Tuesday, March 11, 2025
USPS has announced release dates for more stamps
The lineup includes Baby Wild Animals, Goodnight Moon and Powwows
The Postal Service has announced release dates for the next batch of this year’s stamps, along with the cities where dedication ceremonies will be held:
• Battlefields of the American Revolution, Wednesday, April 16, Concord, MA;
• Powwows: Celebrating Native American Culture, Friday, April 25, Albuquerque, NM;
• Dahlias, Saturday, April 26, Burlingame, CA;
• Goodnight Moon, Friday, May 2, Kansas City, MO;
• Baby Wild Animals, Friday, May 23, Auora, CO;
• U.S. Flag, Saturday, June 7, Three Oaks, MI; and
• Schooner stamped postcard, Friday, July 18, Crystal, MN.
USPS announced these stamps in November, December and January.
Additional release dates will be announced later.
On the Job
When they write, he responds
This correspondence analyst helps USPS handle congressional inquiries
My name is Michael Marazzi and I’m a correspondence analyst at USPS headquarters in Washington, DC. I help research and respond to inquiries and letters that the Postal Service receives from members of Congress and other public officials.
Members of Congress are typically contacting us on behalf of a constituent who needs help with a postal issue. Each case is assigned to a writer on our team, who researches a response by contacting field employees, consulting policy documents and working with other offices across the organization. Our goal is to answer the member’s questions and address his or her concerns while also explaining our policies and procedures.
This is my first position with the Postal Service — I have only been here about two years — and I still have a lot to learn. One of the best aspects of the job is that it involves “deep dives” on complex challenges involving different offices and functions, allowing me to learn the details of operations and policies for almost everything we do.
Our role in responding to congressional inquiries is to support postal employees and their decisions — not to direct people’s work or single anyone out for mistakes. We are trying to understand the facts and get the full story so we can explain to a member of Congress how a problem originated, how our employees have been trying to resolve it and what the solutions are going forward.
I like to keep in mind that behind all the paperwork and formality of congressional correspondence, a real person is having a real issue — one that is important enough to them that they contacted their representative. I believe we owe those situations our best efforts toward a full, comprehensive resolution whenever one is possible. If one is not possible, we can at least provide an honest, straightforward explanation of why.
I’m a big believer in the value of strong public programs and services. USPS is many people’s most frequent point of connection with the federal government, and I think it’s important they see what’s possible when the government works to serve people and communities.
When I’m not working, I’m usually going to the climbing gym, playing Dungeons & Dragons or poker with friends, or riding my bike around DC. I’ve lived here about 13 years now and have built a good community, and there is always a new restaurant to try or some event to check out.
“On the Job,” a column on individual employees and their contributions to the Postal Service, appears regularly in Link.
Here’s what to do when offered a gift of a book
Special ethics rules apply to informational materials
Different ethics rules apply when USPS employees receive books or other informational materials as gifts.
Gifts of informational materials are educational or instructive — not primarily created for entertainment, display or decoration. Such gifts must relate to an employee’s official duties or to the Postal Service’s mission.
An employee can accept an unsolicited gift of informational materials if the value of all informational materials accepted by the employee from that same source does not exceed $100 in a calendar year.
If the value of all informational materials accepted by the employee from that source exceeds $100 in a calendar year, the employee should contact the USPS Ethics Office to see if the materials can be accepted.
For other types of gifts, the standard ethics rules apply: An employee may accept an unsolicited, noncash gift of $20 or less from an outside source if the value of all accepted gifts from that same source does not exceed $50 in a calendar year.
Employees with questions should email the USPS Ethics Office.