LAKE COUNTY — Lake County was spared in the recent decision by the U.S. Postal Service to close thousands of post offices across the country.
The Postal Service announced on July 26 that it would close more than 3,600 of its 31,871 post offices in an effort to save money.
Postmaster General Patrick Donohue said the closures and other moves, such as a proposal to reduce service to five days a week that is under consideration, are necessary to close a $20 billion gap in revenue by 2015.
More than 100 post offices in California have been identified by the Postal Service for closure. Some of the closures on the list are in urban areas, such as the San Francisco Bay Area and greater Los Angeles. But many are in under populated rural areas, especially in remote areas in the north.
Lake County will not lose any of its 13 post offices. Mendocino County also has no cities on the list. But some of the other surrounding counties have offices on the list to be shut down.
Those counties not as fortunate include Yolo County (two), with the downtown Davis location in Davis and the lone location in Zamora identified; Sonoma County (two), in Camp Meeker and Villa Grande, will also see offices closed.
In Napa County, the post office at the Veterans Home location in Yountville is on the list.
The unincorporated communities of Artois in Glenn County and Grimes in Colusa County are also on the shutdown list.
“The Postal Service of the future will be smaller, leaner and more competitive and it will continue to drive commerce, serve communities and deliver value,” Donohue said.
The U.S. Postal Service reported a net loss of $2.2 billion for the first quarter of 2011 alone. This followed $8.5 billion in losses for 2010 and $3.8 billion in losses for 2009.
Kevin N. Hume can be reached at kevin.n.hume@gmail.com or call directly 263-5636 ext. 14.
