D.C. postmarks few and far between

The Washington Post reports D.C.'s identity is in danger of being lost in the mail.

Reporter Darragh Johnson writes, "The Washington, D.C., postmark is fading into oblivion, a casualty of the anthrax attacks of 2001. After two postal workers died at a Northeast facility, the Postal Service began farming mail to the suburbs."

Johnson goes on to say, "Now the only way to guarantee a D.C. postmark is to take it in person to a post office and ask a clerk to cancel it by hand. Otherwise, it's a spin of the roulette wheel."

According to the article, in an experiment conducted by The Post, 235 envelopes were mailed from every quadrant in the District -- from 22 Zip codes, from post offices and blue boxes, from the mail slots of corporations and apartment buildings.

"Twenty-four letters were delivered with a Washington D.C. postmark. A measly 10 percent," says Johnson.

To read the entire article, click here.

Shown above a postal employee dumps mail into a processor at a Gaithersburg facility, where most mail that originates in Washington is sent for sorting.