Once a municipal landmark found in even the smallest communities, the neighborhood post office is slowly going the way of the handwritten letter. So much so that the U.S. Postal Service is considering closing nearly 1,000 of its smaller branches nationwide, with dozens of them in California.
But even as the Postal Service weighs public reaction, small communities worry that they'll lose a needed service. And in places like San Juan Capistrano, officials are fighting to save their post offices.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Tuesday, August 25, 2009 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 4 National Desk 2 inches; 73 words Type of Material: Correction
Post office closures: An article in Monday's Section A about the U.S. Postal Service considering closing nearly 1,000 of its smaller branches nationwide said that if the sole postal facility in San Juan Capistrano were closed, it would force residents to go to one 10 miles away in Mission Viejo. That post office is five miles away, and there are several other facilities within a 10-mile radius of the San Juan Capistrano branch.
When the agency last month released the names of the offices that could be closed, the south Orange County town was astounded that its single branch was on the list, which also includes six offices in San Diego, five in Santa Ana, four each in Newport Beach and Long Beach and dozens more across the state.
"This is a gathering place for people and has been for years," said Pam Lytle, a real estate agent, as she mailed a package and bought stamps at the post office, which is next to a dental office and down the street from City Hall. "Closing it would just be a big no-no."
Closing the facility would force residents to trek to a larger one 10 miles away in Mission Viejo. And it wouldn't be much consolation that that office, founded before the neighboring suburb had incorporated, still bears the name San Juan.
City leaders are united in opposition to the possible shuttering of the sole post office in the community of 36,000.
"We pride ourselves on a small-village feel and character, and we encourage our community to shop and take care of business locally," Mayor Mark Nielsen said outside the post office as customers streamed in and out. "It certainly would create a large void and make it tremendously inconvenient for a number of our citizens."
With officials describing its financial position as grave, the Postal Service is under pressure to cut expenses. Mail volume has plummeted not only because of the recession, but because most messages these days are e-mailed and more postal transactions are conducted online -- a trend the agency calls "ongoing electronic diversion."
The agency earlier this month projected a net loss of $7 billion by the end of the fiscal year Sept. 30. Officials said that the list is preliminary and that no offices will be closed without studies and public meetings.
"It's not a hit list, and there are no decisions made yet," said Richard Maher, a Postal Service spokesman. "We're calling it a consolidation."
