Ideology and Politics Threaten to Assassinate America’s Oldest Institution By Paul Rosenberg, Senior Editor
Killing the Mail
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he United States Postal Service is the most ubiquitous face of the federal government (with over 34,000 offices, delivering mail to over 160 million addresses) as well as the most well-regarded (scoring 10 points higher than the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2019). It’s in the Constitution (which it actually predates) and it’s helped bind Americans together ever since. But in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic — when its service is more essential than ever — rightwing billionaires could finally realize their decades-long dream of destroying it as it now exists, and privatizing whatever fragments seem profitable enough for continued plundering. “For more than four decades, USPS has faced calls for privatization,” a February 2020 report from the Institute for Policy Studies noted. “Think tanks have led the charge, supported by corporations like United Parcel Service and FedEx that stand to gain from privatization.” With so much going on all at once, there’s a very real chance that the US Postal Service could be forced to close, before the public even realizes what’s happening, just when voting by mail is needed more than ever. “Some time between July and September, the post office will likely run out of money,” says Mark Dimondstein, president of American Postal Workers Union, told In These Times in mid-April. “And when they run out of money, their operations will cease.” “Democrats are going to have to step up to fix the situation,” Congresswoman Nannette Barragán told Random Lengths News, “because we just haven’t seen any Republican leadership on this.” A $25 billion grant was stripped from the $2.2 trillion CARES Act [See Institution, p. 16]
Why Your Mail is Late:
Proposed 102-Unit Building Approved
Report on the USPS By Terelle Jerricks, Managing Editor
Gotta eat:
Virtual artwalk:
SP News Pilot archive p. 4
Where to order p. 12
Scroll through local art p. 15
1918 Flu Pandemic
Quarantine Dining Guide
First Thursday online
[See Demolished, p. 3]
April 30 - May 13, 2020
San Pedro history:
[See Mail, p. 17]
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he Los Angeles City Planning Commission unanimously approved a four-story apartment complex at 1309-1331 S. Pacific Ave. in San Pedro. The proposed building’s 102 units — including 12 very low-income units — will replace three commercially zoned buildings and a parking lot. The proposed development will take up most of the block, said Jonathan Lonner, a representative of Burns & Bouchard Inc., the company that is representing RKD 13 PAC., LP, which owns the property. The site was a dance club, and before that, a bowling center. The planning commission granted three significant bonuses — that is, special exceptions to zoning laws — that were requested by Burns & Bouchard Inc. The bonuses will allow the developer to reduce required open space by 20%, to increase the project’s height by 15.5 feet and to increase floor area. The developers argued that the bonus was justified due to the inclusion of 12 very low-income units. In addition, the developer asked for a decrease in the size of the rear yard setback, which is the amount of space between the building and the curb. The requirement is 16 feet, but the developer
The Beacon Street post office branch customers in San Pedro practicing social distancing as they wait to be served. Photo by Joseph Baroud
While the battle over the future of the United States Postal Service has been and continues to be fought on Capitol Hill, Random Lengths News has been watching the ramifications of that fight play out in the deliveries of local mail and our own subscriptions. Some might blame this on the sheer incompetence of this often maligned government agency, but if truth be told, the problems of the U.S. postal system go much deeper. Due to lower staffing and financial issues, mail delivery in Los Angeles has become more sporadic. Over the past few years, mail delivery has come later in the evening. These later deliveries are defined by mail delivered
By Hunter Chase, Reporter
Real News, Real People, Really Effective
Dancing Waters Club to be Demolished
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