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<title>Northern Virginia Postal Customer Council RSS Feed</title>
<itunes:subtitle>Northern Virginia Postal Customer Council</itunes:subtitle>
<link>http://www.novapcc.org/en/rss</link>
<description></description>
<itunes:author>Mike Furey</itunes:author>
<image>
<url>http://www.novapcc.org/tresources/en/images/icons/tendenci34x15.gif</url>
<link>http://www.novapcc.org</link>
<title>Northern Virginia Postal Customer Council and Podcast</title></image>
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<copyright>Copyright 2010 Northern Virginia Postal Customer Council</copyright>
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<webMaster>Mike Furey</webMaster>
<pubDate>Wed, 10 Mar 2010 20:36:44 GMT</pubDate>
		<item>

			<category>Events</category>

			<link>http://www.novapcc.org/en/cev/43</link>

			<title>Fairfax Post Office Tour/Informational Session</title>

			<description>&lt;div class=&quot;vevent&quot;&gt;
&lt;a class=&quot;url&quot; href=&quot;http://www.novapcc.org/en/cev/43&quot;&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;summary&quot;&gt;Fairfax Post Office Tour/Informational Session&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;tdtstart&quot;&gt;Start Date:&lt;/span&gt; &lt;abbr class=&quot;dtstart&quot; title=&quot;20100317T130000Z&quot;&gt;17-Mar-10 9:00 AM&lt;/abbr&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;tdtend&quot;&gt;End Time:&lt;/span&gt; 
&lt;abbr class=&quot;dtend&quot; title=&quot;20100317T163000Z&quot;&gt;17-Mar-10 12:30 PM&lt;/abbr&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;tlocation&quot;&gt;Location:&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span class=&quot;location&quot;&gt;
Fairfax Post Office, Fairfax, VA 22030&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;tspeaker&quot;&gt;Speaker:&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span class=&quot;speaker&quot;&gt;Mike Furey &amp; Lee Garvey&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;tdescription&quot;&gt;Event Details:&lt;/span&gt; &lt;div class=&quot;description&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;Enjoy a tour of the Fairfax Post Office! Get an inside view of what happens to your mail once it arrives at your local office.&amp;nbsp; Immediately following the tour, NOVAPCC Cochairs Mike Furey &amp;amp; Lee Garvey will conduct an informational session on the future of the United States Postal Service. &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;Buffet lunch will be at the Red Hot &amp;amp; Blue restaurant located just 3 blocks from the Fairfax Post Office. &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;St. Patrick's Day Drawing - Washington Wizards tickets!&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;**Must be present to win&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;**Drawing will be held at Red Hot &amp;amp; Blue&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;vcard&quot;&gt;
&lt;a class=&quot;fn&quot;&gt;Fairfax Post Office
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;adr&quot;&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;street-address&quot;&gt;10660 Page Ave.&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;locality&quot;&gt;Fairfax&lt;/span&gt;,
&lt;span class=&quot;region&quot;&gt;VA&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;postal-code&quot;&gt;22030&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

</description>

			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.novapcc.org/en/cev/43</guid>

			<pubDate>Wed, 17 Mar 2010 13:00:00 GMT</pubDate>

		</item>

		<item>

			<category>Events</category>

			<link>http://www.novapcc.org/en/cev/34</link>

			<title>NOVAPCC Executive Board Meeting</title>

			<description>&lt;div class=&quot;vevent&quot;&gt;
&lt;a class=&quot;url&quot; href=&quot;http://www.novapcc.org/en/cev/34&quot;&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;summary&quot;&gt;NOVAPCC Executive Board Meeting&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;tdtstart&quot;&gt;Start Date:&lt;/span&gt; &lt;abbr class=&quot;dtstart&quot; title=&quot;20100317T153000Z&quot;&gt;17-Mar-10 11:30 AM&lt;/abbr&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;tdtend&quot;&gt;End Time:&lt;/span&gt; 
&lt;abbr class=&quot;dtend&quot; title=&quot;20100317T170000Z&quot;&gt;17-Mar-10 1:00 PM&lt;/abbr&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;tlocation&quot;&gt;Location:&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span class=&quot;location&quot;&gt;
Merrifield P &amp; DC, Merrified, VA 22081&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;tdescription&quot;&gt;Event Details:&lt;/span&gt; &lt;div class=&quot;description&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;Attention NOVAPCC Members:&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;You are invited to attend our monthly Executive Board Meetings held every 3rd Wednesday each month (unless stated otherwise).&amp;nbsp; Please register in advance on our website at &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.novapcc.org&quot;&gt;www.novapcc.org&lt;/a&gt; .&amp;nbsp; Share your views, insights and/or join the Executive Board.&amp;nbsp; We are always looking forward to your participation in order to make the NOVAPCC successful!&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;Lunch will be provided at a nominal fee. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;vcard&quot;&gt;
&lt;a class=&quot;fn&quot;&gt;Merrifield P &amp; DC
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;adr&quot;&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;street-address&quot;&gt;8409 Lee Highway&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;locality&quot;&gt;Merrified&lt;/span&gt;,
&lt;span class=&quot;region&quot;&gt;VA&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;postal-code&quot;&gt;22081&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

</description>

			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.novapcc.org/en/cev/34</guid>

			<pubDate>Wed, 17 Mar 2010 15:30:00 GMT</pubDate>

		</item>

		<item>

			<category>Events</category>

			<link>http://www.novapcc.org/en/cev/39</link>

			<title>Mailer''s Education Seminar&#0038;Business Exposition</title>

			<description>&lt;div class=&quot;vevent&quot;&gt;
&lt;a class=&quot;url&quot; href=&quot;http://www.novapcc.org/en/cev/39&quot;&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;summary&quot;&gt;Mailer's Education Seminar&amp;Business Exposition&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;tdtstart&quot;&gt;Start Date:&lt;/span&gt; &lt;abbr class=&quot;dtstart&quot; title=&quot;20100318T120000Z&quot;&gt;18-Mar-10 8:00 AM&lt;/abbr&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;tdtend&quot;&gt;End Time:&lt;/span&gt; 
&lt;abbr class=&quot;dtend&quot; title=&quot;20100318T191500Z&quot;&gt;18-Mar-10 3:15 PM&lt;/abbr&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;tlocation&quot;&gt;Location:&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span class=&quot;location&quot;&gt;
University of Baltimore Thumel Business Center, Baltimore, MD 21201&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;tspeaker&quot;&gt;Speaker:&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span class=&quot;speaker&quot;&gt;Tammy Edwards,&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;tdescription&quot;&gt;Event Details:&lt;/span&gt; &lt;div class=&quot;description&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;All NOVA PCC members will receive the member rate and will include all 10 sessions, continental breakfast, lunch, vendor expo and parking.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;THE BALTIMORE POSTAL CUSTOMER COUNCIL&lt;br&gt;MAILER&amp;#8217;S EDUCATION SEMINAR &amp;amp; BUSINESS EXPOSITION&lt;br&gt;UNIVERSITY OF BALTIMORE THUMEL BUSINESS CENTER&lt;br&gt;THURSDAY, MARCH 18, 2010&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;AGENDA&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;8:00 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Registration (Coffee and Doughnuts)&lt;br&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Thumel Business Center Atrium&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;VENDORS AND POSTAL CONSULTATION AREA OPEN ALL DAY&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;8:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Greeting:&amp;nbsp; Lisa Kline, Industry Co-Chair&lt;br&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Ivy Envelope&lt;br&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Opening Remarks:&amp;nbsp; William Ridenour&lt;br&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Postmaster, Baltimore&lt;br&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Vendor Remarks:&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; To be announced&lt;br&gt;Keynote Speaker:&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Tammy Edwards &lt;br&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Area Marketing Manager&lt;br&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; USPS Capital Metro Area&lt;br&gt;9:30 a.m. - 9:45 a.m.&amp;nbsp;BREAK&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *&lt;br&gt;(Please select one session)&lt;br&gt;9:45 a.m. -10:45 a.m.&amp;nbsp;Session 1&amp;nbsp;How to Boost Your Direct Mail Income With Targeted &lt;br&gt;&amp;nbsp;Web Integration&amp;nbsp; (new session)&lt;br&gt;9:45 a.m. -10:45 a.m.&amp;nbsp;Session 2&amp;nbsp;Opening, Closing or Relocating Your Mail Center (new session) &lt;br&gt;9:45 a.m. -10:45 a.m.&amp;nbsp;Session 3&amp;nbsp;Address Mgmt/Endorsement/ACS &amp;amp; MOVE Update&amp;nbsp; &lt;br&gt;9:45 a.m. -10:45 a.m.&amp;nbsp;Session 4&amp;nbsp; Mailpiece Design/Mail Quality + Intelligent Mail Barcode &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * &lt;br&gt;(Please select one session)&lt;br&gt;11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.&amp;nbsp;Session 5&amp;nbsp;It&amp;#8217;s O.K. to Mail (new session)&lt;br&gt;11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.&amp;nbsp;Session 6&amp;nbsp;Non-Profit Mail &lt;br&gt;11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.&amp;nbsp;Session 7&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Postal One &amp;amp; Other Electronic Document Submission &lt;br&gt;11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.&amp;nbsp;Session 8&amp;nbsp;Presorted Standard Mail and Flats&amp;nbsp; &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *&lt;br&gt;12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.&amp;nbsp;LUNCH&amp;nbsp;Thumel Business Center Atrium, Room 143&lt;br&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br&gt;* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *&lt;br&gt;(Please select one session)&lt;br&gt;1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.&amp;nbsp;Session 8&amp;nbsp;Navigating Postal Websites&amp;nbsp; (new session)&lt;br&gt;1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.&amp;nbsp;Session 9&amp;nbsp;Mailpiece Design/Mail Quality + Intelligent Mail Barcode&amp;nbsp; &lt;br&gt;1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.&amp;nbsp;Session 10&amp;nbsp;Postal One &amp;amp; Other Electronic Document Submission&lt;br&gt;1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.&amp;nbsp;Session 11&amp;nbsp;Presorted Standard Mail and Flats&amp;nbsp; &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *&lt;br&gt;Thumel Business Center Auditorium&lt;br&gt;2:10 p.m. - 3:10 p.m.&amp;nbsp;SUPER SESSION&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Q &amp;amp; A Forum &amp;#8211; Get answers to today&amp;#8217;s Postal&lt;br&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;questions &amp;amp; how to find answers for tomorrow.&lt;br&gt;3:10 pm&amp;nbsp;Vendor Punch Card Prize Drawing&amp;nbsp; *** Certificates will be mailed.&lt;br&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;vcard&quot;&gt;
&lt;a class=&quot;fn&quot;&gt;University of Baltimore Thumel Business Center
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;adr&quot;&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;street-address&quot;&gt;11 W. Mt. Royal Avenue&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;locality&quot;&gt;Baltimore&lt;/span&gt;,
&lt;span class=&quot;region&quot;&gt;MD&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;country-name&quot;&gt;USA&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;postal-code&quot;&gt;21201&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

</description>

			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.novapcc.org/en/cev/39</guid>

			<pubDate>Thu, 18 Mar 2010 12:00:00 GMT</pubDate>

		</item>

		<item>

			<category>Events</category>

			<link>http://www.novapcc.org/en/cev/35</link>

			<title>Mail Center Security</title>

			<description>&lt;div class=&quot;vevent&quot;&gt;
&lt;a class=&quot;url&quot; href=&quot;http://www.novapcc.org/en/cev/35&quot;&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;summary&quot;&gt;Mail Center Security&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;tdtstart&quot;&gt;Start Date:&lt;/span&gt; &lt;abbr class=&quot;dtstart&quot; title=&quot;20100318T140000Z&quot;&gt;18-Mar-10 10:00 AM&lt;/abbr&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;tdtend&quot;&gt;End Time:&lt;/span&gt; 
&lt;abbr class=&quot;dtend&quot; title=&quot;20100318T160000Z&quot;&gt;18-Mar-10 12:00 PM&lt;/abbr&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;tlocation&quot;&gt;Location:&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span class=&quot;location&quot;&gt;
Merrifield P &amp; DC, Merrifield, VA 22081&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;tdescription&quot;&gt;Event Details:&lt;/span&gt; &lt;div class=&quot;description&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;Protecting your employees and securing your mail center.&amp;nbsp; We will also address fraud in the mail and how to recognize scams and unlawful schemes. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;vcard&quot;&gt;
&lt;a class=&quot;fn&quot;&gt;Merrifield P &amp; DC
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;adr&quot;&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;street-address&quot;&gt;8409 Lee Highway&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;locality&quot;&gt;Merrifield&lt;/span&gt;,
&lt;span class=&quot;region&quot;&gt;VA&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;postal-code&quot;&gt;22081&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

