Stamps are getting more expensive this month when the U.S. Postal Service increases prices across its services.

The price of first-class Forever stamps will increase from 68 cents to 73 cents on July 14, an increase of more than 7%. Prices for all services will rise more than 7.5%.

The price hikes are part of the USPS 10-year “Delivering for America” plan intended to financially stabilize the Postal Service. Forever stamps cost 55 cents when the plan was introduced in 2021.

First class mail accounted for more than 30% of postal revenue in 2023 and the plan is expected to generate $44 billion in additional revenue by 2031.

Where to get stamps in Indianapolis

There are roughly 20 Post Office locations around the Indianapolis area where you can buy stamps, not including big box stores such as Walmart, Walgreens, Office Depot and Kroger. You can also purchase stamps online at USPS.com.

USPS changing prices on more than stamps

The additional-ounce price for single-piece letters will rise to 28 cents from 24 cents.

Post office box rental fees will not change. The cost of postal insurance would decrease by 10%.

The price of international postcards and international 1-ounce letters will increase by 10 cents each, from $1.55 to $1.65.

Indianapolis-based smart-mailbox startup Arrive AI has called off its planned merger with Canada-based Brüush Oral Care Inc.

In December, Arrive announced it planned to go public by merging with Vancouver, British Columbia-based Brüush, a publicly traded e-commerce company that sells electric toothbrushes. At the time of that announcement, Arrive said it anticipated closing the merger in the first quarter of 2024.

But late Friday, Arrive said it was terminating the merger agreement because Brüush had been suspended from the Nasdaq Stock Market for failure to comply with Nasdaq’s qualifications for listing.

“We were repeatedly advised that Brüush expected to clear its Nasdaq hurdles, but in the end, that just wasn’t the case,” Arrive CEO Dan O’Toole said in a written statement.

Under terms of the deal, the combined company would have been based in Indianapolis and led by Arrive’s existing management team, headed by O’Toole.

O’Toole said Arrive is still working to become a publicly traded company, and he believes that will happen by year’s end.

Arrive launched in 2019 and did business as DroneDek Corp. until a rebranding last year, when it became Arrive Technology Inc. The company, which rebranded again this year as Arrive AI, has developed a climate-controlled, secure receptacle for deliveries made by drones, couriers, or robots.

One of Nasdaq’s listing requirements is that a company must have an audit committee made up of at least three people, all of whom are independent directors. On April 18, Brüush disclosed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it had missed an April 12 deadline to come into compliance with the requirement. In its filing, Brüush noted that it had submitted a compliance plan to a Nasdaq hearings panel but had not yet received a decision.

Brüush also fell out of compliance with Nasdaq’s minimum share price requirement and because of a delinquency in filing its annual report for the year ended Oct. 31, 2023.

The Indianapolis Colts are approaching the 2024 regular season with sky-high potential. While the expectations are relatively low given the overall youth of Indy’s squad, Shane Steichen likely wants the team to be playoff-bound this year and build off the nine wins from 2023.

In Brad Gagnon’s recent Bleacher Report article detailing the eight ‘boom or bust’ teams for 2024, Indianapolis makes the list. Gagnon goes into further detail for each entry, discussing the best, worst, and realistic scenarios for each franchise. In order are the entries from Gagnon’s slot for the Colts.

Best-Case Scenario:

After a year of mostly observing and learning, Anthony Richardson takes off in Year 2 and a Colts team that managed to win nine games without him in 2023 takes the AFC South in ’24.

– Brad Gagnon | Bleacher Report

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Referring to the 2023 campaign, Steichen helped a Gardner Minshew-led Colts team nearly make the playoffs and win the AFC South championship. While they fell short, a 9-8 finish is commendable given the number of injuries and inexperience on the roster.

If Anthony Richardson can level up in year two and continue developing with a coaching staff constructed to build a quarterback, then the AFC South could be in the clutches of Indianapolis in 2024. However, it all depends on Richardson’s health and ability to stay on the field. It may sound redundant, but Indy probably doesn’t want to run back another year with a backup signal-caller, even if it is Joe Flacco.

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Worst Case Scenario:

Richardson either again can’t stay healthy or is rusty in his first full NFL campaign, and an Indianapolis team that didn’t do much to address a poor defense in the offseason actually takes a step backward in the win column.

– Brad Gagnon | Bleacher Report

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This is a possibility given Richardson didn’t play any football after week five of the 2023 season. With such a long hiatus and not a big sample of starting experience before the shoulder injury, could it hamper Richardson in 2024?

My vote is, probably not. However, Richardson still has a mere 17 starts between his short college career at Florida (13 starts) and four games in the NFL. While he has incredible potential, he may have enough tape for NFL defenses to at least gameplan for his dynamic running and strong arm. This could force Richardson to throw more than Steichen may want.

The health of running back Jonathan Taylor also factors into this argument. If Taylor has to miss any time, the duties fall more than before on Richardson’s arm, feet, and ability to dissect defenses. He showed high-level glimpses last year, but also had moments with true rookie mistakes. We’ll see if Richardson can avoid a pitfall in 2024 and if this worst-case scenario is just a topic for this article.

Realistic Scenario:

Regardless of what happens with Richardson, the Colts might still be a year away. They’ll win eight or nine games but miss out on the playoffs.

– Brad Gagnon | Bleacher Report

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While it’s enticing to think about Adonai Mitchell as a big-time threat at receiver, he’s still 21 years old and must grow into the offense with the other three pass-catchers (Michael Pittman Jr., Josh Downs, and Alec Pierce.) Also, while Downs was great in his rookie campaign as a slot-receiving option, Pierce is yet to establish himself as a consistent option to pass to.

There is also the matter of Indy’s tight end situation. Currently, it is a mystery with Jelani Woods not playing a single snap in 2023. While Kylen Granson played well in his steed, Indianapolis doesn’t have a clear leader of that position group. It remains to be seen what happens with such a crowded and competitive spot in Steichen’s offense.

While the defense boasts talented youngsters like JuJu Brents (cornerback), Jaylon Jones (cornerback), and rookie Laiatu Latu (defensive end), they are still growing into starters. Last year Brents only played nine games due to multiple injuries and Jones had moments where he struggled in coverage to conclude 2023. For Latu, he could be a generational pass-rusher, but it’s far too soon to tell yet and no team can rely on a rookie before the season starts.

The Bottom Line

Indianapolis has a boom-or-bust type of roster, but that’s not a bad thing. To have this designation means either an NFL team is all-in for a Super Bowl run or young and developing, and Indianapolis qualifies as the latter.

Richardson could be in line for a massive season if he can continue progressing. Last year in his limited exposure many were surprised by how NFL-ready he looked in the pocket, as well as operating an offense. To reiterate, Richardson has to remain on the field this time to have any kind of impact. We’ll see how everything plays out for a Colts team that looks exciting, determined, and ready to compete with the rest of a talented AFC South division.  

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