Headlines
1. Showing power, but weakening a neighborhood
2. Indiana toll road to hike most fees
3. PA: New lease on life?
4. NJ to switch to state medical school for inmate health care services
5. PA: Board ok’s Allegheny County parks’ master plan
6. Idaho House ok’s bill to let developers form taxing districts
7. Private security patrols begin April 1st to curb panhandling in downtown Memphis
8. OK: Lottery privatization advances
9. AZ: City explores privatizing golf course operations

News Summaries
1. Showing power, but weakening a neighborhood
By the tens of thousands, fans will come Monday for opening day,
Toronto at the Yankees, and every game day thereafter to gape at the
retrofit future Yankee Stadium that stands, however unfinished,
alongside the weathered timepiece that pays tribute to baseball’s past.
The House That George Herman Ruth Built and the one that George M.
Steinbrenner privately financed, with the exception of taxpayer-financed
infrastructure upgrades and a land grab with costs best measured in cruelty.
The New York Times
2. Indiana toll road to hike most fees
Each of the 21 plazas on the Indiana Toll Road will offer electronic
tolling starting Tuesday, but fees will be about double for commuters
who do not use i-Zoom passes. The toll increases were scheduled as part
of the June 2006 agreement by the state to lease the Northern Indiana
highway to a private consortium for 75 years at a price tag of $3.8
billion. Indianapolis Star
3. PA: New lease on life?
A recent report by Penn State and Harvard university professors shows
the Pennsylvania Turnpike is most valuable to the state as-is, at the
same time the Rendell administration supports leasing it to a private
company, similar to billion-dollar deals in other states and around the
world. Altoona Mirror
4. NJ to switch to state medical school for inmate health care services
The state has canceled its $85 million annual contract with a St.
Louis-based company that has provided medical, dental and
pharmaceutical services to state prisoners since New Jersey privatized
its inmate health care system in 1996, officials said yesterday. "The
state has decided that it is in its best interest to contract with the
University of Medicine and Dentistry, the state’s medical school, to
provide all of the inmate health care services," wrote Alice Small,
acting director of Treasury’s Division of Purchase and Property. The
move ends a contentious 11-year relationship with CMS that was launched
during then-Gov. Christie Whitman’s push to privatize government
services. It comes months after the state auditor and the state
inspector general issued separate reports critical of the company.
The Star-Ledger (Newark)
5. PA: Board ok’s Allegheny County parks’ master plan
The Allegheny Regional Asset District board approved a long-term master
plan Monday for county parks that touts increased revenue through
privatized services and envisions a riverfront park touching 17
municipalities. Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
6. Idaho House ok’s bill to let developers form taxing districts
Developers are closer to being able to form taxing districts to pay for
roads, bridges and sewers for their subdivisions. The Idaho
Statesman
7. Private security patrols begin April 1st to curb panhandling in downtown Memphis
Center City Commission President Jeff Sanford says spring is a popular
time for tourists to visit downtown Memphis. He says private security
guards will help visitors feel safe. “There is a perception brought
about largely by aggressive panhandling that downtown isn’t safe. We’re
out to disrupt, to try to temper, the aggressive panhandling that has
gone on the streets of downtown,” said Sanford. Members of the
Mid-South Peace and Justice Center have complained about the guards.
They believe the $50,000 being spent on private security guards would
be better used to help the homeless. Myeyewitnessnews.com
8. OK: Lottery privatization advances
A bill to privatize the Oklahoma lottery has been approved by the
Senate and is being considered by a House committee.The proposal would
create an eight-person review board that would determine if the state
would receive more money from the lottery if it were privatized. If six
of the eight members find that to be the case, and the governor
approves their findings, a private company would be allowed to take
over the lottery operations. The Bond Buyer (subscription)
9. AZ: City explores privatizing golf course operations
Even as the city is considering a rate increase this week for play at
Antelope Hills Golf Course, it also is looking into a more extensive
change: turning operation of the municipal course over to a private
company. Mayor Jack Wilson said the golf course is just one operation
the city will be looking at for privatization. The Daily Courier