postalnews.com: January 2010

"Instead of looking at the problems in a new way, the USPS management goes right to cost cutting... It continues to make mail less attractive through regulations and passing costs onto customers."
Rag Content

League publishes recourse advice for Postmasters unhappy with their NPA scores

League of Postmasters web site

Seattle council talks about junk mail, but what for?

Seattle Times

Bulletproofing Your Health Plan

Federal News Radio

Post office looking at consolidating services in Indiana

Lafayette Journal and Courier

Post offices get reduced hours

St Joseph (MO) News-Press

USPS blocks gift to Haitian-born postman

Customers raised money to pay for a visit home
WPVI TV Philadelphia
see also: Mailman barred from accepting funds for trip to Haiti

Is the United States Postal Service Coasting on Green?

Sustainable is Good

Postal Service offers reward for info leading to mailer of 'Black Death' letters from Idaho

Idaho Statesman

Monday, January 25

Regulating the USPS into Financial Stability

Courier, Express, and Postal Observer

Syracuse postal worker sentenced for theft of mail

WSYR TV Syracuse

Art Deco Gem: Eugene’s landmark post office is worth saving, preservationists say

Eugene (OR) Register-Guard

Export (PA) residents continue quest to get their post office back

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Valentines Post Office puts its own stamp on Valentine greetings

Waynesboro (VA) News Virginian

The Direct Mail Market: Structure and Success Factors

Courier, Express, and Postal Observer

Sunday, January 24

Arbitrator awarded $25,000 to Milford NH postal workers in timekeeping fraud case

Milford NH Cabinet

Illinois family seeks missing postal worker

Chicago Daily Herald

Postal inquiry doesn't satisfy its customers

Temple (TX) Daily Telegram

Push to keep Stockton post office open is ongoing

Stockton (CA) Record

Public outcry saves Englewood Colorado post office and its mural

Denver Post

Editorial: This is government saving money?

U.S. Postal Service upgrades Lima distribution center it plans to close
Lima (OH) News

Tupelo: Fuzzy facts surround fusing postal operations

NE Mississippi Daily Journal

Houston #1 for Letter Carrier Dog Bites

KIAH TV Houston

Lease canceled, and so is Earlville PA post office

Reading Eagle

Saturday, January 23

East Elko NV post office to close Feb. 19

Elko Daily Free Press

Former postal worker faces 156 charges in investigation

Cleveland County (NC) Star

Elmira postal worker positions to be eliminated next month

News 10 Now

Ex-mail carrier admits stealing debit cards

Midland (TX) Reporter-Telegram

Fear, Anger and Health Care

also: NAPUS Calls Upon White House to Fix Postal Retirement Funding Flaws
eNAPUS Legislative and Political Newsletter

Englewood residents rally around post office and its mural

Denver Post

Friday, January 22

Majority of Union Members Now Work for the Government

via ruralinfo.net, "From the Heritage Foundation" (a far-right wing lobbying organization) for The Wall Street Journal

NALC wins arbitration case on use of DOIS to schedule letter carriers

Award in NALC Shawnee OK vs. USPS (scanned .pdf file)

A bizarre lawsuit against the USPS in Kentucky

Leagle.com

Not all post offices on board with USPS recycling program

Montgomery (PA) News

Tennessee man indicted on attempted murder charges in Wytheville PO hostage taking

postalnews blog

"Safety concerns" cause emergency suspension of Port Byron IL Post Office

Quad Cities Online

Postal employees' heroic actions save co-worker's life

KY3.com Springfield, MO

NC Postal Employee Charged WIth Theft Of Veterans Prescription

WNCT Greensboro

Postal inspectors issue warning about mail box break-ins

Dallas Morning News

Postal Worker Sentenced for Stealing Mail

WCTV Tallahassee

Postal Regulations Are Taking the Life Out of Tabloid Magazines

Dead Tree Edition

U.S. Postal Service Issues Olympic Winter Games Stamp

Press release

Collectible Ella Fitzgerald CD and Postage Stamp Available At Select Post Offices January 25

postalnews blog

Thursday, January 21

The U.S. Postal Service’s Financial Condition: Overview and Issues for Congress

Congressional Research Service

Higher Health Premiums: Just Wait!

