Q: Have postage rates gone up? Are the Forever Stamps still enough for first-class letters?
T.M.
Yes, postage rates increased as of Jan. 22. It now costs 45 cents rather than 44 to mail a standard first-class letter, and 32 cents rather than 29 for a postcard.
Other rates went up as well. You can find more details on the increases at www.usps.com. Click on the box marked "New Prices."
And Forever Stamps are really forever. The Forever Stamps you bought before the price increase can still be used to cover the current cost of sending a letter.
"If it says 'Forever' on it, that's just what it means," said Carl Walton, a spokesman for the U.S. Postal Service's Greensboro District. Even if you find an old Forever Stamp in a drawer in 2050, you will still be able to use it, he said.
Walton said there hasn't been much consternation over the rate increase, since most people now buy Forever Stamps rather than ones with a specific rate on them.
"Just about every first-class stamp we put out now is a Forever Stamp," he said. "It just makes things simpler."
A few stamp designs released last year did still have 44 cents instead of 'Forever,' he said, and in those cases you would need to buy 1-cent stamps to make up the price difference.
Witness Needed
P.T. is looking for witnesses to a hit-and-run at the intersection of Old Salisbury Road and Clemmonsville Road near Family Video at 12:50 a.m. Jan. 21. The incident involved a burgundy Toyota Camry and a large SUV that lost a "Duke" fan plate. "The SUV should have considerable front-end damage," P.T. wrote, adding that it "left the scene heading toward Pope Road. Any help or information is greatly appreciated."
Call (336) 462-5455 if you can help.
Also, P.T. asked to send "a huge thank you" to a woman who stopped after the wreck and called the police for her.
More Thanks
R.E. wants to thank the person who found his car keys in a Walmart parking lot and turned them in.
P.G. would like to thank the couple who found her wallet outside Dewey's Bakery at Thruway Shopping Center a few weeks ago and took it to the police station. "An officer called to let me know that my wallet had been found," P.G. wrote. "What a relief and a wonderful feeling that there are such honest people in Winston-Salem."
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