Mail a Letter to Save the Post Office

Mail is not just junk and bills. La Jolla residents dropped off handwritten letters at the historic La Jolla Post Office on Friday morning addressed to Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista), chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. The letter drive, held on National Handwritten Letter Day, was the latest effort by the La Jolla Historical Society’s Save Our La Jolla Post Office Task Force to save the La Jolla Post built in the 1930s.

The La Jolla Historical Society is asking residents to write to Issa, requesting that he endorses a proposed bill that addresses the relocation of post office services. The bill, introduced by reps. Bob Filner (D-San Diego) and Susan Davis (D-San Diego) would allow the La Jolla Historical Society right of first refusal to purchase the building - the oppportunity to purchase the building before it hits the open market.

“(Issa) is the key to our success of being able to control the future of our community and our economy,” said Leslie Davis, chair of the Save the La Jolla Post Office Task Force. “Tell your friends to write a letter and get involved. This is a community effort and it takes everyone.”

La Jollans first learned that the Postal Service proposed a relocation and sale of the Post Office in January.

On Jan. 11, the Postal Service said the La Jolla Main Post Office on the corner of Wall Street and Ivanhoe Avenue would be relocated to a smaller location within 1 mile of the current site.

That same month a representative for the U.S. Postal Service told Patch, “The Postal Service appreciates the fact that customers like those in La Jolla hold their local Post Offices in high regard and value our products and services. That’s why we are taking necessary steps nationwide to ensure the long-term viability of the Postal Service by identifying sensible ways to reduce our costs and maintain affordable, efficient service.”

The Post Office is still not for sale. And in the meanwhile, the Task Force hopes to convince the Post Office to stop the closure, sale and relocation of services. If it were not able to stop the closure, sale and relocation, it would like to raise enough money to buy the property and lease it back to the Post Office. Lastly, if the Task Force is not able to accomplish these plans, it hopes to work with a buyer to “enable a beneficial purchase of the property and work closely together on an adaptive reuse that would preserve the building, the (historical Bell Baranceanu) mural and public access to key areas while meeting the buyer’s desires.”

If you want to write your own letter to Issa, send it to Congressman Darrell Issa, 1800 Thibodo Rd., Suite 310, Vista, CA 92801.