Latest news with #U.S.PostOffice
Miami Herald
4 days ago
- Business
- Miami Herald
Is Kroger open on Juneteenth?
Even though Juneteenth, the newest federal holiday, is a solemn day - it commemorates the emancipation of slaves in the U.S. in 1865 - it is also cause for celebration. Many people celebrate Juneteenth with a family get-together or BBQ, and others choose to make the day, which is always celebrated on June 19th, a day of service by volunteering in their communities. Don't miss the move: SIGN UP for TheStreet's FREE Daily newsletter Juneteenth became an official holiday in 2021. Banks and federal offices are closed, including U.S. Post Office locations and the stock market. Many retailers also have limited hours on holidays, and some close altogether. Related: Is Trader Joe's open on Juneteenth? There's nothing worse than showing up to your go-to grocery store or other retailer, only to find it's closed for the day. So whether you have a day off from work and are planning on a midweek grocery run to stock up on staples, or you just need to grab a few things because you're having friends over for dinner, you might be heading to your local Kroger (KR) . If Kroger is your go-to grocery store, you should find your local store open normal hours on June 19, 2025. Many retailers give their employees holidays off, or choose to pay them extra for working on a holiday. Since some Kroger locations are part of a union, only some employees get bonus wages for working on Juneteenth. Kroger is open normal hours on Juneteenth. For most locations, that means doors open at 6 a.m and close at 11 p.m. Of course, it's always a good idea to check your local store hours, which you can do on the company's website. The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Delray Beach post office named for Nazi hunter, peace advocate who lived nearby
A hub for sending and receiving messages, the U.S. Post Office in Delray Beach now bears the name of the man whose work prosecuting Nazis led him to a life spreading the word to advance humanity's momentum against hatred and division. Benjamin Berell Ferencz, who died in 2023 at age 103 in Boynton Beach, was at 27 the youngest prosecutor of Nazi war criminals at the Nuremberg trials that immediately followed World War II. He himself witnessed the horrors of the Nazi concentration camps as a young U.S. serviceman. That experience propelled a lifelong dedication to human rights that needs to resonate even more at this moment in history, Democratic U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel said as she unveiled Ferencz's name at the post office at 14280 Military Trail. 'In naming this post office after Ben Ferencz, we not only honor him, we reaffirm the values he stood for: justice, human dignity and the courage to speak out against hate,' said Frankel, who introduced the requisite legislation to make the post office naming happen. 'So may this post office, named effort for Ferencz, be a lasting symbol of those values, a place that reminds us to stand firm against antisemitism and all forms of hatred and division. ➤ Access The Palm Beach Post on the go with the app: Our app offers a personalized experience to your liking. Download our app to personalize your news alerts, swipe and scroll through stories faster, and bookmark them to save and read later. 'That's something we should all commit ourselves to and hopefully, everyone who walks through that door feels the same way,' Frankel added. Dignitaries gathered for the event recalled how Ferencz's short stature — just 5 feet tall — belied his undeniable moral authority and booming voice. Here's a look at his life: The 1943 graduate of Harvard Law School in 2014 received the school's Medal of Freedom. He was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, Congress' highest honor, in 2022 in recognition of his work at Nuremberg and advocacy for the international rule of law. In addition, Ferencz, who lived for many years at King's Point in Delray Beach, was the last, living Nuremberg prosecutor when Gov. Ron DeSantis awarded him the Governor's Medal of Freedom in 2022. Frankel credited his work with laying the foundation for international law. Former Palm Beach County Commissioner Maria Sachs recalled meeting him and experiencing his outsized impact on those around him. 'When I met him, I thought that he would speak in a halting voice — after all he was 100 years old,' Sachs said. 'No, no, no — he spoke up loud and in a very strong voice that we should always honor the law and not hatred and war and how important that message is today.' Ferencz emigrated from Transylvania as a young boy. His family landed in the Hell's Kitchen district of New York City as they sought to escape rampant antisemitism in their native country. Speaking only Yiddish, he didn't start school until he was 8 years old, according to an obituary Harvard University published. His aptitude was recognized and he was sent to a school for gifted boys, which earned him automatic admission to the City College of New York. After enrolling at Harvard, a leading criminologist urged Ferencz to summarize every book in the Harvard library related to war crimes. The assignment, Ferencz told Harvard, 'probably changed my life.' Shortly after graduating from Harvard, Ferencz enlisted and served in an artillery battalion for three years, playing a role in the invasion of Normandy and ultimately earning five battle stars. As a sergeant in Gen. George Patton's 3rd Army, Ferencz visited a handful of concentration camps shortly after they were liberated. 