postalnews.com: January 2012

(hmmm... $13 billion overfunded for pensions, $42 billion sitting in the Treasury's "trust fund"... why on earth would anyone think that the USPS "financial crisis" is phony?)
Mailing Systems Technology

Democrats Oppose Additional Cuts to Federal Pay and Benefits

postalnews blog

AFGE Statement on Federal Employee Retirement Hearing

Press release

Board of Governors to meet February 8

Federal Register

New 45-cent commemorative stamps unavailable to many post offices

Watertown NY Daily Times

Editorial: Delaware plant closing a "blunder"

Wilmington News Journal

Dear Print, We Print Buyers Now Want an Open Marriage

Dead Tree Edition

Fired letter carrier on trial for attempted murder testifies

Albany, CA Patch

Video shows mail carrier allegedly stealing prescription medicine

KDVR Denver

Postal Regulatory Commission unveils new rules for handling post office closing appeals

Federal Times

Dennis Ross introduces bill to reduce federal workers' pensions

Federal Times

Wednesday, January 25

Netflix CEO: DVD subscribers to decline now and forever

CNET

USPS contracting officer sentenced to prison for fraud

AccessNorthGa.com

Fired Postal Worker Pleads Guilty to Attacking Hartford Postmaster

NBC Connecticut

USPS Launches ’2nd Ounce Free’ for commercial mailers

Press release

Postal worker sentenced to seven months in prison for workers comp fraud

postalnews blog

Senate Poised to Consider Postal Bill

postalnews blog via NAPUS

We Already Have A Veterans Job Corps -- It's Called the Postal Service

Dead Tree Edition (link corrected)

USPS issues latest Lunar New Year stamp: Year of the Dragon

postalnews blog

Tuesday, January 24

OPM: Fixing retirement backlog 'vitally important'

Federal News Radio

Hacker Valley WV celebrates post office victory

Charleston Gazette

Dayton, NJ carrier arrested, facing charges in connection with fraudulent tax refund scheme

Press release

Issa Says USPS is Committee’s Priority, And Should Cut 260,000 Employees

Courier Express and Postal Observer

USPS shoots for $1 billion in annual EDDM sales

USPS News Link

Invisible Hands: The Businessmen’s Campaign to Dismantle the Post Office

Save the Post Office

Video: VA Rep. Connolly Offers Proposal To Help USPS

postalnews blog

Video: 72 year old postal worker admits stealing, hoarding bulk mail for ten years

postalnews blog via Fox Houston

Man finds dumpster full of mail

Federal Way (WA) Mirror

Funky Catalog Formats That Work

DIRECT

Monday, January 23

USPS: A New Year, An Old Failure

USPS name change breaks ecommerce apps
LexiConn blog

Truck loaded with mail burns in Georgia

Florida Times Union

Arbitration likely in postal comtract talks

Federal Times

Coalition asks Congress not to force federal employees to finance payroll tax holiday

postalnews blog

USPS issues “Dogs At Work” stamps

postalnews blog

GOP targets tax delinquents- but only if they work for the federal government

postalnews blog

Six Day Delivery and H.R. 2309

Courier Express and Postal Observer

Congressman says Buffalo plant closing violates environmental law

postalnews blog

Holiday gift goes missing at USPS for more than a month

The Oregonian

Sunday, January 22

Stamp prices go up as postal labor talks fail

Washington Post

Making sense of the Post Office financial situation

Lewiston Sun Journal

A new pledge to fix late, shoddy mail

Virginia Gazette

Seeing Providence (Rhode Island)

Going Postal

Saturday, January 21

Kansas: Postal worker accused of stealing drugs from mail

postalnews blog

Man accuses post office of losing expensive baseball card collection, jewelry

Detroit Free Press

Former postmaster: Closing post offices not the way to save money

Huron Daily Tribune

Friday, January 20

USPS declines to extend contract talks; NALC ‘disappointed’

Union to seek agreement in mediation
NALC

Mail Handler contract talks stall: impasse declared

NPMHU

USPS mail handler, city carrier contract negotiations fail

USPS Press release

NALC: A bipartisan majority in the House backs six-day mail delivery

postalnews blog

Reminder: US postage raes go up Sunday

postalnews blog

Postal Service issues “Aloha Shirt” stamps

postalnews blog

eBay Warns Sellers to Prepare for USPS Postage Rate Changes

eCommerce Bytes

Rep. Higgins: USPS "We Deliver Jobs" sign is a “slap in the face” to postal workers

