Headlines
1. Taxpayer advocate says outsourcing at I.R.S. is inept
2. Who’s in charge of the roads?
3. Michigan: School board to study privatizing school coaches
4. High speed rail and public private partnerships in California: a shotgun wedding?
5. Official: Public students could sink Louisiana tax relief
6. Colorado needs $800M for new prisons, lawmakers told


News Summaries
1. Taxpayer advocate says outsourcing at I.R.S. is inept
The use of private debt collectors by the Internal Revenue Service is
ineffective, the national taxpayer advocate told Congress yesterday,
and the program should be canceled. The advocate, Nina E. Olson, the
government-appointed watchdog of the I.R.S., said that private debt
collection cost the government at least $81 million a year in revenue.
She repeated her call for the I.R.S. to end the practice. The New York Times
2. Who’s in charge of the roads?
With the increase of large super shopping centers, malls and gated
communities, comes a question that has echoed for a number of years.
Who’s in charge of the roads? Who do you call if you have a wreck or
who will stop that speeding car? PrivateOfficer.com
3. Michigan: School board to study privatizing school coaches
In an effort to cut costs, the Michigan Center School Board on
Wednesday authorized Superintendent David Tebo to study whether
privatizing the district’s coaching staff would save money. The Jackson Citizen Patriot
4. High speed rail and public private partnerships in California: a shotgun wedding?
California High-Speed Rail Authority Executive Director Mehdi Morshed
noted the California proposed system of high-speed trains offers a
unique opportunity to develop a new model for “P3” or public private
partnership financing… Private ownership, however, is a line we must
not cross – public ownership of infrastructure is key to an effective,
safe, and affordable transportation system for Californians. High speed
rail is an economic catalyst and an environmental and sustainability
necessity. It needs to be held in public hands for public uses, and not
hollowed out for private profit. California Progress Report
5. Official: Public students could sink Louisiana tax relief
A legislator warned a House panel Thursday that including public school
students in tax relief for private and university lab school tuition
could "tank the whole bill. The Advocate
6. Colorado needs $800M for new prisons, lawmakers told
Amid the economic turmoil following 9/11 and the tech bust in 2001,
Colorado has relied increasingly on private prisons to handle the
overflow from the state prisons. Contracts with the private operators
require that the state send only the least violent offenders to the
private facilities, said CDOC spokeswoman Katherin Sanguinetti.
The Bond Buyer (subscription)