News

VA: Effort to halt monthly E-ZPass fees draws support

A legislative effort to halt new monthly fees for users of the E-ZPass electronic tolling system gained some momentum Tuesday in a House of Delegates subcommittee…. Loupassi’s bill drew opposition from toll-road companies including Elizabeth River Crossings, which is partnering with VDOT in a public-private venture to expand the Midtown Tunnel and impose tolls on it and the Downtown Tunnel.  The Virginia Pilot

NJ: Town Council Approves Privatization of Police/911 Dispatching

As a result of a contract awarded by council during its meeting held earlier this evening (Tuesday, Jan. 22), Cranbury-based iXP Corporation will begin staffing the communications center at the township police station on April 1. The contract will run for two years, with the township having the option to award one three-year extension.  LawrencevillePatch

TX: Danger: Privatization in Texas

The new leadership of the Texas legislature has a plan. State Senator Dan Patrick, the new chair of the Senate Education Committee, wants vouchers, more charters, and a fast track for closing down public schools. Diane Ravitch’s blog

DE: House panel eyes bill on privatizing Delaware port

A bill giving the General Assembly veto power over privatizing operations at the Port of Wilmington is heading to a House committee. The bill, which narrowly cleared the Senate last week, was slated for a hearing Wednesday by the House economic development committee. The legislation, opposed by Gov. Jack Markell’s administration, prevents the state-controlled Diamond State Port Corporation from agreeing to privatize or lease the port without approval from both chambers of the Legislature.  Houston Chronicle

PA: Lottery privatization: Republican senators call on Corbett to back off plans for online gaming

Five Republican senators are calling on Gov. Tom Corbett to tweak his lottery management privatization plans to ban online gaming to avoid competition with the state’s casinos. Their concern arises out of the 20-year agreement with Camelot Global Services PA, LLC, that Corbett administration officials signed last week. Patriot-News

PA: Lottery privatization: Camelot facing criticism in UK for executive bonus pay and doubling of lottery prices

The proposed private manager for the Pennsylvania Lottery comes under fire in the United Kingdom for executives’ bonuses after doubling the price of tickets. Word of the bonuses comes on the heels of Camelot Global Services doubling the price of lottery tickets, which sparked lottery players in the United Kingdom to call for boycotting the lottery. A story in the United Kingdom-based publication, The Mail, quotes the deputy leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party, Paul Nuttall, saying “Lottery players are being fleeced…with these bonus increases we can see why.’”  PennLive

CA: Fresno trash privatization opponents file lawsuit

Fresnans for clean air, also known as FRESCA, walked into the city clerks office in Fresno and handed them a copy of the lawsuit filed Tuesday morning. FRESCA says the city of Fresno failed to prepare an environmental impact report concerning traffic and air quality with the new residential solid waste program, Mid-Valley Disposal.  CBS47.com

SC: The dangers of giving taxpayer dollars to private companies – opinion

Truth be told, Gov. Haley is more interested in finding new ways to put taxpayer dollars into the hands of privately held companies, and privatizing school buses is the next best thing to privatizing the entire school system. Even though proponents of privatization claim that competition encourages lower costs, lowering costs is not beneficial to anyone in the long run except the person that the state writes the checks to. Competition forces transportation companies to find ways to cut costs, and cutting costs invariably finds its way into cutting essentials. Maybe this year the drivers are asked to accept a lower pay raise, or not get one at all. The next year, maybe their health insurance premiums rise. Or maybe the company decides that four inspections a year is two too many. After all, fewer inspections means finding fewer things wrong, and that means there are fewer things to fix. Charleston City Paper

Postal Service Losing Out on Federal Contracts, Report Finds

Even the federal government turns to private shippers rather than the Postal Service when it wants to send packages. A report from the agency’s inspector general said that since 2001, private companies like FedEx and United Parcel Service had consistently captured 98 percent of the revenue from long-term shipping contracts with the government because the financially troubled Postal Service did not have a sales staff or a strategy to focus on the federal sector until 2009.  New York Times

 

 

News

Are private toll roads a losing idea?