</description>

			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.novapcc.org/en/cev/35</guid>

			<pubDate>Thu, 18 Mar 2010 14:00:00 GMT</pubDate>

		</item>

		<item>

			<category>Events</category>

			<link>http://www.novapcc.org/en/cev/36</link>

			<title>Mail and the Environment</title>

			<description>&lt;div class=&quot;vevent&quot;&gt;
&lt;a class=&quot;url&quot; href=&quot;http://www.novapcc.org/en/cev/36&quot;&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;summary&quot;&gt;Mail and the Environment&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;tdtstart&quot;&gt;Start Date:&lt;/span&gt; &lt;abbr class=&quot;dtstart&quot; title=&quot;20100422T140000Z&quot;&gt;22-Apr-10 10:00 AM&lt;/abbr&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;tdtend&quot;&gt;End Time:&lt;/span&gt; 
&lt;abbr class=&quot;dtend&quot; title=&quot;20100422T160000Z&quot;&gt;22-Apr-10 12:00 PM&lt;/abbr&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;tlocation&quot;&gt;Location:&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span class=&quot;location&quot;&gt;
Merrifield P &amp; DC, Merrifield, VA 22081&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;tdescription&quot;&gt;Event Details:&lt;/span&gt; &lt;div class=&quot;description&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;Being GREEN has gone mainstream and it managed to survive the recession. It's a new age of corporate responsibility - one that has its rewards, because being eco-conscious isn't only good for the environment; it's smart for the business, too. &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;vcard&quot;&gt;
&lt;a class=&quot;fn&quot;&gt;Merrifield P &amp; DC
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;adr&quot;&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;street-address&quot;&gt;8409 Lee Highway&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;locality&quot;&gt;Merrifield&lt;/span&gt;,
&lt;span class=&quot;region&quot;&gt;VA&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;postal-code&quot;&gt;22081&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

</description>

			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.novapcc.org/en/cev/36</guid>

			<pubDate>Thu, 22 Apr 2010 14:00:00 GMT</pubDate>

		</item>

		<item>

			<category>Events</category>

			<link>http://www.novapcc.org/en/cev/37</link>

			<title>Results Driven Marketing in a Down Economy</title>

			<description>&lt;div class=&quot;vevent&quot;&gt;
&lt;a class=&quot;url&quot; href=&quot;http://www.novapcc.org/en/cev/37&quot;&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;summary&quot;&gt;Results Driven Marketing in a Down Economy&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;tdtstart&quot;&gt;Start Date:&lt;/span&gt; &lt;abbr class=&quot;dtstart&quot; title=&quot;20100520T140000Z&quot;&gt;20-May-10 10:00 AM&lt;/abbr&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;tdtend&quot;&gt;End Time:&lt;/span&gt; 
&lt;abbr class=&quot;dtend&quot; title=&quot;20100520T160000Z&quot;&gt;20-May-10 12:00 PM&lt;/abbr&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;tlocation&quot;&gt;Location:&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span class=&quot;location&quot;&gt;
Merrifield P &amp; DC Room 108, Merrifield, VA 22081&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;tspeaker&quot;&gt;Speaker:&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span class=&quot;speaker&quot;&gt;Doug King&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;vcard&quot;&gt;
&lt;a class=&quot;fn&quot;&gt;Merrifield P &amp; DC Room 108
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;adr&quot;&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;street-address&quot;&gt;8409 Lee Highway&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;locality&quot;&gt;Merrifield&lt;/span&gt;,
&lt;span class=&quot;region&quot;&gt;VA&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;postal-code&quot;&gt;22081&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

</description>

			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.novapcc.org/en/cev/37</guid>

			<pubDate>Thu, 20 May 2010 14:00:00 GMT</pubDate>

		</item>

		<item>

			<category>Events</category>

			<link>http://www.novapcc.org/en/cev/38</link>

			<title>Executive Mail Center Management</title>

			<description>&lt;div class=&quot;vevent&quot;&gt;
&lt;a class=&quot;url&quot; href=&quot;http://www.novapcc.org/en/cev/38&quot;&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;summary&quot;&gt;Executive Mail Center Management&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;tdtstart&quot;&gt;Start Date:&lt;/span&gt; &lt;abbr class=&quot;dtstart&quot; title=&quot;20100608T120000Z&quot;&gt;8-Jun-10 8:00 AM&lt;/abbr&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;tdtend&quot;&gt;End Time:&lt;/span&gt; 
&lt;abbr class=&quot;dtend&quot; title=&quot;20100610T200000Z&quot;&gt;10-Jun-10 4:00 PM&lt;/abbr&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;tlocation&quot;&gt;Location:&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span class=&quot;location&quot;&gt;
Merrifield P &amp; DC Room 108, Merrifield, VA 22081&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;tdescription&quot;&gt;Event Details:&lt;/span&gt; &lt;div class=&quot;description&quot;&gt;&lt;div&gt;The EMCM program is a comprehensive training program that was designed for individuals who wish to develop Mail Center Management skills.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;vcard&quot;&gt;
&lt;a class=&quot;fn&quot;&gt;Merrifield P &amp; DC Room 108
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;adr&quot;&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;street-address&quot;&gt;8409 Lee Highway&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;locality&quot;&gt;Merrifield&lt;/span&gt;,
&lt;span class=&quot;region&quot;&gt;VA&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;postal-code&quot;&gt;22081&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

</description>

			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.novapcc.org/en/cev/38</guid>

			<pubDate>Tue, 08 Jun 2010 12:00:00 GMT</pubDate>

		</item>

		<item>
			<category>Events</category>
			<link>http://www.novapcc.org/en/cev/r/dt/2419/</link>
			<title>Postal Bulletin Issued</title>
			<description>&lt;div class=&quot;vevent&quot;&gt;
&lt;a class=&quot;url&quot; href=&quot;http://www.novapcc.org/en/cev/r/dt/2419/&quot;&gt;
&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
Start Date: &lt;abbr class=&quot;dtstart&quot; title=&quot;20100311T130000Z&quot;&gt;11-Mar-10 8:00 AM&lt;/abbr&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
End Time: 
&lt;abbr class=&quot;dtend&quot; title=&quot;20100311T140000Z&quot;&gt;11-Mar-10 9:00 AM&lt;/abbr&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;vcard&quot;&gt;
&lt;a class=&quot;url fn&quot; href=&quot;http://www.usps.com/cpim/ftp/bulletin/pb.htm&quot;&gt;http://www.usps.com/cpim/ftp/bulletin/pb.htm
&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

</description>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.novapcc.org/en/cev/r/dt/2419/</guid>
			<pubDate>Fri, 16 Jan 2009 21:38:48 GMT</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<category>Events</category>
			<link>http://www.novapcc.org/en/cev/r/dt/2420/</link>
			<title>Postal Bulletin Issued</title>
			<description>&lt;div class=&quot;vevent&quot;&gt;
&lt;a class=&quot;url&quot; href=&quot;http://www.novapcc.org/en/cev/r/dt/2420/&quot;&gt;
&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
Start Date: &lt;abbr class=&quot;dtstart&quot; title=&quot;20100325T120000Z&quot;&gt;25-Mar-10 8:00 AM&lt;/abbr&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
End Time: 
&lt;abbr class=&quot;dtend&quot; title=&quot;20100325T130000Z&quot;&gt;25-Mar-10 9:00 AM&lt;/abbr&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;vcard&quot;&gt;
&lt;a class=&quot;url fn&quot; href=&quot;http://www.usps.com/cpim/ftp/bulletin/pb.htm&quot;&gt;http://www.usps.com/cpim/ftp/bulletin/pb.htm
&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

</description>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.novapcc.org/en/cev/r/dt/2420/</guid>
			<pubDate>Fri, 16 Jan 2009 20:38:48 GMT</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<category>Events</category>
			<link>http://www.novapcc.org/en/cev/r/dt/2421/</link>
			<title>Postal Bulletin Issued</title>
			<description>&lt;div class=&quot;vevent&quot;&gt;
&lt;a class=&quot;url&quot; href=&quot;http://www.novapcc.org/en/cev/r/dt/2421/&quot;&gt;
&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
Start Date: &lt;abbr class=&quot;dtstart&quot; title=&quot;20100408T120000Z&quot;&gt;8-Apr-10 8:00 AM&lt;/abbr&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
End Time: 
&lt;abbr class=&quot;dtend&quot; title=&quot;20100408T130000Z&quot;&gt;8-Apr-10 9:00 AM&lt;/abbr&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;vcard&quot;&gt;
&lt;a class=&quot;url fn&quot; href=&quot;http://www.usps.com/cpim/ftp/bulletin/pb.htm&quot;&gt;http://www.usps.com/cpim/ftp/bulletin/pb.htm
&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

</description>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.novapcc.org/en/cev/r/dt/2421/</guid>
			<pubDate>Fri, 16 Jan 2009 20:38:48 GMT</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<category>Events</category>
			<link>http://www.novapcc.org/en/cev/r/dt/2562/</link>
			<title>Executive Board Meeting</title>
			<description>&lt;div class=&quot;vevent&quot;&gt;
&lt;a class=&quot;url&quot; href=&quot;http://www.novapcc.org/en/cev/r/dt/2562/&quot;&gt;
&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
Start Date: &lt;abbr class=&quot;dtstart&quot; title=&quot;20100421T153000Z&quot;&gt;21-Apr-10 11:30 AM&lt;/abbr&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
End Time: 
&lt;abbr class=&quot;dtend&quot; title=&quot;20100421T170000Z&quot;&gt;21-Apr-10 1:00 PM&lt;/abbr&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;vcard&quot;&gt;
&lt;a class=&quot;fn&quot;&gt;Merrifield Post Office (Room 108)
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;adr&quot;&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;street-address&quot;&gt;8409 Lee Highway&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;locality&quot;&gt;Merrifield&lt;/span&gt;,
&lt;span class=&quot;region&quot;&gt;VA&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;postal-code&quot;&gt;22081&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

</description>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.novapcc.org/en/cev/r/dt/2562/</guid>
			<pubDate>Fri, 19 Feb 2010 16:24:56 GMT</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<category>Events</category>
			<link>http://www.novapcc.org/en/cev/r/dt/2422/</link>
			<title>Postal Bulletin Issued</title>
			<description>&lt;div class=&quot;vevent&quot;&gt;
&lt;a class=&quot;url&quot; href=&quot;http://www.novapcc.org/en/cev/r/dt/2422/&quot;&gt;
&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
Start Date: &lt;abbr class=&quot;dtstart&quot; title=&quot;20100422T120000Z&quot;&gt;22-Apr-10 8:00 AM&lt;/abbr&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
End Time: 
&lt;abbr class=&quot;dtend&quot; title=&quot;20100422T130000Z&quot;&gt;22-Apr-10 9:00 AM&lt;/abbr&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;vcard&quot;&gt;
&lt;a class=&quot;url fn&quot; href=&quot;http://www.usps.com/cpim/ftp/bulletin/pb.htm&quot;&gt;http://www.usps.com/cpim/ftp/bulletin/pb.htm
&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

</description>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.novapcc.org/en/cev/r/dt/2422/</guid>
			<pubDate>Fri, 16 Jan 2009 20:38:48 GMT</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<category>Events</category>
			<link>http://www.novapcc.org/en/cev/r/dt/2423/</link>
			<title>Postal Bulletin Issued</title>
			<description>&lt;div class=&quot;vevent&quot;&gt;
&lt;a class=&quot;url&quot; href=&quot;http://www.novapcc.org/en/cev/r/dt/2423/&quot;&gt;
&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
Start Date: &lt;abbr class=&quot;dtstart&quot; title=&quot;20100506T120000Z&quot;&gt;6-May-10 8:00 AM&lt;/abbr&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
End Time: 
&lt;abbr class=&quot;dtend&quot; title=&quot;20100506T130000Z&quot;&gt;6-May-10 9:00 AM&lt;/abbr&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;vcard&quot;&gt;
&lt;a class=&quot;url fn&quot; href=&quot;http://www.usps.com/cpim/ftp/bulletin/pb.htm&quot;&gt;http://www.usps.com/cpim/ftp/bulletin/pb.htm
&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

