News

CA: Hayward, California Dumps Redflex And Red Light Cameras. On Tuesday, Hayward, California’s city council voted 6-1 to end the use of red light cameras at the earliest possible opportunity, joining thirty-four other California cities that have decided to abandon automated ticketing. Hayward’s decision comes at a time when the Australian-based company is reeling from investigations of its involvement in bribery schemes in Chicago, Illinois and two other cities. Between 2008 and 2012, Redflex issued 14,536 tickets worth $489 each in Hayward. Of these, 59 percent went not to motorists running through a red light, but to those who made a rolling right-hand turn. When motorists brought their complaints about the system to court, judges threw out the ticket 57 percent of the time.  TheNewspaper.com

PA: Philadelphia Officials Vote to Close 23 Schools. Philadelphia is one of a number of major cities that have been closing schools because of falling enrollment, poor academic performance and budget deficits. New York, Chicago and Washington have closed dozens of schools in the last decade and have recently published plans to shutter dozens more. Public school enrollments are falling as more students migrate to charter schools. In Philadelphia, the proportion of students attending charter schools jumped to 23 percent in the 2011-12 school year from 12 percent in 2004-5, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.  New York Times

DE: Privatization of Wilmington port appears dead. Citing hostility from organized labor, energy giant Kinder Morgan said Thursday that it is suspending efforts to work out a lease arrangement with Delaware officials for operating the Port of Wilmington. The company’s decision comes after months of work by the Markell administration to work out a public-private partnership to operate the port, which has received tens of millions of dollars in state subsidies in recent years but is in need of costly repairs. Houston Chronicle

MI: Detroit’s problems are deeply rooted. Although the new financial manager for Detroit hasn’t yet been named, it is likely that he or she will move to abrogate union contracts for city workers, gut city management ranks and sell off assets, thereby privatizing such government services as public transit, streetlights and trash collection systems. These things have the potential to reduce the city’s costs and alleviate the immediate cash crisis, but they are disastrous over the long term, and they’ll be done without approval by the city’s elected leaders. Youngstown Vindicator

FL: Controversial ‘parent trigger’ bill passes its first test in Legislature. A “parent trigger” bill that was narrowly defeated in the Legislature last year is back and won a first, favorable vote in a House education subcommittee Thursday. The bill gives parents a say in the fate of failing schools, allowing them to recommend “turnaround” options already required under state and federal law. The options include closing the school, converting it to a charter school or hiring an outside management firm to run it. Proponents say it would empower parents to get more involved in a school where students are struggling academically. But opponents say it is a move to turn public campuses over to private companies and to circumvent the power of elected school boards.  Orlando Sentinel

NC: Mandate for 3 toll projects ends in NC Senate bill. A bill to eliminate the mandate on North Carolina transportation officials to build three toll-road projects has cleared the state Senate, but it’s unclear if the House will go along. WRAL.com

Advocacy Group to Monitor Reform Efforts in Public Schools. Diane Ravitch, the historian and former assistant education secretary who has become an outspoken critic of those who favor high-stakes testing, tenure reforms and other controversial measures aimed at the public schools, has joined with other education advocates to form a group that will grade and endorse political candidates. . .  With wealthy individuals like Bill Gates and Michael Bloomberg as well as groups like Students First (the organization created by Michelle A. Rhee, the former schools chancellor in Washington) donating large sums to individual campaigns and ballot measures in support of test-based teacher evaluations and charter schools, Ms. Ravitch said that her group would help foment a grass-roots movement to oppose them. New York Times

 

 

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CA: How Corporate Reformers Explain Big Loss in Los Angeles. While we were celebrating Steve Zimmer’s thrilling win over Kate Anderson in the Los Angeles school board race, the corporate reform crowd had to figure out how to spin this embarrassing defeat. Inconvenient facts: The billionaires put together about $5 million to beat Steve Zimmer, who is a member of the school board in his first term. Steve is an independent thinker who dared to propose oversight for charters and a moratorium on new charters until the board had established some means of holding them accountable.  Diane Ravich’s Blog

CA: What’s driving privatization of public transit?  As more cities turn to private companies to run public transit systems, our recent investigation shows that privatization may not be the silver bullet that cash-strapped municipalities were hoping for. California Watch

NY: Comptroller skeptical on costs of privatizing LIPA. The state comptroller’s office has weighed in on the notion of LIPA as a private entity, telling a State Senate investigations panel that it has “serious ongoing issues” with LIPA’s financial condition, while questioning the costs of going private. Newsday

