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Improving service

Top story

Improving service
PMG updates employees in new video
4 hours ago
Happy campers
Tips for writing, sending letters this summer
8 hours ago
Places in the art
News Quiz: How much do you remember?
8 hours ago

Lounging lizard

Lounging lizard

Gator chills out at Post Office
A customer dropping off a package at 3 a.m. at the Spring Hill, FL, Post Office this month unexpectedly ran into another patron in the 24-hour lobby: a 7-foot-long alligator.
1 day ago

Baseball’s MVP

Baseball’s MVP

Stamp honors Yogi Berra
USPS will release its stamp honoring Yogi Berra, one of the best catchers and overall players in Major League Baseball, on Thursday, June 24.
1 day ago

The envelope, please

The envelope, please

Winners of PCC Leadership Awards
Winners of the 2021 PCC Leadership Awards were honored June 2 during an interactive, virtual ceremony.
1 day ago

Scanning snapshot

News Briefs

Scanning snapshot

Delivery data, dance stamps also noted
Check out this week’s scanning snapshot and read about new delivery data and the Tap Dance stamp dedication ceremony.
1 day ago

Seaver to retire

Seaver to retire

Retail, delivery chief to step down Aug. 28
Chief Retail and Delivery Officer Kristin Seaver will retire Aug. 28, concluding a Postal Service career that began almost three decades ago.
2 days ago
COVIDLeadership

Vehicle production facility selected

Vehicle production facility selected

Supplier to build NGDVs in Spartanburg, SC
Oshkosh Defense has selected a facility in Spartanburg, SC, where the company will build the Postal Service’s next-generation delivery vehicles.
2 days ago

Good morning, starshine

Good morning, starshine

USPS dedicates Sun Science stamps
The pane of 20 Forever stamps, feature 10 stunning images of the sun captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory.
3 days ago

Stay stocked

Stay stocked

Post Offices must keep burial flags on hand
Through the organization’s Burial Flag Program, all retail Post Offices serve as a burial flag repository.
3 days ago

In good supply

In good supply

Awards presented to top suppliers
The annual awards honor suppliers that contribute to the Postal Service’s savings, increased revenue or performance results.
3 days ago

Walking the walk

Walking the walk

Meditation webinar to be held June 23
Postal Service employees can learn techniques that combine physical exercise with stress-reducing benefits.
3 days ago

PFSC updates

PFSC updates

New enhancements added to service
The Postal Service has updated the Premium Forwarding Service Commercial application to better serve business customers.
6 days ago

Service update

Service update

USPS to continue regular operations June 18-19
It is not possible to cease operations to observe the new Juneteenth federal holiday this year, Deputy Postmaster General and Chief Human Resources Officer Douglas Tulino says.
7 days ago

Out and about

Out and about

Postmaster’s tip leads to $340,000 deal
A referral from an Alabama Postmaster has led to a shipping deal worth more than $340,000 for the Postal Service.
6 days ago

First-Class Package Service

First-Class Package Service

Changes sought to improve reliability
The new standards are designed to improve use of surface transportation, while decreasing reliance on costly and less dependable air delivery.
1 week ago

Archives

Heroes’ Corner

  • Help me, Rhonda

    Employee catches distraught customer’s wave

    June 23

    Help me, Rhonda

    Employee catches distraught customer’s wave
    June 23 at midnight

    Rural Carrier Associate Rhonda Krawetzke was making deliveries one morning in December when she spotted an older customer waving for help on the side of the road near his driveway.

    Krawetzke immediately pulled into the driveway to aid the man, who had been stranded for a half-hour after slipping on ice and falling while putting out his garbage can.

    She got him up and into the postal vehicle to warm up while she let his wife know he’d taken a tumble, and the woman guided him to safety inside their home.

    “Thank goodness Rhonda was there to save him from the cold,” said local Postmaster Terri Meadows. “He and his wife are very grateful and call her their guardian angel.”

    Archives

On the Move

  • Rising to the top

    Executive, manager news

    June 22

    Rising to the top

    Executive, manager news
    June 22 at 9:09 a.m.

    Here’s a look at some recent changes in the Postal Service’s leadership ranks:

    • Four employees were named acting field operations support managers in Supply Management: Angela L. Bye, operations program support manager for Colorado-Wyoming District; Hollywood, FL, Postmaster Daniel J. Carleen; Kenneth A. Johnson II, Minnesota-North Dakota District Post Office Operations senior manager; and Michael P. Shea, a Northeast Area operations program analyst.

    • Carolina P. Catalan was named commerce and business solutions integration and support manager at USPS headquarters in Washington, DC. She previously served as the chief information officer organization’s integration and support manager.

    • Stefanie S. Cherry was named business solutions network modeling director in Carol Stream, IL. She previously served as operations industrial engineering field integration manager.

    • Patrick R. Ecker was named fleet strategy and support executive manager at headquarters. He previously served as a digital business financial evaluation specialist.

    • Gina M. Feyre was named the Windsor, CT, Facility Services Category Management Center’s executive manager. She previously served as a Level IV contracting officer.