President Obama and others have called to create a “national infrastructure bank” that would leverage the credit backing of the U.S. to fund more privatization of public assets – also known as public-private partnerships. In other words, a federal bank to fund the selling off public assets with loans or guarantees provided at low interest rates. But is control of public assets a successful business model for the investors? Actually, it seems to be a disaster. Let’s look back at private toll roads over the years.  Reuters

IL: City outlines terms of Midway privatization

Companies interested in vying for a contract to privatize Midway Airport will have to agree to an array of stipulations, including a lease of not more than 40 years, according to documents posted online Friday that invite potential bidders to submit their qualifications. Chicago Tribune

NJ: Decision on Privatizing Police Dispatching Due Tonight

Tonight (Tuesday, Jan. 22) Lawrence Township Council will decide whether to privatize police/911 dispatching services by awarding a contract to a Cranbury company or keep the township’s police communications center staffed by municipal employees. LawrencevillePatch

MT: For sale – Our wildlife heritage and what Montana hunters/anglers stand to lose

Imagine giving up Montana’s five-week deer and elk rifle season so hunters who can pay $20,000 or more for a license can kill bigger bucks and bulls. How about buying an elk tag only to find that sections of public land where you planned to hunt are only available to hunters who bought their license from a landowner who was given the tag from the state. If it sounds far fetched or like the workings of a banana republic, it isn’t. Those things are happening throughout the West. And those same people want to bring this vision to Montana. The states give landowners tags to be sold in return for some limited access to private land for hunting. Helena Independent Record

FL: State plan to help charter schools irks Palm Beach County School Board

Some Palm Beach County School District officials are incensed at a state proposal to offer once again millions of dollars next year for capital improvements at charter schools — and none at traditional public schools. That plan, those officials say, has set up a political fight for the legislative session that begins in March. School officials in Palm Beach County have estimated their buildings and grounds have $1.4 billion in capital improvement needs over the next 10 years. “It’s absurd,” said Chuck Shaw, county school board chairman. “I don’t know where the state seems to think we’re supposed to come up with the money to maintain our schools.”  Palm Beach Post

PA: Opinion: Privatization as disdain?

The governor’s newest sweet deal, outsourcing administration of the Pennsylvania Lottery to a foreign shore, provides further evidence of a premeditated strategy that treats the commonwealth like the prey of a vulture capitalist and is consistent with with the shenanigans proposed for the Pennsylvania Turnpike and state wine and spirits stores. The winners will be the middlemen and their employees, taking a cut of the action; the losers will be the citizens — taxpayers, seniors and current employees — who live, work, spend money and pay taxes in Pennsylvania. Tribune-Review

 

 

 

 

 

News

Privatizing Public Land For Solar Companies

Critics of opening up public lands to renewable energy development have been known to refer to the process as “privatization,” pointing out that once public land is leased to energy companies, that land is essentially no longer public. At issue is the Genesis Solar project, being built by Florida developer NextEra on 1,950 acres of your California desert BLM land north of Ford Dry Lake, backed by $825 million in loan guarantees funded by your tax dollars.  KCET

DE: Port of Wilmington Privatization

State Senator Bobby Marshall discusses legislation that would require General Assembly review of any deals that would privatize the Port of Wilmington. The Senate approved bill is expected to go to the Del. House this week.  WDEL

NY: Legislators oppose LIPA privatization plan

Long Island lawmakers are expressing serious concerns about Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s plans to sell LIPA’s assets to a private company, requesting instead that he revisit the notion of making it a fully public utility. Newsday

IL: FAA OKs request to privatize Midway Airport

Chicago was given federal approval Friday to privatize Midway International Airport, and the city promptly began asking potential buyers to get in touch. The city hopes to lease Midway for up to 40 years in a deal that would generate enough cash to pay off the airport’s roughly $1.4 billion debt, Mayor Rahm Emanuel has said. Profits would be split between the private operator and the city.  NWI.com