'The scenes have been well-depicted,' he said in 2016. 'Dead bodies lying around, you can't tell if they're dead or alive, their eyes beg for help. Dysentery, lice, rats, stench. Things that are not only indescribable, but unimaginable.' In 1947 when he argued, as chief prosecutor in one of the 13 Nuremberg trials, for the convictions of 22 former commanders who themselves were charged with murdering more than 1 million Jews and other enemies of the Third Reich in Eastern Europe. Harvard credits him with prosecuting the largest murder trials in history, ultimately convicting all 22 of the accused. With the war crimes trials winding down, Ferencz went to work for a consortium of Jewish charitable groups to help Holocaust survivors regain properties, homes, businesses, art works, Torah scrolls and other Jewish religious items that the Nazis had stolen from them. He also later assisted in negotiations that would lead to compensation to Nazi victims. Ferencz, a father of four, published a two-volume book in 1980 titled, "An International Criminal Court: A Step Toward World Peace." More: How Coco Gauff's grandmother made history in Palm Beach County The establishment of the International Criminal Court in The Hague was the fulfillment of a longstanding dream, his youngest daughter, Nina Dale, told those assembled at the post office naming. 'He spent the rest of his life fighting against crimes against humanity and trying to institute global peace,' she said. 'He had the notion to create an international criminal court where people who commit crimes against humanity could be prosecuted. Fifty years later, that came to fruition. And so for me, that's the man that I remember, because that's my father. He was not home for dinner, and he was not home for my birthday, but he was a great man.' Ferencz's obituary in Harvard's publication recalled that, at the age of 91 in 2011, Ferencz delivered the closing prosecution speech of a Congolese warlord, the first ever heard at the international court. He repeated a line he used in his opening statement his at a Nazi trial 60 years earlier, saying, 'The case we present is a plea of humanity to law.' He added: 'The hope of humankind is that compassion and compromise may replace the cruel and senseless violence of armed conflicts.' Anne Geggis is the insurance reporter at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at ageggis@ support our journalism. Subscribe today This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Delray Beach post office named for Nazi prosecutor Benjamin Ferencz
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Five Augustans await sentencing for stolen mail, bank fraud, aggravated identity theft in separate cases
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF) – Five Richmond County defendants face various prison sentences after pleading guilty to illegally possessing a master key for postal service mailboxes and other felony counts occurring in 2023. Davion Chelsea Easterling, 26, and Corey Jamario Gunter, 24, both of Augusta, await sentencing after pleading guilty to Aiding and Abetting Possession of a Stolen Mail Key. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, plea agreements subject each defendant to a statutory penalty of up to 10 years in prison, along with substantial financial penalties and up to three years of supervised release upon completion of any prison term. According to court documents, Easterling was employed by the U.S. Postal Service and shared a residence with Gunter. An investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Richmond County Sheriff's Office in 2023, led to a search of their residence pursuant to a state search warrant, where investigators reportedly found large quantities of stolen mail and multiple postal bins, along with a master key used to access postal service boxes. The investigation revealed that mail was stolen from a USPS Blue Box, located at the U.S. Post Office, 3108 Peach Orchard Road in Augusta. U.S. District Court Judge J. Randal Hall will schedule sentencing hearings for Easterling and Gunter upon completion of pre-sentence investigations by U.S. Probation Services. Cameron Martinas Curry, 22, and Quavaun Enreco Rhodes, 22, both of Augusta, await sentencing after pleading guilty to Possession of a Stolen Mail Key, Possessing Stolen Mail Matter, Bank Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft. Both face up to 30 years in prison, along with substantial financial penalties and up to five years of supervised release upon completion of any prison term. Curry and Rhodes were detained by the Columbia County Sheriff's Office for a traffic stop after suspecting that the defendants had stolen mail from a USPS Blue Box, located at the U.S. Post Office, 125 Commercial Boulevard in Martinez. Upon contact with the defendants, the deputies observed what appeared to be stolen U.S. Mail inside the vehicle. An investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service determined that there was no forced entry on the USPS Blue Box. After searching the area, a pair of U.S. Postal Master Keys were found less than thirty yards from the vehicle. A federal search warrant was obtained for both defendants' phones and agents found several check images with a face value totaling $485,000. Court documents showed that