</description>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.novapcc.org/en/cev/r/dt/2423/</guid>
			<pubDate>Fri, 16 Jan 2009 20:38:48 GMT</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<category>Events</category>
			<link>http://www.novapcc.org/en/cev/r/dt/2563/</link>
			<title>Executive Board Meeting</title>
			<description>&lt;div class=&quot;vevent&quot;&gt;
&lt;a class=&quot;url&quot; href=&quot;http://www.novapcc.org/en/cev/r/dt/2563/&quot;&gt;
&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
Start Date: &lt;abbr class=&quot;dtstart&quot; title=&quot;20100519T153000Z&quot;&gt;19-May-10 11:30 AM&lt;/abbr&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
End Time: 
&lt;abbr class=&quot;dtend&quot; title=&quot;20100519T170000Z&quot;&gt;19-May-10 1:00 PM&lt;/abbr&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;vcard&quot;&gt;
&lt;a class=&quot;fn&quot;&gt;Merrifield Post Office (Room 108)
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;adr&quot;&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;street-address&quot;&gt;8409 Lee Highway&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;locality&quot;&gt;Merrifield&lt;/span&gt;,
&lt;span class=&quot;region&quot;&gt;VA&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;postal-code&quot;&gt;22081&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

</description>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.novapcc.org/en/cev/r/dt/2563/</guid>
			<pubDate>Fri, 19 Feb 2010 16:24:56 GMT</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<category>Events</category>
			<link>http://www.novapcc.org/en/cev/r/dt/2424/</link>
			<title>Postal Bulletin Issued</title>
			<description>&lt;div class=&quot;vevent&quot;&gt;
&lt;a class=&quot;url&quot; href=&quot;http://www.novapcc.org/en/cev/r/dt/2424/&quot;&gt;
&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
Start Date: &lt;abbr class=&quot;dtstart&quot; title=&quot;20100520T120000Z&quot;&gt;20-May-10 8:00 AM&lt;/abbr&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
End Time: 
&lt;abbr class=&quot;dtend&quot; title=&quot;20100520T130000Z&quot;&gt;20-May-10 9:00 AM&lt;/abbr&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;vcard&quot;&gt;
&lt;a class=&quot;url fn&quot; href=&quot;http://www.usps.com/cpim/ftp/bulletin/pb.htm&quot;&gt;http://www.usps.com/cpim/ftp/bulletin/pb.htm
&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

</description>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.novapcc.org/en/cev/r/dt/2424/</guid>
			<pubDate>Fri, 16 Jan 2009 20:38:48 GMT</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<category>Events</category>
			<link>http://www.novapcc.org/en/cev/r/dt/2425/</link>
			<title>Postal Bulletin Issued</title>
			<description>&lt;div class=&quot;vevent&quot;&gt;
&lt;a class=&quot;url&quot; href=&quot;http://www.novapcc.org/en/cev/r/dt/2425/&quot;&gt;
&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
Start Date: &lt;abbr class=&quot;dtstart&quot; title=&quot;20100603T120000Z&quot;&gt;3-Jun-10 8:00 AM&lt;/abbr&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
End Time: 
&lt;abbr class=&quot;dtend&quot; title=&quot;20100603T130000Z&quot;&gt;3-Jun-10 9:00 AM&lt;/abbr&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;vcard&quot;&gt;
&lt;a class=&quot;url fn&quot; href=&quot;http://www.usps.com/cpim/ftp/bulletin/pb.htm&quot;&gt;http://www.usps.com/cpim/ftp/bulletin/pb.htm
&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

</description>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.novapcc.org/en/cev/r/dt/2425/</guid>
			<pubDate>Fri, 16 Jan 2009 20:38:48 GMT</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<category>Events</category>
			<link>http://www.novapcc.org/en/cev/r/dt/2564/</link>
			<title>Executive Board Meeting</title>
			<description>&lt;div class=&quot;vevent&quot;&gt;
&lt;a class=&quot;url&quot; href=&quot;http://www.novapcc.org/en/cev/r/dt/2564/&quot;&gt;
&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;
Start Date: &lt;abbr class=&quot;dtstart&quot; title=&quot;20100616T153000Z&quot;&gt;16-Jun-10 11:30 AM&lt;/abbr&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
End Time: 
&lt;abbr class=&quot;dtend&quot; title=&quot;20100616T170000Z&quot;&gt;16-Jun-10 1:00 PM&lt;/abbr&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;vcard&quot;&gt;
&lt;a class=&quot;fn&quot;&gt;Merrifield Post Office (Room 108)
&lt;br/&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;adr&quot;&gt;
&lt;div class=&quot;street-address&quot;&gt;8409 Lee Highway&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;locality&quot;&gt;Merrifield&lt;/span&gt;,
&lt;span class=&quot;region&quot;&gt;VA&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;postal-code&quot;&gt;22081&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

</description>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.novapcc.org/en/cev/r/dt/2564/</guid>
			<pubDate>Fri, 19 Feb 2010 16:24:56 GMT</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>

			<category>Articles</category>
			<link>http://www.novapcc.org/en/art/619/</link>
			<title>USPS Issues Final Rule on Catalog Droop Test</title>
			<description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;USPS Issues Final Rule on Catalog Droop Test&lt;br&gt;By Jim Tierney &lt;br&gt;Multichannel Merchant&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The U.S. Postal Service in late February published a final rule regarding eligibility for commercial flats failing the deflection or droop test in the Federal Register.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;This final rule provides revised mailing standards and price eligibility for commercial flats of all classes that don&amp;#8217;t meet the deflection standard meaning that the books are too floppy to be processed by the postal equipment.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The USPS had relaxed the deflection standards in 2007 by increasing the permitted deflection to up to 4&quot; for flat-size pieces at least 10&quot; long. The new deflection standards allow 1 less of vertical droop. (For more information about the final rule, go to: http://pe.usps.com/FRN/Deflection_final.pdf.)&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;There is ample evidence that flimsy flat-size pieces that fail to meet deflection standards cannot be processed without incurring many feeding and jamming problems, the final rule says. Therefore, we cannot continue to accept those pieces at prices that are based on our ability to process such pieces via automated processing.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Flat-size pieces that do not meet deflection standards are not currently eligible for any automation flats prices. This includes full-service IMB pieces, or mail bearing the new 65-bar Intelligent Mail Barcode. Basic standards take effect June 7, with price consequences effective Oct. 3.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Several industry watches have problems with the new droop standards. Hamilton Davison, executive director of the American Catalog Mailers Association, believes the penalties, which range from 25% to 45% of postage paid, are too stiff. The ACMA wants to help the USPS with automation, Davison says, but they could encourage us to do so with a much smaller penalty.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;And while the USPS has made some changes to make the droop test more objective, its still pretty subjective, Davison says. What&amp;#8217;s more, without having a method to test it accurately before a run, if a catalog doesn&amp;#8217;t pass, what do you do with the millions of printed pieces? he asks.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;ACMA officials have met with the USPS to suggest some ways to make the test more objective. For instance, we asked for a precertification process, Davison says, but the Postal Service didn&amp;#8217;t want to consider that.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Don Landis, vice president of postal affairs for catalog printer Arandell Corp., agrees that the new deflection test is better than the original, but it still leaves room to be subjective. I think precertification, with small lead way plus or minus, is the only way to go.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;For its part, the USPS says it already has a review process in place for working with mailers as they prepare pieces for mailing. Local acceptance and mail piece design analysts work closely with customers to help them reduce costs or improve machinability, says USPS spokesperson Yvonne Yoerge.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;It's also important that &quot;live&quot; mail pieces be reviewed, rather than test catalogs, Yoerge, since these are the actual mail pieces that will be processed. There are too many variations during the production process that could affect the final design of a mail piece, she notes: It's better for the mailers to have feedback on postproduction pieces.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The final rule also specifies that most mailers can avoid any penalty by changing the design or production of their mail pieces. For instance, Yoerge says, a different type of paper for the cover, a tab strategically placed, a different type of glue, adding an insert, could all make a piece less floppy.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Of course, most measures to make a catalog less floppy such as thicker or stiffer paperare likely to add to production costs.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Joe Schick, director of postal affairs for printer Quad/Graphics, says most catalogers should get a better feel for what passes, what fails, and what is questionable between June and October.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Well also use the time to ensure that the postal clerks are verifying the mail in the proper manner and doing it consistently across all sites, Schick adds. Come October, everyone will have to be ready to comply, because we wont see another delay.&lt;br&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt; 
&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;10-Mar-10 7:00 AM
</description>
			<itunes:subtitle>USPS Issues Final Rule on Catalog Droop Test</itunes:subtitle>
			<itunes:summary>&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;USPS Issues Final Rule on Catalog Droop Test&lt;br&gt;By Jim Tierney &lt;br&gt;Multichannel Merchant&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The U.S. Postal Service in late February published a final rule regarding eligibility for commercial flats failing the deflection or droop test in the Federal Register.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;This final rule provides revised mailing standards and price eligibility for commercial flats of all classes that don&amp;#8217;t meet the deflection standard meaning that the books are too floppy to be processed by the postal equipment.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The USPS had relaxed the deflection standards in 2007 by increasing the permitted deflection to up to 4&quot; for flat-size pieces at least 10&quot; long. The new deflection standards allow 1 less of vertical droop. (For more information about the final rule, go to: http://pe.usps.com/FRN/Deflection_final.pdf.)&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;There is ample evidence that flimsy flat-size pieces that fail to meet deflection standards cannot be processed without incurring many feeding and jamming problems, the final rule says. Therefore, we cannot continue to accept those pieces at prices that are based on our ability to process such pieces via automated processing.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Flat-size pieces that do not meet deflection standards are not currently eligible for any automation flats prices. This includes full-service IMB pieces, or mail bearing the new 65-bar Intelligent Mail Barcode. Basic standards take effect June 7, with price consequences effective Oct. 3.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Several industry watches have problems with the new droop standards. Hamilton Davison, executive director of the American Catalog Mailers Association, believes the penalties, which range from 25% to 45% of postage paid, are too stiff. The ACMA wants to help the USPS with automation, Davison says, but they could encourage us to do so with a much smaller penalty.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;And while the USPS has made some changes to make the droop test more objective, its still pretty subjective, Davison says. What&amp;#8217;s more, without having a method to test it accurately before a run, if a catalog doesn&amp;#8217;t pass, what do you do with the millions of printed pieces? he asks.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;ACMA officials have met with the USPS to suggest some ways to make the test more objective. For instance, we asked for a precertification process, Davison says, but the Postal Service didn&amp;#8217;t want to consider that.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Don Landis, vice president of postal affairs for catalog printer Arandell Corp., agrees that the new deflection test is better than the original, but it still leaves room to be subjective. I think precertification, with small lead way plus or minus, is the only way to go.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;For its part, the USPS says it already has a review process in place for working with mailers as they prepare pieces for mailing. Local acceptance and mail piece design analysts work closely with customers to help them reduce costs or improve machinability, says USPS spokesperson Yvonne Yoerge.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;It's also important that &quot;live&quot; mail pieces be reviewed, rather than test catalogs, Yoerge, since these are the actual mail pieces that will be processed. There are too many variations during the production process that could affect the final design of a mail piece, she notes: It's better for the mailers to have feedback on postproduction pieces.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The final rule also specifies that most mailers can avoid any penalty by changing the design or production of their mail pieces. For instance, Yoerge says, a different type of paper for the cover, a tab strategically placed, a different type of glue, adding an insert, could all make a piece less floppy.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Of course, most measures to make a catalog less floppy such as thicker or stiffer paperare likely to add to production costs.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Joe Schick, director of postal affairs for printer Quad/Graphics, says most catalogers should get a better feel for what passes, what fails, and what is questionable between June and October.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Well also use the time to ensure that the postal clerks are verifying the mail in the proper manner and doing it consistently across all sites, Schick adds. Come October, everyone will have to be ready to comply, because we wont see another delay.&lt;br&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</itunes:summary>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.novapcc.org/en/art/619/</guid>
			<pubDate>Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>