VA: Wrangling over, it’s decision time on port privatization

After months of turmoil about the possible privatization of the port of Hampton Roads, the process enters the critical, decision-making phase Tuesday. The Virginian-Pilot

VA: Editorial: Virginia’s toll road shell game

In 1995, the Dulles Greenway, the first privately financed toll road built in over a century, opened in Northern Virginia. But the Greenway’s backers overestimated demand and the amount of tolls drivers were willing to pay, and it has been losing money ever since. After it went bankrupt, the toll road was subsequently purchased by Macquarie, an Australian consortium. Greenway traffic was up slightly last year despite an 8 percent toll hike, but still running 23 percent below its 2005 peak. This dismal history has not stopped Virginia House Transportation Committee Chairman Joe May, R-Leesburg, from introducing legislation that would saddle Virginia taxpayers with this white elephant. His rationale for purchasing the money-losing Greenway is to lower tolls.  Washington Examiner

PA: Senior Dem leader: Stop Pa. lottery privatization

Local state Rep. Mike Hanna is joining a chorus of legislators in Harrisburg who want to stop Gov. Tom Corbett’s effort to put the Pennsylvania Lottery in the hands of a foreign company. Hanna, among the most senior Democratic leaders in the state House, joined his party leaders last week in announcing a fight against Republican Corbett’s plan to turn over management of the lottery to Camelot Global Services, which is based in the United Kingdom.  Lock Haven Express

PA: Private group to advocate for privatizing Pennsylvania liquor stores

A new coalition of citizens, businesses and groups supporting liquor privatization will announce next week a push for the state store divestiture plan GOP Gov. Tom Corbett soon will unveil, a leading advocate said Friday… Jay Ostrich, spokesman for the Commonwealth Foundation, who attended a meeting with Corbett‘s aides this week on privatization, said with the governor‘s backing, “We think this measure will be unstoppable.” Tribune-Review

LA: Privatization under way for LSU hospital

A private operator has agreed to run the LSU hospital in Lake Charles, La., that cares for the uninsured, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s administration announced Friday. The agreement is part of the administration’s efforts to move away from a university-run public hospital system… Thousands of workers at the LSU health facilities will face layoffs under the plans and will have to reapply for their jobs with the private hospital operators.  ModernHealthCare

 

 

News

PA: Gov. Corbett Says Lottery Privatization Contract is Signed and Being Vetted

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett says the contract with a private firm to manage the Pennsylvania Lottery has now been signed and is in the hands of the state attorney general for her review. The governor said the agreement with Camelot Global Services has now been signed and delivered to the attorney general, who has 30 days to review it.  If she finds problems with the contract, Corbett says, he expects the AG to cooperate.  CBS

PA: Corbett is thinking big on liquor privatization

Though he has yet to put anything in writing, the governor and his team are sending strong signals that they want the system squarely in private hands, and that they are leaning toward opening up the wine and beer market to grocery stores, convenience stores, restaurants and taverns, and big-box stores. Philadelphia Inquirer

NV: Experts: Less than half of motorists would use toll road around Boulder City

The estimate was based on a toll of $2.25 per passenger vehicle. Large trucks and commercial vehicles would potentially pay more. The reason the majority of motorists aren’t expected to use the toll road is that they’d have the option of using the existing U.S. 93 route through Boulder City that would remain free. The Nevada Legislature would still have to approve legislation permitting a toll and is expected to consider that in the session that begins next month. VEGAS INC

CA: Final hours in effort to stop Fresno’s trash privatization

A petition drive to stop privatization of Fresno’s residential trash services is in its final hours. Opponents of privatization say their deadline is Tuesday but they’re planning on turning in all of their signatures Friday afternoon. With one day to go, organizers of the effort are trying to make sure they have more than enough. “People could have signed twice. There are always those things that could happen, so we need to be conservative. But yes, I feel very good about where we are right now,” said Marina Magdaleno with Local 39.  ABC

