By The Olympian, Olympia, Wash.

Oct. 26--Postal union to protest consolidation

OLYMPIA -- The Olympia local of the American Postal Workers Union will have an informational picket today as part of a nationwide effort to protest U.S. Postal Service mail consolidation plans.

A mail consolidation plan was recently completed in South Sound, which now sends letters and postcards bearing a ZIP code beginning with 985 to Tacoma to be processed. Letters and postcards, or first-class mail, also share a "Tacoma-Olympia" postmark as a result of the consolidation.

Postal union members plan to picket the main branch of the Olympia post office from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., according to retired postal worker Fred Porter. Porter also is a former president of the Olympia local. The main Olympia post office is at 900 Jefferson St. S.E.

Economy Federal Reserve leaves interest rates alone

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady yet again, noting the economy had slowed but saying growth would probably pick up in the months ahead.

Fed policymakers, wrapping up a two-day meeting Wednesday, delivered a largely balanced message about economic conditions. Policymakers blended equal parts of caution about inflation risks with confidence that the economy's nearly five-year-old expansion isn't in danger of petering out.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke felt comfortable staying the course and kept an important interest rate at 5.25 percent for the third meeting in a row. That meant commercial banks' prime interest rate remained at 8.25 percent.