USPS Office of Inspector General

There was a time when, if you lived in Spokane, Bing Crosby might have sold you stamps across a post office counter. If you lived in Chicago, Walt Disney might have delivered your mail – or maybe Rock Hudson, if you were just up the road in nearby Winnetka. More recently, before he starred in The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Steve Carell might have put letters in your mailbox if it was in rural Massachusetts. And have you ever wondered where the Grammy-winning John Prine got the title for his album The Singing Mailman Delivers?

There’s no denying it: Looks matter. Appearance creates a first impression that is hard to erase. And when you’re talking about postal retail facilities, how they look is essential to the U.S. Postal Service’s business.

Unfortunately, too many retail facilities have fallen into disrepair.

Forget True Detective. A noir-ish saga is unfolding in the advertising world, complete with favoritism, kickbacks, and shady deals. Who wants the movie rights?

Change begets change, said Charles Dickens amid the upheavals of the Industrial Revolution. The same could be said of the Logistics Revolution, which is still roiling the landscape with no signs of slowing down.

The world is getting smaller, and not just because viruses and bacteria from foreign countries are showing up here. We can buy something made halfway around the world and have it on our doorstep in a few days. We can also instantaneously send across national boundaries not only information, but money as well.