			<category>Articles</category>
			<link>http://www.novapcc.org/en/art/620/</link>
			<title>Cutting Postal Service to Save the Post Office? (Letters to Editor)</title>
			<description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Cutting Postal Service to Save the Post Office? (Letters to Editor)&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.usnews.com/blogs/letters-to-the-editor/2010/03/09/cutting-postal-service-to-save-the-post-office.html&quot;&gt;US News&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&amp;nbsp;If cutting back on delivery days means saving tax dollars, I'm all for it [&quot;Why the Mail Should Come Every Other Day,&quot; usnews.com]. From what I'm hearing, the United States Postal Service is wasting our tax money, and I for one am tired of paying for it along with all the other waste that our government generates. I certainly can wait a day or two for the junk mail that I receive if it saves money and the USPS. Because of the high price of stamps, I now receive and pay all of my bills electronically. So it's a catch-22 situation for the USPS. They need revenue, and we need to cut spending. Unfortunately, as with any business, losing money isn't an option and the USPS shouldn't be any different, especially since citizens are paying for it. In these economic hard times, sacrifices must be made and higher taxes to continue paying for government waste shouldn't even be an option.&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Comment by Michael Johnson of TX&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I think the every-other-day delivery idea is great! I hate braving the cold to go down to the mailbox and find ad fliers in the box. Those pieces should have increased rates. Maybe we won't get as many. It is as bad as, if not worse, than E-mail spam. The carriers could still work a six-day week, just rotate the routes. I'm sure they wouldn't mind having their afternoons off, or back at the Postal Office where it's nice and warm, sorting mail. Probably sounds simplistic on my part, not knowing what actually goes on there, but I still think it is a great plan.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Comment by Myrtle Hipkins of PA &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Although there are several points made in this article, the major point has been missed. A brief conversation with anyone who has worked in the USPS will tell you that the union that dictates what the employees do and don't do has created most of this situation. Just as with some of the union situations at car manufacturers and grocery stores and the like&amp;#8212;the USPS is drowning due to overregulation and a feeling that there is &quot;no competition,&quot; even though there are competing forces driving down usage. In addition, the postal employees have generous coverage, healthwise: 100 percent of premiums paid. The Postal Service displays what is wrong with no sense of competition, and lack of ability to change, caused in great part by the union set up to &quot;protect&quot; employees.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Comment by Dave of MD &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;What's more obsolete&amp;#8212;Saturday delivery or a postmaster in every office? Before the people who actually deliver the product are eliminated, perhaps we need to take a look at the outdated notion that every post office needs its own postmaster. A postmaster running two offices or even more should be examined and implemented before we start cutting actual services.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Comment by Ken of NY &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I'm all for the Post Office delivering mail to home addresses only three days a week: Monday-Wednesday-Friday, or Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday. There are still other delivery methods available, either through the Post Office or Fed Ex, UPS, etc. Let's trim the Post Office delivery days!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Comment by Barry W. Shook of IN &lt;br&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt; 
&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;10-Mar-10 7:00 AM
</description>
			<itunes:subtitle>Cutting Postal Service to Save the Post Office? (Letters to Editor)</itunes:subtitle>
			<itunes:summary>&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Cutting Postal Service to Save the Post Office? (Letters to Editor)&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.usnews.com/blogs/letters-to-the-editor/2010/03/09/cutting-postal-service-to-save-the-post-office.html&quot;&gt;US News&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&amp;nbsp;If cutting back on delivery days means saving tax dollars, I'm all for it [&quot;Why the Mail Should Come Every Other Day,&quot; usnews.com]. From what I'm hearing, the United States Postal Service is wasting our tax money, and I for one am tired of paying for it along with all the other waste that our government generates. I certainly can wait a day or two for the junk mail that I receive if it saves money and the USPS. Because of the high price of stamps, I now receive and pay all of my bills electronically. So it's a catch-22 situation for the USPS. They need revenue, and we need to cut spending. Unfortunately, as with any business, losing money isn't an option and the USPS shouldn't be any different, especially since citizens are paying for it. In these economic hard times, sacrifices must be made and higher taxes to continue paying for government waste shouldn't even be an option.&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Comment by Michael Johnson of TX&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I think the every-other-day delivery idea is great! I hate braving the cold to go down to the mailbox and find ad fliers in the box. Those pieces should have increased rates. Maybe we won't get as many. It is as bad as, if not worse, than E-mail spam. The carriers could still work a six-day week, just rotate the routes. I'm sure they wouldn't mind having their afternoons off, or back at the Postal Office where it's nice and warm, sorting mail. Probably sounds simplistic on my part, not knowing what actually goes on there, but I still think it is a great plan.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Comment by Myrtle Hipkins of PA &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Although there are several points made in this article, the major point has been missed. A brief conversation with anyone who has worked in the USPS will tell you that the union that dictates what the employees do and don't do has created most of this situation. Just as with some of the union situations at car manufacturers and grocery stores and the like&amp;#8212;the USPS is drowning due to overregulation and a feeling that there is &quot;no competition,&quot; even though there are competing forces driving down usage. In addition, the postal employees have generous coverage, healthwise: 100 percent of premiums paid. The Postal Service displays what is wrong with no sense of competition, and lack of ability to change, caused in great part by the union set up to &quot;protect&quot; employees.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Comment by Dave of MD &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;What's more obsolete&amp;#8212;Saturday delivery or a postmaster in every office? Before the people who actually deliver the product are eliminated, perhaps we need to take a look at the outdated notion that every post office needs its own postmaster. A postmaster running two offices or even more should be examined and implemented before we start cutting actual services.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Comment by Ken of NY &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I'm all for the Post Office delivering mail to home addresses only three days a week: Monday-Wednesday-Friday, or Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday. There are still other delivery methods available, either through the Post Office or Fed Ex, UPS, etc. Let's trim the Post Office delivery days!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Comment by Barry W. Shook of IN &lt;br&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</itunes:summary>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.novapcc.org/en/art/620/</guid>
			<pubDate>Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
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		<item>

			<category>Articles</category>
			<link>http://www.novapcc.org/en/art/621/</link>
			<title>Parcel sector lone bright spot in USPS's dismal 10-year outlook</title>
			<description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Parcel sector lone bright spot in USPS's dismal 10-year outlook&lt;br&gt;By Mark B. Solomon&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.dcvelocity.com/articles/20100309_parcel_sector_lone_bright_spot_for_usps/&quot;&gt;DC Velocity &lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Gains in package traffic won't be enough to offset decline in overall mail volumes, study says.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;The U.S. Postal Service is projected to handle 1 billion more parcels 10 years from now than it does today, but parcel growth won't nearly offset the expected significant losses in overall mail volumes during that time, according to a multiyear forecast prepared for the post office.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;The study by the Boston Consulting Group was released last week as the Postal Service was outlining steps to combat what it expects to be &quot;unprecedented&quot; declines in mail traffic and a cumulative $238 billion budget shortfall over the next decade.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;The study said that by 2020, the USPS will handle 4 billion packages a year, up from 3 billion a year currently. However, that increase pales next to a projected decline in total mail volumes from 177 billion pieces in 2009 to 150 billion in 2020, the report said. First-class mail volumes are projected to fall by 37 percent during that time, the report said.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Postmaster General John Potter said on March 2 that the USPS could cut the $238 billion shortfall roughly in half through cost cuts and productivity improvements. The remaining gap, he said, will need to be filled by reforms to the USPS's pension fund programs and adjustments to delivery schedules, among other things. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;One option that has been discussed is eliminating or reducing Saturday deliveries.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt; 
&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;10-Mar-10 7:00 AM
</description>
			<itunes:subtitle>Parcel sector lone bright spot in USPS's dismal 10-year outlook</itunes:subtitle>
			<itunes:summary>&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Parcel sector lone bright spot in USPS's dismal 10-year outlook&lt;br&gt;By Mark B. Solomon&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.dcvelocity.com/articles/20100309_parcel_sector_lone_bright_spot_for_usps/&quot;&gt;DC Velocity &lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Gains in package traffic won't be enough to offset decline in overall mail volumes, study says.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;The U.S. Postal Service is projected to handle 1 billion more parcels 10 years from now than it does today, but parcel growth won't nearly offset the expected significant losses in overall mail volumes during that time, according to a multiyear forecast prepared for the post office.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;The study by the Boston Consulting Group was released last week as the Postal Service was outlining steps to combat what it expects to be &quot;unprecedented&quot; declines in mail traffic and a cumulative $238 billion budget shortfall over the next decade.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;The study said that by 2020, the USPS will handle 4 billion packages a year, up from 3 billion a year currently. However, that increase pales next to a projected decline in total mail volumes from 177 billion pieces in 2009 to 150 billion in 2020, the report said. First-class mail volumes are projected to fall by 37 percent during that time, the report said.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Postmaster General John Potter said on March 2 that the USPS could cut the $238 billion shortfall roughly in half through cost cuts and productivity improvements. The remaining gap, he said, will need to be filled by reforms to the USPS's pension fund programs and adjustments to delivery schedules, among other things. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;One option that has been discussed is eliminating or reducing Saturday deliveries.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</itunes:summary>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.novapcc.org/en/art/621/</guid>
			<pubDate>Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
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		<item>

