These postal workers are done delivering and have own town "...The ZIP code is 33856, and it belongs only to them.
Well, them and a few alligators.
To make the waiting list for an apartment, an applicant must fork over a postal money order for two months' rent. No checks, thank you. Only a transfer issued by the Postal Service will do..."
Reference: www.miamiherald.com
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POSTAL NEWS
...from various sources.4.27.2008
Another Article on Postal Carrier Town (Nalcrest, Florida)
Classic Car Stamps Preview
Postal Service provides ‘sneak peek’ at Classic Car Stamps "...Ever wanted to own a classic car but couldn’t afford one? Later this fall, 50 million Detroit classics will roll out of the nation’s 37,000 Post Office show rooms as the second issuance in the America on the Move commemorative stamps series. The 50s Fins and Chrome 42-cent First-Class stamps go on sale Oct. 3, and feature paintings by renowned automobile illustrator Art. M. Fitzpatrick—a ’57 Chrysler 300C, ’57 Lincoln Premiere, ’57 Pontiac Safari, ’57 Studebaker Golden Hawk and a ’59 Cadillac Eldorado. The stamps were modeled after cars still on the road today...."
Reference: www.usps.com
© 2007 USPS. All Rights Reserved.
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4.25.2008
Postal Red Flag
Mailbox flags may be tipping off thieves
"... Residents who pay bills by putting a check in an envelope, placing the letter in a mailbox outside their home and pulling up the little red flag are making it too easy for thieves in Thousand Oaks..."
Source: www.toacorn.com
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TSP May Begin Automatic Participation
Board to press for automatic TSP enrollment of new employees
"...draft legislation prepared by the board, new or rehired employees would have 3 percent of their basic pay automatically contributed to one of TSP’s L Funds as soon as they begin work, unless they specifically decline to participate. Employees would have 90 days to opt out of the program and receive a full refund. ..."
Source: www.federaltimes.com
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4.22.2008
USPS Purchasing New Equipment as Revenue Declines
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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Post Office in McCausland, Iowa
Postmark Power "...The official reason for the shutdown was mold contamination. Not of the customers or employees, but of the building itself. But USPS brass have a long history of consolidating small post offices into giant city or suburban mail processing facilities. When this happens the local postmark often disappears. So, sometimes, do jobs. ..."
[Reference: www.federalnewsradio.com]
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Man Admits Stealing $10K In Postage Stamps
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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4.21.2008
Harold Weidner Retires
People Profile --Weidner put ‘stamp’ on his family, postal career
"...a gentleman who likely never carried an extra pound of body fat — courtesy of a 17-mile all-walking route almost daily for years; and a route that eventually grew nearly 10 miles starting a quarter century or so back with the coming of a jeepster-looking vehicle that ushered in a more mechanized U.S. Post Office — Weidner can boom out a laugh that would make jolly ol’ Santa Claus proud when he recalls $1.38 per hour was his initial wage when he began working as a part-time postal service employee more than 50 years ago..."
[Reference: www.brenhambanner.com]
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Postal Worker Saves Falling Infant
Postal worker saves infant who fell from second-floor window "...City police said Lisa Harrell was making a package delivery to 306 Second St. about 11 a.m. when she noticed the child in an upstairs window that was open and did not have the screen pulled down. Harrell started to walked to the front door when she was struck in the head, police said. Unsure of what hit her, she put her arms out and the child fell into her arms, according to police...."
[Reference: www.dailygazette.com]
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Ruben Salazar Postage Stamp
Stamp to honor slain journalist, UTEP alum Ruben Salazar "...Credited with giving a voice to Hispanic Americans during the 1960s, University of Texas at El Paso alumnus Ruben Salazar will be honored on a U.S. postage stamp this month as part of the American Journalists Series...."
[Reference: elpasotimes.com]
Ruben Salazar, from the Los Angeles Times Photographic Archive (Collection 1429), Department of Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA
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4.20.2008
PREPARATIONS BEGIN FOR 2008 NPMHU NATIONAL CONVENTION
2008 NPMHU NATIONAL CONVENTION "...scheduled to take place at Disney’s Grand Floridian Hotel in Orlando, Florida during the week beginning on August 10, 2008.
During the past several months, most of the Local Unions have conducted elections to choose those mail handlers who will serve as delegates at this year’s Convention. The results have been tabulated, and almost four hundred mail handlers from across the country will serve as elected delegates. ..."
[Reference: www.npmhu.org]
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USPS and Universal Coverage
Paul Fleischman: Politics hits home in Aromas "...claim that the rent for the site had quadrupled was contradicted by the owner's real estate agent. Though the asking price is low, he showed no interest in buying. Though it was confirmed that this office loses money, he went through verbal contortions to avoid saying so, no doubt because the U.S. Code specifically prohibits the USPS from closing rural post offices simply because they're unprofitable -- a Bill of Rights protecting the weak from the business model...."
[Reference: www.santacruzsentinel.com]
File Under: Universal Coverage
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Nalcrest, Florida: Postal Carrier Community
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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4.19.2008
USPS Introduces New Website: www.usps.com/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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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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Profile: 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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4.18.2008
Postal Service Deviates from Tax Night Past Practice
[Tuscaloosa, AL]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]
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2009 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]
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Postal Union Makes Donation to Help Save a Post Office
[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]
File Under: Unions Helping Communities, Union Donations
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4.15.2008
Huntsville Post Office Drop-Off Collection Points for 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.
File Under: Post Office Extended Hours
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Postal Union Presidential Endorsements
Same Uniform: Different Commander in Chief
"...Unlike the "white collar" civil service, where union membership is low in most agencies, the USPS is probably the most unionized operation in government. Eight of every 10 employees who are eligible to join a union do so. Other unions or groups representing employees include the Mail Handlers, Rural Letter Carriers..."