NJ: Lawrence may become first in NJ to privatize 911 police dispatching services

The township could become the first municipality in New Jersey to privatize 911 police dispatching services, should the council approve a contract worth $719,400 a year with iXP Corp. of Cranbury next Tuesday. NJ.com

 

News

VA: Virginia cites high toll rates in proposed ‘buyback’ of private toll road

Virginia taxpayers may end up spending millions of dollars to buy back a privately operated toll road. Lawmakers are searching for the means to buy back the 14-mile Dulles Greenway, saying the state can set toll rates lower than the current operator, a consortium owned by Macquarie Infrastructure Group of Australia. Lawmakers believe a state-operated tolling authority could do it cheaper.  Land Line Magazine

PA: City gas panel OKs plan to hire advisers to sell Phila. Gas Works

Over the objections of unionized gas workers and the city’s public advocate, the commission voted, 3-2, to hire a team of lawyers, financial advisers, and communications consultants to solicit bids to privatize PGW, the largest municipal gas utility in the nation. Philadelphia Inquirer

PA: House Dems don’t like PaLottery privatization, have no idea what to do about it

The Republican administration is lining the pockets of the U.K.-based Camelot Group at the expense of senior citizens who benefit from the programs the Lottery pays for, Democrats kvetched. And with the likely expansion of Keno into Pennsylvania’s bars and taverns, there will be “more people spending their paychecks in bars and more ruined families,” Rep. Tony DeLuca, D-Allegheny, said. But the noisy Democrats were reduced to cricket-like chriping when asked whether they had any legislative remedies to halt the administration’s planned contract with Camelot, which operates the National Lottery in the United Kingdom.  The Morning Call

PA: Editorial: More answers needed before gambling on privatizing the lottery

Privatization of government programs makes sense when efficiencies are realized that either reduce costs or increase revenue. Gov. Tom Corbett’s proposed deal with a British company to take over the Pennsylvania Lottery raises more questions it can answer concerning how the contract would work and how much profit might be expected. This is a gamble we don’t support at this time. Centre Daily Times

DE: Del. Senate OKs lawmaker say in port privatization

The bill, which passed the Senate 11-9 and now goes to the House, prevents the state-controlled Diamond State Port Corporation from entering into any agreement to privatize or lease the port without first obtaining approval from both chambers of the General Assembly. Houston Chronicle

Influential group of CEOs calls for raising retirement age to 70 for Social Security, Medicare

An influential group of business CEOs is pushing a plan to gradually increase the full retirement age to 70 for both Social Security and Medicare and to partially privatize the health insurance program for older Americans. Washington Post

News

PA: Public vetting of potential lottery privatization deal appears to go administration’s way

Finally given the chance to ask questions, political observers expected state lawmakers and Gov. Tom Corbett’s administration to spar over the pending contract with a British firm to manage the Pennsylvania Lottery. Instead, they heard three-plus hours of relatively polite exchanges.  PhillyBurbs

NY: NYC Bus Strike Kicks Off to Fight Privatization of Yellow Buses

The president of the union representing New York City school bus drivers announced earlier this week that a citywide strike will be starting Wednesday morning. This will be the first time in more than three decades that NYC’s largest union for school bus drivers will strike…. The city wants to cut transportation costs and has put bus contracts with private bus companies up for bid. The union is criticizing lack of employee protections, fearing current drivers may lose their jobs once contracts expire in June.  The Nation

MS: Senate committee approves charter school bill

Legislation to expand charter schools in Mississippi is once again moving forward, with the state Senate Education Committee approving Senate Bill 2189 on a split vote Tuesday. Senators said they expect the bill to come to the Senate floor Wednesday. MySanAntonio.com

FL: Group wants private prisons to rehab Fla. inmates

A group with strong business ties urged Florida lawmakers to divert nonviolent felons into privately operated prisons for substance abuse and mental health treatment to cut costs and help prevent them from returning to crime when they are released. The proposal by the Florida Smart Justice Alliance drew opposition from public employee unions representing guards and other prison workers. They questioned the safety of private prisons as well as cost savings claimed by the alliance.  San Francisco Chronicle