OH: Cincinnati’s City Council votes to privatize parking. Cincinnati City Council voted today (5-4 decision) to turn over Cincinnati’s parking to a private company for the next 30 years. In return, the city will receive annual payouts and a $92 million dollar lump sum. . . After council voted, Hamilton County Judge Robert Winkler placed the decision on hold after a group of concerned citizens filed suit to block the decision. The group wants the matter decided on a voter ballot. Examiner.com

OH: Ohio’s public-private jobs agency report raises questions. But the Ohio Supreme Court will soon hear arguments in the JobsOhio constitutionality case. What Jones calls “misunderstandings” aren’t surprising to Dale Butland with Innovation Ohio, a liberal leaning think tank. He says JobsOhio’s annual report actually raised more questions than it answered.  “We still don’t know how much public money has been spent. We still don’t know how JobsOhio calculates its return on investment, which means also have no idea whether the investments that JobsOhio has made have been good or bad. And we still don’t know, in the end, how many jobs we’re going to have, or how many jobs have actually been created.”  WKSU News

PA: Allentown City Council rejects another attempt to have residents decide 50-year lease. Another attempt to empower Allentown voters to decide the city’s planned 50-year lease of its water and sewer systems went nowhere at Wednesday night’s City Council meeting. . . Such an ordinance would give the city’s voters the final word and could reverse any approval of the lease by council.  WFMZ Allentown

OR: Oregon liquor agency faces troubling questions, inside and out. The internal struggles come at a time when the OLCC is under a higher level of scrutiny from state lawmakers and city of Portland officials, who think the agency has been less than responsive to complaints about problem bars. There’s also an underlying worry about the possibility of a ballot measure to privatize liquor sales, as happened last year in Washington. Currently, the OLCC is the third biggest revenue source for the state, behind income taxes and the Oregon Lottery. OregonLive.com

UT: Opinion: Beware of any move to privatize Utah’s prisons. Ever notice how Utah legislators like to keep their hottest and most controversial bills under wraps until the very end of the annual session? This time around, though, the bill opens the door for private companies to submit requests for proposals to build and operate a new prison. . .Private prisons have been around for quite a while, and they’ve proven to be a terrible idea. Salt Lake Tribune

 

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GOP Endgame — Privatization of Government? Is the Republican zeal for the sequester and cutting government, a cover up for privatizing government services? WIll many services performed by government workers go to businesses?  Huffington Post

Paul Krugman: Mooching off Medicaid. And despite some feeble claims to the contrary, privatizing Medicaid will end up requiring more, not less, government spending, because there’s overwhelming evidence that Medicaid is much cheaper than private insurance. New York Times

FL:  Editorial: FAU needs better explanation for stadium’s new name. In this case, there was a U.S. Justice Department investigation of a GEO youth facility in Mississippi that found its detainees had suffered inappropriate sexual behavior, indifference to medical issues and excessive use of force from staff. . .  Saunders has no business putting the school in the middle of the debate over prison privatization, as she did when she told protesters, “This is a wonderful opportunity for us to discuss the impact of privatizing prisons.”  Sun Sentinel

PA: Liquor privatization picking up speed in Pennsylvania. House Majority Leader Mike Turzai of Allegheny County, said today at a press conference he expects legislation designed to get the state out of the business of selling alcohol will move on the fast track. He said House Bill 790 will be introduced today. “Because there is a lot of energy, a lot of enthusiasm … There is widespread agreement in our caucus,” Turzai said.  PennLive.com

MS: Miss. workers protest child support privatization. Mississippi state workers are protesting legislative efforts to privatize the state’s child support program. Mississippi Alliance of State Employees President Brenda Scott says House Bill 1009 would likely cause state workers to lose their jobs. She says that the state tried to privatize child support services in Hinds and Warren counties in the 1990’s, but that the private entity ultimately collected less money per case. WJTV

LA: Legislator questions legality of privatization efforts. Privatization of state-run LSU hospitals requires legislative action, and there’s plenty of legal footing to support that position, a New Orleans legislator wrote Attorney General Buddy Caldwell. State Rep. Jared Brossett, D-New Orleans, made the assertion as he supplemented a request he made last week for an attorney general’s opinion on the issue.  The Advocate

 

 

 

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More Redflex Executives Fall Over Bribery Scandal. Heads continue to roll at Redflex Traffic Systems in the wake of an unfolding bribery scandal uncovered in Chicago, Illinois. The Australian photo enforcement firm admitted today that what it once called a $910 “billing error” — the cost of a free room in a luxury hotel for John Bills, a city contracting official — was part of a much larger, illegal influence scheme headed by Marty O’Malley, a Redflex consultant. ” TheNewspaper