postalnews blog

Man who took mail carrier hostage get 15 years in prison

Oshkosh Northwestern

Postal worker gets prison time for workers' comp fraud

Cleveland Plain Dealer

Politicians pitch salvation plan for Delaware plant

Wilmington News Journal

Postal Service is hiring despite threat of closure

Buffalo News

Which of These 4 Print-Related Giants Is Headed for Bankruptcy? Cast Your Vote

Dead Tree Edition

Thursday, January 19

Federal pay and benefits remain at risk as Congress returns

Government Executive

Boston letter carrier sentenced to prison for stealing credit card

Press release

Southern Maine mail hub could benefit again from consolidation

The Forecaster

NAPS: Senate Could Take Up Postal Measure Soon

postalnews blog

Congress’s Six-Figure Benefits Add to $674 Billion U.S. Pension Shortfall

Hypocrisy alert: Newt Gingrich, Dick Cheney among politicians collecting six figure federal pensions
Bloomberg

Columnist: Return postal cuts to sender, prioritize mail delivery

Omaha World-Herald

New Jersey mayor calls PO closing meetings "dog and pony shows"

"I think the decision has already been made"
Jersey Journal

Video: USPS takes back 1976 magazine delivered in 2012

WPLG TV Miami

Custer's last stand and your retirement

Federal News Radio

Susan Collins: USPS cannot be allowed to fail

Sanford (ME) News

USPS Asks PRC to Accelerate Review of Network and Service Cuts

Press release

Wednesday, January 18

A post office worth preserving

Save the Post Office

APWU: Postal Workers Have the Right to Speak Out Against Facility Closures

APWU News

Video: Careless letter carrier caught on camera

postalnews blog

Minnesota carrier accused of stealing money from greeting cards

Albert Lea Tribune

OPM sends Congress its plan to fix retirement services

Washington Post

Arbitrator rules that USPS's 2010 rural time study violated contract

ruralinfo.net

APWU: OIG Report on USPS Health and Safety Program “of little value” - postalnews blog

APWU News

Letter: Postal workers aren't 'mules'

Fredericksburg Free Lance–Star

Tuesday, January 17

eBay Raises Cost of Domestic Goods, Lowers Costs of Asian Imports (with the help of the USPS?!)

eCommerce Bytes

New York man charged with assaulting letter carrier

Mid-Hudson News Network

Abaq.us Announces USPS Certification for myGeoTracking Cloud-Based GPS Location Service

Press release

USPS “Mail Works Guarantee” experiment flops

postalnews blog

Hoping for a miracle: Small towns across Minnesota are on the brink of losing their post offices

Minneapolis Star Tribune

Contract units aid USPS

Raleigh News and Observer

Opinion: USPS its own worst enemy

Waltham News Tribune

Police: Man broke into post office for bath salts

York Dispatch

Under Siege: The Outlook for Print Media Is Even Worse Than We Thought, Expert Says -- But Publishers May Prosper

Dead Tree Edition (link corrected)

Monday, January 16

IG: USPS plant consolidations were justified

Federal Times

Postal history: Highway Post Office, 1958

Southeast Missourian

A Round of Alplaus

Going Postal

Postal Services on Holidays

Courier Express and Postal Observer

Report: Global Postal Services Market to Reach US$323.6 Billion by 2015

Global Industry Analysts

Post Office Closings in 2011: Lists, maps, the whole mess

Save the Post Office

Proposed postal service closing concerns Ozarks businesses

Springfield (MO) News-Leader

To Avoid Collapse The Post Office Should Deliver Health Care And Other Services

Forbes

Sunday, January 15

Clarence Boggan delivers more than the mail

Letter carrier who was paralyzed walks on to inspire those on his route
Charlotte Observer

Bulk mailer puzzles over possible mail center closure

Wenatchee (WA) World

Checks being pushed aside as governments sign on to e-payments

Indianapolis Star

Connecticut mailers back postal service cutbacks

Hartford Business Journal

Competing bills aim to fix Postal Service

Springfield (MO) News-Leader

Saturday, January 14

Wisconsin post office shut down suddenly due to "mold problems"

Pierce County Herald

A Look Inside the Consumer Price Index and Postal Rate Increases

MailBlogx

SUV Rear Ends Postal Vehicle, Pinning Letter Carrier

WCMH TV Columbus OH

Hiring freeze leaves town with limited postal service

Enid (OK) News and Eagle

Congressman seeks meeting with PMG on Buffalo plant closing

postalnews blog

Candy-eating raccoons leave mess in post office

Omaha World Herald

Friday, January 13

APWU Warns Members: Beware of Risks in USPS Campaign for Voluntary Transfers to Letter Carrier