Federal News Radio

PRC schedules forum on the financial stabliity of the US Postal Service

Postal Regulatory Commission
see also the Information Request submitted to the postal service by the PRC -

Award-Winning Poet and Former NEA Chair Appointed to Postmaster General’s Stamp Selection Committee

USPS Press release

Postal Service To Test An Electric Truck

Wired

Postmarked Romance

Associated Content

Residents go for months without mailbox

KXXV-TV Waco TX

Kentucky postal worker admits mail thefts

Hardin County News Enterprise

Loveland, CO Ready to Postmark World’s Valentines for 2010

USPS Press release

Alumnus donates rare stamp collection to University of Oklahoma: on display at Norman NCED

Norman Transcript

Union members to protest closure of Liberty City (FL) post office

Miami Herald

Inspector General continues probe at Somersworth NH post office

Fosters Daily Democrat

Postal worker embezzled funds to feed gambling addiction

The Oregonian

Pensions: Another Government Rip-off of the Postal Service

Dead Tree Edition

Persistent false alarms pester Maryland post office

Worcester County (MD) Times

Wednesday, January 20

Anti-Obama display at post office draws protests

Brenham (TX) Banner-Press

Gen X Reads More Retail Direct Mail

Vertis Communications

New OIG Study Estimates USPS Has Been Overcharged for the CSRS Pension Fund by $75 Billion

USPS Office of Inspector General

Manager of Somersworth (NH) post office escorted from building

manager "was recently found to have altered his employees' time sheets"
Fosters Daily Democrat

Enshrining a Twentieth Century Postal Service

Courier, Express, and Postal Observer

USPS blames Sarbanes-Oxley for delay in newspaper delivery?

Portales (NM) News-Tribune

Congress will debate TSP contributions this session

Federal News Radio

Warner Robins (GA) post office closing Feb. 12

Macon Telegraph

NALC President: In this new year, one battle on two fronts

NALC Bulletin (.pdf file)

Postal truck flips over in Hendersonville, NC

Hendersonville Times-News

Hellertown (PA) men jailed for allegedly stealing USPS check

Bethlehem PA Express Times

Lawmakers want post office repaired faster in Connecticut town

The Day (New London)

Tuesday, January 19

Letters, e-mails seek to save Englewood CO post office

Englewood Herald

Posts around the world are rallying to the assistance of Haiti

Universal Postal Union

Alabama postal worker pleads guilty to felony mail crime

Dothan Eagle

OIG Audit: USPS Can’t Rationalize ‘Network Rationalization’

APWU News

USPS OIG: Has the Postal Service's workplace gotten better or worse over the last 10 years and why?

USPS OIG Blog

Post Office Gave Wings to Aeronautic Progress

Huffington Post

USPS Report on PRC Rate and Service Inquiries for December 2009

Postal Reguatory Commission (.pdf file)

Springfield, MO MLK Celebration Highlights City's First Black Postal Worker

KSPR TV Springfield, MO

Man attempts suicide at Athens (GA) post office

Athens Banner Herald

More TSP Investment Options?

Federal News Radio

Monday, January 18

The future for intelligent mail is bright

Kevin Conti, Pitney Bowes Business Insight
BtoB Magazine

Current PRC Chairperson Once Advocated Privatization of the Postal Service

Postal Employee Network

Leaving the Mailstream (Follow-up)

Courier, Express, and Postal Observer

Post office leaves stamp on downtown

Post office out, contract station in
Port Huron Times Herald

Delivery workers are often rescuers

Columbus (OH) Dispatch

Linda Welch named Acting Southeast Area VP

USPS News Link

OIG, USPIS launch workers’ comp fraud initiative

USPS News Link

Sunday, January 17

Area mailboxes broken into, but no one’s talking

Fort Worth Star-Telegram
see also: "Watchdog Nation Alert: Don’t use the outdoor mailboxes at post offices anymore"

Martha Coakley backs plan to unionize FedEx

Boston Herald

Editorial: Congress - let USPS run its own business

Washington Greene PA Observer-Reporter

Saturday, January 16

New procedure isn't helping post office

Vacaville (CA) Reporter

Opinion: What's Wrong With Post Office

by James Bertolone, President APWU Rochester, NY
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Pit bull dogs corner mail carrier

Springfield (MO) News-Leader

Postal worker spots fire, firefighters quickly extinguish blaze

Logansport (IN) Pharos-Tribune

What happens to the junk mail?