CA: Parents seek to take control of failing Los Angeles school

Critics of the parent trigger law say it can divide communities and lead to the privatization of public schools, while proponents say it empowers parents to improve their children’s educational opportunities.  Reuters

MN: Privatization at Wirth Park

…In return for raising $3,000,000, The Loppet wants a 25 year lease on the new Welcome Center and 22.5 surrounding acres. The Loppet would serve as “Developer” subletting the building to tenants like a restaurant, a bike shop, a winter sports store, offices, etc. It appears The Loppet would keep all building revenue. The Loppet would also have naming rights to the building and all interior areas. Finally, the MPRB would “credit” the Loppet’s annual rent payments for 20 years, total value $3 million.  Twin Cities Daily Planet

When Public Outperforms Private in Services

Ten years ago, BP was the darling of the energy world — the unprofitable duckling transformed by privatization under the government of Margaret Thatcher into a highly profitable swan. But then, in 2005, a BP refinery in Texas City blew up, killing 15 and injuring around 170. In 2006, a leak in a BP pipeline spilled hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. And in 2010, an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig killed 11 and resulted in the biggest offshore oil spill in the history of the United States…. Long dormant in the United States, the debate has acquired new urgency as governments from Washington to statehouses and city halls around the country consider privatizing everything from Medicare to the management of state parks as a possible solution to their budget woes. New York Times

Aaron Swartz – a Fighter Against the Privatization of Knowledge

Two colleagues and friends of Aaron Swartz talk about his activism and vision of technology in the service of a more democratic and just society. The Real News

 

 

News

Pitney Bowes pays lawmakers to push privatizing Post Office

Pitney Bowes seems to be promoting a reckless and astoundingly flawed plan to privatize every part of the Postal Service except mail delivery. This reckless plan was brought up years ago by the Libertarian Cato Institute but was quickly dismissed. Yet the idea has been reintroduced recently. Why would this plan be suddenly creating interest in DC at this time? It’s simple: follow the money.  Peoples World

PA: State lawmakers vet Lottery privatization proposal

Senior executives of the British-based company poised to take over the day-to-day management of the Pennsylvania Lottery say they have a simple plan to get more people playing scratch-off and numbers games that underwrite services for the state’s growing over-60 population.  Allentown Morning Call

PA: Editorial: Wrong number for lottery

Corbett’s zeal to privatize management of the Pennsylvania Lottery raises more doubts about the deal, even as it increases the likelihood that the state will needlessly hand over the hugely profitable games – and a share of the winnings – to a British to a British firm.  Philadelphia Inquirer

NJ: Dems fight back against Gov. Christie’s plan to privative state lottery

Democratic lawmakers today advanced two measures that would slam the brakes on Gov. Chris Christie’s plan to privatize parts of the state Lottery. The Star-Ledger

 

News

Education reform as a business

Did you know that the education sector now represents nearly 9 percent of the country’s gross domestic product? That for-profit education is valued at $1.3 trillion, and is one of the largest U.S. investment markets? These facts were part of an advertisement for a conference for investors in for-profit education ventures, just one example of how much the profit motive has entered into the public education arena. The conference is one of two examples of how school reform has become little more than a business in some arenas (and just how removed some reformers have gotten from classrooms and the actual dynamic of teaching and learning).  Washington Post

PA: Corbett moves ahead with privatization, taps Camelot Group to run Pennsylvania lottery

The administration said it had issued a “notice of award” to Camelot, providing a 20-year private management agreement for Camelot. The company has said it can generate $34 billion in profits for the 42-year Lottery. A notice of an award is not a binding contract, the administration said…. Reaction from legislative Democrats, who have opposed the planned privatization was swift and critical. Democrats were upset that the administration had awarded the contract, even though a state Senate oversight panel had scheduled a public hearing on it for Monday at 10 a.m. Allentown Morning Call

