Postal Service

Congressman David Dreier (R-CA), Chairman of the House Rules Committee, asked House Government Reform Chairman Tom Davis (R-VA) Wednesday to look into reports of mail delivery problems in communities along the foothills. Responding to local complaints about erratic and unpredictable mail service, Dreier sent a letter to Davis asking Davis to address the concerns of residents and business owners in Dreier's district, which includes the Crescenta Valley. Similar reports of irregular mail service in the greater Los Angeles area prompted the Government Reform Committee to announce that it will hold a hearing on the issue.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) on Tuesday called on the U.S. postmaster general to abandon plans to close and sell the historic post office on Broadway in Glendale as part of a nationwide effort to rein in costs. In his letter, Schiff said closing the office at 313 E. Broadway “would mean a significant degradation in services for the community” and do little to achieve the agency's goal. Richard Maher, spokesman for the U.S. Postal Service, said officials are considering closing the building, but would relocate services to a smaller retail site nearby.

Postal service pushing address changes online GLENDALE -- The U.S. Postal Service is encouraging customers to use a system that would make it easier to make notifications of address changes during peak moving seasons. The Postal Service's online MoversGuide system allows customers to file changes of address online. About 44 million addresses are changed each year, but June, July and August represent a heavier-volume season for changes, officials said.

The U. S. Postal Service will have a community event, "Learn to Sell on eBay and Ship with the Postal Service," next month. People will learn all about selling items on eBay and shipping them to their customers through the U. S. Postal Service. It is for businesses or people wanting to sell things around their house. There is no cost to the participant, and they will also receive an eBay CD. If obtained from eBay, the CD would cost them $20. The seminar will be from noon to 1:30 p.m. on Friday, June 16 at the Glendale Main Post Office, at 313 E. Broadway Ave. Parking is available behind the Postal Service.

Josh Kleinbaum When Chiyomi Hino Niwa looked through her window Thursday morning and saw Santa Claus walking down the balcony of her apartment building, she couldn't believe it. "She called me, 'Come quick, come quick,'" said Hideki Niwa. "I couldn't believe it." The next thing they knew, Santa Claus was knocking on their door, a gift in hand. "Ho ho ho, Merry Christmas!" said Santa, also known as Bill Capps, a letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service.

Postal workers held a rally Tuesday in Pasadena outside the office of Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank), protesting a proposal to end Saturday deliveries and close thousands of postal facilities. The rally was part of a national effort protesting plans to close about 250 of the Postal Service's 487 mail centers and shutter about 3,700 post offices. The closures would impact more than 35,000 employees nationwide. Two post offices in Pasadena are on the closure list. The cuts are being made as the Postal Service reports losing about $8.5 billion in revenues last year.

Rima Shah Pushing 11 boxes, stacked one on top of the other, Steve Sierra waited in line on a recent afternoon to be helped at the Glendale Post Office. Sierra, who trades in autographed memorabilia, said his business picks up rapidly during the holidays and expects to be in the post office every day to mail orders. And since sometimes he makes it in just before the post office closes at 5 p.m., he would appreciate longer hours. Post office workers understand.

Alecia Foster MONTROSE -- Three little words on the U.S. Postal Service's new stamp conveyed a strong message to Katelyn Fritts. "When I see the 'United We Stand' stamp, I always think of everyone working together," the Fremont Elementary School fifth-grader said. The student and others at Fremont were recently invited to share their thoughts on the new stamp in an essay contest sponsored by the North Glendale Post Office. Katelyn and Michael Breeden, also a fifth-grader, were named winners in the contest.

Karen S. Kim LA CRESCENTA -- Assemblywoman Carol Liu (D-La Crescenta) will participate in 2001 China Expo-USA's grand opening ceremony Dec. 7 in Los Angeles. The ceremony will include a ribbon cutting, speeches and the unveiling of a new Chinese commemorative "Year of the Horse" stamp by the U.S. Postal Service. More than 100,000 people are expected to visit the 500 booths of the exposition, which runs from Dec. 7 to 9 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

The following information was taken from police reports: 1706 Standard Ave.: The operations manager of SCP Distributors LLC reported Tuesday that piping worth $2,215 was stolen from the company's warehouse. 1009 W. Pacific Ave.: A customer service supervisor for the U.S. Postal Service reported Tuesday that 14 postal trucks were vandalized. The damages were estimated at $2,230. 400 block of North Central Avenue: A Glendale woman reported Tuesday that a check she made out to someone was stolen from a mailbox and cashed for $263.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) on Tuesday called on the U.S. postmaster general to abandon plans to close and sell the historic post office on Broadway in Glendale as part of a nationwide effort to rein in costs. In his letter, Schiff said closing the office at 313 E. Broadway “would mean a significant degradation in services for the community” and do little to achieve the agency's goal. Richard Maher, spokesman for the U.S. Postal Service, said officials are considering closing the building, but would relocate services to a smaller retail site nearby.

