USPS says no to Richmond town hall. Again.
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For the second time in recent weeks, the U.S. Postal Service has refused to hold a town hall in Richmond to address residents' mail delivery concerns.
Driving the news: The latest request to hold a forum came from Virginia Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner and Rep. Jennifer McClellan, WTVR reports.
- Their request came after USPS declined to show up for a town hall the city's Commonwealth's Attorney Colette McEachin scheduled last month.
Why it matters: Residents continue to report mail issues, all over town, including undelivered mail, lost packages, late jury summonses and mail theft since at least last year, per WRIC.
- The commonwealth's attorney office "has received literally hundreds of emails, Facebook posts, texts [and] phone calls," McEachin told the station.
Zoom in: In their letter to the Virginia district USPS manager, lawmakers noted one Richmonder whose package was held for six weeks before delivery.
- In another instance, they said a Bellevue business owner is racking up credit card late fees because her outgoing payments are never delivered.
- In Church Hill, locals say their neighborhood post office closes on random days or sometimes for weeks at a time with no notice, NBC12 reported.
- And 8th District Richmond City Council member Reva Trammell told the Times-Dispatch last week the city threatened to cut off her water because it hadn't received payments she mailed in for her monthly utility bill.
Meanwhile, residents in north Richmond and parts of Henrico said they had gone months without receiving mail, with undelivered mail periodically discovered discarded in alleyways.
- And McEachin warned city residents to stop using USPS's big, blue outdoor collection boxes, saying "your mail is not safe if you deposit it" due to theft.
What we're watching: If USPS won't meet with the public, McEachin is now calling on the organization to at least communicate with her office so they can better respond to Richmonders' concerns.