Nation IN BRIEF : NATIONWIDE : Postal Clerks Hustle to Lick Stamp Lines

Lines formed at many post offices as people rushed to buy the 29 cents’ worth of postage now required to mail a letter. Some branches ran out of stamps temporarily, but the U.S. Postal Service in Washington, D. C., said there will be plenty to go around. “It’s worse than Christmas,” said postal station supervisor Michelle Stanek in Albany, N. Y. “We’ve been mobbed here all morning long.” The Sumter, S. C., post office ran out of stamps in all its machines over the weekend, and lines at the windows were long. Sumter mail carrier Homer Smith said: “The American people are inclined to wait until the last minute.” The price of a first-class letter jumped from 25 cents to 29 cents Sunday.