News
Shocker: Republicans Fight Obama Plan to Privatize the Hugely Popular, Cheap Energy Source of the TVA. Obama’s scheme to sell off the Tennessee Valley Authority gets push-back from Tennessee Republicans who know the benefits of a publicly-owned facility. AlterNet
FL: New State Budget Shrinks Government Workforce. The size of state government continues to shrink under Gov. Rick Scott. The state budget that goes into effect in July eliminates thousands of government jobs….. “My understanding is we have the lowest number of state workers per capita in the country”, Scott said. “I’m proud of that.” The cuts will be felt throughout the state. Most of them are in the Department of Corrections, where positions in health services are being turned over to private vendors. WGCU News
FL: Broward School Board votes to privatize school construction work. Without knowing what the final price tag will be – but with the hope of restoring credibility to school construction projects – Broward School Board members on Tuesday approved privatizing most of the district’s long-troubled facilities department. Miami Herald
MA: State House News — State privatization law faces changes in budget talks. Lawmakers are once again contemplating loosening the strictures of a law that governs whether state services can be privatized, which one of the law’s chief backers said would return the state to the hands-off governin style responsible for Big Dig construction problems. Wicked Local
NJ: N.J. rejects union protest of lottery privatization, allowing contract to advance. New Jersey rejected a formal protest filed against its decision to privatize part of the state lottery, officials said Tuesday. NorthJersey.com
NC: Big $$$ Behind NC Privatization Bills. Same old story in North Carolina as elsewhere: big money from reactionary millionaires funding the theft of public education. American Federation for Children is based in Michigan. It supports vouchers. DianeRavich.net
CA: Measure G Signs Stolen; For And Against Cry Foul. Measure G, which seeks Fresno voter’s approval to privatize the city’s residential trash pickup, is causing people on both sides of the measure to cry foul, both sides are claiming signs are being stolen out of people’s yards. KMPH Fox 26
LA: LSU Hospital Privatization Plan Running Out of Funds. The privatization plan surrounding Baton Rouge-based Louisiana State University Health Care Services Division and LSU Health – Shreveport is entering choppy water, as outsourcing contracts for three of the hospitals will use up 94 percent of the plan’s dollars. Becker’s Hospital Review