PR: Thousands protest airport privatization. Some 2,500 Puerto Ricans marched on San Juan’s Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport on Feb. 24 to protest plans to privatize the facility. “Our airport isn’t for sale and isn’t for rent” and “Alejandro [García Padilla, the governor], your mom’s ashamed of you” were among the marchers’ signs. . . Under the privatization plan the airport will be leased for 40 years to the Aerostar Airport Holdings consortium. . .Some 8.5 million passengers use the airport each year; it is served by 14 airlines and generates more than 8,000 jobs. World War 4 Report

MI: Op ed: A takeover by the state won’t solve Detroit’s underlying problems. Although the new financial manager for Detroit hasn’t yet been named, it is likely that he or she will move to abrogate union contracts for city workers, gut city management ranks and sell off assets, thereby privatizing such government services as public transit, streetlights and trash collection systems. These things have the potential to reduce the city’s costs and alleviate the immediate cash crisis, but they are disastrous over the long term, and they’ll be done without approval by the city’s elected leaders. This kind of managerial coup d’etat is at heart an abrogation of democracy and a failure of vision. Slashing spending and privatizing assets won’t fix Detroit, or any of the nation’s other troubled cities. This crisis calls for reinvention. Los Angeles Times

GA: Transit union takes fight against MARTA privatization to public. Transit union officials are rallying riders in a full-court press against proposed legislation to privatize parts of MARTA. Atlanta Journal Constitution

GA: Atlanta Transit Bill Harkens Back to the Days of Jim Crow. A lot of racial progress has been made in our country over the last 50 years for which we can be justly proud. One of the unfortunate by-products of success, however, is complacency, and those who resist change in the first place often take full advantage of that. An example of this is taking place in Atlanta, the birthplace of the civil rights movement, where state legislators are pushing for a transit bill that would go a long way toward turning the clock back to the Jim Crow era. But as highlighted in a Associated Press article, instead of forcing African Americans to the back of the bus, the new legislation threatens to take the bus away altogether for many of Atlanta’s working poor.  Huffington Post

CA: Speak Out to Stop the Toll Road and Protect Southern California’s Coast. A destructive toll road is threatening a popular state park and the last remaining wildlands along the southern California coast. Sound familiar? It should, because it’s the same nonsensical project we thought we killed five years ago. Natural Resources Defense Council (blog)

NJ: Editorial: Privatize cautiously. Local governing bodies should not ignore the financial benefits of hiring private vendors to perform traditional service. But before doing so, they should look past the initial savings and consider whether replacing longtime municipal and school district workers with outside help truly is the best thing to do. William Dressel, the executive director of the New Jersey League of Municipalities, puts it best when he says that towns provide “quality-of-life” services, adding, “We’re not banging out widgets.” No matter its cost, poor service is not worthwhile.  The Record

PA: Senators call for scrutiny of Pa. charter schools. Some lawmakers on Monday called for stronger state regulation of Pennsylvania’s charter and cyber-charter schools, while others derided Gov. Tom Corbett’s plan to finance new school grants by privatizing liquor and wine sales as a political gimmick. San Francisco Chronicle

PA: Pennsylvania officials look to close some health centers. Gov. Tom Corbett’s Department of Health wants to close nearly half of Pennsylvania’s 60 health centers and lay off some nurses as part of an effort to save money and improve the way the state handles its public health duties, officials said. York Daily Record

PA: James Powers: Allentown fixated on leasing water, sewer systems. The Allentown city administration, with little discouragement from City Council, is undeterred in what seems to me a reckless path to solve admittedly serious financial problems by a 50-year concession agreement of the city’s water and sewer works. The plan is portrayed as an almost magical solution to our financial woes, where everyone will win, and there will be no downside. . .  Many council members seem surprised — and perhaps even resentful — of an aroused public, which is clearly not in favor of the proposal, and they are ignoring a clearly growing public sentiment against the project. In fact, council — with the exception of one member — recently voted down a separate proposal that would have required a referendum to finally decide this issue, or any issue that exceeded $10 million. Allentown Morning Call

PA: Critics: privatizing liquor Less profitable. But even before Republicans fully unveil the latest legislative proposal to dismantle the liquor monopoly, critics are warning that the math just may not add up in a way that bodes well for shoppers or taxpayers. Proponents for dismantling the monopoly say that the upfront license sale will generate $1 billion. Gov. Tom Corbett has proposed using that money for a special grant program for schools. But once the liquor system is privatized, the state must replace the millions of dollars of profit that has been generated by the state Liquor Control Board each year. Last year, the LCB transferred $80 million to the state.  New Castle News

LA: Treasurer slams Jindal’s budget as unbalanced. Kennedy said Jindal’s budget includes millions of dollars in “pretend” savings from an unfinished privatization of the LSU hospitals and anticipates “inflated prices” from property sales that won’t happen. San Francisco Chronicle

 

 