PA: Committee Questions Privatization Of PA Lottery

Monday morning’s hearing by the Senate Finance Committee comes fresh off Friday evening’s announcement that the Corbett administration intends to award a 20-year contract to run the Lottery to a British firm called Camelot Global Services. Legislative Democrats have protested that lawmakers have been shut out of the process and the state treasurer has indicated he may withhold payments to Camelot if he deems necessary.  CBS

MI: Michigan Private Prisons Law Could Reopen Facility With Checkered Past

Under legislation signed into law by Gov. Rick Snyder (R) this week, Michigan could send inmates to a troubled private prison or privatize other prisons as part of an effort to trim costs in the state’s $1.9 billion corrections system. The legislation is a potential boon for the GEO Group, the nation’s second-largest for-profit prison operator, which owns a now-vacant youth prison in rural Baldwin, Mich. But the Baldwin prison has a checkered past. The state closed the facility, its only private prison, in 2005, following a series of audits and investigations that found high levels of assault, frequent staff vacancies and operating costs that exceeded those in comparable state prisons. Huffington Post

AZ: Ariz. charter schools oppose more state regulation

Arizona charter school officials say they don’t want the state to impose more regulations on how the mostly privately operated schools buy goods and services with taxpayer dollars, and the state board says no changes are in the works. The State Board for Charter Schools held a study session with charter school officials Wednesday in response to an investigation by The Arizona Republic that found that board members and administrators of some charters did business with their own schools.  San Francisco Chronicle

IL: Rahm appoints committee to advise City Council on whether to privatize Midway Airport

Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Friday appointed a committee–with an independent adviser and representatives from labor, business and the City Council–to advise the city on whether or not to privatize Midway Airport. Emanuel decided last month to test the privatization market for Midway–with a 40-year lease, profit-sharing for Chicago taxpayers and safeguards against consumer price-gouging–nearly four years after then-Mayor Richard M. Daley’s 99-year, $2.5 billion Midway deal collapsed for lack of financing.  Chicago Sun Times

CA: Court sides with union on Costa Mesa outsourcing

A California Court of Appeal has affirmed a preliminary injunction against the city of Costa Mesa, which attempted to contract out work currently performed by city employees. The union representing city employees—the Costa Mesa City Employees’ Association (CMCEA)—sought the injunction, alleging the city’s actions violated state law.  Business Management Daily

“Free Market” Social Services Fail to Deliver

For over thirty years we have been privatizing public social services in the belief that free markets are more efficient than government in providing the best services at the lowest cost.  Little attention is given to the inescapable fact that market driven systems create uneven results by their very nature.  This is true in commerce but especially true in public social welfare.  OpEdNews

 

 

 

 

 

 

News

AZ: Ariz. charter schools oppose more state regulation

Arizona charter school officials say they don’t want the state to impose more regulations on how the mostly privately operated schools buy goods and services with taxpayer dollars, and the state board says no changes are in the works. The State Board for Charter Schools held a study session with charter school officials Wednesday in response to an investigation by The Arizona Republic that found that board members and administrators of some charters did business with their own schools.  San Francisco Chronicle

PA: Extension possible on Corbett decision on firm’s bid to privatize lottery

Another extension of a deadline is possible for Gov. Tom Corbett to consider whether to hire the British national lottery operator to manage the $3.5 billion Pennsylvania Lottery.  The Republic

VA: 2 local lawmakers seek to halt port privatization deal

Two senior local lawmakers from opposite sides of the political spectrum are trying to halt a multibillion-dollar deal to privatize the operations of the port of Hampton Roads. Legislative proposals from state Sen. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, and Del. Chris Jones, R-Suffolk, were introduced separately but share a common aim: preventing Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell’s administration from turning port operations over to a private company.  The Virginian-Pilot

DE: Bill would require Wilmington port deal approval

Sen. Robert Marshall has introduced legislation that would require state lawmakers and the governor to approve any deal to privatize the Port of Wilmington. In early December, the Diamond State Port Corp., the governing board of the state-owned port, entered into exclusive bargaining with Kinder Morgan for a possible contract operation agreement. DelawareOnline