			<category>Articles</category>
			<link>http://www.novapcc.org/en/art/622/</link>
			<title>Congress is running out of time to save the Postal Service</title>
			<description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Congress is running out of time to save the Postal Service&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/09/AR2010030903337.html&quot;&gt;Washington Post Editorial&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;&lt;br&gt;ON THE INTERNET, friends can communicate across continents via live video hook-ups for free. Companies can exchange 100-page documents in nanoseconds. Meanwhile, at the U.S. Postal Service, 600,000 employees spend their days stamping and sorting large pieces of paper and carrying them by plane, train and truck to every home and office from Guam to Georgetown -- as federal law requires. This quaint business model was bound to be stressed by recession, and it has been. Mail volume fell from an all-time high of 213 billion pieces in 2006 to 177 billion in 2009, with more declines to come. The Postal Service is on course to lose more than $7 billion this year, despite substantial recent cost-cutting, and it could lose more than $238 billion by 2020. Approaching the limits of its federal credit line, the USPS must change drastically or go bust. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Given that our own business also involves large pieces of paper, truck deliveries and Internet transitions, we could hardly be entirely unsympathetic to the challenge facing Postmaster General John E. Potter. He has acknowledged the scope of that challenge, and last week he proposed new product lines, efficiency improvements and workforce attrition to generate $115 billion in revenue or savings between now and 2020. But that's not even half the projected losses. To really transform, the Postal Service needs congressional action. Some 26,000 of the Postal Service's 32,000 post offices lose money. Many of them should be closed and converted to kiosks or merged with big-box retail stores. But federal law forbids closing post offices just because they operate at a deficit. That needs to change. So does the rule mandating service six days a week, though the USPS will have to find creative ways to serve those mailers for whom Saturday delivery is still a must. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Mr. Potter is less justified in seeking an end to annual prepayments of Postal Service retirees' health benefits, which Congress first required in 2006. Having reached $5 billion a year, these payments are no doubt a drain on USPS cash flow. But they also protect taxpayers against the risk of someday assuming these unfunded liabilities. At most, Congress should stretch out the payments to help the Postal Service through the short term. Abolishing them would give up what little leverage lawmakers have to force change on the Postal Service. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;There is only so much that can be accomplished without tackling the item that accounts for 80 percent of the Postal Service's expenses: labor costs. To be sure, 50 percent of postal workers come up for retirement in the next decade, and that will help cut costs. But attrition has its limits. Management and labor must aggressively tackle uncompetitive wages, benefits and work rules -- including no-layoff clauses that cover most personnel. Here, too, Congress can help, by ordering labor arbitrators to take the Postal Service's financial health into account during the collective-bargaining process that begins later this year. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Given the state of technology, privatization is probably the only long-term solution for the USPS. But it is so saddled with legacy costs that no investor would touch it. If Congress gives management the tools it needs to meet the crisis, and if management uses them effectively -- two big ifs, we admit -- the Postal Service will have a chance to get its house in order and one day attract private capital, as European postal services have done. Otherwise, it may wind up as a burden on taxpayers, like another iconic business with an aging workforce, high legacy costs and an outdated product line: General Motors. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; 
&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;10-Mar-10 7:00 AM
</description>
			<itunes:subtitle>Congress is running out of time to save the Postal Service</itunes:subtitle>
			<itunes:summary>&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Congress is running out of time to save the Postal Service&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/09/AR2010030903337.html&quot;&gt;Washington Post Editorial&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;&lt;br&gt;ON THE INTERNET, friends can communicate across continents via live video hook-ups for free. Companies can exchange 100-page documents in nanoseconds. Meanwhile, at the U.S. Postal Service, 600,000 employees spend their days stamping and sorting large pieces of paper and carrying them by plane, train and truck to every home and office from Guam to Georgetown -- as federal law requires. This quaint business model was bound to be stressed by recession, and it has been. Mail volume fell from an all-time high of 213 billion pieces in 2006 to 177 billion in 2009, with more declines to come. The Postal Service is on course to lose more than $7 billion this year, despite substantial recent cost-cutting, and it could lose more than $238 billion by 2020. Approaching the limits of its federal credit line, the USPS must change drastically or go bust. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Given that our own business also involves large pieces of paper, truck deliveries and Internet transitions, we could hardly be entirely unsympathetic to the challenge facing Postmaster General John E. Potter. He has acknowledged the scope of that challenge, and last week he proposed new product lines, efficiency improvements and workforce attrition to generate $115 billion in revenue or savings between now and 2020. But that's not even half the projected losses. To really transform, the Postal Service needs congressional action. Some 26,000 of the Postal Service's 32,000 post offices lose money. Many of them should be closed and converted to kiosks or merged with big-box retail stores. But federal law forbids closing post offices just because they operate at a deficit. That needs to change. So does the rule mandating service six days a week, though the USPS will have to find creative ways to serve those mailers for whom Saturday delivery is still a must. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Mr. Potter is less justified in seeking an end to annual prepayments of Postal Service retirees' health benefits, which Congress first required in 2006. Having reached $5 billion a year, these payments are no doubt a drain on USPS cash flow. But they also protect taxpayers against the risk of someday assuming these unfunded liabilities. At most, Congress should stretch out the payments to help the Postal Service through the short term. Abolishing them would give up what little leverage lawmakers have to force change on the Postal Service. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;There is only so much that can be accomplished without tackling the item that accounts for 80 percent of the Postal Service's expenses: labor costs. To be sure, 50 percent of postal workers come up for retirement in the next decade, and that will help cut costs. But attrition has its limits. Management and labor must aggressively tackle uncompetitive wages, benefits and work rules -- including no-layoff clauses that cover most personnel. Here, too, Congress can help, by ordering labor arbitrators to take the Postal Service's financial health into account during the collective-bargaining process that begins later this year. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Given the state of technology, privatization is probably the only long-term solution for the USPS. But it is so saddled with legacy costs that no investor would touch it. If Congress gives management the tools it needs to meet the crisis, and if management uses them effectively -- two big ifs, we admit -- the Postal Service will have a chance to get its house in order and one day attract private capital, as European postal services have done. Otherwise, it may wind up as a burden on taxpayers, like another iconic business with an aging workforce, high legacy costs and an outdated product line: General Motors. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;</itunes:summary>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.novapcc.org/en/art/622/</guid>
			<pubDate>Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
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			<category>Articles</category>
			<link>http://www.novapcc.org/en/art/623/</link>
			<title>Saving the Post Office</title>
			<description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Saving the Post Office &lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/10/opinion/10wed1.html&quot;&gt;New York Times&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Many Americans rely on six-days-a-week mail delivery and expect to have a post office just around the corner. But if the United States Postal Service is going to survive the transition to the Internet age &amp;#8212; without requiring billions of dollars of federal subsidies &amp;#8212; Congress must allow it to cut some services, close some offices and make other sensible changes.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Since 1970, the Postal Service has been required to pay its own costs. Still, Congress has insisted on the right to make many policy decisions. The Postal Service made a profit until 2006. Since then, declining mail volumes &amp;#8212; as more Americans use e-mail and pay their bills online &amp;#8212; and the demands of its retiree health benefit system have dragged it deeper and deeper into the red. Last year, it delivered 17 percent fewer pieces of mail than in 2006 and reported losses of $1.4 billion, this year it expects to lose $7 billion. Postmaster General John Potter warns that unless the service takes major steps to bring its costs into line, it will lose $238 billion over the next 10 years. To avoid insolvency &amp;#8212; or falling back into the taxpayers&amp;#8217; lap &amp;#8212; he is asking Congress for the flexibility to implement an ambitious plan to reconfigure services and cut costs. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Not every idea is sound, and Congress should retain oversight to ensure that all Americans still have reliable mail delivery. But Congress should grant the service most of the authority it requests.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Mr. Potter estimates that ending mail delivery on Saturday &amp;#8212; when the volume is 17 percent lower than on weekdays &amp;#8212; would save $40 billion over the next decade. He wants to close some yet-to-be-announced number of post offices and replace them with cheaper alternatives, such as automated kiosks and postal windows at supermarkets and other retailers. He is also asking for more flexibility to raise the rates of some services to meet changes in demand and costs.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;These seem reasonable compromises considering the magnitude of the challenge. They have to be done the right way. Post offices should not be closed in rural areas and other hard-to-reach places that do not have alternatives. The Postal Service also must work with other government agencies to ensure that people who receive crucial mail &amp;#8212; such as Social Security checks &amp;#8212; on Saturday, receive it on Friday rather than on Monday.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;The service says these proposed changes, dramatic as they are, would still fill only part of the gap. Mr. Potter believes it can find other savings and new profits by expanding product offerings &amp;#8212; like new direct-mail products for small businesses &amp;#8212; and cutting labor costs, including by hiring more part-time workers and reducing full-time employees through attrition. Some 300,000 postal workers are expected to retire over the next decade &amp;#8212; about half the Postal Service&amp;#8217;s entire staff.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Some of the proposed changes are flawed. Mr. Potter is hoping to save another $50 billion over the next decade by stopping contributions to a fund to pay for future retiree health benefits, covering them instead on a pay-as-you-go basis. As many workers have discovered, unfinanced promises of future benefits have a troubling tendency to become worthless in times of economic stress.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Still, the service might be allowed to reduce its annual contribution. Right now, by law, it has to make contributions consistent with a 7 percent annual rate of inflation for health care costs, while Medicare uses a rate of 5 percent to 6 percent to project future benefits. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Even with the Internet, Americans will need mail services for packages, legal documents and, yes, letters for years to come. In some areas of the country, the Postal Service is the only service available. And all Americans should not have to rely solely on private businesses for anything as fundamental as mail delivery. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;That means that Congress has a straightforward choice: It can give the Postal Service some more flexibility to run like a business. Or it can start subsidizing it to the tune of $10 billion-plus a year. We vote for flexibility. &lt;br&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt; 
&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;10-Mar-10 7:00 AM
</description>
			<itunes:subtitle>Saving the Post Office</itunes:subtitle>
			<itunes:summary>&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Saving the Post Office &lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/10/opinion/10wed1.html&quot;&gt;New York Times&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Many Americans rely on six-days-a-week mail delivery and expect to have a post office just around the corner. But if the United States Postal Service is going to survive the transition to the Internet age &amp;#8212; without requiring billions of dollars of federal subsidies &amp;#8212; Congress must allow it to cut some services, close some offices and make other sensible changes.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Since 1970, the Postal Service has been required to pay its own costs. Still, Congress has insisted on the right to make many policy decisions. The Postal Service made a profit until 2006. Since then, declining mail volumes &amp;#8212; as more Americans use e-mail and pay their bills online &amp;#8212; and the demands of its retiree health benefit system have dragged it deeper and deeper into the red. Last year, it delivered 17 percent fewer pieces of mail than in 2006 and reported losses of $1.4 billion, this year it expects to lose $7 billion. Postmaster General John Potter warns that unless the service takes major steps to bring its costs into line, it will lose $238 billion over the next 10 years. To avoid insolvency &amp;#8212; or falling back into the taxpayers&amp;#8217; lap &amp;#8212; he is asking Congress for the flexibility to implement an ambitious plan to reconfigure services and cut costs. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Not every idea is sound, and Congress should retain oversight to ensure that all Americans still have reliable mail delivery. But Congress should grant the service most of the authority it requests.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Mr. Potter estimates that ending mail delivery on Saturday &amp;#8212; when the volume is 17 percent lower than on weekdays &amp;#8212; would save $40 billion over the next decade. He wants to close some yet-to-be-announced number of post offices and replace them with cheaper alternatives, such as automated kiosks and postal windows at supermarkets and other retailers. He is also asking for more flexibility to raise the rates of some services to meet changes in demand and costs.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;These seem reasonable compromises considering the magnitude of the challenge. They have to be done the right way. Post offices should not be closed in rural areas and other hard-to-reach places that do not have alternatives. The Postal Service also must work with other government agencies to ensure that people who receive crucial mail &amp;#8212; such as Social Security checks &amp;#8212; on Saturday, receive it on Friday rather than on Monday.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;The service says these proposed changes, dramatic as they are, would still fill only part of the gap. Mr. Potter believes it can find other savings and new profits by expanding product offerings &amp;#8212; like new direct-mail products for small businesses &amp;#8212; and cutting labor costs, including by hiring more part-time workers and reducing full-time employees through attrition. Some 300,000 postal workers are expected to retire over the next decade &amp;#8212; about half the Postal Service&amp;#8217;s entire staff.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Some of the proposed changes are flawed. Mr. Potter is hoping to save another $50 billion over the next decade by stopping contributions to a fund to pay for future retiree health benefits, covering them instead on a pay-as-you-go basis. As many workers have discovered, unfinanced promises of future benefits have a troubling tendency to become worthless in times of economic stress.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Still, the service might be allowed to reduce its annual contribution. Right now, by law, it has to make contributions consistent with a 7 percent annual rate of inflation for health care costs, while Medicare uses a rate of 5 percent to 6 percent to project future benefits. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Even with the Internet, Americans will need mail services for packages, legal documents and, yes, letters for years to come. In some areas of the country, the Postal Service is the only service available. And all Americans should not have to rely solely on private businesses for anything as fundamental as mail delivery. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;That means that Congress has a straightforward choice: It can give the Postal Service some more flexibility to run like a business. Or it can start subsidizing it to the tune of $10 billion-plus a year. We vote for flexibility. &lt;br&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</itunes:summary>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.novapcc.org/en/art/623/</guid>
			<pubDate>Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
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			<category>Articles</category>
			<link>http://www.novapcc.org/en/art/624/</link>
			<title>Trib editorial is wrong about Postal Service</title>
			<description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Trib editorial is wrong about Postal Service&lt;br&gt;By John Mellon, Evanston &lt;br&gt;Cicago Tribune&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Contrary to the recent Tribune editorial, the U.S. Postal Service did not incur a &quot;loss&quot; attributable to declining mail volume last year, only a rectifiable revenue shortfall due to its undercharging for mail actually delivered, about four cents per item according to the Trib's figures.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Nor is the USPS &quot;plodding and unimaginative.&quot; Its distribution centers employ high tech sorting machines and air ship mail to other major centers for delivery the second day after posting. There's no featherbedding either. Carriers' routes are regularly evaluated and their hours and compensation adjusted accordingly. Computerized window service has made retail lines move faster. &quot;Forever&quot; stamps cut printing costs and free flat-rate boxes simplify Parcel Post. The Long Life Vehicles (LLVs) increasingly seen around town improve the old storage box system of getting mail from the local office to carriers' routes.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Eliminating Saturday delivery would bulk up the Monday mail and consume much of the Saturday savings paying Monday's extra costs. For-profit regional services competing with the USPS in the delivery of flat mail would experience horrendous costs equipping themselves to make a showing, plus a sorting nightmare at interchange points. And who in their right mind would try to make a profit competing with an enterprise which only has to break even to succeed?&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;The good old Postal Service ain't done for yet, and my daughter still has a chance of finishing her career as an employee.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;-- John Mellon, Evanston &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt; 
&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;10-Mar-10 7:00 AM
</description>
			<itunes:subtitle>Trib editorial is wrong about Postal Service</itunes:subtitle>
			<itunes:summary>&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Trib editorial is wrong about Postal Service&lt;br&gt;By John Mellon, Evanston &lt;br&gt;Cicago Tribune&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Contrary to the recent Tribune editorial, the U.S. Postal Service did not incur a &quot;loss&quot; attributable to declining mail volume last year, only a rectifiable revenue shortfall due to its undercharging for mail actually delivered, about four cents per item according to the Trib's figures.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Nor is the USPS &quot;plodding and unimaginative.&quot; Its distribution centers employ high tech sorting machines and air ship mail to other major centers for delivery the second day after posting. There's no featherbedding either. Carriers' routes are regularly evaluated and their hours and compensation adjusted accordingly. Computerized window service has made retail lines move faster. &quot;Forever&quot; stamps cut printing costs and free flat-rate boxes simplify Parcel Post. The Long Life Vehicles (LLVs) increasingly seen around town improve the old storage box system of getting mail from the local office to carriers' routes.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Eliminating Saturday delivery would bulk up the Monday mail and consume much of the Saturday savings paying Monday's extra costs. For-profit regional services competing with the USPS in the delivery of flat mail would experience horrendous costs equipping themselves to make a showing, plus a sorting nightmare at interchange points. And who in their right mind would try to make a profit competing with an enterprise which only has to break even to succeed?&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;The good old Postal Service ain't done for yet, and my daughter still has a chance of finishing her career as an employee.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;-- John Mellon, Evanston &lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</itunes:summary>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.novapcc.org/en/art/624/</guid>
			<pubDate>Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
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			<category>Articles</category>
			<link>http://www.novapcc.org/en/art/625/</link>
			<title>Postal Service question: When is it obsolete?</title>
			<description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Postal Service question: When is it obsolete?&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.thereporter.com/opinion/ci_14645733&quot;&gt;Published by The Reporter&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;At what point does the U.S. Postal Service become obsolete?&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;A renewed push to cut a day from the six-day-a-week home delivery schedule, coupled with reports that the amount of mail being handled continues to decline, makes this a reasonable question to ask.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;The answer, of course, may seem more or less reasonable depending on one's point of view.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Americans are increasingly using the Internet and faxes instead of paper envelopes for their correspondence. Private companies now compete with the post office to deliver packages. Consequently, the Postal Service has seen a dramatic decline in the volume of mail it handles, even as the number of homes and businesses has grown.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;For example, in 2006, the Postal Service handled 213 billion items. By 2009, that number dropped nearly 17 percent, to 177 billion. Mail volume is expected to keep falling, reaching 150 billion items a year by 2020. Less mail means less revenue, which makes it more expensive to deliver what's left.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Those who live in urban areas, where Internet connections are fast and many private companies deliver packages, may legitimately wonder why anyone would bother to save a system in which one- third of the deliveries are considered &quot;junk mail&quot; by recipients.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Yet there are plenty of rural areas where affordable, high-speed Internet access doesn't exist -- remote areas that aren't profitably served by private deliverers. Those residents are rightly concerned about losing Postal Service.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Last week, Postmaster General John Potter detailed the system's problems and possible solutions. At the same time revenue and mail volume have been dropping, his reports said, costs have increased with higher fuel prices and a growing number of retiree pensions. (The Postal Service is required not only to pay current pensions, but also to set aside $5.5 billion a year to prepay retiree health benefits.)&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;If nothing is done, the Postal Services faces losses of up to $238 billion over the next 10 years, said Postmaster Potter, who has already begun actions to save the agency up to $123 billion during that time frame. That still leaves a $115 billion gap.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;The postmaster suggested a number of ways to close that gap. Two that have received the most attention are raising rates ($15 billion in revenue) and cutting one day of mail delivery (a $40 billion savings).&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Given the economic realities, it is likely that both eventually will be enacted and Americans will adapt.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;But raising rates while reducing deliveries could push more people to use electronic communication and private delivers, exacerbating the Postal Service's problems. Which is why it's time for this nation to address the root question: At what point does the U.S. Postal Service become obsolete?&lt;br&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt; 
&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;10-Mar-10 7:00 AM
</description>
			<itunes:subtitle>Postal Service question: When is it obsolete?</itunes:subtitle>
			<itunes:summary>&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Postal Service question: When is it obsolete?&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.thereporter.com/opinion/ci_14645733&quot;&gt;Published by The Reporter&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;At what point does the U.S. Postal Service become obsolete?&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;A renewed push to cut a day from the six-day-a-week home delivery schedule, coupled with reports that the amount of mail being handled continues to decline, makes this a reasonable question to ask.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;The answer, of course, may seem more or less reasonable depending on one's point of view.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Americans are increasingly using the Internet and faxes instead of paper envelopes for their correspondence. Private companies now compete with the post office to deliver packages. Consequently, the Postal Service has seen a dramatic decline in the volume of mail it handles, even as the number of homes and businesses has grown.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;For example, in 2006, the Postal Service handled 213 billion items. By 2009, that number dropped nearly 17 percent, to 177 billion. Mail volume is expected to keep falling, reaching 150 billion items a year by 2020. Less mail means less revenue, which makes it more expensive to deliver what's left.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Those who live in urban areas, where Internet connections are fast and many private companies deliver packages, may legitimately wonder why anyone would bother to save a system in which one- third of the deliveries are considered &quot;junk mail&quot; by recipients.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Yet there are plenty of rural areas where affordable, high-speed Internet access doesn't exist -- remote areas that aren't profitably served by private deliverers. Those residents are rightly concerned about losing Postal Service.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Last week, Postmaster General John Potter detailed the system's problems and possible solutions. At the same time revenue and mail volume have been dropping, his reports said, costs have increased with higher fuel prices and a growing number of retiree pensions. (The Postal Service is required not only to pay current pensions, but also to set aside $5.5 billion a year to prepay retiree health benefits.)&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;If nothing is done, the Postal Services faces losses of up to $238 billion over the next 10 years, said Postmaster Potter, who has already begun actions to save the agency up to $123 billion during that time frame. That still leaves a $115 billion gap.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;The postmaster suggested a number of ways to close that gap. Two that have received the most attention are raising rates ($15 billion in revenue) and cutting one day of mail delivery (a $40 billion savings).&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Given the economic realities, it is likely that both eventually will be enacted and Americans will adapt.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;But raising rates while reducing deliveries could push more people to use electronic communication and private delivers, exacerbating the Postal Service's problems. Which is why it's time for this nation to address the root question: At what point does the U.S. Postal Service become obsolete?&lt;br&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</itunes:summary>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.novapcc.org/en/art/625/</guid>
			<pubDate>Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
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			<category>Articles</category>
			<link>http://www.novapcc.org/en/art/626/</link>
			<title>Post Office Service 3 days a week</title>
			<description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Post Office Service 3 days a week&lt;br&gt;Contributed by Anonymous (Editor) &lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://beforeitsnews.com/news/23173/Post_Office_Service_3_days_a_week.html&quot;&gt;Beforeitsnews.com &lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;The U.S. Postal Service, facing a $238 billion budget deficit by 2020, should consider cutting delivery to as few as three days a week as the agency attempts to pare costs, a consulting firm said.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Those cuts are among changes McKinsey &amp;amp; Co. presented in a report this week at a postal conference in Washington. Options also included expanding business lines and restructuring retiree health benefits.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;The Postal Service, projecting mail volume will drop 15 percent in the next decade as consumers switch to electronic communications, is pressing Congress to change a law requiring delivery six days a week and limiting post-office closings. A request by the service to trim delivery by one day, to five days a week, has met resistance from lawmakers.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;&amp;#8220;Action in any one area will not be enough to close this gap,&amp;#8221; McKinsey, which was one of three consulting companies the Postal Service commissioned to review its future, said in the March 2 report.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt; 
&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;10-Mar-10 7:00 AM
</description>
			<itunes:subtitle>Post Office Service 3 days a week</itunes:subtitle>
			<itunes:summary>&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Post Office Service 3 days a week&lt;br&gt;Contributed by Anonymous (Editor) &lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://beforeitsnews.com/news/23173/Post_Office_Service_3_days_a_week.html&quot;&gt;Beforeitsnews.com &lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;The U.S. Postal Service, facing a $238 billion budget deficit by 2020, should consider cutting delivery to as few as three days a week as the agency attempts to pare costs, a consulting firm said.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Those cuts are among changes McKinsey &amp;amp; Co. presented in a report this week at a postal conference in Washington. Options also included expanding business lines and restructuring retiree health benefits.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;The Postal Service, projecting mail volume will drop 15 percent in the next decade as consumers switch to electronic communications, is pressing Congress to change a law requiring delivery six days a week and limiting post-office closings. A request by the service to trim delivery by one day, to five days a week, has met resistance from lawmakers.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;&amp;#8220;Action in any one area will not be enough to close this gap,&amp;#8221; McKinsey, which was one of three consulting companies the Postal Service commissioned to review its future, said in the March 2 report.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;</itunes:summary>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.novapcc.org/en/art/626/</guid>
			<pubDate>Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
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			<category>Articles</category>
			<link>http://www.novapcc.org/en/art/616/</link>
			<title>Will Five-Day Mail Delivery Happen?</title>
			<description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Will Five-Day Mail Delivery Happen?&lt;br&gt;By Jim Tierney&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://bigfatmarketingblog.com/2010/03/04/will-five-day-mail-delivery-happen/&quot;&gt;The Big Fat Marketing &lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Five-day mail delivery has been viewed by many postal officials as the big panacea for the U.S. Postal service and its attendant financial vicissitudes.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Postmaster General John E. Potter has said five-day mail delivery would save the USPS about $3 billion per year. The USPS has lost $11.7 billion in the past three years. Congress is dragging its feet regarding Potter&amp;#8217;s five-day mail delivery proposal.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;So will this ever occur?&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Joe Schick, director of postal affairs for printer Quad/Graphics, believes it will, but not until the spring or summer of 2011.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;&amp;#8220;For the most part, Congress is not embracing the idea,&amp;#8221; Schick says. &amp;#8220;If and when they do authorize the change, it&amp;#8217;s my understanding that they could also impose a set amount of time before the USPS could implement to ensure that mailers and citizens had enough time to prepare. So I don&amp;#8217;t think it will have a big financial impact in 2011. Probably not much savings until FY 2012.&amp;#8221;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Robert Bernstock, president of shipping and mailing services for the USPS, told Federal News Radio that five-day mail delivery could begin early next year. Congress needs to eliminate the 1983 provision calling for six-day mail delivery.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;What&amp;#8217;s more, Bernstock said the USPS wants to expand its retail partnerships to 100,000-200,000 to give people 24/7 access to postal products. Would this involve kiosks in stores? Bernstock said it could involve actual people in stores selling postal products.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;The USPS wants a &amp;#8220;vastly improved&amp;#8221; customer experience, he added.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;The USPS is in the second phase of its plan, Bernstock said, which now moves to dialogue. &amp;#8220;We&amp;#8217;ve defined the problem with great clarity,&amp;#8221; he added.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Let&amp;#8217;s see what Congress thinks of the newly proposed USPS business plan.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt; 
&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;9-Mar-10 7:30 AM
</description>
			<itunes:subtitle>Will Five-Day Mail Delivery Happen?</itunes:subtitle>
			<itunes:summary>&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Will Five-Day Mail Delivery Happen?&lt;br&gt;By Jim Tierney&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://bigfatmarketingblog.com/2010/03/04/will-five-day-mail-delivery-happen/&quot;&gt;The Big Fat Marketing &lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Five-day mail delivery has been viewed by many postal officials as the big panacea for the U.S. Postal service and its attendant financial vicissitudes.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Postmaster General John E. Potter has said five-day mail delivery would save the USPS about $3 billion per year. The USPS has lost $11.7 billion in the past three years. Congress is dragging its feet regarding Potter&amp;#8217;s five-day mail delivery proposal.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;So will this ever occur?&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Joe Schick, director of postal affairs for printer Quad/Graphics, believes it will, but not until the spring or summer of 2011.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;&amp;#8220;For the most part, Congress is not embracing the idea,&amp;#8221; Schick says. &amp;#8220;If and when they do authorize the change, it&amp;#8217;s my understanding that they could also impose a set amount of time before the USPS could implement to ensure that mailers and citizens had enough time to prepare. So I don&amp;#8217;t think it will have a big financial impact in 2011. Probably not much savings until FY 2012.&amp;#8221;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Robert Bernstock, president of shipping and mailing services for the USPS, told Federal News Radio that five-day mail delivery could begin early next year. Congress needs to eliminate the 1983 provision calling for six-day mail delivery.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;What&amp;#8217;s more, Bernstock said the USPS wants to expand its retail partnerships to 100,000-200,000 to give people 24/7 access to postal products. Would this involve kiosks in stores? Bernstock said it could involve actual people in stores selling postal products.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;The USPS wants a &amp;#8220;vastly improved&amp;#8221; customer experience, he added.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;The USPS is in the second phase of its plan, Bernstock said, which now moves to dialogue. &amp;#8220;We&amp;#8217;ve defined the problem with great clarity,&amp;#8221; he added.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Let&amp;#8217;s see what Congress thinks of the newly proposed USPS business plan.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</itunes:summary>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.novapcc.org/en/art/616/</guid>
			<pubDate>Tue, 09 Mar 2010 12:30:00 GMT</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>