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National Attention and Cash in Los Angeles School Vote. On Tuesday, voters in Los Angeles will go to the polls for a mayoral primary. But much of the attention will also be on the three races for the school board, a battle that involves the mayor, the teachers’ union and a host of advocates from across the country — including New York City’s billionaire mayor — who have poured millions of dollars into the races. The outcome of the political fight for the school board seats will have a profound impact on the direction of the nation’s second-largest school district. But the clash has also become a sort of test case for those who want to overhaul public education, weakening the power of the teachers’ union, pushing for more charter schools and changing the way teachers are hired and fired.  New York Times

NJ: NJ DEP: New privatized toxic-site-cleanup program clears cases faster. Since the state began in 2009 handing off day-to-day control of environmental cleanup to the private sector, the monthly rate of completed cases has risen almost 30 percent compared to the two years before the program began, according to data provided by the DEP. But as the process accelerates, environmentalists worry that without direct state oversight, lands on which people could one day live and play are not being cleaned up to state standards and could present a public health risk. Bill Wolfe, a former DEP official and frequent critic of the agency, said allowing environmental-cleanup firms, which are often paid by the polluters, to police themselves would inevitably lead to shortcuts. “They’re supposed to be the white hats protecting the public health and the environment, but at the same time, they’re answering to their clients,” he said. The theory that the cleanup professionals “would serve the public interest and do a straight job is ludicrously naive.” Philadelphia Inquirer

MI: Mich. won’t privatize prisons further. Michigan officials said this week they will not privatize nearly $350 million in prisoner health care and food costs, keeping intact nearly 1,700 state workers’ jobs but frustrating lawmakers who questioned the bidding process. State Department of Corrections spokesman Russ Marlan told The Associated Press on Friday that none of three contracts out for bid would have achieved the necessary 5 percent savings as required by state rules. Sault Ste. Marie Evening News

KS: Kansas moves toward privatizing child support collections. Kansas officials are taking the first steps toward turning child support collections over to private contractors. The Kansas Department for Children and Families said Friday it has begun accepting proposals to privatize the system. The agency says contractors may bid to collect support payments in one, several or all of the state’s 31 judicial districts. Department Secretary Phyllis Gilmore says contracts are scheduled to be awarded in June and will go into effect in September. Houston Chronicle

NY: LIPA Trustee Calls Privatization ‘A Terrible Idea’ A Long Island Power Authority trustee has called the suggestion to privatize the agency a “terrible idea.” “I think privatization is a terrible idea, because what it would mean for Long Islanders is probably about a 20 percent rate increase,” Lewis said. “We also know that when LILCO was taken over by LIPA, they left the grid in terrible shape, and so it’s not just the cost. It’s also the fact that a private company, in order to drive up profits, does things to cut corners and doesn’t invest in the system.”  CBS Local

CA: Fresno council OKs election on trash privatization. The Fresno City Council voted Thursday evening to hold a special election in June and allow voters to decide whether residential solid waste services should be privatized or remain with the current city workers. The council had given a thumbs-up to privatizing the services through Mid-Valley Disposal on Dec. 20, but a subsequent union-led petition drive gathered enough signatures to force the council to meet anew and adopt one of three proposals.  Fresno Business Journal

WI: Privatizing Wisconsin’s Public Education System. Wisconsin’s voucher program is clearly a move to privatize education, support religious schools, and set up our community with a “winners” and “losers” school system.  The winners being the strongly supported private schools (religious and for profit), and the losers being the kids in the increasingly underfunded public schools (who pay not only for their education, but also subsidize the voucher system).  This is a competitive model that is well understood by business interests.  This works well for many things, but is exactly the wrong model for public education.  The best public education model recognizes that ALL children deserve an excellent education so that they may reach their full potential in life. This is a collaborative model where the goal is only “winners”.  Daily Kos

News

How Private Prisons Game the Immigration System. On the one hand, a pathway to citizenship and legal reforms sought by advocates could reduce the number of immigrants detained by CCA and its competitors in the private prison industry. . . On the other hand, Libal observed that a bill with increased security measures “could be very profitable” for the industry. Legislators and the Obama administration could adopt a plan that mirrors Republican proposals for an “enforcement first” approach, which include increased police powers, new mandatory detention and sentencing laws, further militarization of the border and proposals for more prisons and detention officers. . . In recognition of the profits at stake, the prison companies have invested in key legislators leading the reform process—although the companies are coy about their purpose, denying that they are attempting to influence Congress’s deliberations. The Nation

MD: Authority advises caution on ICC privatization. The Maryland Transportation Authority has thrown some cold water on the idea of leasing the Intercounty Connector as a relatively pain-free way of raising money to pay for other projects – saying such deals are too complex to enter into without extensive study. In a position paper sent to the legislature, the authority does not rule out privatization deals but warns “they are not easy and should be approached prudently.” Baltimore Sun

