News summaries
Lawmaker tells DOD to slow down security contractors
A troubling report from the Congressional Research Service found that
private security contractors, like Blackwater, comprise nearly
one-third of the armed force in Afghanistan and nearly one-fifth in
Iraq. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-IL, wrote to Secretary Robert Gates
following the release of the report urging him to scale down security
contractors and return those functions to U.S. military forces. The
report,
The Department of Defense’s Use of Private Security Contractors
in Iraq and Afghanistan: Background, Analysis, and Options for Congress,
was released January 19, 2009.
American Patriots
KY: Bill to end contract to feed inmates advances
A Kentucky lawmaker who pinned much of the blame for a fiery prison
uprising on frustration over prison food won committee approval
Wednesday for his proposal to cancel contracts with private companies
to provide meals at state-operated prisons. State Rep. Brent Yonts
claimed that displeasure over the quality and amounts of food was the
"root cause" of last year's riot at the medium-security Northpoint
Training Center. "Systematic failure of management over time to deal
with the food situation resulted in the riot, which was foreseeable and
predictable," Yonts told the House Judiciary Committee. Yonts' bill,
which cleared the Judiciary Committee on a 9-4 vote, would end the
practice of private vendors providing ..A state report on the riot said
that staff members and inmates interviewed mentioned food as one reason
for the uprising. The report said inmates felt their complaints were
shunned...Yonts said there were warning signs about inmate
dissatisfaction with food. In October 2007, about 300 Northpoint
inmates protested food and canteen prices at a "sit down." On the day
of the riot, some inmates dumped food on the floor during the morning
and noon meals. He has recounted claims of incidents in which prison
food was allegedly tainted by hair balls, rocks, cardboard, bread ties
and worms....House Speaker Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, told reporters
later that the bill would be sent to the House budget committee for
review. Stumbo said the low payments for inmate meals was being "penny
wise and pound foolish" if the food service helped induce the riot. He
said damage at Northpoint will be costly for the state. "If that's what
privatization does, we need to take a complete look at it again," he
said.
Business Week The Courier-Journal
VA: Lawmakers want approval of port privatization deals
In response to a flurry of potential privatization deals at the
Virginia Port Authority, three state lawmakers have filed bills this
year that seek to give the General Assembly a role in determining
whether the state should proceed with any of them. Each of the bills
would prohibit the port authority from entering into a transaction with
a private company involving port property without approval from the
General Assembly...The proposed legislation comes as the state is
considering three bids by private concerns that seek to enter into
public-private partnerships at the state-owned port properties. The
proposals, tendered last year, offer Virginia hundreds of millions of
dollars in exchange for the right to operate the port authority's cargo
terminals for up to 60 years for a profit.
Daily Press
DE: Wilmington considers outsourcing parking tickets
One way to bring in about $2 million more a year would be to privatize
the parking ticket services, a move that is being seriously considered,
said William S. Montgomery, chief of staff to Mayor James M. Baker.
"It's going to be a tough year, sorry," Montgomery told the advisory
council. "Brutal," was all Fred Sears, the chairman of the advisory
council, could say after hearing the grim news. "Brutal."
The News Journal
MI: MDOT seeks partners in new Detroit-Canada bridge
The Michigan Department of Transportation is asking private firms to
help it design, build, finance and operate the proposed Detroit River
International Crossing bridge project in southwest Detroit...At a
minimum, the Michigan legislators must decide whether to authorize a
public-private partnership for the project and to OK a new toll
bridge.Without those steps, DRIC would never get built.
Detroit Free Press
