an important role in its vision of the future. But it’s not exactly clear what function … Read More
The Postal Service shares some lists: Closures, Suspensions, VPOs, CPUs, and Retail Channels
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
The New York Times Editorial: How many things can you get wrong in 300 words?
The New York Times welcomes the holiday season with a 300-word editorial entitled “Overhauling the Post Office for the 21ST Century.” The piece gets so many things wrong that it would be laughable if it weren’t so maddening. It’s really the Times’ editorial staff that ought to overhauled. On five-day delivery First, the Times calls the request from management to … Read More
The first RAOI post office closes, more Village Post Offices open, but where’s the hoopla?
It looks like the first post office on the Retail Access Optimization Initiative (RAOI) may have closed already — weeks ago, in fact — but somehow the news slipped by under radar. Plus, five more “Village Post Offices” (VPOs) have opened over the past few weeks, and hardly a word from the Postal Service about that either. Today we learn … Read More
Rolling Out Red’s: Meet your first Village Post Office
The Postal Service is rolling out its inaugural “Village Post Office” this week, and it's the cutest little place you ever saw. It’s called “Red’s Hop N’ Market,” and it’s located in the small town of Malone, Washington, pop. 473. The Postal Service closed Malone’s post office on August 9, and it opened the Village Post Office (VPO) in Red’s … Read More
Welcome to Ye Olde Village Poste Office
On July 26, 1775, the U.S. postal system was established by the Second Continental Congress, with Benjamin Franklin as its first postmaster general. In its profound wisdom, the Postal Service chose July 26 to release a list of 3,653 post offices that will it be studying for closure over the coming months. The list even includes the B Free Franklin … Read More
The PMG’s “New Concept” Unveiled: Not so new, but what a concept
The major media outlets are finally reporting, as we’ve known for several days now, that over 3,600 post offices are being targeted for closure in the Postal Service's new plan, but here’s the real news. The Postal Service is also unveiling its “replacement strategy” for communities that lose their post office, and it turns out to be a “plan to have third-party … Read More
