News

Arizona, Texas: Opposition Mounts To Toll Roads. Road tolling is becoming a less popular option in many areas in the country. In Arizona, efforts are underway to put an initiative on the statewide ballot that would ban the tolling of existing roads while in Texas lawmakers realize voters would never approve a transportation package that included authorization for tolling.  TheNewspaper.com

TN: Gov Haslam’s outsourcing draws little push-back. Still, in the three years Haslam has held the office, outsourcing of state government functions to private companies has grown dramatically and indications are the trend will continue. The most striking example is turning over management of state government buildings to Chicago-based Jones Lang LaSalle, a move depicted as something no other state has done — but now has other states asking Tennessee to show them the way.  Knoxville News Sentinel

FL: Medicaid Privatization Begins With 9000 Central Florida Long-Term-Care Patients. The move comes two years after state lawmakers approved the privatization of Medicaid for low-income Floridians. Under the managed care system, the state will send Medicaid dollars to the insurance companies. WFSU

NY: NYC charter schools getting $4.5 million state grant to teach regular public schools. Top city charter schools will teach regular public schools how to better educate students in a new initiative funded by a $4.5 million state grant, Education officials said…. Promoting charters has been a key of Mayor Bloomberg’s overhaul of the city’s system of education system. Charter schools outperform traditional public schools on many standardized tests, but critics say the comparisons are unfair because charters serve fewer kids in need. Charters and district schools have fought bitterly at times over shared space in public school buildings, which the city rents to charters at no charge. New York Daily News