			<category>Articles</category>
			<link>http://www.novapcc.org/en/art/617/</link>
			<title>Postal cutbacks?</title>
			<description>&lt;div&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Postal cutbacks?&lt;br&gt;By David Anderson&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.enctoday.com/news/bodycopyrag-62570-kfpress-service-postal.html&quot;&gt;ENC Today&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&amp;nbsp;Local residents who do not regularly use the U.S. Postal Service do not have a problem with a current proposal to eliminate Saturday deliveries, plus other measures to stop the agency from hemorrhaging billions of dollars.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The Postal Service announced recently that it could lose about $238 billion over the next 10 years if strict measures such as ending Saturday delivery, providing counter service at established businesses such as grocery stores instead of post offices; increasing prices and restructuring its workforce are not implemented soon.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;#8220;The future depends on a suite of solutions that takes a balanced and reasonable approach, one that cuts across every aspect of our industry but one that, in the end, does the greatest possible good for our stakeholders and the American public,&amp;#8221; U.S. Postmaster General John E. Potter stated.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Several area residents interviewed at Kinston&amp;#8217;s Vernon Park Mall on Saturday said losing a sixth day of mail delivery would not have a major impact on them, though.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;#8220;It would make sense, if that&amp;#8217;s the way to cut expenses to keep themselves going,&amp;#8221; Kinston resident Jack Meadows said.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Meadows said he only pays his bills through the mail, and uses e-mail to correspond with other people and private delivery services such as UPS to send packages.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Foy Fail of Goldsboro also thought cutting Saturday delivery would be a good idea, since people conduct so much business online &amp;#8212; including paying bills and shopping &amp;#8212; business that used to be conducted through the mail.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;#8220;I think it&amp;#8217;s a great idea if they can save money,&amp;#8221; she said. &amp;#8220;If we can&amp;#8217;t get it Saturday we can just get it Monday.&amp;#8221;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;A Kinston resident, who would only give her first name, Cynthia, said she recently retired after 27 years as a postal worker.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;She was not in favor of losing the Saturday delivery because it could mean the USPS would cut jobs to accommodate it.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;#8220;If they cut back to five days a week, they&amp;#8217;re not going to need (some) people,&amp;#8221; Cynthia said. &amp;#8220;People are going to lose their jobs.&amp;#8221;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt; 
&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;9-Mar-10 7:00 AM
</description>
			<itunes:subtitle>Postal cutbacks?</itunes:subtitle>
			<itunes:summary>&lt;div&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;Postal cutbacks?&lt;br&gt;By David Anderson&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.enctoday.com/news/bodycopyrag-62570-kfpress-service-postal.html&quot;&gt;ENC Today&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&amp;nbsp;Local residents who do not regularly use the U.S. Postal Service do not have a problem with a current proposal to eliminate Saturday deliveries, plus other measures to stop the agency from hemorrhaging billions of dollars.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The Postal Service announced recently that it could lose about $238 billion over the next 10 years if strict measures such as ending Saturday delivery, providing counter service at established businesses such as grocery stores instead of post offices; increasing prices and restructuring its workforce are not implemented soon.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;#8220;The future depends on a suite of solutions that takes a balanced and reasonable approach, one that cuts across every aspect of our industry but one that, in the end, does the greatest possible good for our stakeholders and the American public,&amp;#8221; U.S. Postmaster General John E. Potter stated.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Several area residents interviewed at Kinston&amp;#8217;s Vernon Park Mall on Saturday said losing a sixth day of mail delivery would not have a major impact on them, though.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;#8220;It would make sense, if that&amp;#8217;s the way to cut expenses to keep themselves going,&amp;#8221; Kinston resident Jack Meadows said.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Meadows said he only pays his bills through the mail, and uses e-mail to correspond with other people and private delivery services such as UPS to send packages.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Foy Fail of Goldsboro also thought cutting Saturday delivery would be a good idea, since people conduct so much business online &amp;#8212; including paying bills and shopping &amp;#8212; business that used to be conducted through the mail.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;#8220;I think it&amp;#8217;s a great idea if they can save money,&amp;#8221; she said. &amp;#8220;If we can&amp;#8217;t get it Saturday we can just get it Monday.&amp;#8221;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;A Kinston resident, who would only give her first name, Cynthia, said she recently retired after 27 years as a postal worker.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;She was not in favor of losing the Saturday delivery because it could mean the USPS would cut jobs to accommodate it.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;#8220;If they cut back to five days a week, they&amp;#8217;re not going to need (some) people,&amp;#8221; Cynthia said. &amp;#8220;People are going to lose their jobs.&amp;#8221;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</itunes:summary>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.novapcc.org/en/art/617/</guid>
			<pubDate>Tue, 09 Mar 2010 12:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>
			<category>Release</category>
			<link>http://www.novapcc.org/en/rel/5/</link>
			<title>National PCC Group Seeks Your Feedback</title>
			<description>&lt;div&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;The national PCC group at US Postal Service HQ is seeking your opinions, ideas and feedback regarding PCC's.&amp;nbsp; If you are an industry member of the NOVA PCC, the Postal Service wants to hear your thoughts!&amp;nbsp; Join the national PCC team on a 1 hour NOVA PCC webinar/conference call on Tuesday, September 1st at 10AM.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;Express your thoughts and opinions regarding Postal Customer Councils during this exclusive NOVA PCC focus group hosted by the national PCC group at US Postal Service Headquarters.&amp;nbsp; There is no fee, all we ask is for 1 hour to hear your thoughts as well as those of other NOVA PCC Industry members.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Contact Ellen Regan, national focus group coordinator, at &lt;a href=&quot;&amp;#109;&amp;#97;&amp;#105;&amp;#108;&amp;#116;&amp;#111;&amp;#58;&amp;#101;&amp;#108;&amp;#108;&amp;#101;&amp;#110;&amp;#46;&amp;#108;&amp;#46;&amp;#114;&amp;#101;&amp;#103;&amp;#97;&amp;#110;&amp;#64;&amp;#117;&amp;#115;&amp;#112;&amp;#115;&amp;#46;&amp;#103;&amp;#111;&amp;#118;&quot;&gt;ellen.l.regan@usps.gov&lt;/a&gt; to be included in this important session.&lt;br&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;Reserve your spot now - the first ten industry members to respond will be guaranteed a spot!&lt;br&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
</description>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.novapcc.org/en/rel/5/</guid>
			<author>noemail@novapcc.org</author>
			<pubDate>Thu, 20 Aug 2009 20:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
</item>