CA: Walmart Heirs Spend Millions to Privatize LA Schools. For more than a decade, however, one of the biggest of the billionaire interlopers has been the Walton family, heirs to the Walmart fortune, who have poured millions into a privatization-oriented, ideological campaign to make L.A. a laboratory for their ideas about treating schools like for-profit businesses, and treating parents, students and teachers like cogs in what they must think are education big-box retail stores. As a business chain, Walmart has spent a fortune — in philanthropy and campaign contributions — trying to break into the Los Angeles retail market with its low-wage retail stores.  The Frying Pan

CA: Fair Board to Ponder Action on Failed Privatization Bid. The board’s Fair Sale Review Committee issued a scathing report last month and presented it publicly to board members. Led by a former police chief, the panel concluded that Republican board members used pavement contracts with LSA & Associates at the fairground to “launder” hundreds of thousands of tax dollars to lobbyists and attorneys to move the privatization plan through the halls of Sacramento. The keys to understanding the Republican fair board privatization plan were speed and political connections. VoiceofOC

TX: Toll road expansion plans worry Del Valle residents. A new road expansion project would allow drivers to get from San Antonio to Waco, without having to drive through Austin. . . The convenience will come with a price, however, the project includes the addition of tolled express lanes on Highway 71 that will stretch from SH-130 to just before Highway 183. The news has some Del Valle residents worried. “It’s all about money is what it is. The lower people on the food chain have to survive,” Del Valle resident Jack Terry said. “It’s hard enough with gas. It’s what $3.60, $3.70, now you’ve got to pay to drive?”  YNN

OH: Privatizing prisons in Ohio is bad news for taxpayers – letter to editor. Private prison companies don’t help our local economies in other ways. They pay their employees small wages that are used to barely scrape by on and they offer little to no benefits. By denying benefits, the rest of us pay more based on increased trips to the emergency room and, in some cases, use of a medical card. Mansfield News Journal

OK: Okla. House panel OKs plan to privatize CompSource. A plan to privatize Oklahoma’s not-for-profit workers’ compensation insurer has been approved by a House committee. A bill that would convert CompSource Oklahoma from a state entity to a private company owned by policyholders passed Thursday through the House Insurance Committee. If approved by the House Calendar Committee, it next will be heard by the full House.  KWTV

 

 

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GA: Rally against privatizing MARTA. A rally against legislation that would privatize MARTA was scheduled for Thursday morning at the Five Points station. In a press release, rally organizers called the legislation “racially biased and a threat to the service, safety, and affordability of Atlanta’s public transit.” If House Bill 264 becomes law, MARTA would have to outsource many of its services. Its governing board would also shrink, giving more power to areas outside the city of Atlanta. “This would give Republicans and white communities more control over a system with a 75% African-American ridership,” stated the press release. WGCL Atlanta

AZ: Arizonans rally against possible toll roads. Arizonans rally against possible toll roads. Arizonans are rallying at the State Capitol to show lawmakers the public doesn’t want toll roads in the state. Although Arizona doesn’t have any toll roads, lawmakers have been considering the idea for a couple of years.  Opposers claim Arizona already has plenty of money coming in to maintain our highways and to build new roads. MyFox Phoenix

MA: More Massachusetts toll roads? Open-road tolling is an inexpensive prospect for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation to put in place, but the ease with which it can be implemented could spell more tolls for drivers outside the Interstate 90 corridor, according to Transportation Secretary Richard Davey. “While it might not happen in my time,” Davey told lawmakers Wednesday, the launch of open-road tolling — which requires no tollbooths or toll collectors — in Massachusetts will “set the table” for potential tolling on new roads. MassLive.com

NY: Cuomo needs to detail LIPA privatization plan for LIers. Legislative gatherings in Albany and Hauppauge Wednesday sharpened the contrast between how Long Island residents and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo are handling the issue of LIPA’s future. During a hearing in Albany, state Sen. Carl Marcellino (R-Syosset) noted that representatives of investment banking firm Lazard Ltd. had not been able to appear for questioning. . . The idea appears to have gained little traction in the region, possibly because precious little information about the transaction’s finances has been released publicly, as speakers also pointed out Wednesday at a Suffolk committee hearing. Newsday