text messages and screenshots revealed that they had stolen checks from the mail and had been depositing, altering or selling them for the Purpose of Bank Fraud or Identity Theft. U.S. District Court Judge Dudley H. Bowen will schedule sentencing hearings for Curry and Rhodes upon completion of pre-sentence investigations by U.S. Probation Services. Earl Demetrius Overton, 32, of Augusta, awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person, Bank Fraud, and Aggravated Identity Theft related to stolen mail. He faces up to 30 years in prison, along with substantial financial penalties and up to five years of supervised release upon completion of any prison term. Overton was arrested by RCSO, pursuant to an arrest warrant, while driving a vehicle. The defendant was reportedly found to be in possession of a firearm and is a prohibited person because of a previous felony conviction. A follow up search warrant of the defendant's home revealed numerous stolen checks, stolen mail, and various debit cards belonging to other people. Investigators revealed that Overton was stealing checks from the mail and depositing, altering or selling them for the purpose of Bank Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft. U.S. District Court Judge J. Randal Hall will schedule a sentencing hearing for Overton upon completion of pre-sentence investigations by U.S. Probation Services. 'These cases are examples of individuals who made a decision to engage in criminal misconduct involving the U.S. mail that will not go unpunished,' said Rodney M. Hopkins, Inspector in Charge of the Atlanta Division. 'The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is committed to protecting our customers and preserving the integrity of the mail.' If you believe you are a victim of mail theft from the Martinez Post Office, or the Peach Orchard Road Post Office between the dates of March 1, 2023 and November 30, 2023, and you have not been contacted by the United States Attorney's Office, you can file a report by June 30, 2025, with the United States Postal Inspection Service at referencing USPIS Case Numbers 4183320-MT and 4207963-MT. This investigation is on-going. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Newsweek
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
America Could Get 68 New Zip Codes: Here's Where
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Dozens of communities across the United States could get new zip codes under a bill introduced by Representative Lauren Boebert, a Colorado Republican, with one mayor telling Newsweek the bill could significantly benefit his community. Why It Matters Currently, many communities have outdated zip codes that may cause issues including slower mail delivery or delayed emergency service response times. Supporters of Boebert's bipartisan bill believe this legislation would solve that issue for some communities by giving them an updated zip code. What to Know The bill, known as H.R. 3095, advanced through the powerful House Oversight Committee this week. In total, the legislation would give 68 communities from 19 different states new zip codes if it becomes law. Towns and cities from California to New Hampshire could have new zip codes under this bill. This map shows which communities would have a new zip code. Glendale, Wisconsin, is one city included in the bill that has dealt with challenges because of its current zip code system, Glendale Mayor Bryan Kennedy told Newsweek in a phone interview Friday morning. The Milwaukee suburb is divided into three separate zip codes despite only having less than 14,000 residents. This is largely because Milwaukee County zip codes were drawn up before the municipality was established in 1950, he said. This means that residents' mail comes to a Milwaukee address, even though they live in Glendale. This has created "confusion" in the postal system, Kennedy said. "We have significant delivery issues with a number of years with absentee ballots, tax payments, water utility bills—people mailing from the post office in Glendale to City Hall, which is just over a mile away in a different zip code, and then taking one, two, three weeks to get to city hall," he said." A U.S. Post Office truck sits parked in North Haledon, New Jersey, on February 10, 2022. A U.S. Post Office truck sits parked in North Haledon, New Jersey, on February 10, have been "disenfranchised" in elections because they mail their ballots a week before Election Day, but it doesn't make it to City Hall on time, he said. The city has faced other zip code-related challenges, such as when Milwaukee created a new sales tax implemented by zip code, and some suburban retailers automatically started charging that new tax, which went to Milwaukee, rather than the city it is actually in. "We know there are problems with U.S. Postal Service. We saw a lot of the reforms they've tried to do over the past decade," he said. "When you implement those kind of reforms and you don't also implement a way of streamlining delivery to people, you're going to find situations like ours, where delivery got significantly worse." Boebert's office, in a press release this week, wrote that communities in Colorado have faced similar issues—sales tax revenue, insurance rates, mail delivery rates and emergency response times have all been negatively affected by these communities not having a unique zip code, her office said. What People Are Saying Boebert