		<item>
			<category>Release</category>
			<link>http://www.novapcc.org/en/rel/4/</link>
			<title>COMPREHENSIVE USPS REVIEW OF NEW PRICES</title>
			<description>&lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;../../attachments/wysiwyg/347/pcc_edit.png&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;535&quot; width=&quot;401&quot; /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.novapcc.org/en/rel/4/</guid>
			<author>noemail@novapcc.org</author>
			<pubDate>Thu, 09 Apr 2009 01:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
</item>

		<item>
			<category>Release</category>
			<link>http://www.novapcc.org/en/rel/1/</link>
			<title>Postal Service Mailing Services Prices to Change on May 11</title>
			<description>WASHINGTON &#8212; The Governors of the U.S. Postal Service have approved new prices for mailing  services, including a 2-cent increase in the price of a First-Class Mail stamp to 44 cents. Prices for mailing services are reviewed annually and adjusted each May. The new prices will go into effect Monday, May 11.     Customers can continue to mail letters at today&#8217;s prices by purchasing the Forever Stamp before May 11. Forever Stamps were developed to help consumers ease the transition during price changes. Forever Stamps do not have a denomination and will be honored whenever they are used with no need for additional postage for a one-ounce letter mailing. On May 11 the price of the Forever Stamp will be 44 cents.     The new prices are available at usps.com/prices.    Rising operational costs make the price adjustments necessary; the increase tracks the 2008 rate of inflation. The Postal Service is not immune to rising costs which are affecting homes and businesses across America today,...
</description>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.novapcc.org/en/rel/1/</guid>
			<author>noemail@novapcc.org</author>
			<pubDate>Tue, 10 Feb 2009 19:45:00 GMT</pubDate>
</item>

		<item>
			<category>Content Managers</category>
			<link>http://www.novapcc.org/en/cms/1/</link>
			<title>The Postal Customer Council of Northern Virginia</title>
			<description>  Welcome to the home of the Postal Customer Council (PCC) of Northern Virginia, a postal-sponsored, not-for-profit membership organization serving members of the mailing industry since 2007.     Membership is open to all business mailers and representatives of the mailing industry as well as Northern Virginia Postal Service employees. We welcome commercial mailers, non-profit organizations, service bureaus, and other types of business enterprises that use the mail, including individuals and sole proprietorship. Members gain instant access to USPS sponsored information as well as discounts on PCC events and training courses.     We invite you to join today to enjoy the benefits of membership as described in the About Us section. If you are not sure you are ready to join. sign up for a user ID and we'll notify you about events and training as they are scheduled. If you have any questions, use the contact link above.                           

</description>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.novapcc.org/en/cms/1/</guid>
			<pubDate>Wed, 03 Mar 2010 18:30:46 GMT</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<category>Content Managers</category>
			<link>http://www.novapcc.org/links/</link>
			<title>PCC Related Links</title>
			<description>Local PCC Mail Service Providers  Mail Service Providers (MSPs) offer a full range of services, including designing, writing, printing, and sending your Direct Mail. Find a list of MSP&amp;#8217;s by clicking on the link above.        RIBBS  This is the website of the USPS National Customer Support Center. Here you will find everything you need to know about Intelligent Mail and Address Quality.    Postal Explorer (USPS)    Postal Explorer is a virtual library of postal information designed for business               mailers. It puts a wealth of postal information at your fingertips in an easy-to-use               format. The powerful search feature lets you quickly find information in a single               publication or across a range of publications.     National Mail Service Updates  Information on this site is provided for mailers with plant-verified drop shipments going to postal facilities that are closed or have mail entry limits because of natural disasters or severe weather...

</description>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.novapcc.org/links/</guid>
			<pubDate>Fri, 29 Jan 2010 15:26:31 GMT</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<category>Content Managers</category>
			<link>http://www.novapcc.org/join-nova-pcc/</link>
			<title>Join Nova PCC</title>
			<description>  Why join?   As a member of the NOVA Postal Customer Councils you will have direct access to local postal leadership as well as unparalleled opportunities to network with others in the mailing industry.     NOVA PCC certificate programs, educational seminars and vendor displays help members to grow professionally and become more successful in the mailing industry.      Corporate sponsorships increase the awareness and recognition of members and their companies involvement in the mission of the NOVA PCC. Register for a corporate membership and be recognized as a leader in the mailing industry.       Which PCC to join?   Two individual Postal Customer Councils (PCCs) serve the geographic areas of the Northern Virginia District, allowing all members to be active in a PCC close to the area where they live or do business.     The two NOVA PCCs are:     NOVA Metro 201, 220-223     NOVA Shenandoah 226-227    Join either one of of these NOVA PCCs today in order to obtain the most benefit to...

</description>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.novapcc.org/join-nova-pcc/</guid>
			<pubDate>Fri, 29 Jan 2010 15:26:06 GMT</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<category>Content Managers</category>
			<link>http://www.novapcc.org/history/</link>
			<title>History of PCC</title>
			<description>The Postal Customer Council (PCC) program began more than 30 years ago with the formation of local mail users councils. The Post Office Department organized the councils to improve communication between postal customers and local postal managers. The councils' rallying call was a &quot;Mail Entry&quot; campaign, designed to regulate the flow of local mail.&lt;br&gt;
&lt;br&gt;
The concept of working with customers to get mail earlier in the day was realized through the Mail Early campaign and the creation of mail users councils, also known as &quot;Citizens Advisory Councils.&quot; The name &quot;Mail Users Councils&quot; lasted for nearly a decade until it was changed in 1971 to &quot;Postal Customer Council&quot;.&lt;br&gt;
&lt;br&gt;
Once postal customers and local postal managers began working together under the council framework, both groups found that many problems could be resolved easily. The importance of postal customer councils has grown since the early 1970s. Through regular meetings, mailer clinics, and seminars, PCC members are kept abreast of the latest postal developments and work closely with local post offices to make mail services more efficient.&lt;br&gt;
&lt;br&gt;
The Postal Service stands behind the PCC program, an important avenue for improving service and understanding mailers' needs.&lt;br&gt;
&lt;br&gt;
&lt;div&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;Future of the PCC&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
The Postal Customer Council (PCC) will continue to grow and prosper by introducing the latest developments in the mailing industry to its members. This will be done through workshops, seminars, tours, tradeshows, etc and much more.