PA: The dark side of liquor store privatization – opinion. I wonder, if the governor’s plan goes through, what the effect will be on the state budget when we lose the annual profits and tax revenue that state liquor stores ($494 million this fiscal year) bring in. From where will come the dollars to fund state activities and services now supported by current and future liquor store revenues and taxes paid by current liquor store employees when that revenue, including the “estimated” $1 billion windfall generated by the liquor store sell-off, disappears. Will those activities and services likewise disappear? Apparently, unemployment seems to be a problem only for the unemployed; or so existing and aspiring powers seem to believe. They seem convinced that the public will accept fewer services in exchange for the opportunity to buy booze for a few dollars less. While the liquor stores disappear, their state employees won’t. And they’ll need housing, health care, and support services. phillyBurbs.com

CA: Berkeley residents lash out at planned post office sale. Around 200 people rallied Tuesday evening at the Maudelle Shirek Building, with the nation’s first postmaster, Ben Franklin, (channeled by monologuist Josh Kornbluth) in an effort to save the city’s 99-year old post office from a possible sale. . .Gray Brechin, visiting scholar in the UC Berkeley Department of Geography said people around the country have told him they came to meetings, opposed the sale of their post offices, and the USPS then “simply ignores the public input, and goes ahead and sells the building. Brechin said that could be happening in Berkeley. San Jose Mercury News

LA: State lawmaker asks AG about LSU hospital plan. A New Orleans lawmaker said Wednesday that he’s asked for the attorney general’s opinion on whether Gov. Bobby Jindal’s administration can move ahead with privatizing most of the LSU-run hospitals without legislative approval. . . .Rep. Jared Brossett Brossett, D-New Orleans, said he believes that because the hospitals are public assets, turning them over to private managers should require legislative backing. ”  San Francisco Chronicle           

TX: Jeb Bush to Texas: Go big on overhauling schools. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush urged Texas to swing for the fences when overhauling public education, telling state senators Wednesday that he was able to transform foundering schools in his home state with big — if often unpopular — ideas. But critics say Bush, who served from 1999 until 2007 and has since begun traveling the country as a leading voice for educational reform, was more successful at funneling public money to corporate interests than improving schools. .. . Texas caps the number of charter school licenses it issues at 215, though Senate Education Committee Chairman Dan Patrick is trumpeting a bill that would lift the cap. The Houston Republican also wants a voucher plan allowing parents to use public money to pay for private school tuition — though that idea faces stiff opposition in the Texas House.  ReporterNews.com

NE: UNL official: Privatization will save health costs. University of Nebraska-Lincoln will save about $85 a semester if the university transfers control of its health center to a private contractor, school officials say. UNL Chancellor Harvey Perlman provided an update Tuesday and answered students’ questions about his proposal to privatize the health center. In September, Perlman announced plans to seek a private operator to build and operate a new University Health Center. . . A survey related to the proposal will be included with the student government election ballot on March 6, and the NU Board of Regents is scheduled to vote on the privatization proposal on March 15.  San Francisco Chronicle

The Separation of Profit and State. Thirty years on, the Reagan Revolution has done its job, or nearly so. There’s no sustaining integrity left to how our society is organized, no principle that can’t be gamed for private benefit. And even awareness of all this has been successfully marginalized. We still proclaim ourselves, in the prevailing media, the world’s oldest, greatest democracy, and worship the old rituals. But the common good has been auctioned off.  Common Dreams

 

 

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PR: Puerto Rico Airport Privatization Deal Lifts Off. Puerto Rico’s governor on Tuesday approved turning over the operations of Puerto Rico’s largest airport to a private company as part of an estimated $2.6 billion deal that began under his predecessor and has been fiercely protested. ABC News

PA: Even if Pa. Lottery deal fizzles, consultants in line for $1.2 million. A deal to privatize the Pennsylvania Lottery may have hit a snag, but contracts with the two private firms advising the commonwealth on the plan means the state definitely has some bills to pay. The state could be on the hook for as much as $1.2 million for work by its consultants on a deal to turn over the operations of the lottery to British firm Camelot Global Services. Newsworks

PA: Report: Corbett Administration considers privatizing PA Department of Public Welfare. Was I aware that the Corbett administration hoped to privatize far more than these three small agencies?  “They’re talking about privatizing the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare,” I was told.  Interested parties, the tipster continued, recently “came up from Florida to tour DPW and study the potential to privatize the department.” This communication would prove interesting for several reasons. New Pittsburgh Courier

NY: LIPA study: Rates up if privatized. A study commissioned by the Long Island Power Authority in 2010 found that even the most optimistic scenarios for privatizing the agency would result in the need for more revenue through higher electric rates. It’s the second LIPA-commissioned study in three years that has concluded as much. Another, by the Brattle Group in 2011, found that privatization could hike rates 15 percent to 20 percent. . . . The report laid out two scenarios for privatizing LIPA: one in which LIPA was sold for $5.7 billion and retained a small portion of debt, and another that assumed the new owner found a way to pay off all of LIPA’s $7 billion debt. Under both scenarios, the new owner would have to hike rates to collect between 7 percent and 12 percent more revenue from ratepayers than under the existing public-private structure, the study said. Newsday

