Watch CBS News

Service Cuts May Impact Historic South Bay Post Office

SAN JOSE (KCBS)— You might not think of San Jose as rural, but the latest round of U.S. Postal Service cuts may affect the hours at the New Almaden Post Office.

17,000 rural post offices are proposed to have their hours reduced, including this South Bay post that opened back in 1861.

Many long-time residents like Leslie Mansfield aren't happy to hear the news about the proposal of new hours from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

"I think it's an emotional tie that most people will really miss. I mean you can get a P.O. Box anywhere, but this is really special," Mansfield said.

U.S. Postal Service Spokesman Gus Ruiz said the reduction in hours needs to be done because the service continues to loose money.

KCBS' Mike Colgan Reports:

"We're still in the middle of this economic recession and businesses haven't come back and started using the mail like they used to," Ruiz said.

Ruiz explained they've tried to rely on business-to-business and business-to-consumer and back.

"Our first class volume is going away; it's never going to come back. It's never going to recover," he said.

According to Ruiz the postal service lost a billion dollars more in the first quarter of 2012 compared to last year.

(Copyright 2012 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.