Headlines

1. Bloomberg creates a task force to advocate for U.S. infrastructure needs
2. Govenors’ privatization plans
3. States consider privatizing lotteries
4. Cars, trucks might bypass N.J. toll roads
5. Fixing a budget at the toll booth
6. Developer unable to build sound wall blocking toll road noise
7. Opponents to Interstate 81 toll cheers bill
8. State workers left for employers who benefited from their former agency’s corporate outsourcing

1. Bloomberg creates a task force to advocate for U.S. infrastructure needs
Joined by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, a Republican, and Gov. Edward G. Rendell of Pennsylvania, a Democrat, NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced the creation of a nonpartisan organization that will advocate for more, and smarter, federal spending on infrastructure. The organization, Building America’s Future, will comprise elected officials and others, and it will be financed by the Rockefeller Foundation, a frequent collaborator with the mayor on pet projects, reports the New York Times. “Infrastructure isn’t sexy or glamorous, and it doesn’t make for great headlines,” Mr. Bloomberg said in Los Angeles, “but it is one of the most important issues facing our country. “And make no mistake about it, we have an infrastructure crisis.”

2. Govenors’ privatization plans
Stateline.org summarizes govenors’ state-of-the-state address: Calif:: Gov. Schwarzenegger (R) said he would continue to push for more partnerships between state government and private industry to help fix the state’s crumbling infrastructure. He estimated the state faces $500 billion worth of infrastructure needs in the next 20 years. NJ: Gov. Corzine (D) vowed not to sell or lease state roads to the private sector, calling instead for a non-profit “public benefit corporation” to manage — but not own — the roads. NY: One of Gov. Spitzer’s (D) boldest plans involves leasing the New York State Lottery to private investors to fund an endowment for higher education, which would be the first in the country. VT: Gov. Douglas (R) suggested the state cut property taxes and increase school construction projects by leasing the lottery to a private concern, an idea sure to spark debate.

3. States consider privatizing lotteries
Courted by Wall Street investment houses, Vermont is one of more than a dozen states where proposals have been floated to lease state lotteries to private investors. But some fear that private companies would be more focused on profits than people, introducing addictive games that prey on compulsive gamblers.
Lawmakers in Illinois, Indiana and Texas have rejected lottery lease proposals in the past two years, but governors in all three states have indicated they’ll raise the idea again, according to an article in USAToday.

4. Cars, trucks might bypass N.J. toll roads
A study predicts 40 percent of trucks would leave the NJ turnpike by 2022, according to an article in the Courier Post. More than one out of every four vehicles that would otherwise use New Jersey’s toll roads will avoid those routes by the time the largest of Gov. Jon S. Corzine’s proposed toll increases takes effect, a study released Friday says. The findings seem to add ammunition for opponents of Corzine’s proposal who have raised fears that increasing tolls would force trucks and cars onto local roads. Assemblyman John Wisniewski, D-Middlesex, a staunch opponent of Corzine’s plan, said local mayors would have to prepare for increased traffic from vehicles seeking cheaper routes. "There’s a lot of downstream consequences that I think need to be very carefully analyzed so that we understand as a state what is being presented to us," said Wisniewski, chairman of the Assembly Transportation Committee.

5. Fixing a budget at the toll booth
"As states and cities look to their roadways to generate badly needed money, the state of New Jersey is offering an approach worth studying. Gov. Jon Corzine wants to shore up his state’s troubled finances by sharply raising tolls. If he gets his way, the cost of driving most of the turnpike could eventually rise from $5.85 to $48, providing money for both debt reduction and public transportation. The plan has potential pitfalls, but it may well be the best solution to a difficult problem," says an editorial in the New York Times.

6. Developer unable to build sound wall blocking toll road noise
The newly opened South Bay Expressway, the county’s first tollway, is a welcome addition for gridlock-weary Chula Vista commuters. But the four-lane, north-south ribbon of asphalt is a literal nightmare for nearby residents, reports the San Diego Union-Tribune. The backyards of their homes, ranging from about 25 to 75 yards away from the road, have no sound wall to block the noise, vibrations and headlights of trucks and cars that zoom along nonstop, day and night. After years of delays, this portion of state Route 125 opened in November, developed by a private company. Since then, some residents have complained of sleep deprivation. “My life is miserable. It’s like living in a war zone,” said Hany Ongyan, 44, who lives on Hamden Drive. “You try to sleep and some semi truck comes along and shakes the house up.”

7. Opponents to Interstate 81 toll cheers bill
Virginia conservation groups are cheering state legislators for filing a bill to hopefully ban tolls on Interstate 81, reports WHSV-TV. Tolls have been proposed to provide $11 billion for an improvement plan VDOT has to widen the entire length of Interstate 81. Rosemary Wallinger says she doesn’t want to see Interstate 81 widened everywhere despite traffic problems. She believes in land conservation, such as saving Valley battlefields. "Transportation today is about more than roads. We’re about more than roads, multi-model solutions to this plan, and we do support improvements, just not the scale thats currently proposed," says Wallinger. She says that 81 would be the only rural interstate to have tolls. However, the road is just too important to Valley residents and businesses. "In addition to being an interstate for many citizens who live in the Shenandoah Valley, it’s Main Street, whether we like it or not. We have industries along this highway, the poultry industry, other industries that are having a hard enough time already," says Wallinger.

8. State workers left for employers who benefited from their former agency’s corporate outsourcing
Two Texas state officials who helped oversee a big push to outsource computer services later went to work for employers who benefited from the program, reports the Dallas Morning News. Larry Olson, former head of the state Department of Information Resources, worked the second half of last year for Houston-based TPI, a leading adviser on corporate and governmental outsourcing. Earlier, his state agency paid TPI $4.5 million to help it re-bid a much-expanded state outsourcing of computer services. Another top official at the department, Kim Weatherford, retired last July to work as a contractor for Stellargy Consulting LLC. Its main owner, Gary C. Young of Dripping Springs, co-owns with his wife, Charlyne, a separate firm, Stellargy Services LLC. Stellargy is a subcontractor for IBM on the state’s $863 million, seven-year outsourcing deal. Leaders of Common Cause Texas and Public Citizen of Texas said the two former officials’ career moves underscore a need to tighten the law to bar decision-makers at agencies from working for state contractors or regulated industries for at least two years after leaving office.