Postal workers held a rally Tuesday in Pasadena outside the office of Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank), protesting a proposal to end Saturday deliveries and close thousands of postal facilities. The rally was part of a national effort protesting plans to close about 250 of the Postal Service's 487 mail centers and shutter about 3,700 post offices. The closures would impact more than 35,000 employees nationwide. Two post offices in Pasadena are on the closure list. The cuts are being made as the Postal Service reports losing about $8.5 billion in revenues last year.

  TIMOTHY JAMES O’SULLIVAN  February 2, 1922-June 18, 2011  Tim O’Sullivan, a former broadcaster and labor leader, passed away peacefully June 18th.  He was born on February 2, 1922, in Kittanning, Pennsylvania.  He grew up in Cleveland, and when he was a teenager, his family moved to Muncie, then Ft. Wayne, Indiana, which he always considered his home. He started a career in radio as a radio sportscaster at age 17 in Muncie.  He served in the Army Air Corps 8th Air Force, 384th bomb group, in World War Two, and he was highly decorated, and he reached the rank of first lieutenant.   He was stationed at Grafton Underwood, Northamptonshire, England, and met a local girl, Kathleen Teresa Cooper, known to her family and friends as Terry.  After leaving the service, he wrote to propose.  They have been happily married since late 1946.

GLENDALE — U.S. Postal investigators on Tuesday issued a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of a man who burglarized the La Crescenta branch Sunday night on Foothill Boulevard. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service released video surveillance photographs of the man, whom they described as black, 6 feet tall, and wearing jeans, boots, a plaid shirt, purple cap and possibly a mask. Postal investigators and Glendale police officers arrived at the post office at 3300 Foothill Blvd.

GLENDALE — Three people were arrested Wednesday for allegedly posing as joggers and stealing $500,000 worth of personal checks from Glendale and Los Angeles mailboxes, police said. Alfred Araza, Jung Kim and Cesar Austria, all of Los Angeles, targeted quiet and affluent Glendale neighborhoods for their runs, during which they used counterfeit keys to break into residential and apartment building mailboxes, Glendale Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said. “They were trying to fit into neighborhoods as joggers,” he said.

Times sure changed for the postal service Today I am putting 44-cent postage on my letters! Does anyone remember when we had not one, but two deliveries a day and the postage was only 3 cents? I do! FRANCIS ADAMS Glendale   Writer is spot-on about budget mess I would like to compliment Trent Sanders for his outstanding letter in the May 13th edition of the Glendale News-Press urging a no vote on Prop 1A. It seems like more and more of us are waking up to the abuses we are suffering under the incompetent leadership of our current state elected officials, including Gov. Schwarzenegger.

Postage rate being increased on May 11 The US Postal Service has announced a rate increase effective May 11, 2009. A first class letter will go from 42 cents to 44 cents. There will be no change in the additional ounce rate of 17 cents per ounce. Postcard rates will be raised one cent, from 27 cents to 28 cents. To avoid the rate increase, letter writers are encouraged to purchase “Forever” stamps. These stamps are first class stamps that have no postal denomination printed on them.

The U. S. Postal Service will have a community event, "Learn to Sell on eBay and Ship with the Postal Service," next month. People will learn all about selling items on eBay and shipping them to their customers through the U. S. Postal Service. It is for businesses or people wanting to sell things around their house. There is no cost to the participant, and they will also receive an eBay CD. If obtained from eBay, the CD would cost them $20. The seminar will be from noon to 1:30 p.m. on Friday, June 16 at the Glendale Main Post Office, at 313 E. Broadway Ave. Parking is available behind the Postal Service.

Rep. David Dreier (R-San Dimas) has asked for an inquiry by the Committee on Government Reform into the U.S. Postal System's service delivery. Dreier is requesting the investigation based on several complaints from his constituents and small business owners in his district, including La Crescenta, according to a letter written to the committee's chairman, Rep. Thomas Davis III (R-Virginia). "We have had so many problems in our district," said Mark Harmsen, district representative in Dreier's office.

Congressman David Dreier (R-CA), Chairman of the House Rules Committee, asked House Government Reform Chairman Tom Davis (R-VA) Wednesday to look into reports of mail delivery problems in communities along the foothills. Responding to local complaints about erratic and unpredictable mail service, Dreier sent a letter to Davis asking Davis to address the concerns of residents and business owners in Dreier's district, which includes the Crescenta Valley. Similar reports of irregular mail service in the greater Los Angeles area prompted the Government Reform Committee to announce that it will hold a hearing on the issue.