Headlines
1. Eminent domain measures on Calif. ballot
2. WV Senators seek veto power in public-private roads
3. Schwarzenegger seeks $67 million boost for private-prison operator
4. VA: Will state’s ports go private?
5. Agent blows whistle on Conn. driving schools
6. Del. pays outside lawyers big fees
7. Poor performing Dallas schools could be closed
8. Home-schoolers reel from California court blow
9. Panel: Yale police subject to open records laws

News Summaries
1. Eminent domain measures on Calif. ballot
On June 3, California voters will decide two ballot measures that would
restrict government’s use of eminent domain for private purposes – and
one of them goes much further, eliminating rent controls in cities
including San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley and San Jose. San Francisco Chronicle
2. WV Senators seek veto power in public-private roads
In this era of dwindling tax dollars to build and maintain roads, West
Virginia lawmakers found it desirable Saturday to partner with private
industry to lay down more asphalt and charge motorists tolls. But the
Senate took an 11th hour move to insist the Legislature exercise veto
power on any projects. Register-Herald
3. Schwarzenegger seeks $67 million boost for private-prison operator
Although California has been contracting with private correctional
facilities for 22 years to cope with overcrowding, saving money in the
process, costs are about to go up. This year, Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger’s state corrections agency is proposing a five-year, $67
million increase to one company, GEO Group Inc. The proposal would bump
up the daily rate the state pays per inmate by 50 percent, which the
company says it needs to increase the minimum pay of its officers from
$10 an hour to $14.70. The Sacramento Bee
4. VA: Will state’s ports go private?
The Virginia General Assembly this week approved forming a committee to
study privatization the three state terminals in Hampton Roads. A
number of other U.S. ports, including those in New York, New Jersey and
Los Angeles, operate under public-private partnerships, where public
port authorities act essentially as landlords, collecting money on
leases paid by other companies to operate there. DailyPress.com
5. Agent blows whistle on Conn. driving schools
James Ricci, an agent for the state Department of Motor Vehicles,
almost couldn’t believe his ears in June 2005 when he made a surprise
visit to a state-required "driver retraining" class for habitual
violators conducted by a private contractor in Waterbury. The teacher
was telling the students how to avoid arrest for speeding, saying "the
best time to avoid getting a ticket was between noon and one o’clock,"
Ricci wrote in a report. In fact, Ricci said, he wrote reports
over 2 1/2 years alleging more than 50 violations by private driving
schools that either teach new drivers or retrain habitual offenders,
many of them young drivers, but little or nothing would happen. The Hartford Courant
6. Del. pays outside lawyers big fees
Delaware taxpayers have paid more than $17 million since 2003 to
private law firms for work state lawyers are supposed to handle — from
defending against lawsuits and responding to federal investigations to
routine tasks such as closing real estate deals. The News Journal
7. Poor performing Dallas schools could be closed
The largest teachers organization in Dallas is claiming that jobs are
on the line because the state is trying to privatize public schools.
This controversy stems from poorly performing schools in the Dallas
Independent School District. In the past, the Dallas ISD contracted
with the private firm Edison Schools to operate six campuses, but the
contract was not renewed. Now, state law is requiring the use of
outside management for those schools with lingering low performance. CBS11tv.com
8. Home-schoolers reel from California court blow
A court ruling that California parents "do not have a constitutional
right" to home-school their children has touched off anger and
bewilderment throughout America’s home-schooling community and prompted
a denunciation from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. For a movement that has
gained greater accommodation in recent years, a state appellate court
decision last month is a setback that, if not overturned on appeal,
could force some 166,000 home-schooled students in California to enroll
in conventional schools. It may also prod California and other states
with vague or nonexistent laws on home schooling to be more specific
about what is allowed and what is required of home-schoolers.
The Christian Science Monitor
9. Panel: Yale police subject to open records laws
Many police officers on college campuses carry guns and make arrests
like city police, but as private forces, are not subject to the same
public scrutiny. However, a state panel ruled that Yale University
police are subject to the same open records laws as the city police. NPR Morning Edition