FL: Action Alert to Stop Vouchers … Jeb Bush Expected to Testify at Hearing. Sen. Dan Patrick (R-Houston), chair of the Senate Education Committee, likes to label his policy preferences as “national best practices in education reform.” But he has not yet sold a majority of his legislative colleagues on his agenda, which includes private-school vouchers, privatization via charter expansion, shutdown and conversion of neighborhood schools into privately run charter schools, and more.   Hence Sen. Patrick is expected to bring in some out-of-town talent to help his cause tomorrow in a special hearing of his committee occurring in the Senate chamber. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, said to be readying himself for a presidential run in 2016, is expected to appear and to tout what his private foundation calls the Florida formula for student achievement.  Burnt Orange Report

Electronic toll roads envisioned for nation. With Congress reluctant to raise the gasoline tax, and with the nation’s highways in need of repair and expansion, motorists everywhere may eventually have to come to grips with the notion of more highway tolls and usage fees – possibly collected via electronic monitoring devices built directly into their vehicles. That’s one idea suggested by a Milwaukee-based trade group, the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, which represents major road-building equipment firms. It certainly will take more than the traditional gas tax, Dennis Slater, president of the group, said in a conference call with reporters this week. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

 

 

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DE: Why Privatize the Port Now? The Kinder Morgan proposal to privatize the Port of Wilmington ought to be much in the news this week. . .One of the things I want to point out today, and I’m hoping that decision-makers keep in mind, is that while DEDO was publicly touting an investment partnership to build out the Port, their RFP (released approx 2 months prior to this article) included a privatization option that customers and businesses at the Port did not know until months later. And still, this privatization deal is quite different than from the talking points DEDO was using to promote this deal as an expansion opportunity. DelawareLiberal

PA: LCB officials say state holding them back. The agency that runs Pennsylvania’s liquor stores says that even in the face of Gov. Corbett’s efforts to privatize its retail and wholesale operations, it is more productive than ever. LCB brass said they have been turning more than $100 million a year in profit for the last several years – and kicking more than $80 million of that into the state’s cash-strapped coffers. . . Yet LCB board member Robert Marcus contended that the agency is operating on a scaled-down staff while the Corbett administration refuses to sign off on filling key vacant positions. . .The testimony was the first public sign that some officials at the agency may start fighting back as the governor and fellow Republicans in the House work on a measure to auction off the state’s 600-plus wine and spirits stores to the private sector.  Philadelphia Inquirer

FL: Best intentions, worst results at Largo work release center. Gov. Rick Scott and the Legislature have been hellbent on privatizing prisons throughout Florida. The governor’s latest budget proposes privatizing 14 more work-release centers this year. The philosophy is that private companies — either for-profit industries or nonprofits such as Goodwill — are able to run prisons at a considerably lower cost than the state can. Yet no one bothers to ask how private companies can be so much cheaper. And maybe that’s because the reason is too scary to contemplate. Could it be that private groups hire fewer — and less-qualified — employees to run their prisons?  Tampabay.com

WI: Rep. Sondy Pope: Roaring down road to school privatization. Before discussing exactly what our governor and Republican leaders are proposing for K-12 education in this budget, it is worth rehashing our previous budget, which required public schools to make extreme fiscal sacrifices ($1.6 billion in lost revenue) in the name of austerity. But in that very same budget, the state found enough money to expand private school voucher offerings and increase overall voucher spending. The Cap Times

KY: Bill Would Allow Public-Private Partnerships For Big Construction Projects. The bill doesn’t specifically name any projects, but Kentucky currently has multiple instances where the bill could help work start, namely the Brent Spence Bridge in Northern Kentucky and Interstate 69 in western Kentucky. . .  In public-private partnerships, companies contribute to the construction costs in exchange for access to revenue sources, such as tolls. Under Overly’s bill, the public-private option would be available only to so-called mega-projects, which is any project which costs more than $500 million.  WKU Public Radio

LA: Tuition increase likely for state schools. The recommendation, which has to go in front of the legislature in April, coincides with Gov. Bobby Jindal budget proposal, which calls for a cut in $200 million in higher education and increased tuition. . . .Rasberry said nationally higher education is gradually shifting from public to privatization funding. NOLA.com

Sequestration Puts Spotlight on America’s Dangerously Overcrowded Federal Prisons. We also know that immigration enforcement programs like Operation Streamline contribute to this unsustainable prison growth. Operation Streamline is a “zero-tolerance” program that requires the federal criminal prosecution and imprisonment of all unlawful border crossers in designated sectors. The program annually sweeps in tens of thousands of migrant workers with no criminal history  and is a major contributor to prison overcrowding, privatization and the soaring federal rate of Hispanic and Latino incarceration.            ACLU

