Headlines
1. Trans-Texas corridor plan met with more loathing
2. Private undersea shortcut from Long Island to New England would be world’s longest car tunnel
3. 2 bills focus on curbing government activity
4. Indiana: Six black nurses allege they were fired for whistleblowing against private prison company
5. Passing responsibility: Editorial
6. Ga. board approves new hospital lease
1. Trans-Texas corridor plan met with more loathing
In what is becoming a regular occurrence in Southeast Texas, more than 1,000 Austin County residents and interested outsiders jammed a county fairgrounds exhibit hall Monday night to let a panel of state transportation officials know that the Trans-Texas Corridor was not welcome here, according to the Houston Chronicle.Similar meetings last week in Hempstead, Rosenberg and Huntsville were packed with residents and local officials who questioned the need for the project and the motives of its supporters. Supporters envision the Trans-Texas Corridor as a network of broad corridors linking major cities, with toll roads for cars and trucks, rail tracks for freight and passenger trains, and space for pipelines and power lines. Such supporters were in short supply Monday night.
2. Private undersea shortcut from Long Island to New England would be world’s longest car tunnel
It would be the world’s longest highway tunnel, running more than 16 miles under the west end of Long Island Sound. The cost is estimated at $10 billion — and it wouldn’t cost taxpayers a dime. A developer wants to build the tunnel with private money, recouping his costs by charging drivers $25 each way and by selling advertising, according to the AP. Developer Vincent Polimeni says the tunnel between Oyster Bay and Rye on the New York mainland would let travelers going between Long Island and New England avoid crowded New York City highways and help alleviate traffic congestion.
3. 2 bills focus on curbing government activity
The Desert Morning News reports on two bills before the Utah State Legislature which have some citizens worried that they could spell the end of publicly-funded recreation centers, golf courses and reception halls. HB 75 would require the government to set up an advisory board that would review and create an inventory of all commercial activities the government is providing. The board would then report to the government privatization policy board, which has been in place for years. The other bill, HB76, would abolish the government privatization policy board altogether. Instead, the state, cities and counties would have to create a commission to whom businesses could appeal the operations of publicly funded projects that compete with them, including golf courses, reception halls and recreation centers. If the commission finds that a public project is improperly competing with private business and the local government doesn’t cease the project’s operations, the commission could ask the district court for an injunction.
4. Indiana: Six black nurses allege they were fired for whistleblowing against private prison company
The Associated Press reports that six black nurses sued a private company operating a Marion County, Indiana jail Monday, alleging they were fired or forced to leave their jobs because of racism or exposing medical practices that put inmates at risk. The 10-count complaint alleges Corrections Corp. of America (CCA) retaliated against the six because they had complained to their supervisors that inmates did not receive prescribed medications, were given wrong medications or were given other patients’ drugs to save money. CCA claims to be the largest private prison company in the country, with about 72,500 beds in 65 facilities in 19 states and the District of Columbia.
5. Passing responsibility: Editorial
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch has an editorial today about how successful was the state’s plan to shift state mental health patients into private groups and agencies. "No doubt it was seductive to believe that there was a simple solution to caring for people whose mental and physical challenges are so profound. Surely the private sector could do so at less cost and, at the same time, relieve the state of the problems of abuse and neglect that have dogged Bellefontaine and other state-operated facilities for the mentally and developmentally disabled. As it turns out, privatization is no magic bullet. State officials last week said that they had been unable to find private agencies that were qualified to handle the demanding assignment and willing to do it for the money available."
6. Ga. board approves new hospital lease
The Fulton-DeKalb Hospital Authority on Monday OK’d a lease agreement that hands over daily operational control of Grady Memorial and opens the door to a public and private sector bailout, according to the Atlanta Business Chronicle.