    • Louisville, KY, Postmaster Toni W. Franklin retired May 28 after 36 years with USPS.

    • Gentry Grandberg, the Kansas City, MO, Processing and Distribution Center’s lead senior manager, was named the Kansas City, KS, Network Distribution Center’s acting plant manager.

    • Timothy M. Haney was named fleet operations executive manager at headquarters. He previously served as customer experience measurement and analytics manager.

    • Steven E. Jarboe was named shipping and commerce strategy director in Jacksonville, FL. He previously served as Gulf Atlantic District’s senior plant manager.

    • Karen F. Key was named shipping and commerce product management director at headquarters. She previously served as shipping products and services director.

    • Taneka Lawson was named operations industrial engineering executive manager at headquarters. She previously served as an operational excellence coach.

    • Michael Lloyd was named strategy and planning director at headquarters. He previously served as human resources director for Atlantic and Eastern regions.

    • Markes S. Lucius was named commerce solutions and integration manager at headquarters. He previously served as shipping products management director.

    • Lora M. McLucas was named Denver Postmaster. She previously served as Littleton, CO, Postmaster.

    • Neftali “Nefty” Pluguez was named Puerto Rico District manager. He previously served as Fort Myers, FL, Postmaster.

    • Navjot Quinteros was named the chief information officer organization’s integration and support manager at headquarters. She previously served as strategic initiative project manager.

    • David P. Rouse was named facilities real estate and assets director at headquarters. He previously served as realty assets program manager.

    • Terry M. Schram was named facilities repair and alteration west director at headquarters. He previously served as facilities program management director.

    • Julia Sigg, the South Suburban, IL, Processing and Distribution Center plant manager, retired May 31 after 33 years with the Postal Service.

    • Talaya S. Simpson was named retail and delivery operations integration and support manager. She previously served as corporate communications strategic manager.

    • Jay L. Smith was named enterprise and key accounts director at headquarters. He previously served as enterprise accounts director.

    • Tina M. Sweeney was named Phoenix Postmaster and Chris J. Yazzie was named Albuquerque, NM, Postmaster. Both previously served as Arizona-New Mexico District Post Office operations managers.

    • Falonda L. Woods was named Atlanta Postmaster. She previously served as Tyler, TX, Postmaster.

The List

  • Here come the suns

    6 examples of solar activity

    June 22

    Here come the suns

    6 examples of solar activity
    June 22 at 9:05 a.m.

    The new Sun Science stamps feature photos taken by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, then colorized to highlight important phenomena. Here are the six processes depicted.

    1. Active sun. This golden-hued stamp features a 2014 image that highlights the sun’s transition zone — a 60-mile area about 1,300 miles from the sun’s surface that goes from 40,000 degrees Fahrenheit to 1.8 million degrees. The unusual temperature change is a mystery to scientists. Why does the temperature get hotter farther out?

    2. Coronal holes. The corona is the sun’s outer layer. Cooler, less dense areas that are magnetically open, allowing solar winds to escape the corona, are called coronal holes. Two stamps depict them: The purple is from 2016 and is calibrated to 3.6 million degrees F; the light yellow was taken in 2011 and is calibrated to 1.8 million degrees F.

    3. Coronal loops. These are formed when solar material travels along magnetic fields to form arcs above the sun. The loops are thought to be a key to solving the mystery of the sun’s unusual temperature changes. They are often found in active solar regions and can exist briefly or last for weeks. Two stamps depict coronal loops: The yellow is from 2012 and the red is from 2015.

    4. Plasma blasts. The website Livescience describes a plasma blast this way: If you think of solar winds as the breath of the sun’s corona, plasma blasts are its energetic burps. Also known as coronal mass ejections, these proton-electron clouds are carried upward by solar winds, belched out at astronomical speeds. Two orange-tinted stamps depict the phenomenon, one from 2012 and the other from 2014.

    5. Solar flares. Solar flares are bursts of electromagnetic radiation that last for brief periods of time — minutes or hours. Solar flares usually do not penetrate Earth’s atmosphere, but when they do, there can be interference in communications systems. Two stamps, teal and blue, show the same flare from 2011. The teal image highlights the extreme heat of the flare, while the blue image highlights a region of heightened magnetic activity — areas where flares often originate.

    6. Sunspots. Sunspots are cooler areas in the sun’s photosphere, its base atmospheric layer. They can be several Earths in diameter and crop up in regions of heightened magnetic activity. The website Space.com likens sunspots to the cap on a soda bottle: When you shake a soda, the contents might explode through the cap. When there are areas of heightened magnetic activity on the sun, plasma blasts or solar flares could erupt through a sunspot.

    Archives

Mailbag

  • Denise Varano, North Reading, MA:

    I love Link’s weekly “News Quiz.” It’s a fun challenge that keeps me up to date with accurate information.

    Archives

Latest videos

  • ‘USPS All-Employee Message’ Today
  • ‘2021 Supplier Performance Award’ June 21
  • ‘Dog Bite Awareness’ June 16
  • ‘Dollars and Change’ May 26

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