Laurels and Laments

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore are right to challenge a U.S. Postal Service plan to close offices in the city. The USPS plan targets five locations in the central city as part of a national downsizing, but those closings – Mid City, Parklawn, Teutonia, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Hampton – disproportionately affect African-Americans in the city. The Postal Service should rethink its plan. In all, 41 locations are on the chopping block in Wisconsin and 3,700 nationwide. The service needs to cut costs, but residents in low-income areas have less access to computers and cars and more need for in-store services.