stamps were stolen

Melcher Used Newspaper, Tin Foil To Trick Machines, Prosecutors Say "...and four other people allegedly stole $10,486 worth of stamps and other postal property between October and December 2006, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. The stamps were stolen from vending machines inside the post offices, the paper reported...."
[Reference: www.thebostonchannel.com]

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New USPS Equipment

New equipment to lower USPS costs as revenue declines "...Postmaster General John Potter said the agency’s quarterly revenue indicators were “bad.” “These are not normal times,” Potter said. “Economic problems have deepened … and they have been sending waves of turbulence through the Postal Service.”..."
[Reference: www.federaltimes.com]

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Postal Carrier Town USA: NalcRest, Florida

Retired postal workers have town to call their own "...Located on 300 acres, about 7 miles east of Lake Wales in Polk County, Nalcrest contains 500 apartments. They are full, almost exclusively, with former carriers and their spouses. The village is meant to provide a safe, social and warm retreat for the mail veterans, most of whom completed their 25 to 30 years of service...."
[Reference: www.palmbeachpost.com]

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New American Flag Stamps Issued

American Flag Never Looked So Beautiful "... Each of the four first-class stamps features a painting created by Laura Stutzman of Mountain Lake Park, MD. “I’m a huge fan of painted flags,” says Stutzman, who used gouache on illustration board to capture the “living, breathing force” of her subject.

The Flags 24/7 stamps will be available for purchase in Post Offices, on usps.com, and by calling 800-STAMP-24 starting Friday, April 18, 2008..."
[Reference: www.usps.com]

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Postal Arbitration

Profile: Qualified for Medicare and Still Works as Arbitrator-Mediator "...flying to Oklahoma City and, then, driving to Elk City, Oklahoma in order to arbitrate a dispute between the US Postal Service and the American Postal Workers Union there over a staffing issue. In fact, Helburn has often arbitrated contract interpretation and discipline issues in the past at many other US Post offices in the Southwest and Southeast, as he has also done at Federal Express and Southwest Airlines too, among others...."

[Reference: www.fedsmith.com]

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Human Remains Lost in the Mail

Lost in the Mail "...Now, postal officials from Texas to Virginia to USPS headquarters in Washington, who were alerted to the unfortunate set of circumstances late Friday by Inside the Beltway, are scrambling to find not only the remains, but also determine how something so horrific occurred in the first place..."
[Reference: washingtontimes.com]

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Postal Service Goes Green

USPS launches "green" Web site "...promoting the agency's eco-friendly products and services, as well as recommended “green” practices for mailers. The new Web site can be accessed at www.usps.com/green. ..."
[Reference: www.dmnews.com]

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Jacksonville Beach post office finds new home

The new site is at 1348 Beach Blvd. in a shopping center. "...The new post office at 1348 Beach Blvd. in a corner of the shopping center where two buildings join, will require four tenants to move to other space in the complex. Rosenberg said the agency will spend about $4.2 million to retrofit the 10,000-square-foot facility. The post office will make the move over a weekend so it won't disrupt service, he said..."
[Reference: www.jacksonville.com]
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Union Donation

[APWU] Union’s Big Contribution Helps Save Small-Town Post Office "...The APWU has given a one-of-a-kind gift to the people of McCausland, Iowa: a donation of $30,000 to help save their post office. The contribution will pay for renovations to a building the small town purchased in order to stave off threats by the USPS to discontinue regular postal service for its 300 residents...."

Reference: APWU]

Federal CSRS and FERS COLA

Retiree COLA Gets Sweeter "...FERS employees get a reduced COLA (usually 1 percentage point less than the actual rise in inflation) starting at age 62...."
[Reference: www.federalnewsradio.com]


File: 2009 COLA Forecast

Postal Service Ends Tax Night Tradition in Some Areas

Post office lacks customer service "...Joseph Breckenridge, the U.S. Postal Service's Alabama spokesman, tried to turn the situation on its head. The Postal Service didn't announce there would be extended hours on April 15, so customers shouldn't have expected them, he said...."
[Reference: www.tuscaloosanews.com]

File Under: Tuscaloosa, Alabama

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Post Office Extends Hours at Some Offices for Last Minute Tax Filers

Huntsville Alabama Post Office Hours, April 15 2008 Tax Day:
Drop your taxes at one of the following locations to get an April 15 postmark. The Following U.S. Postal Service Huntsville locations are open until midnight Tuesday night.

