Wednesday, February 6, 2013
The U.S. Postal Service announced it will end Saturday mail delivery by Aug. 1. Speak out: How will this affect you?
Calling the six-days-per-week mail delivery business model “no longer sustainable,” the U.S. Postal Service Wednesday morning announced it will eliminate Saturday delivery of mail by Aug. 1. The plan to change delivery from six days a week to five would only affect first-class mail. Packages, mail-order medicines, priority and express mail would still be delivered on Saturdays, and local post offices will remain open for business Saturdays. According to the U.S. Postal Service, the reasons are continued economic struggles and the increasing use of the Internet for communications and bill paying by consumers. The U.S. Postal Service is also the only federal agency required to pre-fund health benefits for retirees, and those costs are …
Sunday, January 27, 2013
First-class postal rates are going up for the second time in two years.
While the volume of first-class mail has dropped sharply, from an all-time high of 213 billion pieces in 2006 to only 168 billion in 2011, according to New York Times story, the United States Post Service (USPS) is struggling, showing a loss of $36 million per day. The most prominent way for the USPS to recover revenue is to raise postage and mailing rates. Since 1885, when the price for the first ounce of a first-class letter was $0.02, rates have increased 24 times and will jump to $0.46 as of Sunday, January 27, 2013. According to a press release from the USPS, the price of a Forever Stamp - which allows a customer to send a one-ounce letter anywhere in the United States - will go up one penny to $0.46. Each additional ounce of a …
Monday, January 7, 2013
Montgomery County police are investigating a string of thefts involving outgoing mail containing checks.
Police are investigating a string of thefts where victims have placed outgoing mail in mail boxes, often containing checks to pay bills, only to have it stolen and the checks altered and cashed at local banks. The thefts began in November 2012 and have occurred throughout the county, according to a police release. “Police are recommending that citizens drop important outgoing mail at local post offices or in a U.S. Postal Service mailbox,” the release states. “Another option to consider is not using the ‘flag’ on your mailbox as an alert that there is mail waiting in your box.” Residents can report suspicious situations or individuals by calling 9-1-1 or using the police non-emergency number, 301-279-8000.
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Take note of these holiday shipping deadlines, and plan accordingly.
Time is running out for holiday gift and card shipping through the U.S. Postal Service. Mail parcels and packages by Dec. 14 for parcel post delivery by Christmas, and cards by Dec. 21, the post office's blog advises. If you miss those days, though, you're still OK—as long as you're fine with paying a little extra. Here are the absolute-last-day deadlines to keep in mind, according to the U.S. Postal Service's holiday calendar: One more date to keep in mind is Monday, Dec. 17: Traditionally, the post office's "busiest day is ... the Monday before Christmas as people mail cards and packages they prepared over the weekend," The Huffington Post reported last year. A good way to cut down on time spent waiting in line is to order your holiday …
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
The U.S. Postal Service postpones the proposed nationwide cuts until mid-May.
The post office at Leisure World in Silver Spring is on the list of 3,700 post offices around the United States that the U.S. Postal Service plans to close, in order to cut costs. But the ax won’t drop during the holiday season. The U.S. Postal Service announced Tuesday that it will delay the closings until mid-May, according to The Washington Post. Is the Postal Service on its last legs? Do you think there will be more cutbacks--and how soon will they come? Tell us in the comments. For more information on the delayed closings of post offices nationwide, check out this blog post on The Washington Post.
Margarete Levy
6:19 pm on Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Almost 9000 people live in Leisure World! Supposedly the US Post Office decided to make closings based upon their specious assumption that "everyone" uses computers for all purchasing needs. I'm certain there are a number of computer-literate seniors in Leisure World, but isn't this an illogical location choice to close? What about those who use the Leisure World shuttle to get to that post … more ›