</description>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.novapcc.org/history/</guid>
			<pubDate>Fri, 29 Jan 2010 15:25:40 GMT</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<category>Content Managers</category>
			<link>http://www.novapcc.org/about-us/</link>
			<title>About Northern Virginia Postal Customer Council</title>
			<description>&lt;div&gt;The Northern Virginia Postal Customer Council is an organization that works with the United States Postal Service and postal customers to facilitate understanding about mailing and postal regulations between business customers and the postal service.&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;Mission&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
    &lt;li&gt;Help PCC members and their organizations grow and develop professionally through focused educational programs.&lt;/li&gt;
    &lt;br&gt;
    &lt;li&gt;Promote local cooperation, support, and foster close working relations between the U. S. Postal Service and the business mailing community.&lt;/li&gt;
    &lt;br&gt;
    &lt;li&gt;Share information and facilitate the exchange of ideas about new and existing Postal Service products, programs and procedures.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;div&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;Local PCC's&lt;br&gt;
&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;The Northern Virginia PCC consists of 2 PCC's divided geographically.&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
    &lt;li&gt;&lt;a target=&quot;_self&quot; href=&quot;/nova-metro-pcc&quot;&gt;NOVA Metro PCC&lt;/a&gt; - Serving all Zip Codes in 201 and 220 - 223&lt;/li&gt;
    &lt;br&gt;
    &lt;li&gt;&lt;a target=&quot;_self&quot; href=&quot;/shenandoah-valley-pcc&quot;&gt;Shenandoah Valley PCC&lt;/a&gt; - Serving all Zip Codes in 226 - 227&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

</description>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.novapcc.org/about-us/</guid>
			<pubDate>Fri, 29 Jan 2010 15:25:22 GMT</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<category>Content Managers</category>
			<link>http://www.novapcc.org/dulles-pcc/</link>
			<title>Dulles PCC</title>
			<description> Listed below are the Executive Committee members for the Dulles PCC. There are plenty of positions for members to be involved on the Committee. Contact any member of the Executive Committee to volunteer.                                 VACANT                Industry Co-Chair                                      Dale Cornett                Postal Co-Chair        On-Line Website Chair (Postal)        USPS, Postmaster, Leesburg, VA        25 Catoctin Circle SE        Leesburg, VA 20175-9998        (703) 669-3755        dale.a.cornett@usps.gov                                        VACANT        Membership Chair                      JoAnn Poland        Registration Co-Chair        NALC Health Benefit Plan                               Vacant        Sponsorship Chair                      VACANT        Secretary                                VACANT        Programming Chair                                      VACANT                Education Chair                                Sue...

</description>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.novapcc.org/dulles-pcc/</guid>
			<pubDate>Sun, 18 Jan 2009 23:00:12 GMT</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<category>Content Managers</category>
			<link>http://www.novapcc.org/ppc-facts/</link>
			<title>PCC Facts</title>
			<description>&lt;h2&gt;A Postal Customer Council is organized at the local community level to&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
    &lt;li&gt;Establish a means of regular communication between postal customers and local postal managers.&lt;/li&gt;
    &lt;br&gt;
    &lt;li&gt;Provide opportunities for the exchange of ideas and suggestions.&lt;/li&gt;
    &lt;br&gt;
    &lt;li&gt;Ensure that postal customers are aware of the latest in postal services and rates.&lt;/li&gt;
    &lt;br&gt;
    &lt;li&gt;Assist customers in improving their internal mail operations.&lt;/li&gt;
    &lt;br&gt;
    &lt;li&gt;Create a better understanding of the Postal Service through business meetings, mailer clinics, mailing seminars, tours of postal facilities and visits to other customers' plants.&lt;/li&gt;
    &lt;br&gt;
    &lt;li&gt;Provide information necessary for customers to make the most effective and efficient use of postal services and products.&lt;/li&gt;
    &lt;br&gt;
    &lt;li&gt;Provide an organized way for postal speakers to present postal programs to customers groups.&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;

</description>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.novapcc.org/ppc-facts/</guid>
			<pubDate>Sun, 18 Jan 2009 18:14:37 GMT</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<category>Content Managers</category>
			<link>http://www.novapcc.org/shenandoah-valley-pcc/</link>
			<title>Shenandoah Valley PCC</title>
			<description>&lt;div&gt;Listed below are the Executive Committee members for the Shenandoah Valley PCC.&amp;nbsp; There are plenty of positions for members to be involved on the Committee.&amp;nbsp; Contact any member of the Executive Committee to volunteer.&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Tori Blackburn&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&lt;strong&gt;SHENANDOAH Industry Co-Chair&lt;br&gt;
&lt;/strong&gt;Shenandoah University&lt;br&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;tblackbu@su.edu&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;tblackbu@su.edu&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;Judy O&#8217;Hara&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&lt;strong&gt;SHENANDOAH Postal Co-Chair&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
USPS, Postmaster Winchester&lt;br&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;udy.ohara@usps.gov &quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;judy.ohara@usps.gov &lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;


</description>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.novapcc.org/shenandoah-valley-pcc/</guid>
			<pubDate>Tue, 06 Jan 2009 11:55:45 GMT</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<category>Content Managers</category>
			<link>http://www.novapcc.org/en/cms/26/</link>
			<title></title>
			<description>                      Lee Garvey                Industry Co-Chair                Click2Mail                3103 10th Street N. Suite 201                Arlington, VA 22201                (703) 521-9029, ext. 101                 lgarvey@click2mail.com                      John Budzynski                Postal Co-Chair                Postmaster, Alexandria, VA        1100 Wythe Street                Alexandria, VA 22313-9998                (703) 684-7168                 john.f.budzynski@usps.gov                                Donald Griffin, EMCM                Registration Chair                Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc.                8283 Greensboro Drive                McLean, VA 22102-3838                (703) 377-4320                 griffin_donald@bah.com                      Isacc M. Webb, CMDSM, EMCM                Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc.                8283 Greensboro Drive                McLean, VA 22102-3838                (703) 902-5930                Fax - (703) 902-3530   ...

</description>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.novapcc.org/en/cms/26/</guid>
			<pubDate>Mon, 15 Dec 2008 20:31:42 GMT</pubDate>
		</item>
		<item>
			<category>Survey</category>
			<link>http://www.novapcc.org/en/sur/?4</link>
			<title>What do you think about 5 Day Delivery</title>
			<description>Objectives: &lt;div&gt;This survey was created to solicit&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;feedback&amp;nbsp;regarding 5-day mail&amp;nbsp;delivery as proposed by the Postmaster General&amp;nbsp;March 2. Your participation is appreciated. &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Release Date: 10-Mar-10 2:00 PM&lt;br&gt;Expiration Date: 31-May-10 2:00 PM&lt;br&gt;&lt;div&gt;Please select the appropriate answer&amp;nbsp;to the questions.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/div&gt;</description>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.novapcc.org/en/sur/?4</guid>
			<author>noemail@novapcc.org</author>
			<pubDate>Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
</item>

		<item>

			<category>photos</category>
			<link>http://www.novapcc.org/en/photos/v/356/</link>
			<title>DSC06951</title>
			<description>&lt;img src =&quot;http://www.novapcc.org/tpeople/wwwnovapcc4.1/jennifer.d.williams@usps.gov/photos/356/DSC06951-m.JPG&quot; /&gt;&lt;br&gt;File uploaded by Jennifer Williams. 
&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;
</description>
			<itunes:subtitle>DSC06951</itunes:subtitle>
			<itunes:summary>File uploaded by Jennifer Williams.</itunes:summary>
			<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.novapcc.org/en/photos/v/356/</guid>
			<pubDate>Wed, 10 Mar 2010 20:36:46 GMT</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>

			<category>photos</category>
			<link>http://www.novapcc.org/en/photos/v/355/</link>
			<title>DSC06949</title>
			<description>&lt;img src =&quot;http://www.novapcc.org/tpeople/wwwnovapcc4.1/jennifer.d.williams@usps.gov/photos/355/DSC06949-m.JPG&quot; /&gt;&lt;br&gt;File uploaded by Jennifer Williams. 
&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;
</description>
			<itunes:subtitle>DSC06949</itunes:subtitle>
			<itunes:summary>File uploaded by Jennifer Williams.</itunes:summary>
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			<pubDate>Wed, 10 Mar 2010 20:36:46 GMT</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>

			<category>photos</category>
			<link>http://www.novapcc.org/en/photos/v/354/</link>
			<title>DSC06948</title>
			<description>&lt;img src =&quot;http://www.novapcc.org/tpeople/wwwnovapcc4.1/jennifer.d.williams@usps.gov/photos/354/DSC06948-m.JPG&quot; /&gt;&lt;br&gt;File uploaded by Jennifer Williams. 
&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;
</description>
			<itunes:subtitle>DSC06948</itunes:subtitle>
			<itunes:summary>File uploaded by Jennifer Williams.</itunes:summary>
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			<pubDate>Wed, 10 Mar 2010 20:36:46 GMT</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>

			<category>photos</category>
			<link>http://www.novapcc.org/en/photos/v/353/</link>
			<title>DSC06947</title>
			<description>&lt;img src =&quot;http://www.novapcc.org/tpeople/wwwnovapcc4.1/jennifer.d.williams@usps.gov/photos/353/DSC06947-m.JPG&quot; /&gt;&lt;br&gt;File uploaded by Jennifer Williams. 
&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;
</description>
			<itunes:subtitle>DSC06947</itunes:subtitle>
			<itunes:summary>File uploaded by Jennifer Williams.</itunes:summary>
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			<pubDate>Wed, 10 Mar 2010 20:36:46 GMT</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>

			<category>photos</category>
			<link>http://www.novapcc.org/en/photos/v/352/</link>
			<title>DSC06946</title>
			<description>&lt;img src =&quot;http://www.novapcc.org/tpeople/wwwnovapcc4.1/jennifer.d.williams@usps.gov/photos/352/DSC06946-m.JPG&quot; /&gt;&lt;br&gt;File uploaded by Jennifer Williams. 
&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;
</description>
			<itunes:subtitle>DSC06946</itunes:subtitle>
			<itunes:summary>File uploaded by Jennifer Williams.</itunes:summary>
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			<pubDate>Wed, 10 Mar 2010 20:36:46 GMT</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>

			<category>photos</category>
			<link>http://www.novapcc.org/en/photos/v/351/</link>
			<title>DSC06945</title>
			<description>&lt;img src =&quot;http://www.novapcc.org/tpeople/wwwnovapcc4.1/jennifer.d.williams@usps.gov/photos/351/DSC06945-m.JPG&quot; /&gt;&lt;br&gt;File uploaded by Jennifer Williams. 
&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;
</description>
			<itunes:subtitle>DSC06945</itunes:subtitle>
			<itunes:summary>File uploaded by Jennifer Williams.</itunes:summary>
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			<pubDate>Wed, 10 Mar 2010 20:36:46 GMT</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>

			<category>photos</category>
			<link>http://www.novapcc.org/en/photos/v/350/</link>
			<title>DSC06944</title>
			<description>&lt;img src =&quot;http://www.novapcc.org/tpeople/wwwnovapcc4.1/jennifer.d.williams@usps.gov/photos/350/DSC06944-m.JPG&quot; /&gt;&lt;br&gt;File uploaded by Jennifer Williams. 
&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;
</description>
			<itunes:subtitle>DSC06944</itunes:subtitle>
			<itunes:summary>File uploaded by Jennifer Williams.</itunes:summary>
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			<pubDate>Wed, 10 Mar 2010 20:36:46 GMT</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>

			<category>photos</category>
			<link>http://www.novapcc.org/en/photos/v/349/</link>
			<title>DSC06943</title>
			<description>&lt;img src =&quot;http://www.novapcc.org/tpeople/wwwnovapcc4.1/jennifer.d.williams@usps.gov/photos/349/DSC06943-m.JPG&quot; /&gt;&lt;br&gt;File uploaded by Jennifer Williams. 
&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;
</description>
			<itunes:subtitle>DSC06943</itunes:subtitle>
			<itunes:summary>File uploaded by Jennifer Williams.</itunes:summary>
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			<pubDate>Wed, 10 Mar 2010 20:36:46 GMT</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>

			<category>photos</category>
			<link>http://www.novapcc.org/en/photos/v/348/</link>
			<title>DSC06942</title>
			<description>&lt;img src =&quot;http://www.novapcc.org/tpeople/wwwnovapcc4.1/jennifer.d.williams@usps.gov/photos/348/DSC06942-m.JPG&quot; /&gt;&lt;br&gt;File uploaded by Jennifer Williams. 
&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;
</description>
			<itunes:subtitle>DSC06942</itunes:subtitle>
			<itunes:summary>File uploaded by Jennifer Williams.</itunes:summary>
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			<pubDate>Wed, 10 Mar 2010 20:36:46 GMT</pubDate>
		</item>

		<item>

			<category>photos</category>
			<link>http://www.novapcc.org/en/photos/v/347/</link>
			<title>DSC06941</title>
			<description>&lt;img src =&quot;http://www.novapcc.org/tpeople/wwwnovapcc4.1/jennifer.d.williams@usps.gov/photos/347/DSC06941-m.JPG&quot; /&gt;&lt;br&gt;File uploaded by Jennifer Williams. 
&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;
</description>
			<itunes:subtitle>DSC06941</itunes:subtitle>
			<itunes:summary>File uploaded by Jennifer Williams.</itunes:summary>
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			<pubDate>Wed, 10 Mar 2010 20:36:46 GMT</pubDate>
		</item>

<item>
<title>Lorem ipsum</title>
<category>Courses</category>
<link>http://www.novapcc.org/en/courses/view.asp?courseid=1</link>
<description><![CDATA[Instructor: Instructor<br><br>

Lorem ipsum<br>
]]></description>
<dc:subject>Course</dc:subject>
<dc:date>2008-11-24T15:37:15Z</dc:date>
</item>

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