Headlines
1. Passport backlog put data more in hands of contractors
2. NY Public Library "trades naming rights" to greedy hedge fund billionaire for big bucks
3. Texas hold ’em: Privatizing the lottery raises gambling stakes
4. Privatizing school lunches may be bad for academic performance
5. UMaine labor bureau updates review of privatization pitfalls
6. Texas pension funds could invest in big road projects
7. Report: Mich. prison health care costs rise, partly due to poor inmate tracking
8. Naming rights for Detroit airport terminal up for sale
9. MA: Support for libraries overdue – editorial
10. TN: CCA inmate didn’t leave cell to shower for 9 mos.
12. FL: A tax increase by another name – editorial




News Summaries
1. Passport backlog put data more in hands of contractors
The contract employees who snooped into the passport files of two
presidential candidates this year were part of a private workforce that
has increasingly assumed responsibility for processing the sensitive
documents, State Department and industry officials said yesterday.
….now 60 percent of the 4,400 passport employees work for private
firms. Washington Post
2. NY Public Library "trades naming rights" to greedy hedge fund
billionaire for big bucks
Recently, the New York Public Library announced it would rename its
main library the Stephen A. Schwarzman Library in return for his
contribution of $100 million to its $1 billion capital fund drive. The
42nd Street Library is by all accounts the jewel in the crown of the
New York Public Library system. In both form and function it honors the
word "public." AlterNet
3. Texas hold ’em: Privatizing the lottery raises gambling stakes
Last year Governor Rick Perry proposed selling or leasing the Texas
Lottery to collect a quick payout of somewhere between $14 billion and
$20 billion. Projections that the financial and gambling industries
have submitted to the governor’s office make clear that the state
cannot raise a payout of this size unless gambling is significantly
expanded in the state. Texans for Public Justice. Read the report.
4. Privatizing school lunches may be bad for academic performance
Public schools that use private food services may not save much money.
Worse yet, they may be hurting student performance, a U-M researcher
says. A new study by Roland Zullo, assistant research scientist at the
Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations, suggests that schools in
Michigan using private companies to prepare and serve lunch, and often
breakfast, to their students realize no significant cost savings. After
controlling for affluence, school resources and student traits, the study
shows that private food service is associated with a reduction of 1-3
percent in scores on the Michigan Educational Assessment Program tests
for students in third through ninth grades. This is especially true for
third- through fifth-graders and with the English, reading and writing
tests. The culprit? Private food services tend to serve more high-fat
and high-sugar foods on their a la carte menu. The University Record
5. UMaine labor bureau updates review of privatization pitfalls
A newly released briefing paper by the University of Maine Bureau of
Labor Education on the pitfalls and problems that can occur when privatizing
certain state, municipal or institutional services, concludes that the practice
remains risky and problematic. UMaineNews
6. Texas pension funds could invest in big road projects
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Steve Ogden said Tuesday that the
state should consider creating a public-private partnership to invest
in roads and other infrastructure in Texas, possibly using the vast
resources of the state’s major pension funds. The Austin American-Statesman
7. Report: Mich. prison health care costs rise, partly due to poor inmate tracking
Health care costs are increasing dramatically for the population in
general, but they are rising even faster for Michigan’s 51,000 prison
inmates. The average annual cost of medical care for each inmate
increased by nearly 65 percent over the decade ending in 2006,
according to a report by Michigan’s auditor general. The Corrections
Department could control costs by following its own policies and doing
a better job of monitoring its contracts with the private companies
that provide medical and pharmaceutical services in the prisons,
the report suggested. The Grand Rapids Press
8. Naming rights for Detroit airport terminal up for sale
The naming rights for Detroit Metropolitan Airport’s new north terminal
are up for sale, and the sale is thought to be the first naming rights
deal for a U.S. airport terminal, according to Michael Conway, director
of public affairs for the airport authority. Crain’s Detroit Business
9. Providence to look at sale of water system
The city is considering selling the Providence Water Supply Board and
the network of reservoirs and treatment plants it controls in order to
pay down the huge debt in the city’s pension system. Providence Journal
10. MA: Support for libraries overdue – editorial
Faced with tight budgets, the towns of Dartmouth and Tewksbury are
thinking about privatizing their libraries.The impulse is
understandable, given anemic revenues and spiraling costs. But
libraries should remain wholly public entities. Boston Globe
11. TN: CCA inmate didn’t leave cell to shower for 9 mos.
While other inmates at the Metro Detention Facility took an hour out of
their cells most days, a mentally ill inmate named Frank Horton never
left his cell for any recreation or a shower — for nine straight
months. It’s unclear if he even saw a doctor. CCA was in the national
spotlight last week after a former employee accused the company of
underplaying serious safety incidents at its facilities. The
accusations were aimed at Gus Puryear, a former lawyer for CCA
nominated to be a federal judge. The Tennessean
12. FL: A tax increase by another name – editorial
With Florida facing a serious revenue shortfall, state transportation
leaders are dusting off plans for leasing Alligator Alley to a private
company — and giving the firm the power to set tolls. This is a move
born of desperation. No doubt it seems an easy way for state lawmakers
to create a politically painless new revenue stream. But the plan
essentially amounts to a tax by other means, with tolls substituting
for a tax increase. The Miami Herald