wrote in a statement: "It may not be an issue that draws headlines, but zip code reform is a topic I continue to be passionate about because it impacts the daily lives of so many small-town residents in the 4th District and beyond. Mayors and community leaders from every part of Colorado have made it clear fixing this problem is a priority for them and I am determined to finish the job this Congress after getting our bill through the House Oversight Committee this morning." Castle Pines Mayor Tracy Engerman wrote in the statement: "We value our relationship with the Congresswoman and, on behalf of our National Zip Code Coalition, I personally want to thank her for unwavering leadership on this issue. Lauren knows this is not a partisan issue and has worked across the aisle to make this bill happen. I believe this will be the year that she gets this bill through Congress." What Happens Next Boebert's bill has support from both Democrats and Republicans, with a total of 30 cosponsors, many of whom represent communities that could have new zip codes if the legislation becomes law. It's unclear when, or if, the bill will be brought to a vote on the floor of the House.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Odessans asked for new courthouse input
May 14—The general consensus of a Wednesday public meeting to guide the look and amenities of the coming courthouse seems to be creating a space that the next generation will find was a good investment. Members of the Butler-Cohen design-build team met with a variety of Odessans from those who work at the courthouse to elected officials to folks who are just interested in the project. A new courthouse is coming and is funded by $325 million in certificates of obligation issued by county commissioners last November. The certificates will also fund an overhaul of the Ector County Juvenile Justice Center. Since that time it's been a bit of a roller coaster of land purchases and a current state of uncertainty of where the courthouse will be built. The preferred plan is to build it at the site of the current downtown U.S. Post Office. The county purchased that land for $4.7 million last year. What is holding things up is an agreement with the USPS to abandon that office and relocate as they still have a lease on the space despite the sale of the land. Originally the county was going to assist the USPS in finding a new location but that has been abandoned as the amount the USPS pays to lease the downtown location and the needs of the USPS for what that new office will entail have been problematic, per County Judge Dustin Fawcett. Fawcett has said the county now hopes to get the USPS to sign on the dotted line to leave their current spot and move into the bottom floor of the planned parking garage that will sit near the new courthouse. That agreement, Fawcett said, should have some answer in the next 30 days or so. If a deal cannot be reached the new courthouse will have to be relocated. Commissioner Samantha Russell has pitched locating the new courthouse at the site of the current health department. That plan, Fawcett said, was looked at about 18 months ago by the court prior to Russell taking office. On Tuesday members of the committee created to look at building a new library admonished the court telling them that health department land was promised to the group for a new library build. The library group did not walk away Tuesday with the deed to the land but did get a promised $10 million in county funds moved into an account that can be used as the new library moves forward. They were asked to be patient until word from USPS and their plans are decided. On Tuesday the commissioners court also agreed to allow Butler-Cohen the use of the old Henderson Drug building as a construction office for the life of the courthouse project. The Butler-Cohen reps led the Wednesday meeting and said other meetings as well as a website and a QR code will be used to keep the public informed and to solicit suggestions from Odessans about what they called a project that will change the face of downtown Odessa. Participants asked for a new courthouse that is cost efficient, taxpayer friendly, easy to maintain and accessible to all. Parking was a major concern that came up over and over. Russell had pitched not building a parking garage in a previous commissioners meeting but that idea seemed to be overwhelmingly panned Wednesday by those who work downtown and use the courthouse daily. Some said courthouse staff can have to walk several blocks just to get to the office and that a parking garage is important. Butler-Cohen reps said there is value in having these meetings for the collaboration and to end up with a system that is user friendly and what the community needs. Other ideas thrown out included an outdoor area that is secure for employees to use as well as color coordinated signage and drive through or walk up windows for those doing business at the court. On June 23 the group will meet stakeholders for operational discussions. The new courthouse will be funded by $325 million in certificates of obligation issued by county commissioners in November. The debt will increase property taxes for Ector County residents. Owners of a $210,000 home in Ector County will pay about $17 more a month in property taxes. A $210,000 home has a $170,000 taxable value. The certificates will also fund an overhaul of the Ector County Juvenile Justice Center.