Murderous Reform: A Plan to Privatize Postal Profits at Public Expense

The National Academy of Public Administration has released a ‘Work-in-Progress’ report entitled ‘Restructuring the U.S. Postal System: The Case for a Hybrid Public-Private Postal System.’ The Academy is now embarking on a study of this proposal, which would privatize a large portion of the country’s postal system. The proposal is predictably one-dimensional — as befits men who seemingly have little or no sense of the public service mission for which the Post Office was created 238 years ago under the direction of Benjamin Franklin. Its purpose, then as now, was democracy and equality, not efficiency or profit. Thus, the report omits much.  OpEdNews

 

News

PA: PennDOT, turnpike will seek bids to privatize traveler info system

While the administration of Gov. Tom Corbett fends off challenges to his plan to privatize the state’s lottery system, it has come up with another privatization option — the systems run by PennDOT and the Pennsylvania Turnpike that provide information about traffic to travelers…. PennDOT’s 511 system and the turnpike’s Roadway Information Program…provide information about traffic conditions, accidents and weather-related problems to users; PennDOT’s 511 systems also provide nearly 700 traffic cameras around the state, and pushes automatic updates to subscribers via email, texts or Twitter.  Timesonline.com

PA: Lottery privatization: A decision on another bid extension from lone bidder not expected today

It now appears that Thursday will be the day when the commonwealth announces whether Gov. Tom Corbett has a little more time to make a decision about handing management of the Pennsylvania Lottery over to a private firm. The United Kingdom-based lottery manager, which was the only company to submit a bid to manage the 42-year-old state lottery, initially set Dec. 31 as the day its bid would expire.  Patriot News

KS: Kansas’ privatization, limit of welfare orgs worries advocates

Advocates for the poorest Kansas residents say Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration is making it tougher for the state’s needy to rise out of poverty by cutting much-needed assistance.…. They also fret about the administration’s decision to turn the delivery of Medicaid services over to three private health insurers in a system known as KanCare that started Jan. 1. Private insurers, advocates fear, will boost their bottom lines by refusing or restricting services to the 380,000 poor, disabled and elderly Kansans on Medicaid. The state counters that KanCare will be more efficient, and that privatization will stem rapidly growing Medicaid spending and save Kansas close to $500 million over five years. Topeka Capitol Journal

KY: State Senate committee hearing jabs at family services

State Sen. Julie Denton said she expects to file legislation when the session reconvenes in February that would press for changes in how child abuse and neglect cases are handled. One of the recommendations, Denton said, will be to privatize foster care in Kentucky. Denton said child protective services would continue to investigate, but would not have to provide the foster care. She said she is still working out the details of the bill she will propose.  The Courier-Journal

Ravitch on Rhee

The PBS show “Frontline” on Tuesday night aired John Merrow’s documentary on school reformer Michelle Rhee, which focused on the 3 1/2 years she was chancellor of D.C. Public Schools…. I was disappointed that the documentary did not mention that Rhee is now working on behalf of a far-right agenda of privatization; that Washington Teachers Union President George Parker now works for StudentsFirst; that Rhee’s “miraculous gains” as a teacher in Baltimore have been discredited.  Washington Post

Michelle Rhee gets a failing grade on her report card

Michelle Rhee and her misnamed school privatization organization, StudentsFirst, recently issued a report card on the nation’s schools that has been roundly criticized, and rightly so. Rhee ranks all 50 states and the District of Columbia by how closely they hew to her vision of school “reform,” which involves high stakes testing, maximizing the number of charter schools, expanding voucher programs that use tax dollars to pay for private schools, and eliminating teacher tenure and pension plans. Rhee is so keen to reduce the pensions of teachers and their reward for longevity that she makes their elimination an “anchor policy” and gives it triple weight in her ranking methodology.  EPI

Decision to keep federal screeners at Calif. airport has national implications

Republicans in Congress have repeatedly pushed for more privatization. AFGE and its Democratic allies have constantly pushed back. The Sacramento decision is an important victory in labor’s effort to combat privatization efforts generally.  Washington Post