New postal regs putting strain on businesses
Security concerns make package mailing more difficult
BY MICHELLE L. START Florida Weekly Correspondent
A small change in postal policy is causing headaches for local carriers. "We did have a recent change," said post office spokesperson Debra Mitchell. "Now, anything over 13 ounces has to be presented. That is causing a lot of confusion and upset."

COURTESY PHOTO With the new regulations, package senders must either go into a post office, use a credit card to purchase postage online or buy a postage machine.

Until July 30, senders could mail packages that weighed up to 16 ounces by applying proper postage and stuffing it into a mailbox.

With the new regulations, senders must either go into a post office, use a credit card to purchase postage online or buy a postage machine.

"It's all about being a known mailer," Mitchell said. "We're trying to steer people to buying postage online. That way we know who the sender is."

Mitchell said the post office works with the Federal Aviation Administration and the new regulations are meant to tighten security. The post office contracts with private airlines to carry mail.

It is one of the most recent changes implemented to increase security within a system that has come under attack several times in recent years. For more than 20 years, the Unabomber used the postal service to mail bombs to his victims. In 2001, anthrax spores were sent through the mail, killing five people and sickening 17 others.

"A lot of businesses often have packages that are more than 13 ounces," said Mitchell. "Now, they can't just mail them."

Word is slow in reaching the public, though.

"We haven't heard that, but I don't think it will affect us, though," said Gary Bryant, president of Good Wheels.

At the Area Agency on Aging, executive director Leigh Schield said the only item that is mailed regularly and might fall under the new regulations is packets to the board of directors.

"Typically, most of our correspondence doesn't weigh much," she said. "Besides, we're hoping to get to the point that we are more paperless." ¦ Page Field post office getting new look

The Page Field branch of the U.S. Post Office is undergoing a facelift.

Paint flecking off the exterior and the metal canopy have been eyesores at the building, which is located just north of the airstrip. When a new manager was hired, it was one of the first things she noticed.

"She put in a request to fix it up," said Debra Mitchell, a spokesperson for the U.S. Post Office. "She wants it to look the way it should look. It has been kind of neglected in recent months."

Mitchell said the building is being repainted and the front is being re-done so as to spruce up the entire building.

Work is expected to be complete within

six months.

- Michelle L. Start