[Reference: www.federalnewsradio.com]
File Under: most unionized operation in government
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4.14.2008
Economy Worries World Leaders
Food Inflation, Riots Spark Worries for World Leaders "...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: World Bank
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4.11.2008
Postal Voluntary Early Retirement Authority:
Define and Describe Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA)
Voluntary Early Retirement offers apply to employees covered under both the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). When an agency has received VERA approval from OPM, an employee who meets the general eligibility requirements may be eligible to retire early. The employee must:
1. Meet the minimum age and service requirements -
* At least age 50 with at least 20 years creditable Federal service, OR
* Any age with at least 25 years creditable Federal service;
2. Have served in a position covered by the OPM authorization for the minimum time specified by OPM (usually 30 days prior to the date of the agency request);
3. Serve in a position covered by the agency's VERA plan; and
4. Separate by the close of the early-out period.
[Reference: www.opm.gov]
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USPS Early Retirement
USPS early retirement "...in regards to USPS early retirement options to CSRS employees. ..."
[Reference: www.federaltimes.com]
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Deter Mail Theft
Mailbox flags may be tipping off thieves "...At one time those small boxes outside homes seemed to be untouchable because of the strict penalties set by the federal government for anyone who tampered with them. Now there are thieves who drive around town opening one mailbox after another, emptying them of all of their contents, he said...."
[Reference: www.toacorn.com]
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4.10.2008
Postal Employee Credit Card Misuse
This Round Is On You "..."A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single credit card." Adaptation of ancient Chinese proverb..."
[Reference: www.federalnewsradio.com]
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Stealing Gov. Checks From Mail
Illegal Alien Receives 3 Years For Stealing Gov. Checks From Mail "...Uliser-Reyes and his associates followed postal carriers on their postal routes. After the carriers deposited the mail in apartment panel mailboxes, the conspirators broke into the mailboxes and stole U.S. treasury checks and other government-issued checks...."
[Reference: somd.com]
File Under: Cluster Boxes
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FedEx Driver Accused Of Stealing Rx Drugs
200 Undelivered Packages Found At Driver's Home "...Authorities said most of the packages were sealed, but about 24 containing prescription drug deliveries for people in Union County were opened..."
[Reference: www.foxcarolina.com]
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4.08.2008
Most Trusted Government Agency
U.S. Postal Service Again Honored as ‘Most Trusted’ "...“We have a 230-year tradition of trust. Americans depend on the security of the mail and they trust the Postal Service to protect their privacy,” said Delores Killette, vice president and consumer advocate. “Our employees work hard to maintain that trust. They earned this honor and recognition for their contribution to the value that trust brings to the organization, and to the country.”..."
[Reference: www.usps.com]
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Mail Network Protection Act
Ten More U.S. Representatives Co-Sponsor Mail Network Protection Act "...The legislation, introduced last November by Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA), would require the Postal Service to bargain with postal unions before it engages in significant contracting-out and protect inexpensive, trustworthy mail service for the American public...."
[Reference: www.apwu.org]
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4.04.2008
Find a Postal Mailbox in Your Area
Find a USPS Blue Postal Mailbox in your area: Mailbox Locator
[Reference: www.payphone-project.com]
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Postal Retirement
Polled and Pushed on Diversity "...About 26,000 federal employees, who are paid through the General Services Administration, are in the first phase of RetireEZ. The U.S. Postal Service, with about 700,000 employees, will join the retirement modernization project next. The OPM expects that about 2,000 postal employees will file retirement claims every month and that will provide a better sense of how the new system functions, Springer said...."
[Reference: www.washingtonpost.com]
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4.02.2008
Postal Service High-Speed Sorters Get Smarter, Faster
Board of Governors Approve Funding for New Technology "...the Board also approved funding to purchase 400 computer systems to replace existing National Directory Support System (NDSS) and the Integrated Data System (IDS). The Postal Service’s 13,000 automated sorting machines process 212 billion letters, large envelopes (flats) and packages annually. Key to these operations is providing information to the machines to enable proper mail sorting and retrieving information from the machines about their operations..."
[Reference: www.usps.com]
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APWU Suit Dismissed by Federal Court
Federal Court Dismisses APWU Suit "...“The court decision raises an important question,” he said: “Why hasn’t the president established the Postal Service Advisory Council, which is required by the Postal Reorganization Act? If the USPS is exempt from the requirements of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, clearly it is governed by this requirement. Appointments to the Postal Service Advisory Council should be made.”..."
[Reference: www.apwu.org]
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Photo Stamps
Create your own real postage stamps with your photo of choice "...put your own picture on your stamps. Imagine sending a birthday card to your mother ...when she gets it in the mail, it has a stamp on it that is a picture of her holding you in her arms...."
[Reference: postal-edaily.blogspot.com]
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Chantilly Virginia Post Office Tested Positive for Tuberculosis
Chantilly Postal Workers Test Positive for Tuberculosis "...a worker at the post office had an active case of the disease. Fairfax County health officials found that 32 of the more than 120 employees had been exposed..."
[Reference: www.washingtonpost.com]
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Federal RetireEZ Update
New Program is permanently transforming retirement process "..."We are pleased to report the majority of cases that processed to date under RetireEZ matched the legacy calculation," said OPM Director Linda M. Springer. "In all Wave 1 cases OPM paid full retirement benefits at the payment commencement date. No longer are retirees under the new system receiving interim payments and waiting for months until their actual payment amounts are calculated. This success is directly attributable to the transformation of millions of paper records to automated data that underlies the modernization. All Wave 1 new retirees are getting better service because of RetireEZ."..."
[Reference: www.opm.gov]
www.retireez.gov
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