North Penn (PA) Reporter

Higher airline baggage fees create opportunity for luggage shippers (including USPS)

Los Angeles Times

Senators Collins and McCaskill call for review of USPS contracting policies

Press release

OPM Authorizes Federal Departments to Solicit for Haiti Relief

Office of Personnel Manaagement

Sioux City Mail Carriers Continue Fighting Snow

KPTH TV Sioux City IA

Battle to save Philadelphia L&DC shifts to "expedited arbitration"

Gloucester County Times

Postal Rate Cap Finishes Year in the Red

Dead Tree Edition

Singing Mailman wins $25,000 on "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire"

WHIZ TV Zanesville OH

USPS helps stamp collectors stick to their favorite hobby

Chicago Sun-Times

Friday, January 15

Postal Service Holding All Mail to Haiti

Acceptance of Mail Remains in Place
Press release

APWU, USPS meet with judge on Philadelphia L&DC closure

Gloucester County Times

At One Post Office, Slogan Is: "We Mis-Deliver For You!"

Gothamist

Customers, workers fight mail processing change

Grenada (MS) Star

Key Largo post office says it’s exempt from sewer mandate

KeysNet.com

Police investigate Malden (MA) post office after threat

WHDH-TV Boston

Hundreds attend Postal hearing meeting in Tupelo

Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal

No Southern California trip for BOG

postalnews blog

WV Senator Rockefeller Urges USPS to Keep All Wheeling Processing and Distribution Center Employees

Press release

Opinion: Postal Service should stop abetting tax evasion

Buffalo News

Postal Workers Seek Answers in Public Meeting

WMBB Panama city FL see also: Locals oppose USPS consolidation, again -

Bowling Green Postal Consolidation Debate Continues

WBKO TV Bowling Green KY

Wheeling Mayor Seeks Another Plan From Postal Service

Wheeling (WV) Intelligencer

Michigan snowplow service wants postmaster to pay up

WSJV TV South Bend IN

Mail litters highway in Florida

Fort Myers News-Press

From Stagecoach to Electric T3s and CitiVans: U.S. Postal Service Delivering Green

Gas 2.0

Not a Smooth Move: Postal Service Hides Change-of-Address Forms

Dead Tree Edition

Lette carrier killed in South Carolina shooting left three children; fund set up at local bank

Georgetown (SC) Times

Thursday, January 14

White House, unions reach deal on taxing insurance coverage

Washington Post

DOL Will Recover $1.8 Million In Back Wages From USPS Mail Hauling Contractor

Dept. of Labor press release

There's more than just two carriers in the small parcel market

Purchasing.com

PRC Orders USPS to Terminate Two Nonpostal Services

postalnews blog

What to do with Periodicals?

Rag Content

Vehicle crashes into North Carolina Post Office

Northwest Observer

Laurel (KY) people express concerns over Postal Service proposal

Corbin KY Times Tribune

Sad End: Body of Missing Postal Employee Found In Creek

WOIO TV Cleveland

PRC Comment Period Extended in Post Office Suspension Investigation

PRC Press release

Columbus residents skeptical about sending mail services to Macon

Columbus (GA) Ledger-Enquirer

Congressman asks USPS OIG to Investigate Delivery Disruption of New York State Pension Checks

Press release

Wheeling postal jobs heading to Pittsburgh?

West Virginia Public Broadcasting

2010 Rural Mail Count Guide Full Version

Rural Carrier Updates

Mystery deepens in case of missing postal worker

WJW TV Cleveland

USPS holds hearing on moving Bristol work

Bristol (VA) Herald Courier

Postal Service rejects "hand delivery" of mail in Massachusetts town

Milford Daily News

Suit: Court Reporter Claims Postal Inspector Threatened Her for Info

Fox TV Chicago

Proposed postal rate hike could affect local newspapers

Hillsboro (KS) Star-Journal

Wednesday, January 13

Intelligent Mail Volume Triples in Four Weeks

USPS Press release

Leaving the Mailstream One Customer at a Time

Courier, Express, and Postal Observer

Editorial: Decision to close San Antonio post office was flawed

San Antonio Express-News

Burrus: Can Parcels Save the Postal Service?

APWU News

PRC Chair Wants To Hear From You

Big Fat Marketing Blog

Ohio: Frazeysburg mail carrier to appear on 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire' | coshoctontribune.com | Coshocton Tribune

Coshocton Tribune

Man Pleads Guilty To Bribing Postal Official

WCMH TV Columbus OH

Proposed Daytona postal move would cost local jobs

Daytona Beach News Journal

Massachusetts postal worker sentenced to 8 months for drug distribution

Lynn Daily Item

Former Georgia carrier admits to stealing letters after sting

Florida Times Union

Woman finds trash bags full of unopened mail

Canton (OH) Repository

Ohio: Police are looking for a 49-year-old postal worker missing since Thursday

Cleveland Plain Dealer

Grand Forks postman sentenced for driving a mail truck while drunk

Grand Forks (ND) Herald

APWU: USPS Medical Units Phase-Out Begins

APWU News

USPS Station Closings And Impact On ZIP Code

NonProfit Times

TSP Balances: Size Counts

Federal News Radio

Tuesday, January 12

Postal update: USPS General counsel finds no contracting violations in Bernstock deals

