Broadband Matters

Taxes are due April 15, which means it’s time to start gathering your W2s, 1099s, child care receipts and bank statements.

The United States Postal Service announced Wednesday morning that it was moving from 6- to 5-day delivery to help reduce its ever-growing budget deficit. But for years, the post office has argued that it needed Congressional authorization to do so. So is the Post Office’s proposal even legal? It’s no secret that the U.S.P.S. is a financial mess. Last year it lost $15.6 billion and is facing annual budget deficits of $21 billion by 2016. One way the postal service has been trying to reduce those massive losses is to scale back the number of days it delivers mail.

The United States Postal Service announced Wednesday morning that it was moving from 6- to 5-day delivery to help reduce its ever-growing budget deficit. But for years, the post office has argued that it needed Congressional authorization to do so. So is the Post Office’s proposal even legal? It’s no secret that the U.S.P.S. is a financial mess. Last year it lost $15.6 billion and is facing annual budget deficits of $21 billion by 2016. One way the postal service has been trying to reduce those massive losses is to scale back the number of days it delivers mail.

Last week's salon fiasco wasn't a particularly happy period around these parts. The Washington Post really shouldn't need lobbyists for the health-care industry to act as our ombudsmen. But good things can come out of bad things. And this pronouncement from publisher Katherine Weymouth strikes me as a good thing:

[NOTE: This post is a reprint of an Op-Ed that ran in the Wall Street Journal on November 15, 2010]By GARY LOCKE and LARRY SUMMERSRarely is there an opportunity to simultaneously catalyze private-sector investment, help create hundreds of thousands of new jobs, and increase much needed government revenue. President Obama is seizing just such an opportunity with his commitment to nearly double the amount of available commercial wireless spectrum over the next 10 years. Today, the Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will take the first step by announcing a plan to free up 115 megahertz (MHz) of spectrum.Spectrum is fast becoming a pillar of America's digital infrastructure. It has enabled the mobile broadband revolution. All of our smart phones, netbooks, and the "apps" they support depend on the availability of wireless spectrum.But while demand for America's spectrum resources is increasing at rapid rates—the amount of information flowing over some wireless networks is growing at over 250% per year—there has not been a corresponding increase in supply. This congestion has led to more dropped calls and slower data rates.