“Moving the mail this time of year through the Margaret L. Sellers Processing and Distribution Center is somewhere between scenes from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and Lucille Ball in Kramer’s Kandy Kitchen,” said a report by TV station KNSD.

Late mail call

As Christmas approached last fall, an upbeat account of mail handling at the U.S. Postal Service’s huge Margaret L. Sellers Processing and Distribution Center on Rancho Carmel Drive appeared on TV station KNSD. “Moving the mail this time of year through the Margaret L. Sellers Processing and Distribution Center is somewhere between scenes from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and Lucille Ball in Kramer’s Kandy Kitchen,” said the report. Operations Support Specialist Melissa Mata was seen saying, “Dedication, hard work, organization. We prep for this all year long. We always know there are going to be a lot of people that shop online so we are always preparing for that all year long.”

But when auditors arrived at the center two months later from the Postal Service’s Office of Inspector General, they found a different story. The center “did not meet the First-Class package clearance times,” according to an April 8 report, recently posted online. “Specifically, we observed high volumes of delayed First-Class Small Parcels and Rolls during our visit to the plant on February 1, 2022.”

An unnamed plant manager explained that “package processing capacity was exceeded due to an increased volume of First-Class [mail] trucked in from several large customers. In response to these increases, the [Sellers center] coordinated with other sites to offload mail volume. However, they still delayed First-Class [mail] to allow completion of processing Priority Mail packages.” Notes the document: “When mail is delayed, there is an increased risk of customer dissatisfaction, which may adversely affect the Postal Service brand.”

Sara Jacobs: putting her treasure in Treasury Bills.

In a second finding, auditors said that the center’s “employees were not performing container load scans consistently before dispatching mail to the next facility. The missing scans occurred because management did not properly train new employees or hold them accountable for conducting load scans.”

A March 31 response to the findings signed by Senior Director of Division Processing Ops Britton Soto and Southern California Division Director of Logistics Operations Pedro Ortiz said management would address scanning performance problems, but “does not agree with the position that the ability to address the capacity constraints is within the complete control of the local site.”

Added the letter: “The First-Class package volume has shown substantial growth over the past few years, but the last time any package processing equipment was deployed to [Sellers] was October 2015.” The auditors replied: “Regarding management’s position that the ability to address the capacity constraints is not within complete control of the local site, we agree that additional support from Headquarters Processing Operations is needed.”

In the money

As the ongoing stock market meltdown began building steam on May 31, wealthy San Diego House Democrat Sara Jacobs, an heir to the Qualcomm fortune of her grandfather Irwin Jacobs, snapped up U.S. Treasury Bills valued between $1 million and $5 million, a June 21 filing shows. Meanwhile, California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom has been raising cash for his November reelection fund from the Sycuan Band of Kumeyaay Nation, which gave $32,400 on June 6. Longtime East County politico Mark Arabo came up with $10,000 for Newsom’s fund the next day. Arabo, onetime president of the Neighborhood Market Association, was appointed by Newsom to a state workforce development board in December 2019.

The California governor has of late been spending some of his political loot on television in Florida in what is widely seen as a pre-presidential push. “I urge all of you living in Florida to join the fight, or join us in California, where we still believe in freedom — freedom of speech, freedom to choose, freedom from hate and the freedom to love,” the governor says in his 30 second spot.

Have gun, will go to prom

San Diego gun owners have named firearms author and libertarian John Petrolino as their media figure of the year, says a gun blog. “On June 18, 2022, AmmoLand News contributors John Petrolino and Charlie Cook headed to San Diego County Gun Owners 6th annual ‘gun prom’ event,” reports AmmoLand.com.

Laura Lothian: keeping La Mesa’s guns safe.

“The event, officially called the ‘San Diego County Gun Owners 2A Celebration Dinner’ brought Second Amendment supporters, competitive shooters, podcasters, and personalities from all over the country. The annual gathering is both a celebration and fundraiser, as well as a pep rally for gun rights enthusiasts and advocates. In attendance were several members of different organizations including The DC Project and Firearms Policy Coalition to note.” Adds AmmoLand: “Adam Kraut from the Firearms Policy Coalition delivered remarks about why the fight in California is so important, and La Mesa City Councilmember Laura Lothian talked about safeguarding the Second Amendment in her jurisdiction.” Executive director Mike Schwartz told the crowd, “The Media Figure of the Year Award goes to a professional member of the media who gives the Second Amendment its due. John Petrolino’s coverage of issues that are important to the average gun owner is impeccable, effective, and important. His coverage of San Diego’s sheriff’s race was fantastic, and we are appreciative that he goes above and beyond to get to the truth.”

— Matt Potter

(@sdmattpotter)

The Reader offers $25 for news tips published in this column. Call our voice mail at 619-235-3000, ext. 440, or sandiegoreader.com/staff/matt-potter/contact/.