How the religious right is undermining education.  It is critical that Americans recognize not only the intent to privatize our schools but the vast Christian Right agenda behind it. Salon

 

 

 

News

LA: Jindal’s $24.7 billion budget relies heavily on privatization of LSU hospitals

Gov. Bobby Jindal’s $24.7 billion spending plan for the coming fiscal year will plug a $1 billion-plus hole with a mix of so-called “one-time money,” assumptions of large savings from the privatization of public hospitals, and anticipated money from the sale of state property and proceeds from lawsuits filed by the state. . .Many lawmakers received the proposal with skepticism, with some worrying about the impact it would have on the state’s public hospital system. They also raised concerns that the proposed sales and agreements it relies on might not come to fruition. NOLA.com

IL: Charter Schools and Disaster Capitalism

The right-wing, free market vision of University of Chicago economist Milton Friedman informed the blueprint for the rapid privatization of municipal services throughout the world due in no small part to what author Naomi Klein calls “Disaster Capitalism”. . . There aren’t any hurricanes in the Midwest, so how can proponents of privatization like Mayor Rahm Emanuel sell off schools to the highest bidder? They create a crisis. Each year, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) projects a billion dollar deficit. The announcement grabs headlines and the Board of Education announces that they must make serious cuts. These cutbacks are never at the top. The Board cuts education programs, after-school activities, and forces more classroom costs onto its employees. . . Charter schools become the “solution” lying around for parents who want to keep their students close to home in a school that will not be closed the following year.  Salon

TX: Internal review rejects idea of privatizing county jail

Privatizing the Harris County jail would be risky and may not result in savings, according to an internal county memo recommending that Commissioners Court keep the state’s largest lockup in Sheriff Adrian Garcia’s hands. The confidential Feb. 11 memo, obtained by the Houston Chronicle, comes after more than a year of study by staff from the county budget office, purchasing office and County Attorney’s Office. Commissioner Steve Radack had suggested the county consider privatizing the jail in 2010, and the court voted to accept proposals in April 2011, when the county had begun laying off scores of staff in a lean budget year. Houston Chronicle

AZ: Rally against toll roads at Arizona Capitol

Arizona is one of a dozen states that have no toll roads. But this is no time to fall asleep at the wheel, warns the Arizona Automobile Hobbyist Council. That could change in the near future, taking a big bite out of Arizonans’ pockets and our freedoms, a council spokesman said. . . To blow the horn about possible tolls and user fees on Arizona roads, the council has called a rally at the state Capitol for next Wednesday. Organizers hope hundreds of owners of vehicles — from high-dollar customs to retro-restored muscle cars to daily drivers — will show up to warn lawmakers to steer clear of any such plans. Arizona Republic

CA: Bloomberg’s meddling in LA Unified races is paying for junk ads

The wealthy New York mayor’s $1-million contribution to the Coalition for School Reform is helping fund attack ads in L.A. that distort the truth and misinform voters. They said he should mind his own business, and they called this another example of an attempt by rich guys to privatize public schools, or at least turn them over to their charter school cronies. Los Angeles Times

CA: Editorial: Privatization might save money, but it costs accountability

But it’s a reminder that privatizing government services — often touted as a move to cut costs and red tape, and in the case of Redding Community Access Corp. originally intended to untangle city government from broadcasting controversies — also has costs. Not least, the public loses the accountability the law has built around government institutions — rigorous accounting of spending, public meetings and the ability to bump misguided decision-makers out of office at the next election. And when things go sideways, we sure notice how important all those rules were. Record-Searchlight

Civil Rights Group Slams House Republicans for Attempting to Privatize the US Postal Service

From ColorOfChange.org: The United States Postal Service is a critical service for Black and low-income communities, and it must be protected. The end of Saturday mail delivery would create delays for Veterans’ and Social Security checks, putting people who are already struggling to make it to the end of the month at even greater risk. And a full 46% of Black Americans, who lack access to high-speed Internet in their homes, rely on the post office for basic communication with the outside world. PostalNews

Privatizing cops: Because of budget cuts, “even police protection is more accessible to those with cash.”

Economic experts, and the president of the United States, have been emphasizing stimulus spending, not austerity, to get us out of the Big Recession mess BushCo created. But Republicans have insisted on cut after cut after cut. All those Big Bad Government Jobs that the GOP keeps wailing about? Those include police officers, the very men and women who, you know, protect us from the “bad guys with guns.” So cities and towns all over America are slashing their police forces because of deep budget cuts, the ones that have proved disastrous time after time. Political Carnival