APWU News

Postmaster Pay Talks Continue

postalnews blog

USPS set to encourage transfers to the letter carrier craft

postalnews blog

Letter Carrier Bites Back Against Dog Owner

Hartford Courant

North Carolina residents just now receiving catalogs, ads for holiday shopping

Charlotte Observer

Editorial: Time to reconsider postal plan

Minot Daily News

USPS Sued in Dispute Over Campaign Mailers

Businessweek

Video: Post offices reach end of the road in the US

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

The Check’s in the Mail — for Two More Days

The U.S. Postal Service's decision to end next-day delivery could tie up millions of dollars in working capital.
CFO Magazine

Thursday, January 12

Bridgeport clerk admits to embezzling union funds, stealing money orders

Connecticut Post

The OIG wants your opinion on post office closings

Save the Post Office

Retirement Incentives at the USPS

Why does the USPS offer less than other downsizing agencies?
Courier Express and Postal Observer

New USPS App for iPhone Scans Shipping Labels for Package Tracking

Press release

Garon: Bring back postal savings

CNN

At crammed forum on possible postal cuts, Collins says ‘proposal could create a death spiral’

Bangor Daily News
See also: Senator Snowe Opposes USPS Consolidation Plan for Hampden Facility -

New York postal worker gets probation for money order fraud

Ithaca Journal

More than a mail carrier: He's a hero

Journal-News (NY)

Snail Mail’s Slow Death by Government Intrusion

Rockland County Times

Residents, business owners oppose Postal Service plan to shutter Teterboro NJ plant

Bergen Record

Lawmakers have postal workers backs in Wallingford CT

WTNH via postalnews blog

Myth, Reality, and the U.S. Postal Service

Pitney Bowes VP rebuts columnist's attack on USPS
Pitney Bowes

Wednesday, January 11

Retiree Health Benefits Causing Financial Strain on Employers

Compdata Surveys

Residents rally to protest possible Gary Post Office closure

Northwest Indiana Times

Postal Service releases photo of Arizona mail theft suspect

postalnews blog

Editorial: Postal problems make us sick

"H.R. 1351 would stabilize the best mail delivery system in the world."
Christian County (MO) Headliner News

Thrown Overboard: Publishers Feel Abandoned by the U.S. Postal Service

Dead Tree Edition

Tuesday, January 10

Who failed, Amazon or the USPS?

Courier Express and Postal Observer

USPS Selects Verizon as a Prime Contractor to Help Manage Advanced Communications Platform

Press release

Measuring the Impact of Network Optimization

Courier Express and Postal Observer

"This Post Office will not be closed in vain"

Save the Post Office

Proposed cuts worry businesses that lean heavily on USPS

Erie Times-News

Man Pretending To Be Mail Carrier Robs North Carolina Family

WITN TV

Idaho letter carrier gets probation for drug package theft

KTVB Boise

Saving Our Local Post Offices: Congressman Urges Postal Service to Explore Other Cost-Cutting Alternatives

postalnews blog

Saving the Post Office: The Models of Kiwibank and Japan Post

Truthout

Nice Touch: West Newbury, Vermont

Going Postal

Danny Thomas Immortalized; Entertainer and Humanitarian Honored on Forever Stamp

postalnews blog

Monday, January 9

California Postal Worker Sentenced To Prison For Workers’ Compensation Fraud

Press release

Get a Bunch of Free Discount Coupons by Pretending to Move?

Lifehacker

Video: Senator Bernie Sanders Fights for the Postal Service

postalnews blog

Mass Appeals at the PRC

Save The Post Office

First day cover arrives 37 years late

Foxboro Reporter

New Hampshire: Contract post office closes; town vows to fight on

Concord Monitor

The last post looms for the US mail

The Independent

USPS looks to outsource network management

postalnews blog

Video: Veteran Fights Federal Government For Pension Check

postalnews blog

Video: Portland OR postal workers rally against cuts

postalnews blog

Businesses object to plan to close Wallingford postal center

Meriden Record Journal

Sunday, January 8

Mail and Elections

Courier Express and Postal Observer

Post office closings worry many in West Virginia

Charleston Gazette

Ohio postal worker injured after vehicle crash

Dayton Daily News

U.S. Postal Service tries to survive in new era

Toledo Blade

Saturday, January 7

Probation for Postal Employee That Tried Stealing Charity Checks

NBC4 Washington

Massachusetts letter carrier's call helps injured elderly man

SouthCoastToday.com

Letter carrier, police help senior couple escape Westchester NY blaze

The Journal News

Video: Mail carrier helps woman who fell and couldn’t get up

postalnews blog

New plan would further delay mail delivery for Volusia residents

Daytona Beach News-Journal

Verdi residents struggle without their torched post office

Reno Gazette-Journal