They’ve tried it before and they’re trying it again: The U.S. Postal Service wants to cut costs by shuttering Eureka’s own mail sorting facility and routing all our incoming bills, magazines and junk mail through the godforsaken waste of Medford, Oregon.

Rep. Jared Huffman, who reckons that the move will further slow the already glacial rate at which Mr. Zip moves product to and fro between Humboldt County and Amerikkka, is raising holy hell about it. He’s holding a town hall meeting at the Wharfinger tomorrow afternoon, with USPS representatives in tow, and he’d love it if you were to show up and gripe.

From the office of Rep. Jared Huffman:

Eureka, CA—On Friday, August 22nd at 4:00 p.m., Congressman Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) will hold a Town Hall in Eureka, California on the United States Postal Service’s (USPS) announcement of a plan to close the Eureka Customer Service Mail Processing Center.The town hall will be held at the Wharfinger Building and is open to the public.

In July, Huffman wrote a letter to Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe expressing his strong opposition to the plan, citing that it would cause disruption of mail delivery, cause job loss, and damage local economies. In this letter, Huffman, along with Rep. Mike Thompson, who previously represented Eureka, wrote:

“In 2011, we opposed this same consolidation proposal because we knew then that such a proposal would hurt the local economy and be detrimental to mail delivery in the region,” Huffman and Thompson wrote. “We are again opposing this misguided consolidation as a means to solve the USPS financial crisis. It is our understanding that this decision will result in the loss of hundreds of postal staff positions, and our constituents will face a 2 to 3 day service standard for First-Class Mail, instead of 1 to 3 days. This change would be especially difficult for seniors, veterans, and our rural communities, who rely on timely delivery of prescriptions and other postal services.”

Huffman previously opposed the consolidation plan when it was first proposed in 2011.

Members of the press are invited and should RSVP to paul.arden@mail.house.gov, and constituents should RSVP to Huffman.CAscheduling@mail.house.gov or call 707-407-3585.

WHO:   Rep. Jared Huffman, Representatives from the U.S. Postal Service

WHAT:   Town Hall on U.S. Post Office Services

WHEN:  August 22, 2014: 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. 

WHERE:  Wharfinger Building, 1 Marina Way, Eureka, California 95501