us postal service holidays

us postal service holidays

The Postal Service starteddelivering the 2009 holiday season by issuing the Winter Holidays stamps yesterday and the Hanukkah and Kwanzaa stamps today at the American Stamp
Dealers Association Mega Stamp Show in New York City. The 2009 Christmas:
Madonna and Sleeping Child by Sassoferrato stamp will be dedicated Oct. 20,
2009, at the Hearst Castle in San Simeon, CA, where the original painting is
located. These popular figures are seen throughout the holidays, decorating homes,
schools, and stores from Thanksgiving to New Year's. They also appear in gift
wrap designs and are the subjects of several favorite songs and stories. As
stamp art, they will add a festive touch to letters and cards sent to friends
and family.

This is the first Postal Service stamp project for artist Joseph Cudd. His
company, Brushworks Studio, in Greensboro, NC, is primarily a gift wrap and
print design firm. To create these stamps under the direction of Richard
Sheaff of Scottsdale, AZ, Cudd first sketched the designs by hand and then
finished them on the computer using a graphics tablet. More than 1.5 billion
44-cent First-Class stamps are available in booklets of 20 and ATM booklets of
18.


The new 2009 Hanukkah design features a photograph of a menorah with nine lit
candles. The menorah was designed by Lisa Regan of the Garden Deva Sculpture
Company in Tulsa, OK, and photographed by Ira Wexler of Braddock Heights, MD.
Carl T. Herrman of North Las Vegas, NV, was the art director. All 35 million
44 cent First-Class stamps, available in sheets of 20, go on sale tomorrow.

usps holidays

usps holidays

Columbus Day is one of eleven federal holidays that close down the USPS post office locations and halt mail delivery. However, many post office locations will be closed for good if the U.S. Postal Service approves the possible consolidation of 371 retail stations and branches. The U.S. Postal Service is expecting a deficit of at least $5 billion this . According to an announcement by the USPS on October 9, a review process that started earlier this summer examined approximately 3,600 stations and branches in urban and suburban areas across the country to determine where consolidations might be feasible.

In a speech last week at the National Press Club in Washington, Postmaster General John Potter said that the USPS could save $20 million to $100 million by closing facilities. With nearly 37,000 Post Offices, stations, branches, contract and community post offices, the Postal Service has the largest retail network in the United States. An additional 56,000 retail locations sell stamps and nearly 18,000 ATMs also dispense sheets of stamps. Postage can also be purchased at usps.com and printed on personal computers.

The consolidation announcement is part of the Station and Branch Optimization and Consolidation initiative that is currently being reviewed by the Postal Regulatory Commission. The filing does not represent a final decision on consolidation. To date, no facility-specific final decisions have been made by the United States Postal Service as a result of this initiative.