At post offices in Browns Valley, Smartsville, Dobbins and other small Yuba County burgs, residents stop in for their mail, and a chat.

Sometimes it’s with the clerk, sometimes it’s with neighbors. The topic can be the weather, where to get firewood, or general gossip.

But officials of the U.S. Postal Service, which continues to face financial woes and a mandate to cut costs, is mulling whether such post offices still make sense in a time when bills can be paid online and most people can’t recall when they last sent a letter.

Beginning in March, the Postal Service will begin closing 2,000 offices nationwide, and postal officials are reviewing up to 16,000 more operating at a deficit

full story: Marysville (CA) Appeal-Democrat