The Huntsville Processing & Distribution Facility, 3408 Wall Triana Hwy.

615 Clinton Ave.

645 Wynn Drive

2501 Mastin Lake Road

3605 Governors Drive

8401 Whitesburg Drive

File Under: Post Office Extends Hours
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Reference: Postal News Network

Post Office Extends Hours for Tax Filing Deadline

Many Post Offices across the nation will accept Blue Box collection mail until midnight April 15, to accommodate all of us procrastinating the filing of our taxes. Check your local newspapers and television stations to determine if your Post Office has extended hours for collection of tax filing.

File Under: Post Office Hours

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Food Inflation, Riots Spark Worries for World Leaders

IMF, World Bank Push for Solutions "...World Bank President Robert Zoellick warned in a recent speech that 33 countries are at risk of social upheaval because of rising food prices. Those could include Indonesia, Yemen, Ghana, Uzbekistan and the Philippines..."
[Reference: The Wall Street Journal]

File Under: Economy Worries World Leaders
World Bank

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Post Office Hours and Tax Time

Postal Service tips for last-minute tax filers "...Postal officials are encouraging customers to send their mail early in the day to avoid expected crowds and remind mailers to affix correct postage. First-class, letter-size mail requires 41 cents for the first ounce and 17 cents for each additional ounce...."
[Reference: deseretnews.com]

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National Center for Employee Development (NCED)

What is NCED? NCED is an acronym for the National Center for Employee Development which is a training and conference facility, centrally located in Norman, Oklahoma. The website explains it as the "main NCED campus at NCED is a 72-acre, postal-owned site at 24th and Imhoff Road in Norman, Oklahoma. Although the Postal Service is still NCED's biggest customer, whose employees attend job skills and information training, we also welcome other businesses and groups."

File Under: Postal Training

USPS: Age Discrimination Suit

Former letter carrier sues Postal Service "...After filing a formal complaint with the Postal Service's Equal Employment Opportunity Office in 2003, Marinelli says his boss refused to approve an incentive payment for buying a new personal vehicle, which rural carriers use to deliver mail; refused him leave and vacation time; demanded he show a doctor's note for a sick day; and unfairly increased his work load, among other complaints. Several of those disputes were settled in Marinelli's favor through his union, the suit says. Marinelli said he temporarily went on stress leave at the height of his problems...."
[Reference: www.metrowestdailynews.com]

More Sources: Age Discrimination (EEOC)

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Postal employee rights: Religion in the workplace

Circuit courts address religion in workplace "All four cases affect how much employees are protected in the workplace, and all four courts found in favor of the employer. In a final recent opinion that dealt with religion in the workplace, however (Sturgill v. UPS), a UPS employee prevailed over the delivery company that fired him for refusing to deliver packages after his Sabbath began on Friday evenings."
[Reference: www.firstamendmentcenter.org]

More Sources: Religious Accommodation (EEOC)

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U. S. Postal Service charged expenses to government purchase cards

U.S. Postal Service defends $13,500 dinner charge "...For this occasion, USPS paid for 81 dinners averaging over $160 per person for customers of the Postal Customer Council at an upscale steak restaurant. Further, USPS paid for over 200 appetizers and over $3,000 of alcohol, including more than 40 bottles of wine costing more than $50 each and brand-name liquor such as Courvoisier, Belvedere, and Johnny Walker Gold...."
[Reference: usatoday.com]

Promotional postcards prove profitable, popular

A three-partner firm found a successful niche in offering ad and mailing expertise to small businesses "...they founded Minneapolis-based PostcardBuilder, a company that has accumulated more than 2,000 clients in virtually every state and has grown to nearly $4 million in annual revenue...."
[Reference: www.startribune.com]

File Under: Bulk Mail Services

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