POSTAGE TO TAKE A HIKE SUNDAY.

Byline: Amy Raisin Staff Writer

VALENCIA - There must be something out there that can be had for 37 cents besides a first-class postage stamp - that is the new cost to mail a letter starting Sunday.

``A pack of gum maybe? No, not even that. Half a pack,'' said Rob Yacobian, who waited in line at the Valencia post office Friday to keep current on the latest increase. ``I think I remember the 4-centers, when you could mail a letter for 4 cents.''

Yacobian and his wife, Norma, said they will need some 3-cent stamps as well, to use with their left-over 34-cent stamps. He wanted to invest in the flag-theme stamps, but his wife overruled the selection.

``He likes the flags, I like the flowers,'' the Stevenson Ranch resident said. ``I'm buying 100. I'm an optimist.''

The last increase, a penny hike in January 2001, brought similar lines at the post office, but many who waited in line Friday couldn't remember the last time the U.S. Postal Service raised the rate.

``What was it, two years ago? I still have 22 34-cent stamps. I'm just going to burn through those first,'' said Linda Lane, also waiting to purchase the 3-cent stamps. ``But I think it's a great service. I'll pay for it all day long. If I had to think of another way to get my mail there, it just wouldn't work.''

According to USPS officials, the price of stamps increases periodically to offset the jump in costs for things like fuel and health benefits. The U.S. Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operations and relies solely on the sale of its products and services to cover operating costs.

Also, postal officials said the service adds an estimated 1.6 million deliveries annually.

Yacobian, feigning indignation at losing out on the flag stamps, agreed that the service the post office provides is invaluable but suggested an easier way to adjust the rates.

``We have to come and get 1-cent stamps, 3-cent stamps. Why don't they just make it $2 a stamp and they'll be covered for a while,'' he said.

As of Sunday, the price of a first-class letter jumps to 37 cents. Postage for postcards will cost 23 cents, a two-penny hike.

For information about the increase, or to purchase stamps online or through the mail, log on to the Web site of the U.S. Postal Service, www.usps.com.

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(color) Linda Lane waits to buy 3-cent stamps at a post office in Santa Clarita. ``I still have 22 34-cent stamps,'' she said. As of Sunday, the cost to mail a first-class letter jumps to 37 cents, a 3-cent increase. The new rate for postcards will be 23 cents.

Evan Yee/Staff Photographer