(Not a big surprise, since counsel presumably OK'd the contracts beforehand- no word on when the OIG will issue its opinion.)
Fedline - The Federal Times Blog

NY State Comptroller calls for investigation into lost pension checks

WSTM TV Syracuse

Update on the Rural Carrier pay problem

NRLCA via Ruralinfo.net

Six ways direct mail will thrive in the new year

"Don’t Call It a Comeback"
USPS Deliver Magazine

Former Grygla, Minn., postmaster enters guilty plea in theft case

Grand Forks Herald

Headquarters won't require all regular rural routes to be counted

... but Areas and Districts may
Ruralinfo.net

NY State pension checks, at last, land in Syracuse-area mailboxes

Syracuse Post-Standard
see also Postcom's take on the story -

Ex-mail carrier awaits delivery of sentence

Jacksonville (IL) Journal Courier

Post office-on-ice opens on Minnesota's Medicine Lake

Minneapolis Star Tribune

Postal Inspector calls 911 after shooting wife, then kills himself

KOLD TV Tucson

Firms Hold Fast to Snail Mail Marketing

Wall Street Journal

Monday, January 11

Former Postmaster sentenced to prison

WVVA TV Bluefield Beckley WV

PRC report values one-day-per-week Postal Service delivery cut in billions

DMNews

Changing Culture and Contracting Violations

A different perspective on the Bernstock affair
Courier, Express, and Postal Observer

Bernstock directed $1.3 million in no-bid contracts to former business associates

OIG investigating possible misconduct
Federal Times
earlier: Postal boss moonlights for cash from corporations -

Wheeling Post Office Debate Opens to Public This Week

WTRF-TV Wheeling WV

Netflix Announces Multiple Partners to Instantly Stream Movies and TV Episodes from Netflix to the TV

Press release

Meeting set Tuesday on Daytona consolidation

Daytona Beach News Journal

USPS Proposes New Standard For Mailing Replica Or Inert Explosive Devices

Federal Register

Detroit Carriers Alerted After Two Robberies

Detroit News

Dedicated delivery

Webster City IA Daily Freeman Journal

Sunday, January 10

Glitch leaves 20,000-plus rural mail carriers without paycheck

Lewiston (ME) Sun Journal

Saturday, January 9

At funeral, postal workers deliver special tribute

MetroWest (MA) Daily News (updated, with photos and video)

Former postal worker on trial in disability fraud case

Glens Falls (NY) Post Star

Daytona Beach Processing Center Closure May Slow Service

WFTV Orlando

Lima postal ‘study’ doesn’t add up

Delphos (OH) Herald

Thousands of New York state pension checks remain lost in mail

Syracuse Post-Standard

Lawmakers lobby to save Elmira postal jobs

Elmira (NY) Star-Gazette

Oklahoma: Postal carrier indicted on theft charge

Associated Press

Weather Slows Down Deliveries

KAAL TV Austin MN

Frosty delivery: Cold and snow deliver challenges to mail carriers

Ames (IA) Tribune

Letter delivered years late held lost words of a lost loved one

Sarasota Herald Tribune

Friday, January 8

Status Report on the Postal Service’s Network Rationalization Initiatives

"...management has been unable to adjust resources to fully offset mail volume declines, resulting in a deteriorating financial condition."
USPS Office of the Inspector General (.pdf file)

UPS Cuts Jobs without Public Hearings

Courier, Express, and Postal Observer
and from the same author: Cutting Management at UPS -

Board of Governors to meet in closed session in Newport Beach CA on Monday and Tuesday

Federal Register

UPS to Cut 1,800 Jobs, Says Profit Exceeds Forecast

Bloomberg

Video from public meeting on Lima consolidation

postalnews.tv
see also the print report from the Wapakoneta Daily News -

Minnesota woman sentenced for bomb threats aimed at post offices

Minneapolis Star Tribune

Editorial: More details needed on San Antonio post office closure

Abrupt decision to close downtown post office raises questions
San Antonio Express News

