The usual break in mail delivery and post office service will be extended because of a national holiday and a national day of mourning -- causing an unusual, three-day pause in the U.S. Postal Service's operations.

Monday was New Year's Day, a holiday observed by the Postal Service and most other employers. A funeral in Washington, D.C., for former President Gerald Ford will be today. President George Bush ordered all government agencies not essential for national security to be closed today. Add Sunday and that leaves three days with no mail. This has the Postal Service hoping for the best, says U.S. Postal Service customer relations rep for Fort Myers and Cape Coral, Debra Mitchell.

“Our processing center, that’s 24-7, I mean that never shuts down so anytime we have a holiday the delivery end of it has to play catch up. So obviously normally you’re catching up on a lot of times Sunday, Monday – because they’re still processing mail on Sundays – and so now we’re going to have Sunday, Monday, Tuesday to catch up on.”

Mitchell says on Wednesday the carriers will take out all of the first class mail first and the advertising mail will have to catch up on Thursday.

Violations to the state's "Do Not Call" program perennially top the list of citizen complaints to Florida's Department of Consumer Services. There were just under 5,000 in 2006 - about 500 more than the year before. Agency spokeswoman Liz Compton says Floridians who pay that small yearly fee to keep most telemarketers from calling their homes are sensitive to perceived violations:

“Nobody wants to take phone calls in the middle of dinner or later and they’re taking it seriously. They’re letting us know when there are violations.”

There's a free FEDERAL do not call list - but the Florida program that costs 10 dollars the first year and FIVE each year after that keeps regulators hyper-vigilant. Violators paid more than 125-thousand-dollars in fines this year. Other top categories for consumer complaints this year include travel and vacation companies, vehicle repairs - and construction.