Former Baltimore Letter Carrier Sentenced For Stealing Treasury Checks

WBAL Radio

California: USPS Supervisor pleads guilty to theft and embezzlement charges

DOJ Press release

Some Newark Mail Processing Operations Moving To Kearny P&DC

USPS Press Release

Sundance postal fight lives on

Steamboat Springs (CO) Pilot

NY State Comptroller Rips Postal Service For Missing Checks

North Country Gazette

Mail carrier rescues injured man on frigid afternoon

Southgate (MI) News Herald

Thursday, January 7

Postal employee accused of stealing credit cards

WBBH TV Fort Myers

29,000 misadressed cards shipped in Post Office snafu

New York Daily News

Arson investigated in San Francisco collection box fires

KGO TV San Francisco

Editorial: Keep Mail First Class

Bangor Daily News

Lima residents question post office consolidation plans at public meeting

Van Wert (OH) Times Bulletin

Payroll problem means up to 14,000 rural carriers may not get paid this week

Rural Carrier Updates

USPS career staffing drops below 600,000

postalnews blog

Boston: South Postal Annex rail deal collapses

Boston Globe

Philadelphia L&DC staff preps for exit

Gloucester County Times

Would A Lottery Bail Out the Postal Service?

Dead Tree Edition

Butterfly stamp will simplify postage for irregular shaped greeting cards

USPS News Link

Bronx post offices still in danger

YourNabe.com

Sunday funnies stamps: Why not Doonesbury and the Far Side?

... and why Archie?
NBC San Diego

DMers: Use rate freeze as a time to test new strategies and technologies

DMNews

Wednesday, January 6

Mail safeguards on Capitol Hill don't extend to politicians' district offices

Mobile Press-Register

Former postal worker gets probation for theft

Rochester (NY) Democrat and Chronicle

Postal worker charged in Christmas Eve traffic death

Richmond Times-Dispatch

Downtown Washington (MO) post office to be sold, converted to contract operation

The Missourian

60 to lose jobs when contractor's equipment service center closes

Greensboro News-Record

Re-regulating the Postal Service?

Courier, Express, and Postal Observer

New Jersey: USPS manager sentenced for stealing gift cards worth nearly $25,000

Newark Star Ledger

550 Philly L&DC employees begin transfer process

Camden Courier-Post

New York: 60,000 pension checks lost in the mail

WIVB TV Albany

OIG refers case against Columbus (GA) Postmaster to US Attorney

postalnews blog

Postal deficit may lead to less delivery

Marketplace From American Public Media

Mail Machines To Move Out Of Elmira Next Month

WENY-TV Elmira NY

Hamburg (MI) post office to close

"temporary emergency suspension... there is no time frame"
Livingston Daily

Postal workers: Leave our mail alone

Local union opposes Postal Service plan to consolidate in Pensacola
Pensacola News Herald

Madison Township (OH) PO trying to keep its doors open

Mansfield News Journal

Postal workers irked by slow response to defibrillator request

Minneapolis Star Tribune

Your 2010 Lucky Numbers: Tips for employees nearing retirement

Federal News Radio

Tuesday, January 5

APWU Wants to Hear From Members in Small Offices

"Some employees have had hours reduced to two hours per week; others have been forced to travel to distant offices; many have surrendered — and terminated their employment."
American Postal Workers Magazine

US Postal Service targets younger demographics with iPhone app

DMNews

All TSP funds see gains in 2009

Federal News Radio

Alabama: Letters prompt anthrax scare

WALA TV Mobile

The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act: Overview and Issues for Congress

OpenCRS.com (.pdf file)

Postal Service considers closing Columbus mail processing center, consolidating work in Macon

Columbus (GA) Ledger-Enquirer

Retired Jackson Postmaster says public should weigh in to protest post office move

Jackson (TN) Sun

Public Expresses Concern Over Possible Bowling Green Move

WBKO Bowling Green (KY)

Ex-U.S. postal worker sentenced to 180 days in jail for stealing $24K worth of gift cards

Newark Star Ledger

Monday, January 4

A firefighter in postal workers' clothing recalls how he lifted a car off of a 10-yr-old boy

Saginaw News

Get Letters On The Internet With Zumbox

MyFox Illinois

Negotiating Changes in Retiree Health Payments

Courier, Express, and Postal Observer

Public meeting on Lima consolidation set for Wednesday

Wapakoneta Daily News

Postal boss moonlights for cash from corporations

Robert Bernstock makes more from his corporate clients than from his "full-time" job overseeing the USPS shipping and mailing division
Washington Times
see also: USPS executive bonuses for 2008 -

Paying Postal Executives

"The scandal here is not Mr. Bernstock's compensation, nor is it his positions on outside board of directors. The scandal here is that if the Postal Service needs a new senior management team to turn it around, it cannot easily hire from the entire executive talent pool available."
Courier, Express, and Postal Observer

New USPS shipping rates take effect today

postalnews blog